If you're driving into the port and get forced to pass the designated area by the pushy cops and porters, don't even try to back up. They are ruthless and have no problems yelling at you to MOVE FORWARD. They don't want to hear your excuses anymore than you want to hear the life choices that landed them directing people who are definitely happier than they are. If you've never cruised, I don't recommend going into the terminal at peak times. And if you do pass, don't try making a quick u-turn thru the road that the shuttles use, they will also tell you to go out and all the way around thru traffic again.

Cost of doing that: 20 minutes or so.

This trip was the first one where we used the "indoor cruise parking" which is to the right about 1/2 mile before the

terminal entrance. It looks like an old red brick building. The cost was $72 for the 5 night cruise for inside. They offer outdoor for $10 less. I liked this more than I thought for a couple reasons. 1. Its indoor so your car won't get punished by sea spray for a week. 2. As our shuttle returned us, the driver politely said "your cars have been sitting inside our facility for a week, sometimes their batteries or tires get low so if you have any problems, let us know and we can fill your tires or jumpstart your car if you need it." It's a nice touch. Thankfully our car fired up and had no problems.

Very important to note that as of today, Cozumel is the ONLY place you can find liquor near the ship

because Progreso's Cinco Sol's liquor store is out of business. More on that later. We visited Playa Mia and it was a good

experience. For 3 adults and 1 child, we spent: $20 cab to go (tip included), $161 entrance (includes buffet but not open

bar option), and $20 cab ride back (tip included). The beach there, like in all of Cozumel, is very coarse and not the

powdery stuff you'll see on brochures. It was clean though, as was the entire facility. They offer massages and have a

large play area for the kids. I took a pedal boat out a couple times and it was great. The food was pretty good I thought.

Lots of guacamole, chips, lasagna, taquitos and sides. Note on drinks: the drinks included are basically ice cold punch

(orange, apple, grape). If you want a Coke or a mixed drink, those are for sale (unless you bought the open bar option). The

cab ride there was easy: basically go off the boat and forward then left to find the cabs. Cabbies were waiting at the front

of Playa Mia we left to come back. Its a 10-15 minute ride.

Progreso. We've been to Progreso a bunch of times and have previously done the Discotel package which includes a

ride to the resort and open bar and food and beach use for around $35. This time around we chose not to. To our surprise,

the only liquor store just off the boat is out of business! This would be the round building that you walk up to first.

Definitely get your liquor in Cozumel or get to the ship's store early. I heard the person working the ship's liquor store

say that a few things were already sold out since people realized there wasn't gonna be any booze to take home from

Progreso. The other shops there are all the same. Clothing that's over $10 is negotiable if you play nicely. Walk thru the

entire area before buying anything because they all sell pretty much the same thing but prices vary a couple dollars from

place to place. If you stay on the ship, you basically have it all to yourself on this day.