MIAMI -- The
following are tips on several excursions Celebrity Cruises offered
on its first season of five-day cruises of the western Caribbean
onboard the Zenith:
No one tells you
this in advance, but your dolphin swim in Puerto Aventuras
(Cozumel) will be memorialized by a professional photographer whose
fee is not included in the price of $145 per person.
Bring cash or a
credit card because youll want photos of that dolphins kiss, and
your Celebrity SeaPass account card will not be
accepted.
The price per
photo ranges from $7.50 to $22.50. Videos of the experience are
also for sale and are shown to participants after they come out of
the water.
A break
on the Beach Break
Also in Cozumel,
those who want a beach break will have two choices, both at Playa
Mia Grand Beach Park.
The Playa Mia
Beach Break costs $28 for adults and $18 for kids. The Deluxe Beach
Break is $62 for adults, $54 for kids. Both include an open bar and
use of the beach and watercraft, including kayaks. The difference
between the two: The deluxe plan provides shuttle transportation
and a free buffet lunch; the cheaper plan does not.
The Deluxe Beach
Break was not worth $62. The buffet wasnt muy bueno; there wasnt
enough time to try out the watercraft (didnt see anyone else plying
the waters, either); the molded plastic lounge chairs on the sand
were uncomfortable; and, as far as the open bar goes, my husband
drinks soda and for the life of me I couldnt make up the difference
in pina coladas. It gnawed at me that I probably was paying for
someone elses beer binge.
Heres a thought:
Get a group together and take a cab to the beach. The taxi fare is
$12 each way for up to four persons. Inexpensive snacks are
available at the beach.
What was worth
noting: The rest rooms were magnifico. Clean as home. And there
were changing rooms, a shower and storage lockers.
Segue
onto a Segway
I much preferred
Chankanaab National Park, which we had visited on an earlier
cruise. It has a beautiful man-made beach; botanical gardens with
Mayan, Toltec and Aztec sculptures scattered throughout; beachfront
bars and restaurants; snorkeling, scuba and snuba opportunities;
and changing facilities. The park is also home to a
swim-with-the-dolphins experience.
A visit to
Chankanaab is offered on this cruise as part of the Segway
Adventure ($89 per person). The Segway is a self-balancing electric
scooter and a means of transportation to the park. Guests receive a
coupon for a taxi ride home.
If you go on your
own, it costs about $12 per person to get in, and a cab from the
pier is about $10 each way. Lounge chairs and palapas (thatched
umbrellas) are for rent only. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Cozumel,
after the storms
For those who
want to know the status of Cozumel after Hurricane Wilma, I can
report this: The locals are working hard at rebuilding and appear
to have come a long way. Although I didnt visit the shopping area,
passengers who had been there on a cruise prior to Hurricane Wilma
and returned for a look said the shops were open.
The new pier
built by the cruise lines was gone. One pier, inadequate for even a
small ship, was the only one standing. Passengers had to tender
into port. The destruction was evident along the coastal road, and
the reconstruction seemed to begin at the point where the tenders
arrive and then progress outward from there.
Fishing
at Key West
In Key West,
Fla., where during the 1930s Ernest Hemingway fished, wrote and
drank, Celebrity commissions C&T Tours to run a three-hour
World Class Light Tackle Fishing Excursion ($139 per person,
minimum age 7).
It comes with
gear, bait and beverages; a 25-foot, center-console fishing boat;
and a captain who baits your hook, unhooks your fish and throws it
back. All you need to do is fish.
That was my
problem: I dont like to fish. But my husband does, so there I was,
with my old man in the sea, reading the New York Times when I could
have been checking out Duval Street and Mallory Square.
I have to say,
though, that this is an exhilarating experience for those who like
the sport. The gray reef sharks and the amberjack put up a good
fight, and, apparently, thats the whole point of
fishing.
The grouper gives
a fight, too, to get back to its hole in the reef. Not like the
snapper, which will run, according to our captain, Craig
Hall.
But heres a
flash: The grouper, one of the finest-tasting fish in the sea,
according to Hall, is gone. Thats right, gone. Two hurricanes
back-to-back and the groupers, who lived in these waters
year-round, picked up and left, he said.
Fish run
seasonally: Winter through May, its tarpon; spring through summer,
its mahimahi; and fall through winter, its cobia and amberjack,
Hall said.
The boat, the
Grouper Trouper (I guess it will have to change its name), holds up
to six passengers plus the captain. Four is minimum for an
excursion.
Sometimes 20 or
30 people [sign up to] fish, then theyll call in other operators
boats, Hall said.
C&T owners
Carrie and Tom Johnson of Key West own two fishing boats and two
sailboats. Noncruise visitors to Key West can reach them at (305)
293-8812 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There were five
of us on this excursion. Everyone who fished caught something. The
catches that drew the most attention were the gray reef
sharks.
For my part, I
was able to report to our dinner companions from Windsor, Ontario,
that Canadas conservative party was winning their national election
and that Ford Motor Co. was closing down its foundry in their city,
which lies just across the Ambassador Bridge from
Detroit.
Then I put my New
York Times on a wet seat and used it to keep my behind
dry.
Costa
Maya: The next Cancun?
In Costa Maya,
which some people say will be the next Cancun, lovely pools and
sandy beach with hammocks and lounge chairs lie spread out at the
end of the pier.
Beyond that area,
which was built for cruise passengers, is a tiny village of
wonderful shops.
Once you leave
the tourist area, however, you encounter the other side of Costa
Maya, scattered homesteads with nothing more than shed-like
structures to serve as living quarters for entire
families.
As we rode in our
air-conditioned bus toward the blue waters of out-of-the-way
Bacalar Lagoon, site of the Xspeed Boat Xcursion ($96 per person),
we passed military checkpoints set up to catch drug dealers who
arrive by boat. The armed soldiers do not stop tourist buses,
Victor, our guide, reassured us.
Victor rescued us
from a dismal ride with his fine humor presented in perfect
English. Everyone, except the Mayans, wants to learn English to get
into the tourist trade, Victor said. Its the future.
Victors father,
who was a fisherman, has become a fly-fishing instructor for the
cruise lines. His brother is going away to college to study hotel
management.
I say, Viva Costa
Maya!
Xspeed
Boat Xcursion
On the Xspeed
Boat Xcursion, one passenger and a companion hop into a 10-foot
launch, and then its full-throttle all the way. Speedboat drivers
-- a valid automobile drivers license is required -- are asked to
stay 45 feet behind the boat in front of them.
The day of my
particular Xspeed Boat Xcursion, there were six boats in the water
plus the guide boat. Midway, the guide boat stopped to give the
passengers a chance to drive.
The ride, which
consists of a series of S curves, can get pretty bumpy, and the
passengers can get very wet.
Heres a tip: Find
the wake of the boat ahead of you (its that elusive ribbon of calm
inside the sea of waves the guide has created to amuse you) and
follow along for smooth sailing.
After the boat
ride, guests are treated to a Mexican buffet under a Mayan
palapa.
The Xspeed Boat
Xcursion is run by Pelicanos Tours, which operates a number of
adventure excursions in Costa Maya and Cozumel.
Noncruise
travelers to the region can visit www.pelicanostours.com.mx for more information or to
book. The company pays commissions to travel agents who book
noncruise clients on their excursions.
To contact
Managing editor/Supplements Margaret Myre, send e-mail to [email protected].
Get
More!
For more
details on this article, see:
" Boomers are No. 1, but Celebrity seeks young cruisers,
too
" Zenith shows good things come in small
packages