What an exciting day! A lot of people sleep on Cozumel and often compare it to a port like Nassau—mostly because cruise ships visit so often and there are market vendors near the port. But Cozumel is nothing like Nassau. I don’t even find the vendors here to be bothersome.
I’ve actually been meaning to write up a full Cozumel Report with tips, tricks, and advice on places to go and things to do. That’s still coming soon! Originally, I was planning to do it on this trip… but then, sometime last month, I came up with other plans.
Tattoos in Cozumel?
I had seen posts in a Facebook group for a specific sailing I was on last year. In one of them, a fellow cruiser mentioned she was getting a tattoo in Cozumel and said she gets one almost every time she visits—from Mayan Tattoo owner Dave Mex (David Chan).
I won’t go into all the details here about why I wanted to get a tattoo—if you want to know, just ask. I’ll share that story in more detail at a later date.
So, I decided to reach out to Dave. And right after I hit “send,” I thought: “Oh crap… what do I even want to get??” Time to brainstorm.
I knew I wanted something nautical or cruise-related—definitely ocean-themed. Then I thought, “I’d also like another Iron Maiden tattoo… but it has to be different.” (I have a slight obsession with the greatest heavy metal band to ever exist—Iron Maiden.)
So I thought, “Hmm… maybe I can combine the two…” I started looking through Iron Maiden artwork related to sailing, ships, ocean themes, etc. (Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Talisman, Ghost of the Navigator…) Then I remembered they had just recently released Ghost of the Navigator artwork for their mobile game—with Eddie as a pirate.
That’s it! A cruise ship… with Pirate Eddie guarding it.
Dave got back to me, I showed him a few different images, and explained the concept I had in mind. I even used AI to generate some tattoo samples to help communicate the vision. He replied, “Got it—I will design something for you.”
Mayan Tattoo, Cozumel
9:00 a.m. appointment with Dave Mex at Mayan Tattoo in Cozumel was set!
The morning started off with a light breakfast, then I headed out to the port. I made it to the taxi stand and paused for a moment, debating whether to grab a cab or walk. I looked up the walking time, and my ETA was just around 9:00 a.m.—right on time for the appointment.
So, I decided to walk.
I filmed the whole walk, so I’ll edit that a bit once I watch it back, and it’ll eventually get uploaded. It was a perfect morning for it—the sun was tucked behind the clouds, and there was a nice breeze coming off the water. Couldn’t have asked for better weather.
Got to my destination right around 9:00 a.m.… and waited. And waited. And waited. I finally messaged Dave since he still wasn’t there, and he replied saying he was just a few minutes away and running a little late. Perfect!
I’ll skip over all the finer details, but here’s what I will say—Mayan Tattoo is very clean, Dave is a great artist, he’s honest, and he takes his time to hit every detail. I was super impressed with the tattoo. The small details he picked up on went a long way.
I told him upfront that I didn’t want anything super colorful, but also said I’d trust his judgment on when and where to add color if he felt it was necessary. And he nailed it.
One thing that did cross my mind mid-session was, “We never really discussed price.” But to be fair, we also didn’t know how long it would take, so it might have been tough to estimate. Normally, that would be a red flag (seriously—always discuss price up front!), but I trusted Dave and the great reputation he has with both tourists and locals. And he lived up to it. Nothing but respect for Dave—I can’t recommend him enough.
I am a little bummed I didn’t get to swing by Kusam Brewery this trip to see what they had on tap, but I’ll be back in August for sure!
As the time started getting later, I began to worry a little bit. Dave said he needed about another hour or so, and while I might have been able to make it back to the ship without being a pier runner, I really hate cutting it close—and I definitely didn’t want that kind of stress.
So, he offered to finish the tattoo next time I’m in Cozumel (which will be in August). In hindsight, I probably would have been okay… but my nerves wouldn’t have been.
Caught a cab and made it back to the ship with no issues. I headed straight to the room for a much-needed shower. There’s nothing like a cold shower after coming back onboard from a hot port day—it hits different.
After that, I needed food. The Windjammer Annex was still open, so… loaded nachos it is! My body honestly doesn’t know what to do with itself—I haven’t eaten this bad since my last cruise in January. But hey, loaded nachos are just that good.
I ended up at the Solarium Bar, where I finally found Xavier—a bartender I met back in December who’s been bouncing around between a few bars. It was really nice to catch up with him. I had a couple of drinks before they closed for the night.
This was actually the first time I made it to the Solarium Bar this sailing—it’s been one of the busiest spots on the ship all week.
Dinner at the Windjammer
Time for dinner—once again heading to Windjammer. I tried a few different things tonight. I started with a salad and a taco from the make-your-own taco station. They also had some Asian food out, so I gave the sweet and sour chicken and the chicken with noodles a try. There was even a make-your-own ramen station set up, but I passed on that since I wasn’t super hungry (thanks to the loaded nachos not too long before dinner).
I’ve been really impressed with the Windjammer food on this sailing. Honestly, it’s been way better than what I had on my Independence of the Seas cruise in January. A lot of times, the food in Windjammer feels a bit under-seasoned—maybe because it’s made in such large quantities? Not sure if that’s the reason, but whatever the case, this trip the food has been exceptional.
Well, it’s that time—time to grab my Surface Pro and head to a bar because it’s WRESTLEMANIA NIGHT 1! I missed the first three matches, but that’s okay. I grabbed a seat at the empty Bolero’s, logged into Peacock, and ordered a beer.
What a way to watch the event.
There was some nice live music playing in Bolero’s, which made for great background noise while I watched Jacob Fatu become the United States Champion and Paul Heyman turn on both his best friend CM Punk and his Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns!
Come on—we all saw that coming, but still, the execution was perfect.
I may have to book a cruise every year for WrestleMania Weekend. Such a cool way to experience the event. Normally, I’d be at home making baked loaded nachos or chicken wings—but this year, having the food and drinks taken care of for me just made it that much better.
After Mania was over, I headed back to the casino—and yep, luck still isn’t on my side. I don’t even really have any points to show for it, so that should tell you my paybacks have been close to nothing. No line hits, no bonuses… nothing.
Well, that concludes my day.
As I’ve mentioned before—and I’ll say it again—I don’t cruise like most people. Especially not when I’ve already been on the ship, and it’s a smaller one like Enchantment of the Seas. This trip was really just a quick getaway with two main goals: getting my tattoo and filming content for my channel. So, I do apologize if I’m not covering the typical cruise content you might be looking for—like shows and such. WrestleMania was my show for the weekend!
There were quite a few activities I planned to go to, but I either lost track of time or got completely caught up playing with my camera and ended up missing them. I will be back onboard in August, and I definitely plan to catch more shows and check out more of the ship’s activities then.
Also worth noting—the wind has been brutal! The ship has been rocking pretty hard ever since we left Cozumel. They even closed the upper decks. Just something to keep in mind: when you’re sailing on a smaller ship like Enchantment, you feel everything.
