Occidental Grand Cozumel All Inclusive

January 30, 2018 by

Disclosure: We were given a discount on our day passes to Occidental Grand through Resort For A Day, however all opinions are my own.

Bobby and I have been to Cozumel numerous times while on cruise ships, and we wanted to go somewhere we had never gone before. I started doing some research on ResortForADay.com as we love a good all inclusive, and I stumbled on Occidental Grand, which is a resort, but the offer day passes for cruise ship passengers. It looked like the perfect place to spend the day. We purchased our passes quickly and easily on the website, brought our print out conformation with us on the ship, and waited for our day in Cozumel.

The resort is very private. We took a taxi there and it was about a ten minute ride. There is a guard at the gate, as well as lush tropical landscaping. The open air lobby was beautiful, (I wish we had more time to just wander around), and we checked in and were given directions to the beach and pools.

You have a to walk a little ways to get to the beach, but the walk is gorgeous and totally worth it. We passed different buildings that house guests, as well as sculptures, plants, and fountains.

We met several new friends along the way. I have no idea what these guys are but there were adorable and not skiddish.

We followed the Caribbean music and made it to a gorgeous pool and beach area where there were towels, clean bathrooms, plenty of chairs, and an open bar.

You could also get a beach cabana massage for an additional fee.

These cabana beds were first come first serve. They were up off the beach but we ended up in one in the afternoon where we snoozed for a few minutes before heading back to the ship.

Included in our day pass along with the open bar was a buffet lunch. It wasn’t spectacular food, but it was decent quality and there was plenty to go around with lots of variety, as well as soft serve ice cream which was a great way to end the meal.

The views at lunch did not suck.

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We spent most of our day reading and lounging steps from the beautiful clear water, only getting up to go back to the bar!

While children are allowed at this resort, I only saw about four of them. They did have a staff member at the pool playing games with them which I thought was nice, but if coming for the day keep in mind it was mainly adults and there were no big water inflatable toys like at some of the other all inclusive beaches. We had the opportunity to speak to a couple of people who were staying at the resort and found out it was their fourth time they love the resort so much!

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Hearing this made us want to come back and stay, as the grounds are beautiful and we found the beach area very quiet and serene. They also had an adults only pool but it is not on the beach. (below). The property was very well maintained and the staff was friendly. The only negative was the drinks were not super strong unless you specifically asked the bar tender to make it that way. My first drink was very bland and watered down, but the next one was good.

Check out this info from the Resort for a Day website:

The All Inclusive Experience: 
Your Cozumel Resort For a Day Pass includes lunch and snacks! Enjoy lunch from 12 pm – 4:30 at the Beach Club, which offers an international thematic buffet with a spectacular ocean views. Getting thirsty? Cool down with your drink of choice; unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are included in this Cozumel shore excursion. Bars open at 10am. Resort For a Day cruise guests are welcome to arrive as early as 9:00am and stay up till 5:00pm. (These times are always local Cozumel times).
Getting There:
Transfers are not included, taxi service is readily available both at the cruise pier and at the resort for your return. We recommend heading back to the cruise ship 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure. Here are easy transfer tips based on your arrival pier:

  • Punta Langosta: 20 min tax ride, about US $18 for 1-4 guests.
  • International Pier: 8-10 min tax ride, about US $8 for 1-4 guests.
  • Puerta Maya: 8-10 min tax ride, about US $8 for 1-4 guests.

We would go back again on an adults only trip, I really enjoyed our day at the Occidental Grand!

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Sandals Ochi Beach

January 19, 2018 by

Disclosure: We were provided with two free day passes to the resort, however all opinions on Sandals Ochi Beach are my own.

Back in November when I sailed on the Carnival Vista, one of our stops was to Jamaica. I knew they had a Sandals resort there, and so I was really excited to spend the day exploring, in hopes of coming back for longer one day. The weather was dreary, but we still had a great time and I learned a lot about Sandals Ochi Beach resort!

This place has a beach club, 11 bars, and 16(!!) restaurants. You can take the shuttle to the other side of the road for more fun. Tranquil, lush gardens and quiet relaxing places to read or just enjoy your surroundings. This place has something for everyone!

Of course when you stay at Sandals Ochi you get top notch service such as free wifi, free airport transfers, unlimited land and water sports, unlimited wines and premium spirits, unlimited fine dining, golf, and access to the beach club where there are so many activities going on all day and into the night.

We were given a tour when we arrived, and this place is HUGE. I don’t think if I stayed for a month I could do all the things there are to do. So for those worried about getting bored at an all inclusive, that’s definitely not an issue here!

I loved the laid back atmosphere of the resort. No one was in a hurry, everyone was happy and relaxed, and it was so peaceful. The first thing we did was enjoy a breakfast buffet overlooking the ocean. I was handed a mimosa, and thought “I can get used to this!”

We enjoyed out food and the excellent customer service from the staff before heading to the pool to relax and enjoy some drinks. We ended up at the Beach Club area and at the swim up pool bar (so nice) where they will make you pretty much anything you want. I had a great time trying different drinks I normally wouldn’t order, and listening to the music as we looked out at the water.

Everyone was so friendly and we enjoyed chatting with other couples from all over the place. Some have been back several times which speaks very highly of Sandals Ochi Beach. Before we knew it, it was lunch time, so we headed back to the buffet area (there were other options as well) and enjoyed another meal overlooking the water, and I tried the drink of the day which was delicious.

After lunch I spent some time exploring the grounds and taking photos. I still didn’t have time to even take photos of everything!

I was jealous of everyone who got to stay there overnight when we had to go back to the ship.

I definitely would love to come back here, or try out another Sandals property, and actually be an overnight guest and experience more the resorts have to offer. I would also love a sunny day (haha).

If you are considering an all inclusive, I highly recommend Sandals Ochi Beach. There is something for everyone, and there are even direct flights from many airports. They have accommodations for all budgets, and activities and experiences you won’t soon forget. I know I was just there for a few hours, but I know I won’t forget the fun we had in Jamaica.

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Pppssst: If you are sailing here on a cruise ship, they offer a limited amount of day passes, which is what we had, so you can go check out the resort for yourself!

Sandals ochi beach

 

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Disney Fantasy Cruise 2016: Mr. Sanchos

February 10, 2016 by

We woke up the next day in Cozumel. We have been to Cozumel many times before on previous cruises, and we typically go to the same beach, but wanted to try somewhere different this time. I had heard great things about Mr. Sanchos through various message boards, so we decided to give it a try. Mr. Sanchos is an all inclusive beach club that has  pools, drinks, tons of food, the beach, free wi-fi, and many other amenities. It is kid friendly, and open every day except Sunday.

Mr Sanchos

We were so stoked to go bask in the sun and drink fruity drinks all day…until we woke up to a storm. When I say it was raining…it was raining, yall.

In true Disney fashion, we were handed awesome ponchos as we exited the ship. We trudged up the pier in the driving rain, getting soaked along the way. We made it to a taxi, and were headed to the beach. As soon as we got to our destination, it stopped raining! This was a miracle because it was supposed to rain all day.

Excited to get going, we headed to the entrance and were greeted by our server for the day. We were told what was included for us, and what was extra (the inflatable water toys are extra but because of the weather, they didn’t even have them out, also things like massages, hair braiding, wave runners, snorkeling, and horseback riding were extra.) If you don’t want to go the all inclusive route, there are al la carte options as well.

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You get a LOT of stuff for the price! I am married to a garbage disposal, so I knew he would eat over $55.00 in food alone, and well, I like my fruity drinks. We were shown around, and explained that there was a buffet but we could also order from the menu. Because of the weather, there were not many people there, which was fine with us! There were plenty of lounge chairs and tables with adorable straw umbrellas.

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We set up our little spot at a table, and ordered our first round of drinks as well as some chips and guacamole.

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The drinks are good, yall. I didn’t taste a ton of alcohol, but they were delicious. My favorite was the Blue Sea. The chips and guac were amazing as well. II t was so nice to know we didn’t have to look at food prices all day!

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I decided to take a walk around to get some photos while Bobby read a book. Also, the free wi-fi is up by the buffet under a giant pavilion, so I brought my ipad up there to check my email and text my mom to check on the wee one.

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I also checked out the bathroom which were very clean, for those wanting to know (this is always important to me!) In fact, everything was very clean on the whole property.

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The pool looked really awesome with the bar at it and there were tables and chairs IN the pool which I thought was neat.

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Anyone care to swing?

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Hammock for a nap maybe?

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Our server was very attentive and balanced that very hard line between coming to check on us too much and not enough, he really did a great job.

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After a little reading we ordered some more food. I got the quesadillas, Bobby got the shrimp tacos as well as coconut shrimp, and I got more of the delicious guacamole and a bottle of water.

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We also ended up ordering a couple other things but I can’t remember now, however everything was tasty!

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We left around 3:30 as all aboard for the boat was 4:45 and we still wanted to shop for some tequila. One thing to note is as you walk in and out you have to pass by a bunch of people trying to sell you things and some were kind of…persistent, and I just told them no thank you, but just a heads up for those who get anxious by those types of things. Some ladies came around a couple of times asking if we wanted a massage or hair braiding and we politely declined. They weren’t annoying or pushy though which was nice.

Would I go back here? Absolutely! Hopefully on a sunny day, and I would ask for double shots in my drinks. When I weighed out the price of the food and drinks alone, we would have spent more than $55 a person, not to mention the use of the facilities and what was super important to me, the free wi-fi. It’s great to be able to check in on work or family without paying the ridiculously high prices for data on board the ship!

All in all we had a great day at Mr. Sanchos despite the weather. If anyone has any questions about it I would be happy to answer! (Be sure to follow them on Facebook for updates and great beach pictures!)

QOTD: Have you ever been to a beach all inclusive? What do you do on a rainy port day on a cruise?

Disclosure: I was provided with two complimentary day passes from Mr. Sanchos, however all opinions are my own.

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