February 29, 2024 – Cozumel, Mexico – Sunny – Warm – 80F

Happy Leap Year

There are several ships here today at the three cruise terminals (according to the online pier information).  NCL Joy, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Jubilee, Enchantment OTS, Carnival Breeze, and Radiance OTS. 

Might have slept a little better last night.  

The Oceanview Café is open early again today which is strange since the ship doesn’t officially dock at Cozumel until 9 AM.  I was up there opening time and I was shocked to find that there were only two people up there including me.  I was able to order two eggs OM in a clean skillet. Even though it was supposed to be open the pancake area was not open – I managed to get a couple of pancakes from the server.

I got a nice seat outside – it was simply beautiful out on the deck and I got a pre-dawn photo which was postcard quality.  

My food was good and the coffee was hot once I found a coffee station open and ready.  I brought Ellen her lox, cream cheese, challah roll, fruits, hard boiled egg, and banana bread to go along with the tea from room service.

Caught some of the sail in from the Cabin window.

Constellation is once again docked at the International Pier next to the Enchantment OTS.

Ellen might be fighting a sinus infection (NOTE: she’s going to start Augmentin with dinner tonight - as it turned out she discontinued it after a few days - maybe not a sinus issue). Because she is not quite well, she is not going ashore.  I am still going to the spa in Mayan Plaza (about two blocks from the port). I disembarked about 10 AM and after going through the maze again, I got to the street.  I found the spa easily and once again negotiated the price with the ladies.  The spa has one room and I told them that I was hoping that it would be private.  They said it would be.  Greta, my therapist, was terrific – she didn’t speak a lot of English but when I need to tell her something, I was able to.  The massage bed is a little narrow for me but I managed not to fall off.  The session went a full hour and it costs $60 plus a $10 propino (tip).  They are all very nice at this spa – we will probably see them again the next time we're here and docked at this pier.

I asked the ladies where the nearest Mercado was (I was searching for whole bean coffee) and they said there were none nearby and the closest one was downtown.  I then asked about Cokes and they said the pharmacy across the plaza has soft drinks.  The large 600 mL Cokes in a bottle cost $2 instead of the $6 (for the smaller bottle) on the ship (without the package).  I picked up four diet Cokes but could not find Coffee Beans – one store in the shopping area adjacent to the pier was selling 200g of ground coffee for $11 (454 g in a pound).  So no coffee on this trip. 

On my way away and from the pier, I got some nice shots of the other ships here today.

I went back to the ship and met Ellen in the Oceanview Café.  Salad and pizza for lunch.

The afternoon was spent on Deck 4 aft – we were shaded by the Enchantment OTS and there was an excellent breeze moving between the ships.  

We stayed there until almost dinner time.  We decided that we would not go to the Dining Room tonight (the special meal I ordered I guess was not to be). And instead we had very good pizza and salad (me) and Pesto Pasta (Ellen – not as good as yesterday). 

During dinner, we watched the Enchantment OTS depart Cozumel.

We passed on dessert and headed for the Theater.

We have seen the Headliner, Anne Martinez, before – four years ago on a Princess Ship.

She is a Las Vegas performer and has done numerous plays over the years.  She is great on stage – terrific voice and excellent stage presence.  She also has a BFA and a MFA degree.  She did almost the same song list she did four years ago: “Under the Sea”, “Bring on the Men” (probably, the least likable song from “Jekyll and Hyde”), “The Power of Love” (her mother’s favorite love song – she sang a different favorite song the last time – this song is perfect for her big voice), “Tennesee Whiskey”, and some other songs that I could not identify because she changes the pace and arrangement in such a way that makes it difficult to tell what the song is.  In any event, she is immensely entertaining and likeable (even though he stories are a bit too long and she does mumble a little). 

The new acoustic duo, “Bright Avenue”, was in the Grand Foyer tonight and we got great seats.  

They did a nice set including a very different version of “Hallelujah”.  

They are very entertaining and when they did “Hallelujah”, all the people in the bar stopped talking and listened to the song. 

Back to the Cabin.