Do you prefer Cozumel or Key West?

[Silverfox97]

Let me chime back in - I relied 1st and voted for Key West.

I don't hate Cozumel. In fact, we alternate western-eastern Caribbean cruises, and the Fantasy doesn't go to Key West, so we'll be returning to Cozumel at least once a year. I don't feel unsafe there. What I didn't like was walking thru the cruise terminal and feeling accosted to purchase stuff. Really? You want me to try your tequila at 9am? Seriously? Now, this happens at most foreign ports, I understand that. It just happened in St. Maarten, too (on Orient Beach - no, I don't want a beach cover up, a towel that is held in a bag, or my daughter's head braided already!!!). I didn't feel unsafe, but I felt annoyed. It reminded me of the straw market in Nassau. Ick. When we were there, we did the Eco Park & snorkel excursion which was pretty good. Off the ship, met tour guide, and delivered to ship after. The beach on the excursion (Punta Sur) was beautiful. It was clean, facilities were clean, water was warm and beautiful. We didn't mill around town. We planned to visit Margaritaville there, but it was raining off and on and DD was tired, so we didn't (I do love the Margaritaville in Grand Cayman however).

Now, DH & I love Key West. I guess it's because it's familiar? I don't know; I really can't put my finger on it - it's just the feel of it. We live in FL and love having a stop at Key West - it's a 7 hr drive for us, or, we can take a cruise there . We don't cruise for beaches - IMHO Anna Maria Island in FL has beaches that rival some of the Caribbean beaches and it's only a 1 hr drive for us. Key West is not a beach destination - it's got a rocky shore. There is a ton to see & do there, though. We bought tickets on our own to the Butterfly House & Hemmingway house & there is so much more that we want to see. I loved milling around town there. I'm sad we didn't rent bikes and just walked it because we could've done/seen more. We were on the shjp by 5pm and DH went back onto Key West in the evening (we were there until like 1am or something).

There is inappropriate stuff everywhere. As we were walking back to the Magic at 5pm, there was a visibly drunk local. I've seen stuff at every port. You question was opinions on our preferences and ours is Key West.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Absolutely Cozumel hands down. Found Key West to be boring and that was from an adults point of view. My kids were bored silly. Couldn't wait to get back on ship to go swimming. We could have spent a week in Cozumel and not run out of things to do.

 

[CruznLexi]

Cozumel but we also love KW

 

[Friscorays]

IMNSHO, there is no contest: Cozumel.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We prefer Cozumel so much that we do a 2 week land vacation there every year. They do not have serious crime issues. Mexico is huge and the area that the US govt is flagging isn't even near Cozumel and not even directly across to the mainland. PLEASE don't lump in one area with the whole country Things like this unfairly hurt their tourism. It's thousands of miles away. It's like telling tourists not to visit WDW because there is crime in LA. We do get off the main drag and are fine with it. The East side is gorgeous. The diving and snorkeling is superb. There are wonderful restaurants. The people are warm and loving. The south side has great beaches.

May I ask where you stay for your land vacay? We'd love to spend some more time there as well!

 

[Simba One]

Cozumel! The beaches were gorgeous and we felt very safe. We took the boat to the main land and went to Telum. STUNNING!!!!!
Key West was TOTALLY boring.

 

[kgoldenh]

I like both areas but from a cruising perspective I would rather go to Cozumel. more to explore in cozumel - more to experience - fun learning new things. Key West is fine,

 

[Agent555]

I've been to both Key West and Cozumel on the same cruise so... First off I like pirates so Key West already has a head start also the museums and pie I absolutely loved how I could walk anywhere I wanted! When I went to Cozumel I did a tour of some ruins by horseback I am definitely not a beach person and I am not one to drink. I liked seeing the ruins but it wasn't worth the price I paid. So my vote KEY WEST!

 

[Sinderelly]

We enjoy Key West much more than Cozumel. Key West is so much fun and we feel very safe to wander there. If we have forgotten anything, it's so easy to head to CVS and pick up some things. I like that we can turn our cell phones on while in Key West.

On our last cruise we rode the trolley around and had a blast. Key West is worth it if only for frozen key lime pie on a stick!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

May I ask where you stay for your land vacay? We'd love to spend some more time there as well!

We stay on the south side. We have stayed at the Grand Cozumel but prefer the Allegro Cozumel. Both are All Inclusives. The Allegro is known to have the best beach on the island. It's not a Ritz Carlton but we absolutely love it there. The Grand is a bit more upscale but we like the layout and size of the Allegro.

Sinderelly, Cozumel has a fantastic store called Mega that is fantastic for anything you may have forgotten.

 

[princess aleya]

Cozumel hands down!!!

 

[Alexander]

If you are a bar-loving, drinking kind of person, then Key West. If you prefer culture, beautiful beaches, or adventure then Cozumel would be better.

We hated Key West. We were so looking forward to going there, but it was honestly pretty gross. It is totally a drinking town. Living in a college city, we have that at home, so we were not at all impressed.

Cozumel was our favorite stop. We did an excursion to the mainland at the Secret River. Others have been to Xplor, Xcaret, etc. and had wonderful times. The beaches in Cozumel are beautiful too and there are many to choose from. If you are interested in history, there are great excursions to ruins.

 

[TXDCLfan]

If you are a bar-loving, drinking kind of person, then Key West. If you prefer culture, beautiful beaches, or adventure then Cozumel would be better.

We hated Key West. We were so looking forward to going there, but it was honestly pretty gross. It is totally a drinking town. Living in a college city, we have that at home, so we were not at all impressed.

Cozumel was our favorite stop. We did an excursion to the mainland at the Secret River. Others have been to Xplor, Xcaret, etc. and had wonderful times. The beaches in Cozumel are beautiful too and there are many to choose from. If you are interested in history, there are great excursions to ruins.

And all the sex shops make Key West an uncomfortable Place to walk around with kids.

 

[bmalonef45]

We've been to both a couple of times and while I agree that the beaches are much nicer in Cozumel overall Key West seems cleaner. I never felt unsafe in Cozumel but it is a different country. That doesn't make it worse but I think it just changed our comfort level and expectations. Think about most of the islands in the Caribbean and you see a big difference from the US. My wife and I have said we'd like to take an adult land vacation to Key West with friends but I would imagine if we took a land vacation with the family to one or the other we'd go to Cozumel. So I guess it depends on who is with you and what you are planning for your stay. As far as a cruise stop there is plenty of good in both.

 

[aymekae]

I would definitely choose Cozumel over Key West, but I'm sure that's because we chose to spend our "fun money" on Cozumel at Nachi Cocum (in addition to the beach access, food, drinks, etc. we also got a couple's open air massage and DH rode a jet ski). So that day was a blast, whereas in Key West, we walked down and toured Hemingway House (for the cats only) and the lighthouse museum across the street, then walked back. We don't drink much, and we both hate shopping, and I couldn't think of anything else I was much interested in. I think my favorite parts of that day were getting to see a bunch of extra-toed cats (we have one of our own, which is why we were interested) and seeing roosters walking around the streets like they owned them!

 

[gotomu212]

For me it's Key West, but I do feel funny about going on a cruise to stop in a us port. In KW we could do everything ourselves and wander around and we had a pass to a nice beach through a local hotel which was great! Plus who doesn't love the wrecker museum?

Cozumel had more water sports but I felt like everything had to be done through an excursion and we didn't like randomly wandering around. We had a 3 year old with us and I wasn't crazy about being bombarded with people selling stuff at the port. Didn't feel unsafe but was annoyed and couldn't just relax and soak up the place.

 

[btandsherri]

Key West!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mickeys girl 52]

Key West,Key West, Key West...