I had been to Cozumel in 2000 and it is quite amazing to me how much has changed in 10 years but in the same breath, how much has remained the same.  I was on a cruise the last time so it was a rather quick visit and the lasting memory I have from that trip to Cozumel was how many drunk people kept falling off the pier and having to be fished out from the ocean.  It was nice to actually stay on the island and enjoy what it has to offer, even if I didn’t get the chance to venture out from the Park Royal more than a handful of times.  It was really fun to see all of the Christmas decorations and drink real Corona (the American version just is NOT the same).  I also loved being in the homeland of my beloved Mexican Coke (coca-cola here people).  I’m glad it’s becoming more readily available here in the States but having it on fountain made my week that much more heavenly!!

The Park Royal itself was GORGEOUS and I would absolutely return in a heartbeat.  Not only was the resort wonderful but the food was also pretty darn great which isn’t always the case with all-inclusives.

ENJOY!

 

Sunset over the jacuzzi and ocean front bar at the Park Royal.

 

Another view from the beach area towards the bar area (one of many).  This little bay you could snorkel out from which was quite nice.

 

The entire beach area + bar area.

 

To the left of the resort is the international piers for the cruise ships.  Some people complain about the views but I liked having something interesting to look at.  Here’s one of Carnival’s ships getting ready to leave.

 

Another view of the pier at sunset.

 

One of the pools and the bar at night at Park Royal.

 

The infinity pool where the reception was held the night before for the wedding.

 

Palm tree!!!  🙂

 

The last day in Cozumel we had the day off and on my MUST DO list was swimming with the manatees at Dolphin Discovery.  I have adored manatees ever since 7th grade when I did a report on them.  I was initially bummed because I didn’t get dolphins (whom I’ve loved since I was a little kid) but the manatees charmed me and they are right up there with dolphins now on my animal loves list.  I was over the moon when I saw that they offered swimming with them in Cozumel (one of the few places in the world you can do this since they are endangered).  I’ve swum with dolphins before and it was an amazing experience but swimming with the manatees topped that ten fold.  They are so gentle, loving and smart!  We were shown how to interact with them and then given lots of lettuce and allowed to just swim and feed them.  This is one of the only images that turned out on my crappy underwater disposable camera but I had to post it because I loved this SO much.  I HIGHLY recommend doing a manatee swim if you are ever in Cozumel or near a place that offers it.  You won’t regret it I promise!