the Fury catamaran party (45 minutes on a rocking catamaran? with free drinks? that could go either way),
Erica,
After reading your previous PTR's & TR's, and giddily recognizing a bit (ok - a lot, if you must know...
) of myself in your personality/lifestyle (i.e., anal-retentive, alcoholic, obsessive planner, alcoholic, etc.), I highly recommend the above excursion!
My mom and I did the Fury Catamaran Sail & Snorkel on our Western cruise in Sept 2006, and OMG did we have a great time!!!
The Fury folks (awesome tour company
) met us at the pier and we hopped on the huge catamaran and sailed out to the snorkeling site. The reef had suffered some damage from hurricanes the previous year, so they took us out fairly deep to snorkel...as this was my first snorkeling experience, I wasn't crazy about the depth - I kept worrying about water getting in my snorkel and drowning...however, it was really cool and got even better when we reboarded the cat! Once you were finished and turned in your snorkel gear, the bar on board was open to you
!!
They had beer and awesome margaritas
!! And, boy, do they keep them coming
Once everyone is back onboard, they set sail for their private beach area (about 1/2 hour to 45 min away) with the music cranking and lots of dancing and partying on the cat! And the drinks keep flowing...
The private beach is cool and the way they bring the cat into shore is an experience in itself! There were lots of fun and interesting things to do at their beach (water trikes, kayaks, sand volleyball, floaties, etc.) and a bar! More margaritas anyone?? Mom and I were taking it easy - we just grabbed floaties and a margarita and floated about until we were called back in (early, because a HUGE black storm cloud was just on the horizon and working its ugly way toward us!)
Here was where the real fun began for us, and all I can say is thank goodness we had been imbibing all afternoon because the trip back would have
the he** out of me otherwise! About 5 or 10 minutes after we left the shore, the storm hit us HARD! There was wind, rain, lightening, hail,
and margaritas! The Fury crew had to put on the snorkeling masks in order to drive the boat, but they kept the music playing, and the bars open! People were cowering under tables, wrapping themselves up in anything they could to protect their skin from the hail and wind-blown rain that felt like rocks/needles pounding your skin...but I just found a little cover by sitting under the front edge of the bar
, wrapped up in my towel. Each time I got to the bottom of my cup, I just reached up to the bar and low and behold, when I brought it back down, it was full again!
Eventually, the storm blew on by, and folks crept out from their hiding spots back up onto the deck and began dancing and reliving the harrowing experience!
The Fury crew was unbelievable, and we tipped them VERY WELL at the end! We did have an unusual experience, but we had a blast! Those Fury folks know how to throw a party!!
The only minor snafu was that upon our return to Cozumel, where we had a few hours to explore before reboarding the Magic, was the fact that we were pretty annihilated from our party on the catamaran
We danced at Senor Frogs, ran the streets trying to find the good Louis Vuitton knock-offs, and then spent an inordinate amount of time trying to locate a "bano" to use! We were finally welcomed at a jewelry store, of all places, where they offered us free shots of tequila after our quick potty stop! Of course, we had to be polite, so it's actually a wonder we ever found our way back to the pier - on time no less...
Anyway,sorry so long - I intended to just say that it's a great excursion, but somehow felt compelled to share why...
PS - Sadly, I lost my mom (and best-friend)
very unexpectedly this past February, so maybe that's part of why I rambled on with this tale...
I am sure that whichever excursion you choose, you will make the most of it and have a ball! Enjoy!
Kris
Tea was... you'll be disappointed if you've been to the GF tea, but the lemon Tiramisu was heavenly...
for putting in the picture and your recommendation of the deluxe passporter. I usually just buy the regular one.
When I go on vacation, I have to pencil in relax time or I don't do it! 
I have read your other trippies and thoroughly enjoyed them. I recently took my own cruise so now at least I know what you are talking about. Look forward to hearing about this cruise.
