The third day of this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival’s Mardi Gras saw us visiting Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is an island across from the country’s mainland and is pretty much a stop on almost every Western cruise. We arrived around 8 am and along with Mardi Gras, the port was also hosting Carnival Breeze, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Viva, and Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas making for a very busy day around the city.
Both Carnival ships were berthed at the dock used exclusively by Carnival while the others were berthed at the older International Cruise Terminal just down the street. While both of these docks are close to each other, the experience varies significantly between the two. The International Terminal is old and well worn while the newer dock used by Carnival is newer with a larger duty-free, shopping area with multiple bars and restaurants including the highly recommended Pancho’s Backyard for Mexican (imagine that!) food and drinks.
No matter what terminal you arrive at, you are within walking distance of other shopping areas along the main street including the Fiesta Village Mall, dozens of small local stores including a 7-11, a small all-inclusive beach club that you can buy a pass for $40 per person, dozens of “pharmacies” to stock up on questionable drugs, along with plenty of places to eat and drink. Be forewarned, Cozumel is one of those places where the locals are very (emphasis on very) in your face trying to sell you a taxi ride, tours, drugs, massages, happy endings, you name it. You quickly learn to tune them out and ignore them as once you engage them, you’re not leaving without buying “something.”
As long as you don’t venture too far away from the port area the neighborhood is pretty safe. I always usually get off the ship and venture around the area staying clear of the sketchy parts.
After spending about an hour and a half walking around, I headed back onboard to see what was going on around the ship. Being that it was in the mid-afternoon, many were having lunch up in the ship’s Lido Marketplace buffet. So let’s talk about that for a moment. The buffet on Mardi Gras, Carnival and Celebration, and the new Jubilee are all set the same. There are four hot food areas on each side which all serve the same thing. Variety is slim, unlike some other ships that have a more varied buffet with different ethnic stations. You can also grab hot dogs/brats, make a salad, and grab some dessert. When it comes to buffet food quality, Carnival gets a D grade. While you can’t mess up anything on a breakfast buffet at lunch and dinner the food is just… bad. If you’re familiar with Golden Corral, you can find the quality around the same level or a slight notch below.
With other places to grab lunch such as the free Guy’s Burger Joint for some pretty good burgers, Blue Iguana for tacos and burritos that are on par with Moe’s or Tijuana Flats, Shaq’s Big Chicken for some juicy chicken sandwiches and tenders, or even a quick pizza, there are better choices than the buffet. At dinner, the buffet usually serves up the same dishes that are being served in the main dining room with some additions.
Let’s jump into the evening’s activities. The main production show in Center Stage was “Lovin’ Vegas” which is a new addition since I was onboard in May. Described as, “Is it destiny or chance that brought Desi and Chaz together? Come along on a whirlwind trip through Las Vegas to find out in a high-soaring, high-voltage Vegas spectacular.”
The show started with 15 minutes of a very unentertaining magician who performed mostly coin and card tricks which were displayed on the large three-story LED screen for all to see. This kind of tricks may work with a small intimate audience, but not in such a large venue as Center Stage. You had to watch the tricks performed on the screen and they weren’t even that good. I and my traveling companions were pretty much ready to leave as this was the slowest and most boring start of a show that I had ever seen. We stood watching and painfully wondering when it would end.
When his set was up, the “Desi and Chaz” storyline kicked in with Chaz descending on the stage from a prop hang glider. These two characters, whether intentional or not, were plucked right from the worst high school musical you could imagine. Amateur, poor acting and a weak storyline that I’m still trying to figure out how it ties into Vegas convinced me that they could have benefited in two ways – cutting the magician and cutting these two.
The show finally got an energy shot when singers, including an Elvis impersonator who looked more like a lumberjack than Elvis, and aerialists took over. With a few songs such as “A Little Less Talk a Little More Action” and “Viva Las Vegas” were the tie-in to Sin City, the video wall and props added to the theme, but if you came here expecting a true salute to Vegas you’re going to be disappointed and confused with the whole “Desi and Chaz” tie-in.
After the show, I headed to the ship’s steakhouse – Fahrenheit 555 – for dinner. This is your classic steakhouse all around. Dim lighting, dark wood, and a menu chock full of beef and seafood. As a specialty dining location, this restaurant will set you back $49 per person. As a side note, Carnival just quietly raised specialty dining prices fleet-wide this week with the new per-person pricing being:
- Steakhouse – $49 up from $48
- JiJi Asian Kitchen – $24 up from $18
- Cucina del Capitano – $24 up from $18 (except on Carnival Celebration, Mardi Gras, and Carnival Jubilee)
- Bonsai Teppanyaki Lunch – $38 up from $35
- Bonsai Teppanyaki Dinner – $42 up from $38
- Rudi’s Seagrill – $49 up from $48
Dinner started with a mini cheeseburger amuse bouche:
For appetizers, I chose the jumbo shrimp cocktail and the tuna tartare, both of which were fresh and delicious.
When it came to mains, I went with the 9oz filet cooked blue. The filet was cooked a little more than blue, but not that much. It was still tender, seasoned well, and had a nice slight char to it. I accompanied it with a small baked potato and steamed broccoli.
Overall, service wasn’t rushed, my server Jordan was very attentive, however, it did take almost 15 minutes to get a second glass of wine even though the restaurant has a bar attached to it.
After dinner, I decided to hit up the extremely tight casino. The one-armed bandit took $200 from me on $1.88 spins quicker than you can say “This casino sucks.” Others in my group have also commented on how tight the slot machines have been. Based on my spending and points which are calculated at 1 point for every $2.50 cycled through the machine, I’m sitting at 57.7% which is pretty bad, so the odds are not good on the machines that I have played so far.
Our next port of call, tomorrow, is “right down the street.” We’re scheduled to arrive at Costa Maya, Mexico at 8 am so more on that tomorrow.
Thanks for following along!
Fun Times for Day 3:
The Fun Times for December 11, 2023 can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.