Cozumel - Playa Mia vs. Chankanaab?

[squirk]

We are doing our first Western Caribbean cruise in February. We have never been to Cozumel before, and we have decided that, for our first time there, we are going to stick to Cozumel itself and not ferry to the mainland.

We have kids ages 10, 14 and 18 at the time of sailing. I had originally settled on Playa Mia, as it looked clean, safe and fun - a decent replacement for Castaway Cay (which is not a stop on our cruise, unfortunately). But the more I look at PM’s site, the more I get the feeling that this is a really nice but pretty generic water park with absolutely no local flavor to it at all. Like, I could get the exact same experience somewhere on Florida’s Emerald Coast, five hours from my house. Am I wrong on that?

If I’m right, what’s my next-best alternative? I’m not really worried about price so long as the kids can have some physically-active fun, my wife and I can relax with a beach view (ideally with an open bar, buffet and maybe even a private cabana), but I’d also like to use a location that has a little more “Cozumel” to it.

Nachi Cocum looks nice but maybe not as much for the kids to do?

What about Chankanaab? I have no clue.

Please and thank you!

 

[ktate82]

We are doing our first Western Caribbean cruise in February. We have never been to Cozumel before, and we have decided that, for our first time there, we are going to stick to Cozumel itself and not ferry to the mainland.

We have kids ages 10, 14 and 18 at the time of sailing. I had originally settled on Playa Mia, as it looked clean, safe and fun - a decent replacement for Castaway Cay (which is not a stop on our cruise, unfortunately). But the more I look at PM’s site, the more I get the feeling that this is a really nice but pretty generic water park with absolutely no local flavor to it at all. Like, I could get the exact same experience somewhere on Florida’s Emerald Coast, five hours from my house. Am I wrong on that?

If I’m right, what’s my next-best alternative? I’m not really worried about price so long as the kids can have some physically-active fun, my wife and I can relax with a beach view (ideally with an open bar, buffet and maybe even a private cabana), but I’d also like to use a location that has a little more “Cozumel” to it.

Nachi Cocum looks nice but maybe not as much for the kids to do?

What about Chankanaab? I have no clue.

Please and thank you!

We went to Playa Mia with a Disney excursion, and we weren't super impressed. The inflatables out on the water were in deeper water, so hard to get up on. The next time, we went to Paradise Beach and loved it. It was an easy cab ride, $3 to get in, $18 extra for the play package (inflatables, kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling stuff, etc.), and they ask that you spend $10 in food per person (easy to do). The inflatables were in water we could touch, and there were a lot of them. We have been a few times now and always get a spot in the shade. Their nachos were amazing (kids still talk about them). They also have a nice pool.

We have not been to Chankanaab, so I can't give you an opinion there.

 

[squirk]

We went to Playa Mia with a Disney excursion, and we weren't super impressed. The inflatables out on the water were in deeper water, so hard to get up on. The next time, we went to Paradise Beach and loved it. It was an easy cab ride, $3 to get in, $18 extra for the play package (inflatables, kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling stuff, etc.), and they ask that you spend $10 in food per person (easy to do). The inflatables were in water we could touch, and there were a lot of them. We have been a few times now and always get a spot in the shade. Their nachos were amazing (kids still talk about them). They also have a nice pool.

We have not been to Chankanaab, so I can't give you an opinion there.

Besides the inflatables, what else didn’t impress you about PM?

 

[lklgoodman]

We did a dolphin excursion at Chankanaab booked through Disney in 2017. I know you're not asking about their excursions, but I can tell you what we did after the dolphin part. We had a nice lunch on the beach, they also have a indoor restaurant, but we wanted to eat outside. The food was good and a good price, they had chicken fingers and fries for our picky 8 yr old dd. After lunch we walked a trail that had replicas of some ruins. We also went to the sea lion show. They have a pool and beach, but my dd was being cranky so we didn't use either. They had free rum tastings, don't know if it's always free or if it was just free because we did the excursion. Nice rums, no pressure to buy any, although we did. There were a lot of people doing the dolphin part, but after we finished it, everyone went off on their own. No crowds while doing the other stuff. We spent about 2-3hrs there after we were done with the dolphins. Would have like more time, but had to get back on Disney transport. We are doing another Western next Jan. Trying to decide if we will stay on ship. If we decide to get off we will probably just take a cab to Chankanaab. I see Disney now offers an excursion there that includes a cabana.

 

[dprincessmom]

We did a dolphin excursion at Chankanaab booked through Disney in 2017. I know you're not asking about their excursions, but I can tell you what we did after the dolphin part. We had a nice lunch on the beach, they also have a indoor restaurant, but we wanted to eat outside. The food was good and a good price, they had chicken fingers and fries for our picky 8 yr old dd. After lunch we walked a trail that had replicas of some ruins. We also went to the sea lion show. They have a pool and beach, but my dd was being cranky so we didn't use either. They had free rum tastings, don't know if it's always free or if it was just free because we did the excursion. Nice rums, no pressure to buy any, although we did. There were a lot of people doing the dolphin part, but after we finished it, everyone went off on their own. No crowds while doing the other stuff. We spent about 2-3hrs there after we were done with the dolphins. Would have like more time, but had to get back on Disney transport. We are doing another Western next Jan. Trying to decide if we will stay on ship. If we decide to get off we will probably just take a cab to Chankanaab. I see Disney now offers an excursion there that includes a cabana.

Sorry to highjack the thread...How was the dolphin encounter here? It's on my short list for excursions. Thanks

 

[starvenger]

Nachi Cocum is indeed nice but yeah there's a pool, a beach and that's about it. It's great if you've got little ones who just want to play in the sand. Maybe not great for teens who need more than a pool and a beach.

 

[lklgoodman]

Sorry to highjack the thread...How was the dolphin encounter here? It's on my short list for excursions. Thanks

We enjoyed it. We did the push and pull one. I think they have renamed the excursions since we did it. I think the excursions now include lunch, when we did it lunch wasn't included(was reasonably priced). My dd was 8 yrs old at the time and really liked it. You are in an enclosed area in the ocean, not a pool like some places have. We liked that there was a lot to do after the dolphin part, no extra cost. I don't think Dolphinaris has as much, but I haven't been there.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I can't really speak to either as I haven't been yet.
We are doing that route in January and I had decided on Nachi Cocom, thanks to the recommendations on here. However, we will be in port on Sunday and Nachi is closed then; Mr. Sanchos is too. Now I'm back in the same boat, so to speak, that you are in: trying to decide how best to spend that day.

 

[ktate82]

Besides the inflatables, what else didn’t impress you about PM?

We just liked the overall feel of it. We enjoyed the food, loved the pool, DS14 can play in the sand all day, and the kayaks and paddle boards.

 

[squirk]

However, we will be in port on Sunday and Nachi is closed then; Mr. Sanchos is too. Now I'm back in the same boat, so to speak, that you are in: trying to decide how best to spend that day.

If it were just me and my wife, I might look at Nachi. Mr. Santos has come recommended, but it looks a little on the ... boozy side, based on the web page. Nothing wrong with that. I just didn't see much appeal for my kids.

 

[squirk]

We just liked the overall feel of it. We enjoyed the food, loved the pool, DS14 can play in the sand all day, and the kayaks and paddle boards.

Sorry - I was asking what about Playa Mia didn't impress you, other than the inflatables being in too-deep water.

 

[ktate82]

Sorry - I was asking what about Playa Mia didn't impress you, other than the inflatables being in too-deep water.

It was over hyped honestly. The food was eh and took forever to get (over an hour after we ordered), the pool wasn't as nice as Paradise Beach, and the water park was more designed for kids 6-8 in our opinion. Paradise Beach, Playa Mia, and Mr. Sanchos are all neighbors that share the same stretch of beach, so the water and waves are all the same.