Travelogue: Our fun sting ray filled day in Cozumel while on our amazing 5 Night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas.
Our 5-Night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas took us to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico, with 2 Days at Seas. It was a fantastic family vacation that introduced our 7 month old son to cruising. We were able to have a great time sight seeing, eating delicious food, toasting with great drinks, and getting plenty of much needed rest. Our family loves cruising!
Day 4: Cozumel
Our 2nd port of call on our 5-Night Western Caribbean cruise was Cozumel, Mexico.
We had already been there when we did another Royal Caribbean cruise out of Tampa in 2015, but we were really looking forward to going again. When we previously went, we spent the day in the port shopping. We were looking
As usual, the kids were up early. While they never seem to let us sleep in, they do entertain us. Like, Autumn being Autumn… upside down sunnies and eating donuts.
We planned the night before and ordered room service (Free- continental breakfast) so that the kids could have something to eat while we took our time waking up and getting ready as we cruised into port.
The sky was so bright from the moon, which was full the night before.
Cozumel is a busy port so it was cool getting to see other ships around the Brilliance of the Seas as we slowed down as we approached the island.
It was pretty cool getting to see the sun rise (7.24am) in the port.
I enjoy getting up before the sun as it feels like there is a whole day ahead of you for making the most of it exploring and having fun. We were so ready for our busy day in port.
Breakfast in the Windjammer was prioty #1. Then we walked around the ship to check out the other Royal Caribbean ship
We breezed through the port so that we could make the most of the day instead of shopping there. Plus, then we would have to bring it with us while we had our day out in Cozumel.
The cab line was efficient and moved along pretty quickly, considering how many people were there from the ships in port. It is not covered at all so it did
We went to Sting Ray Beach for a fun day hanging out with sting rays.
It was a short & affordable cab ride to their location, which is along the main road along the coast, that takes you into town.
The experience started with a lesson about sting rays so that we were prepared for the 2 part experience. We start with feeding and touching the sting rays and then we go snorkeling with them.
Autumn was all ready to go!!
OMG. It was quite the experience getting to go in the water with all the sting rays. They are quite pushy!!! They have no manners at all as they bump into us looking for food.
Since Autumn was still pretty nervous about the sting rays, I stayed back with her while Price and Hunter checked out the sting rays.
(The above 5 photos were taken by the staff at Sting Ray Beach. We bought a CD of them)
The next part of the sting ray experience was to go snorkeling.
Price was going to stay on the beach to relax with Hunter, with Autumn and I going. But she struggled getting in the water with the flippers and freaked a bit. I didn’t want to push the issue, nor leave Price with the (hangry) kids, so I decided to just relax with them as well.
I never get to really relax, so the chance to sit down, put my feet up and enjoy a margarita while Hunter snoozed on me… perfection.
 
While the snorkeling was a bust for us the food and drinks were OUT OF THIS WORLD.
Price and I ordered guac and chips ($7 USD) and margaritas ($9 USD) and loved every bite and sip. The guac was incredible. I could have eaten like 3 of those plates myself. The margaritas were great too- not to sweet, not to sour, just strong enough.
Sting Ray Beach isn’t really a beach, so it was sorta tough in that Autumn did want to go in the water, but not where it was deep- where there was access beyond the coral. It did have some sand where she could play, so that was great for her.
Autumn loved watching the hermit crap race and to check out the 3 legged iguana.
We hung out at Sting Ray Beach, which also has a chocolate and wine pairing experience and a paddle boarding adventure, for a while before we headed back to the port to go back to the ship.
The perfect photo opt is right in port right in front of this fun Cozumel sign!
Once we got back into port we decided to take our time and do some shopping.
Autumn picked out a fun hat and we picked up the most amazing bottled margarita.
Both kids were zonked out when we got back to the ship at the Puerta Maya pier.
We did manage to get back in time to the Windjammer before it closed so they could have a bit more food and then it was back to the room for us so we could shower, rest, relax, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
When we first got on the ship we made a reservation to Chop’s Grille so that we could have a big fancy family dinner together.
It certainly was memorable!
 
So much so that we will be skipping specialty dining restaurants with the kids and save them just for us so that we get to enjoy dinners, the kids eat what they want, and we don’t drive the other patrons crazy! I am a bigger supporter in teaching kids manners and to try new things, but at the same time we need some alone time, so in the future we will just do the Mistral Dining Room (MDR) with them, so we can have a great on-board date night.
The moment that the nursery and the Adventure Ocean kids camp program were open, we ere signing them in and sprinting back down to our dinners that were waiting for us on the table. At least our server was a gem and took great care of us (and didn’t clear the table when we left!).
We still enjoyed the food so, so much. OMG, so good!
After dinner we picked up the kids from the nursery and Adventure Kids.
I took hunter directly back to the room, to get right back to sleep, However, Price had to wait for Autumn for another 20 minutes because she was having so much fun in Adventure Ocean. The kids were on an Alien Space Walk that took them around looking for a silly alien named Fuzz Buzz.
Once back in the room, Autumn was able to check out the fun towel animal
It really was a wonderful day in Cozumel.
I’m already looking forward to going back one day!
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