Someone who has been to Cozumel

[jennifersmith23]

I need help figuring out some stuff in Cozumel.

Are Carlos and Charlies and the Hard Rock in Cozumel or in Cancun on the mainland. I have been trying to figure this out.

Also, does anyone know how far the Magic will be docking from town? Is it within walking distance? We are doing the Xcaret excursion, and when we get back from it, I would like to do some shopping in town. Is this possible?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[tltjet]

The Hard Rock Cafe is in Cancun. I don't know about the other.

 

[akid@hart]

are in Cozumel - upstairs. Not sure where Disney docks but all our other cruises have docked at the international pier which is a $5.00 cab ride downtown. We always sit at the restaurant across from the downtown ferry pier and have ice cream or a drink. They have strolling musicians there, our favorite place. For shopping we go to the end of the main drag to a wonderful shop called Los Cinco Soles. We have found their prices to be most reasonable. There is also a little restaurant in the back of this shop where you can sit and rest and have a drink.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Carlos and Charlies is on the end of town closest to where the boats dock. Like the other post said it is a five dollar cab ride downtown. I was just in Cozumel last week on a Carnival Cruise with some people from work. We spent the afternoon in Carlos and Charlies. It was a blast. One of the people I work with had to be pushed in a wheelchair from the cab to the boat. He will hear about that for a long time. Try the margaritas by the yard. I recall seeing a Hard Rock downtown also. I have been to several islands in the carribean and I was very impressed by how clean and well kept Cozumel was. It was a very nice town. Anyone who is going to Cozumel might want to check silver prices if they are interested before they go. Every shop has a bunch of silver. I bought a few braclets for my girls. It seems as though they sell the silver jewlery by the gram. About 90 cents per gram. Whether this is a good deal or not I am not sure but like I said if you think you will be buying silver there you may want to see what it costs in the states. They also claim Tanzinite is a gem you need to buy now. It is only mined in one place and the supply will run out soon. I am not sure if this is true or not. One other neat store you might try is Del Sol. All of the items they sell change colors when exposed to the sun. They told a story on the ship about a man who drank to much at Carlos and Charlies and while he was sleeping his wife painted his nails with polish from this place. It was clear while inside but when he got outside to golf with his buddies it turned bright red.

 

[Mjasp]

Jenn... When I called Disney and asked where we would be docking in Cozumel, they said Punta Langosta and they also said within walking distance to shops and duty free.
3 more weeks!!!!!!!
Joanna

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Carlos'n Charlie's is right downstairs from Señor Frog's.

www.carlosandcharlies.com
www.srfrogs.com

 

[jennifersmith23]

So is there a Hard Rock Cafe in Cozumel?

 

[KeenHo]

We sailed on another line (Celebrity - Mercury) in Feb. 2000 and went to Cozumel. We are returning to Cozumel on the June 22 sailing of the Magic. Cozumel was one of our favorite ports of call. Although we saw Carlos & Charlies we didn't have time to stop, it looked like the happening place to be, just like Señor Frogs.

I believe my DW (Cam) and I shopped in Los Cinco Soles, they have a restaurant just behind it named "Pancho's Backyard" that we had dinner at. The food was great and we enjoyed some local spirits too.

Shopping was great in Cozumel, we also really enjoyed going to Chakannab State Park for snorkeling (our excursion at the time). We will be doing it on our own this time around and saving a few $.

Enjoy your time in Cozumel!!

Howard

 

[Buschfan]

It is going to depend on the pier that the Magic docks at in Cozumel. We sailed Celebrity's Zenith in January and docked at the international pier. You have to take a cab into town to get to Carlos and Charlies. Our previous NCL cruises docked at the downtown pier. Here you can walk on your own.
Caros and Charlies is in a new location. Used to have to climb stairs to get in. Guess too many drunks stumbled on their way out, now it is a flat entrance. Prices seemed higher at the new location. It was quiet when we went with our kids during the day. We were the only ship in town. However, if there is a Carnival ship in town, expect a more lively place.

 

[ladybugs]

Jen- We went to Cozumel in March of 2001 and we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Great food!!!!!
It was crowded but we were seated right away.

When we were there in 2001 Carlos and Charlies was upstairs. That was the highlight of Cozumel. It was very wild....

We are going there again on the MAgic in Jan.2003 with the kids so that is one place we will be missing. ( I will anyway, my husband says he is going to take his father

 

[akid@hart]

Hadn't noticed they had moved downstairs when we were there last month! Since it was upstairs before I never visited it on our previous 12 visits to Cozumel. We will be there again in Oct. on the Mercury, will make it a point to visit this time. I have heard some pretty wild stories about that place. Evidentally a lot of fun - thanks for the heads up on that one.

Yes, Panchos Backyard is the name of the restaurant in Cinco Sole - the building it is in used to be someone's estate, and where the restaurant is was their courtyard. There is also a lovely boutique in there where you can get beautiful mexican clothing, some hand-painted.

Don't forget in Cozumel at the Pharmacia you can buy prescription medicines over the courter at reduced prices. There are a couple of them to the right of the town square and at the edge of it near the clock tower. For instance, the generic for amoxicilin is only $17. for 100 tablets, and Retin A is about the same price.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Akid

Since you have been to Cozumel a dozen times I would guess you know the island pretty well. I was there for a few hours last week on a cruise and I was very impresed with how clean and well kept the island was. We only spent time in the downtown area so we did not get to see much of the island. Is the rest of the island as well kept as downtown. We are thinking about spending a week here to dive. It is a relatively inexpensive place to go in comparison to a lot of the other carribean islands. Also where are the resorts from downtown? Are they close?

Anyone who does go the Carlos and Charlies needs to see the guy there (an employee) who does card tricks. He is very good. We are still trying to figure out how he did some of the tricks he did. He sat down at our table and showed us quite a few tricks.

 

[Pugdog007]

You're not saying all prescriptions over-the-counter??? That can't be true??? Surely not pain killers or anything like that?

 

[akid@hart]

No of course not all drugs, some you would still need to take a prescription for. I did see hormones and various other drugs for sale however. I suggest your write down your list of drugs and the mg dose. My blood pressure meds were not any bargain. Another thing to remember is the labels are written in spanish. Go to http://www.freetranslation.com and get the spanish translation for your medicine before you go. There was also a Pharmacia at the International Pier.
Mike, it has been years since we have been anywhere on the island other than downtown, perhaps someone more adventuresome that us can advise you on that.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

They have a lot of drugs over the counter. I am sure most of the Pharmacias have hundreds. We bought birth control pills for my wife on our last trip to Mexico a few years ago. A 2 year supply of the same stuff she gets here for a 10.00 co-pay per 3 months cost 20.00 for the 2 year supply. A girl that was with us on our last trip has had cancer and takes several medicines. Out of the several she takes everyday she only saw one of them.

 

[Pugdog007]

And you didn't need a prescription for birth control pills?

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Nope. Just like buying asprin. Same brand name as home (Ortho-Novum I think). As someone said before, the printed days were in Spanish but it was easy to figure it out. I will say at the time we knew we were going to have at least one more child so it was not that big of a risk. We just had our third child a few months ago and don't plan on anymore so we weren't as brave this time although the pills did work as they were suppose to the while my wife used them. I know a lot of people do buy antibotics cheap.

 

[tkd lisa]

I know that when my grandma was still alive, they used to go down to Mexico to get a number of her medicines. Of course, they only lived 7 miles from the border (LOL). They are very clear at the pharmecies about their laws. For several of them, they said you must have a prescription from a "Mexican" doctor. In other words, you just can't walk in with a prescription from the states and buy it just to save money. But if it's over the counter there, they can get it for you.

 

[Bbethparsons]

So is there no problem when bringing these prescription drugs back on board?