Cozumel Beach Break- Playa Mia

[herb102211]

We were thinking of adding the Cozumel Beach break that DCL offers as an excursion. Is it worth going to or should we choose something else? I've heard mixed reviews.

Anyone who has been- what were the times of your excursion? Did the bus pick up/drop off right at the cruise port or did you have to walk anywhere to catch the bus?

TIA!!

 

[mmouse37]

We were thinking of adding the Cozumel Beach break that DCL offers as an excursion. Is it worth going to or should we choose something else? I've heard mixed reviews.

Anyone who has been- what were the times of your excursion? Did the bus pick up/drop off right at the cruise port or did you have to walk anywhere to catch the bus?

TIA!!

We did this in 2009....LOVED IT!!! We were 2 adults with no kids on this cruise. We thought it was really a nice, clean, fun place. Plenty to do. Food was fine. Unlimited drinks.

Here is a link to our pics...we had to walk down the Cozumel pier to get the bus and I believe through the shopping center across the street...as no vehicles are allowed on the pier...at least I had never seen any. We were undecided on what we wanted to do that day so we actually booked this excursion the morning we got into Cozumel. I think we met around 8:00 am or so. I felt it was worth the the money. We had done many beaches on our own before in Cozumel but decided to go with DCL that time.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/574916592ZQfhKv?start=84

MJ

 

[MisterOJ]

I've not done Playa Mia, but I would strongly encourage you to check out Nachi Cocom in Cozumel before making a decision.

It is very similar, but it limits its guests to only 100 per day. Playa Mia is used by other cruise lines as well and I've heard it can get very crowded depending on how many cruise ships are in port on a given day. At Nachi Cocom, you are given beach loungers and a palapa, that are yours for as long as you're there. No one else uses them.

Also, you have access to a full bar with unlimited drinks at Nachi Cocom. At Playa Mia, I think there is only a limited selection of adult drinks.

The downside to Nachi Cocom is you have to do your own transportation, but it's easy to get to by taxi.

 

[mmouse37]

We actually have done Nachi Cocum more recently (this past October) and I did not really care for it as much. Much less to do. The staff was mad at us because as they were bringing us to our beach chairs I requested to be closer to the center of the beach and the worker escorting us was angry and made it known to us (as I found out later the workers are each assigned a certain amount of guests in their section and he lost out because we weres now in a different section). That turned me off. Nachi also did not have the water trampoline or ice berg to climb like Playa Mia did. Playa Mia also had a bunch of non motorized water craft to use free of charge where most things at Nachi had a charge.

Playa Mia had a great selection of adult beverages that were included in the price. We also got our own chairs that no one else could use. Did not like the fact that we had to "rent" towels at Nachi.

MJ

 

[MisterOJ]

Yeah, I can see how that would turn you off.

We got to Nachi kind of late and were situated at the far end of the beach. Not ideal, but I figured that was my fault for not getting there earlier. The wait staff was awesome though. They made sure we never ran short of beers and bottled water and mixed drinks - even though we were near the end of the beach.

We knew about the beach towel situation, though, and grabbed a bunch from the ship and shoved them in a beach bag, so we'd have plenty. That worked pretty well.

We could actually see the iceberg and water trampoline from the beach (not sure if it was Playa Mia or another beach area though) but I don't think we would have used them if Nachi had them. Our girls were ages 6 and 4 at the time and much too small for them. They had fun just playing in the sand and surf and getting on the raft that we rented for a small fee. (I think $5-6)

 

[mmouse37]

We were there first thing and there were plenty of beach chairs dead center of the beach...that was why I had asked to be placed there......if I arrived late I would have just went where we were brought.

Everyone has their likes and dislikes and of course there is no right or wrong answer. Many opinions are good so the OP can determine which is best for them.

MJ

 

[MisterOJ]

If that were the case with me, I would have asked to be in the middle of the beach too. When I was there, I just assumed the people that arrived first got the best spots and the later ones took what was left over.

 

[JanDave]

MJ, Thanks for the great review of Playa Mia. I was thinking of booking this and just did so after reading this thread. On the DCL website, it does not mention food and/or drinks.

We've been to Nachi twice.

Jan

 

[herb102211]

We did this in 2009....LOVED IT!!! We were 2 adults with no kids on this cruise. We thought it was really a nice, clean, fun place. Plenty to do. Food was fine. Unlimited drinks.

Here is a link to our pics...we had to walk down the Cozumel pier to get the bus and I believe through the shopping center across the street...as no vehicles are allowed on the pier...at least I had never seen any. We were undecided on what we wanted to do that day so we actually booked this excursion the morning we got into Cozumel. I think we met around 8:00 am or so. I felt it was worth the the money. We had done many beaches on our own before in Cozumel but decided to go with DCL that time.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/574916592ZQfhKv?start=84

MJ

Thanks for the review- your photos are great.

Looks like a lot of fun and we're definitely going to book the excursion, probably through DCL.

 

[lucky1]

Hi we did the playa mia - Beach break in October in 2009 and Loved it. DD is still talking about it. It was one of our favorite excursions from on the Western.

We caught the bus around 9am in the morning and were at the beach resort by about 9:30 or 10am. We were escorted to our own location that they said was just for DCL guests. Next to us was some other cruise line, but it never seemed crowded.

I asked for an Umbrella and it was delivered. Drinks were very free flowing. I made sure I took plenty of dollars and tipped my server appropriately. He also brought some beach toys for my daughter with no charge.

Mexican Lunch buffet was good.
Free beverages
Clean bathrooms
Clean dressing rooms and showers
Free access to non motorized water equipment (Paddle boats, kayaks, etc)
Free Umbrellas and beach chairs

Cost Items, on what I remember were Beach Massage treatments, I don't remember if there was a charge for towels, but we brought them from the ship.

We headed back about 2:30 or 3pm. There was about 2 bus loads of people from DCL, but it never felt crowded.

I would recommend it

 

[herb102211]

Hi we did the playa mia - Beach break in October in 2009 and Loved it. DD is still talking about it. It was one of our favorite excursions from on the Western.

We caught the bus around 9am in the morning and were at the beach resort by about 9:30 or 10am. We were escorted to our own location that they said was just for DCL guests. Next to us was some other cruise line, but it never seemed crowded.

I asked for an Umbrella and it was delivered. Drinks were very free flowing. I made sure I took plenty of dollars and tipped my server appropriately. He also brought some beach toys for my daughter with no charge.

Mexican Lunch buffet was good.
Free beverages
Clean bathrooms
Clean dressing rooms and showers
Free access to non motorized water equipment (Paddle boats, kayaks, etc)
Free Umbrellas and beach chairs

Cost Items, on what I remember were Beach Massage treatments, I don't remember if there was a charge for towels, but we brought them from the ship.

We headed back about 2:30 or 3pm. There was about 2 bus loads of people from DCL, but it never felt crowded.

I would recommend it

Sounds like you had an awesome time

That's great to hear alot of people from DCL were on the excursion, but that it didnt feel crowded.

 

[WDWLODGE]

I hate to be the downer of the thread, but our experience was not so good. We went in 2009 and we got off to a bad start. When we got there we picked out our chairs and my wife nearly stepped on a hyperdermic needle/syringe. A guy was coming around to take pictures and we gave it to him, he apologized and took it away. After that we were afraid that the kids would step on something, but we eventually got over it and actually had a decent time enjoying the beach and activities. Then came the lunch that was included, I have never seen so many flies on a buffet line. We ate anyway and enjoyed the rest of the day. Fast Forward to the next day and my daughter and I were sick with food poisoning. We're not positive the food poisoning was from the lunch, but thats what we suspect. We both spent the entire day in our cabin, neither of us could keep anything down. She missed out on The Princess Meet/Greet and I missed out on lobster night.

 

[herb102211]

I hate to be the downer of the thread, but our experience was not so good. We went in 2009 and we got off to a bad start. When we got there we picked out our chairs and my wife nearly stepped on a hyperdermic needle/syringe. A guy was coming around to take pictures and we gave it to him, he apologized and took it away. After that we were afraid that the kids would step on something, but we eventually got over it and actually had a decent time enjoying the beach and activities. Then came the lunch that was included, I have never seen so many flies on a buffet line. We ate anyway and enjoyed the rest of the day. Fast Forward to the next day and my daughter and I were sick with food poisoning. We're not positive the food poisoning was from the lunch, but thats what we suspect. We both spent the entire day in our cabin, neither of us could keep anything down. She missed out on The Princess Meet/Greet and I missed out on lobster night.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I hope the rest of your trip was great!!