Clear Kayaking and Snorkeling in Cozumel, Mexico

This was my third time to visit Cozumel and my husband's 2nd. We went here together in 2007, when we sailed Carnival Conquest.  This time we sailed Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, loved the ship! Since we were familiar with the island and we knew Blue Rock liked the kid's area on the ship, we decided we would have a date excursion in Cozumel and them take Blue Rock around after our adult excursion. We decided to go clear kayaking and snorkeling. Kids 8 and under were not allowed on this excursion mainly because a lot of swimming was involved as well as kayaking. From my experience, scuba diving and snorkeling are two of the more enjoyable things to do in Cozumel.  The beaches tend to be pretty rocky so it's better to be in the water than on the shore.  

We are attached parents and we are very guarded about who watches our son.  Thankfully he's at an age where he tells us what he did when he's away from us and we can tell by his mannerisms if something doesn't seem  quite right.  A few things I liked about the kids club on the ship was there are video cameras, the staff is trained in CPR among other things, and he really did have a good time.  There is also always at least two people on staff and more than one kid.  It was a tough decision doing our own thing for part of the day but we figured some people have family to leave their kids with and they are gone a week or more. Since we don't have that option, we decided to take the ship's option of taking an excursion while their awesome kid's staff watched our precious boy. I have to tell you, we did have a lot of fun doing something together like this. After almost 4 years of taking our child with us everywhere we go, it was a nice break. We of course missed him even though we were not gone that long. We probably missed him more than he missed us because of all the fun he was having. :)

Our tour took us by taxi to Playa Uvas, a private beach with a small pool and beach. We started off snorkeling. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes. Our guide led our group all around. Then we went kayaking for about 45 minutes. Our guide took us to see a dolphin show in our awesome clear kayaks. After snorkeling and kayaking we were able to hang out on the beach for as long as we wanted. Two drinks were included, one bottle of water and then anything else we wanted. Fruit plates were also included. We bought two hammock chairs for our patio at home and relaxed a little bit but were ready to get back to Blue Rock and let him see Cozumel.

We paid $69 per person to go kayaking and snorkeling in Cozumel.  You could do something like this cheaper if you don't go with the ship.  We of course were playing it safe on this trip and were not going to take any chances especially leaving our child on a ship while we were doing something else. Honestly, though, I think you would be pretty safe doing your own thing.

Things to do in Cozumel on a cruise excursion: 

- Book through your ship or book online and take a cab to go snorkeling at Playa Uvas.
- Take a taxi to Paradise Beach, which does have more white sand.  The taxi will cost about $5 each way and $2 for a beach chair.  They have fun activities that you can do for $12 a person more.  We met several people on the ship who did this.
- Take a taxi to Chankanaab Park and see dolphins and sea lions.
- Rent a car and drive around the island.  This is what my husband and I did in 2007.  Our sailing trip got cancelled due to weather.
- Take a taxi and go to Discover Mexico Park.
- Visit Stingray Beach.
- Go scuba diving or snorkeling with Diver Down Cozumel.  You can book a your excursion if you're certified or if you just want to learn how.  It's a lot cheaper than booking through the ship. 
- Meet up with one of the excursion companies that is advertising when you get off the ship.  You can go parasailing, fishing, take a tour of the island, see a chocolate factory.  There are so many great things to do.

These are some of my suggested excursions that I would take whether you are on a cruise ship or not.

When we got back to the ship we didn't have as much time as we hoped to take Blue Rock around.  We were hoping to be able to take him to the beach but we feared not making it back to the ship in time since we had to go through customs before boarding.  He really wanted to go to the beach and swim but sadly we didn't have time to take a taxi so he got to see the port area instead. Next time we visit we will take him to the beach, probably Paradise Beach.

Overall we had a wonderful vacation. I'm so glad we bought an underwater camera. When you visit such beautiful pristine waters, it's nice to be able to take some pictures of fish and people. We bought the Nikon Coolpix AW100 from Amazon the week before we left.  It is a great camera and can go underwater to a depth of 33 ft.  I think the picture and movie quality is great for the price of the camera. I'll write a review on it later.

Our family loves traveling and we look forward to seeing more of the world. Blue Rock has now been to 22 countries, not bad for a 3 year old. My husband and I have been to over 30. After seeing all the age limitations on some of the excursions we are going to wait a little while before going on an Alaska cruise. We want to make sure Blue Rock is old enough for all the excursions in Alaska. Caribbean cruises are nice because the beaches are so lovely so kids can have fun playing in the sand and water at any age. Cruising is one of my favorite ways to travel, so easy and for the most part pretty stress free.