Cozumel, Mexico

Another day, another pilot boat.

We based our plans for the day around statistics: seven cruise ships would be in port, disgorging 30,000 passengers. If 2/3 of that number went ashore within the first 4 hours, that would be over 80 people every minute. 

In addition to that number, many crew members went ashore in this port because it was set up with a crew center. Among the amenities are specialty restaurants for some larger demographic and ethnic groups. The KFC there is also very popular. 

We have been to Cozumel before, exhausting the tour options that interested us. Today, we got off the ship, having tried to plan it strategically. 

We waited until the initial rush from our ship, and two others already docked had worked their way up the pier. Before the next ship docked, we took an orbit around EURODAM, along the pier, past the shops, back along the pier, and then aboard EURODAM.

Walking down the pier, we saw three moored catamarans with something floating in the water near them.

They were the heads of snorkelers. Seeing the swimmers that were densely packed, all I could imagine was catching a flipper in the face.

We were intrigued by a boat that is transparent from gunwale to gunwale. It took the 'glass-bottom boat' concept to the next level.

Back aboard, we settled into a cabana for a relaxing afternoon. The ship next to us -Carnival Conquest - made that problem. For a while, the giant screen on its top deck scrolled through various things while playing tropical music. This was mildly distracting but relatively easy to tune out. Next came a full-length movie, even though no one was on the deck to watch it.

The movie was far more difficult to ignore. I found myself starting to watch it. Once I was committed, Conquest activated some system that created a loud venting noise. This made the movie's soundtrack unintelligible and just part of the noise pollution. You have to love noise-canceling earbuds. We controlled the audio situation by putting them in and launching music.

A while later, on the other side of EURODAM, on another cruise ship, we spotted one of the more interesting attractions - a climbing wall.

As departure time came and went, the dock workers were relaxed about the situation. It comes with the job...and being paid by the hour.

Watching the precision of four large cruise ships clear their piers and get underway was interesting.

We had a nice dinner at Pinnacle, but it was served too slowly. This was not a major setback, as tomorrow is a sea day.