El Cid resort in Cozumel, Mexico.

Cozumel has thousands of cruise passengers a day and offers a variety of things to do off the Yucatan Peninsula.

Over the past year of visiting Cozumel, I found the following things exciting and worth doing:

Day pass at El Cid resort: This resort is located to the left-hand side of the International Cruise Pier and you can’t miss it. They offer a day pass for $15 that includes access to their resort, pools, cabanas, free wifi, bars, spa, and small beach with a snorkeling area. They also offer an all-inclusive pass for $45 for unlimited bar, food, and use of snorkel gear.

12 meter America’s Cup: Board a racing sailboat and experience what it’s like to race in the America’s Cup. You get assigned a position on the boat while you and your team work together to try to beat the other sailboat. This excursion lasts about three hours and ends with your own America’s Cup of rum punch. You can book this through the ship and see our latest video here.

Isla Passion by Twister: Board a performance racing boat that does high-speed turns, jumps wakes, and heads to a private beach destination. When you get to all-inclusive Isla Passion you spend the day with an open bar, buffet, cabanas, chairs, kayaking, and water sports. After a day in the sun, head back to your cruise ship on the power speed boat but not before more high-speed turns. You can also get to the island by a catamaran.

Eat at La Choza: True Mexican cuisine that isn’t far from the cruise terminals. Located four blocks from the Punta Langosta cruise terminal and a short taxi ride from the International Cruise Pier. A popular spot for cruise passengers and locals. Be sure to try their homemade guacamole and lobster fajitas. The average plate runs around $12 USD but filling. Credit cards accepted and free wifi. Check out their Facebook page for directions and details.

La Choza authentic Mexican restaurant in Cozumel.

Take a ferry to Playa del Carmen: $13 each way ($8 kids), 45-minute ride right the 12 miles across, Punta Langosta Cruise Ship Pier, a couple miles from the International Pier (under $10 cab ride). Playa del Carmen offers shopping, golf, Mayan ruin tours, and dining in Little Italy. The ferry schedule is located here and operation hours can vary during extreme weather.

Whatever you do in Cozumel, just enjoy it. The information desks at the cruise pier can assist you in whatever you’re looking to do.

Source: Doug Parker/Cruise Radio

Lobby of Ramada Inn Airport, Fort Lauderdale.

Before we sail we like to do a hotel review of different port hotels in the cruise port area. This time we stayed at Ramada Inn Airport/Cruise Port. Hotels like this really impress me because they offer cruise parking (nominal fee), free shuttle to and from the port, free breakfast, free wifi, tiki bar, a couple dining venues on site and a tropical pool area.

Check in to the hotel was flawless and they let me check in a little early. I always like to stay on the first floor when I travel because I’m not a big fan of hauling my bags and gear up elevators and stairs. They accommodated me. You also schedule your port transfers when you check-in and they give you a parking pass. If you’re flying in, you call the front desk when you get your bags and they will pick you up.

The hotel wasn’t built yesterday but still had nice rooms with the amenities like an iron (perfect for pressing my clothes before the cruise). I was traveling alone so I had a king bed with a work area. The internet in the room is free and secure so you have to get a code from the front desk.

You get a complimentary continental breakfast served in their main dining room and for $5 more can get you the hot breakfast bar (eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.). The dining was great and they seat you when you arrive.

The shuttle service was flawless. I took the 12:15 shuttle to the port and it departed right at 12:15 with my luggage in tow. There was a full shuttle but very efficient and dropped us off at the pier and even assisted with luggage to the porter. The distance from the hotel to Port Everglades is just a couple of miles.

Room with a king size bed.

Upon return I called the hotel and told them what ship I was at and 15-minutes later the Ramada shuttle arrived and took us to the hotel.

Depending on the time of year, prices can be as low as $69 (park-n-cruise package, nominal fee).

All in all I would recommend this hotel to my friends, family, and listeners of Cruise Radio if you are flying or driving into Port Everglades for pre or post night cruise stay.

Get more information about the park-n-cruise package and property at their website www.RamadaInnAirport.com or book directly 954-584-4000

Source: Doug Parker/Cruise Radio

Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front

We stayed at this property while taping Cruise Radio and they exceeded our expectations. 

The property in centrally located, beach front, walking distance to restaurants and shops, along with nice interior corridors… not to mention Beach Front!

Check in was flawless. The whole team was in-sync and got us into our room efficiently and quickly.  Parking was free. There was a covered parking deck that housed approx 50 cars and plenty of open air parking that wrapped around the building.

The rooms were quiet and really clean (we stayed in a typical two bed).  Downstairs two sparkling pools were out side and a hot tub, along with an indoor pool.  By the pool was a pool sidebar with excellent prompt bar service.  Towel service was also available by the pool which was really convenient. 

Just beyond the pool was the white sandy beaches of Pensacola.  Along the beach was little sun bathing stations complete with a chair, umbrella and little table to separate. Very relaxing!

Inside the lobby was a three station business center, free wifi (surcharge for in-room internet), a Asian themed restaurant (moderately priced), bar, coffee shop, and plenty of areas to lounge.

Overall I would recommend the place to any vacationer, meetings, someone looking for a marriage venue  or just for a quick weekend getaway.. it has it all!

If you would like to hear the show we did aboard the Norwegian Sky, you can listen to it here.

Embarkation in Miami, Florida was a breeze, we were out of the car and on the gangway in less than fifteen minutes. I thought we were going to be waiting in lines because we didn’t get to the port til 1:30 pm. The port process is really streamlined and NCL did an excellent job get people processed.

The rooms weren’t ready til 2 PM so we killed time around the pool and tasting all the drinks which the bar tender was so nice to give us the extra pours to sell us on drinks.  The rooms were pretty small but I couldn’t complain, they did upgrade us to a suite which was nice. The TV’s are still standard TV’s, plenty of closet and drawer space as well. The did show the days activities on the TV channels on the ship and you had to option to buy. Have read that folks aren’t impressed with the room size but seriously…. your on a cruise, it’s not like your in there every waking minute anyway!

There are a few speciality restaurants on board, we ate at Cagney’s (steakhouse with a surcharge of $25). The other dining times we just went to the main dining rooms (The Palace and The Crossing). The buffets on board were your standard hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and seafood. One place I did take advantage of was the sports bar on board, it was open til 5:30′ish every morning and it made for some great after hours food.

The private island , Great Stirrup Cay was nothing to write home about. It seriously looks like the cruise line hasn’t put a dime into the island in about 20 years. It wasn’t ran down but could have been improved. One thing that I was really impressed about was the cleanliness of the bathrooms on the island. They were kept cleaner then some of the public restrooms on the ship. We had a nice BBQ on the island and went for a little walk on the nature trail afterwards.

When the cruise comes to an end, they don’t rush you for disembarkation, they just ask you to be out of your cabin by 9 am so they stewards can flip the cabin over for the next cruise. We didn’t get off the ship til about 10 am.

For my first NCL experience, it was a fun time. No real complaints.

Crowne Plaza Hotel  | 455 State Road 84 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

THIS HOTEL IS FOR YOU, IF:  you’re sailing out of Port Everglades and desire luxury rooms, complimentary shuttle service, interior corridors, and a restaurant/lounge on premises.
 
There are many great things to be said about the Crowne Plaza Airport/Cruise Port.  It’s brand new, modern, comfortable and convenient.  The hotel turned a month old on the Saturday night we stayed (it opened Superbowl weekend).  The hotel is an eye shot north of the airport and less than a mile from the cruise terminal (we saw our ship from our hotel window).
 
We arrived on the property at 3pm and checked in with no problem. There are a couple of hotel features that served us well.  The $10 per day parking garage is under the hotel so there is no long walk to and from your car.  The parking garage is well lit and has plenty of spaces.  An effortless elevator ride to guest services makes check-in a breeze.  The check-in area had two desks both with staff and a porter in the lobby if you choose to use his service.  There is also a kiosk in the lobby for flight check-in to make it easier when departing from the airport.
 
We had standard double accommodations on the seventh floor which still has that new room smell.  The rooms are furnished with amenities like a large flat panel TV, fridge, business work area, and a stylish chaise lounge chair.  There’s an ice machine on every floor, room service daily, and housekeeping comes at just the right times.
 
The business center (2 computers and printer), lounge, restaurant, fitness center (all brand new equipment), pool, meeting rooms and a store are on the fifth floor.  Though the weather was a little chilly during our visit  it  didn’t seem to stop a lot of people from taking advantage of the pool and the sun area outside.  Although there were minor complaints of service issues at the front desk and lounge area, I’m sure they were all due to understandable “new hotel” adjustments.
 
In my opinion the Crown Plaza is well above average and can be compared to many 3 star hotels.  If you are flying in, this hotel is perfect and puts away the fear of missing your ship.

“This Ship Is For You If … You love high energy Las Vegas hotels…endless dining choices, even if they cost more …. on-board activities like zip-line, rock climbing, simulated surfing and ice skating … are a family not on a tight budget … the more people the better … being at sea is irrelevant … reserving shows and restaurants before leaving home … constant walking long distances sounds great

This Ship Isn’t For You If …. impersonal service and walking constantly sound dreadful …. have a fear of heights …. mind paying extra for food …. want to see the ocean and hear the waves …. seek quiet, secluded places to get away from the crowd … to quickly and easily go ashore … you mind making reservations for shows and restaurants before leaving home … want a mega-resort with 6200 fellow passengers.”

I encourage you to read Anne Campbell’s full review here.

Carnival Conquest in Key West, Fla.

Cruise ships pull into Key West, Florida usually in the morning about 8 am and spend just a few hours in port. The port isn’t super huge so you can really do everything you want to do in the few hours you are there.   

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Disney are just a few ships that pull into port almost on a daily occasion, knowing that, it wouldn’t hurt to scout the island out online before you get there.  You may want to even consider booking your land excursions before you arrive.

Just a few places you may want to consider while your there is Mallory square, conch train tour, The USA’s southern most point, Sloppy Joes bar, and a walk on Duval street…. the list goes on.  

 In this episode Doug is calling us live from Port Canaveral, Fla., on the incident in Mexico last week where the Royal Caribbean ship and Carnival Cruise Lines ship bumped. Also, how would you like to take the same journey the folks on the RMS Titanic did,…. without sinking…. we’ll explain how you can.  TJ does his port review on Coco Cay, Bahamas, and a quick recap of the ”Cruise and Blog” cruise. Be sure to check out the latest episode of Cruise and Blog Radio every Wednesday. Be sure to subscribe!

We actually did things a little different on this day. TJ went to the island and explored Coco Cay while I stayed back on board the ship and explored all there was to explore on the ship. TJ, will be writing a blog all about Coco Cay once he gets back home and settled. I have been onto Coco Cay five times so I know all there is to know about it– its a blast!

 So this is how my day went.  The first activity I was going to check out didn’t start until eleven, I woke up and grabbed some breakfast and brought it back to my room and bummed. At eleven o’clock the adult free throw basketball competition started on the very back of the ship. Throwing the ball and trying to make it in the hoop had me realize just why I was always picked last in my high school sports teams.

After losing the competition (miserably) I made my way to the Windjammer Café (deck 11) to grab some lunch. Lunch was meatloaf, not my favorite but there was many other options to choose from: burgers, fries, hot dogs, deli meats, etc. After lunch I made my way down to the sound of music theater (deck 5 & 7) to watch “Star Trek,” and was surprised at how many people were in there watching. This was cool, on deck 5 where all the shops are, there was a jewelry blow out (50% off). A lot of the ladies were taking advantage of the deals…. I wonder how many husbands were surprised when the folio was delivered the next morning.

 At four pm, I went and watched the men’s belly flop competition. I needed that laugh! Overweight men belly first into the pool. My friends got back from Coco Cay about four thirty and we went and pigged out on some more food (pizza). Afterwards we went up to the Viking Lounge (Deck 14) and watched the boat sail away from the island. When the anchor is pulled up and those engines start roaring it starts sinking in that in a few short hours you will be back to reality – but we still had plenty of ground to cover! After enjoying a cocktail and watching Coco Cay fade away we went down to the casino. Now know that I have never in my life ever played a card game. Hell, even when all my friends would play drinking games with the cards I was probably on a computer somewhere. TJ, introduced me to this game in the casino called “Let it Ride.” A fun card game, lots of potential to win big and to lose big too. I broke even and walked away. I was able to play for 45 minutes before I got down to my initial investment. I think I will stick to those games instead of slots. I have never won big on slots.

 The farewell show was called “You Cant Stop the Beat,” it was entertaining, a lot of older artists (Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson) music was played in there to play to the demographic of the passengers on the ship. The singers were amazing and the chorography was stunning. The one lady who sang Whitney Houston’s , I’ll always love you ….. she REALLY rocked it. After the stage performance was done the cruise director read this really funny top ten list of questions people have asked him on the cruise. I thought a few were hysterical …. Is the toilet salt or fresh water… do the crew sleep on the ship? At the very end of the top ten list the whole crew came out, waiters, servers, bar tenders, cabin stewards, and cooks and all waved to us. It was a very nice end of the cruise gesture.

The final night at dinner was Italian night and was it great. I had the garlic tiger shrimp and the rack of lamb as a main entrée. The servers performed a couple of Italian songs and you could tell a couple of them were like…. Riiiiiiight! I had too much packing to do so I didn’t stay for dessert. On the way out I passed out the gratuity envelopes and gave our waiter and extra twenty dollars. For someone who claims to be a light packer, I sure had stuff spread all over my room. If you were going to check the bags, they had to be outside your door by 11 pm. I always carry my bag off because I don’t want to take the risk of it being lost or mishandled. After I packed my room up, I got online and submitted my blog. One thing I didn’t really like about the ship is that to get on the wireless you had to go to a common area.

One thing I didn’t make it to was the Quest game show. This show is a hysterical and for adults only. Basically its an adult scavenger hunt. There is a kicker at the end though. They want all these guys to run up to the stage and then they blind side you and tell you it’s the “Miss Monarch” pageant.

Lights out 11 pm.

While staying active is a key part, you also can’t expect to indulge in every single meal and not have to loosen your belt a notch as you walk off the ship. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m a full believer you can eat your carrots and have you cake too, BUT  2 or 3 piece of cake may be over the top.

 Here are some tips I found to eating healthy on the ship

 Eat Your Meals in the Dining Room When Possible

The biggest pitfall people run into on cruises are the unlimited buffets. The best bet is to avoid them when ever possible to keep yourself from piling it on your plate. Though the dining room options offer three or four courses, they also offer portion control.

 Eat Dessert

Yes, I said eat dessert! And enjoy it! Just make sure its only one dessert and not the entire dessert menu. If you deny yourself dessert it is more then likely you are going to regret it and eat twice as much dessert after you’re done feeling sorry for yourself for not having it in the first place. This is the part when I say you’re on vacation and to live a little.  

 Stay Away from Frozen Drinks

 On cruise ships I allow myself one fun tropical frozen drink, but that’s it. Otherwise it’s wine or beer for this girl. Where most cruise goers go wrong is the 1000 calorie+ tropical drinks at every turn. I suggest enjoying one, but stopping there. Instead go for a favorite low calorie drink such as a Soda Water, Vodka, Sour Mix with touch of Cranberry. Or there is nothing better then a light beer poolside.

 Pay Attention to the Spa Menu

 Each cruise line offers their own brand of ‘spa menu’ which usually coincides with their regular dining menu. The spa menu typically offers lighter or sugar free options that tend to be more figure friendly then the other menu options. I tend to study the spa menu first then check out the other menu options to see if there is anything I really am craving. I don’t always order from the spa menu, but it’s good to have the option in front of me.

Remember cruises are time to enjoy yourself. With a little practice of strong will and moderation eating well on a cruise should be no problem.

 Happy Cruising!