Costa Maya and Cozumel

Our first port was Costa Maya and we decided to do the cruise tour of the Chacchoben Ruins.  It was a 4 hour tour (1 hour each way on the bus).  We brought along the portable DVD player and this kept my son entertained on the bus ride.  My little one was able to nap on the bus ride there.  The tour guide advised us not to bring the stroller, so we left it on the bus.  I did see others using strollers while we were there, though.  The ruins were interesting to see and the tour wasn't too long.  My son seemed to have fun as well.  They both napped on the bus ride home which was nice.

Chacchoben Ruins

The area near the port here was nice.  The shops were cute and there was even a pool right by port.  I've read there are nice beaches pretty close as well.  Costa Maya seems like a great port for little ones.

Our second port was Cozumel.  We decided not to do another excursion.  Our plan was to just walk around the shops since the ones in Costa Maya looked so cute.  There weren't that many cute shops near our cruise port though (not enough for a day at least).  I had been to Cozumel on a cruise a few years ago and I think we docked at a different port closer to downtown.  We decided to go with my backup plan of going to a nearby resort - El Cid.  There was a $20 entrance fee, but it included a $12 credit for food and drink.  There was a nice pool with a zero entry kids pool attached.  It was perfect for us!  We didn't want to deal with car seats and taxis and this was walkable from the port.  

Pool at El Cid - our ship in background

My little one was able to nap on me on a lounge chair under the trees as well.  We were able to order 2 virgin pina coladas, several sodas, cheese nachos, cheese quesadillas and beef tacos for the cost of 4 adults.  The kids were free.  There was a little sand to play with, but not much.  I believe it's a man made beach.

I'm sure there are lots of better options in Cozumel without kids, but with little ones, this is a great choice.

We loved our Royal Carribean cruise!  I would definitely do another one, but kids aren't free.  That's my only beef.  When your kids are so small it's hard to justify the cost.

**NOTE - We did this cruise in Feb. of 2015