Lesson Learned

[SMB]

Lesson Learned: The ferry to Cozumel runs every TWO hours.

I should preface this story with a brief background. The Thanksgiving 2006 voyage of the Mariner of the Seas was only my second cruise. This does not mean that I am not well traveled. In fact, I have been to 30 countries on 4 continents over the past 15 years and plan on visiting many more. Nor am I one to travel in groups; I prefer the freedom of independent travel. As a professor of history, I find I like to spend more time looking around places that most people run through or miss altogether. On my first trip to Europe after high school graduation, this propensity garnered me the sobriquet “The Church Boy†as I would run directly for each city’s cathedral like a homing pigeon. My wife finally guilt me into our first cruise last year, and I must say I loved it. The story of that cruise, however, and the many misadventures involved (which have sparked more than one person to declare that the story should be published) has been enough for people to laughingly warn us never to set foot on a ship again. (I will type up that story at a future date). I wish I could say this was my only “adventurous†trip, but I admit to not yet having experienced an uneventful trip. With all that said, I was forced to promise my wife, friends, and colleagues that I would NOT do anything risky on this trip. Well….

When planning our tenth anniversary vacation, my wife asked to try cruising again. Trying to get a date that worked with both of our schedules, however, was daunting. We kept backing up the date until Thanksgiving week 2006 (our anniversary is July 12th… does celebrating 8 months early jinx us making it to our 10th?). Even better, my in-laws invited themselves along before we could explain it was an anniversary cruise. What could you say… other than “rooms on separate decks, please.†We picked the Western Caribbean since neither of us had been there. I immediately began researching excursions to Mayan ruins as soon as we picked a cruise with a stop in Cozumel. I have taught Mayan history for years, but had never visited Mayan ruins and would not miss them this time. I was disappointed, however, that our ship arrived too late for a trip to Chichen Itza from Cozumel. I had resigned myself to just a visit to Tulum.

The weather the week of the cruise was miserable. It was cloudy, rainy, cold for most of the trip. I was deeply disappointed when we had to bypass Grand Cayman because the seas were too rough to tender. The only bright spot, however, was we were going to be docking in Cozumel earlier than planned. It was a mercifully sunny day in Mexico, and I got all geared up to try for a run to Chichen Itza. We had been warned MANY times that local time was an hour behind ship time and the ship would be leaving promptly at 7:00.

With this in mind, I set out early for a ferry to the mainland. By the time I got to Playa del Carmen, however, the tours to Chichen Itza had left. Oh well, I’ll just go to Tulum. Had I only gone to Tulum, the trip would have been perfectly uneventful. In fact, the hour bus ride to Tulum on the VERY nice first-class bus cost a big whopping THREE dollars. The whole trip from the ship to Tulum and back would have only cost me $34 or about HALF the cruise excursion price. Plus, I got to spend as much time as I wanted and not with a herd of people.

My problem started with the misconception that the early arrival of the ship gave me enough time to visit another Mayan ruin about 30 km inland from Tulum called Coba. I had briefly read about the site on the web and it seemed much more interesting since you actually got to climb the second tallest pyramid in the Yucatan. RC, however, did not have a Coba/Tulum trip. Their two excursions were Tulum and Tulum/Xel water-park. So, I hired a taxi from Tulum and was told the trip to Coba would only take 20 minutes. What I was not informed was that these were 20 Mexican minutes. Thirty-seven minutes later, we finally rolled into the parking area of Coba… few cars and only one tour bus; I was excited. Coba was fantastic. The site is 3 km of paths to several ruins of ball courts and pyramids. I did not have much time if I was going to make it back to the bus from Tulum, so I hired a guy to bike me through the archaeological park (WELL WORTH THE 10 DOLLARS). I zipped from one place to another, taking pictures and eventually reaching the great pyramid. The climb up the pyramid is one of the most frightening and rewarding experiences I’ve had. As I stood gasping for air with heart pounding at the top of the pyramid and looked out over the trees of the Yucatan, I gained a much greater respect for a culture which had already impressed me. On the ride back to the park entrance, I started to refigure the math on how long the trip back to Playa del Carmen would take and which ferry did I need to catch to be back at the ship in time. By the time I got back to the taxi, I had concluded I would not make it in time if I took the bus. I am now 150 km from Playa and need to be back there in an hour and a half. I asked my taxi driver, Jose, if he could do it. He said, “With my Army training, no problem!†So, off we went at a breakneck speed like we were in the Tulum 500.

To his credit, Jose lived up to his promise. He dropped me at the ticket office with fifteen minutes to spare before the ferry left. I tipped him generously and snapped his picture as a great story to tell when I got back to the ship. Then, I bought my ticket for the next ferry and headed for the dock. I admit I was a bit surprised when I got close to the dock and did not see a crowd waiting for the ferry, nor was there a ferry at the dock. Not thinking it a big deal, I decided to do a little last minute shopping while I waited for the ferry to arrive. It was 3:55 (local time) before I saw a ferry heading toward the dock and a line forming. I guessed they were running late… Mexican time, again. When I got to the front of the line and presented my ticket, I was told that this was not the correct ferry. This ferry was chartered as a tender for the Carnival cruise ship. I’m now confused. I was very careful to make sure I made it back in time for the 4:00 ferry because I had to be on the 4:00 to get to Cozumel by 5:00 and back to the ship before the All Aboard at 5:30 (6:30 ship’s time). Something was wrong!

Perplexed, I went back to the ticket booth to discover the cause of the delay. That is when I found out a critical piece of information. I had been careful to note that the ferries from Cozumel left every hour. I assumed, mistakenly, that they returned to Cozumel every hour. I was shocked to discover the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel left every TWO hours. The next ferry left at 5:00 (6:00 ship’s time). I’m now sitting on the dock with a beautiful view of the Mariner of the Seas glowing in the light of the setting sun across the water in Cozumel… and I couldn’t get back. I quickly did the math again. The ticket people told me the trip back took 30 minutes. That means I would be in Cozumel at 6:30 ship’s time (the All Aboard), but I still had to take a taxi from downtown to the ship’s dock outside the city. That would take 10-15 minutes. OK, the ship was leaving at 7:00. At the least, I could stand on the dock and ask to be lifted by rope on board. I was panicking, but still OK. As the minutes ticked by, I became less confident I would make it back. This was our last port of call. It was a day at sea from here. If I had to get a flight back to the US, I would. I also knew if I screwed this up, my wife would probably divorce me. By 4:30 I was so nervous my stomach was in knots. I return to the ticket counter and asked if they could call the ship.

“NO!â€Â

So, I return to the dock even more ill. Then I see the port authorities. I stop one and ask if they could call the ship and let them know I was on the next ferry.

“NO!â€Â

OK, so I made sure my math was right.

“How long is the ride across? 30 minutes, right?â€Â

“No, 40-45 minutes.â€Â

“40-45 minutes?â€Â

“That’s right.â€Â

OK, “But we will still leave right at 5:00?â€Â

“More like 5:05-5:10â€Â

A quick recalculation and that put me back at the ship 5 minutes after it sailed… at best.

“And you really can’t call the captain to tell him I’m here, I can see the boat, I’m coming just wait 5 minutes?â€Â

“No.â€Â

Well, I’ve been told I do not have a very good poker face. This gets me in trouble sometimes. In this case, I think it saved me. My face must have read “DESPERITEâ€Â

The port authority guy started to make some calls. He said he would see if they could radio the ship. After five minutes… during which I vacillated between wanting to vomit and deciding if it was better to forget the ferry and head for the airport… I heard the most wonderful news. One of the ship’s excursions was running late. I could ride with them. YEAH!

Feeling like I could kiss the port authority (and telling them as much), I gladly moved to the place they told me to wait for the group. Then the ferry operator came by, trying to find my name on the list. I was not on the list because I was independent (that never felt like such a dirty word before). So, he asked to see my ticket.

“I’m sorry. This ticket is for the other ferry line. It will not work for this boat. You will have to buy a new ticket.â€Â

“No problem!â€Â

“But our office is closed. You can still take the other ferry. However, our boat is chartered to go straight to the Mariner’s dock. The other ferry still goes downtown.â€Â

I might be able to make it, but I could not take the chance. I can tell you that I had already determined I was getting on this boat no matter what. I’d knock off the little old granny if I had to.

“I need to get on this boat!â€Â

“Let me see what I can do.â€Â

The very kind man not only found a guy in the back of a ticket booth, but also got me a refund on my non-refundable ferry ticket. I tried explaining I could care less about the $11 for the first ferry, but he was adamant. I clung to my new ticket like I had won the lottery. I will forever only have wonderful things to say about the Mexicans. They were terrific to me the entire time I was there and helped me out of a terrible situation.

We got to the boat at 6:55 ship’s time. I had learned…the hard way… on my first cruise that people stood watching the gangplank at “All Aboard†time to get some sick pleasure out of watching people running in panic or getting left at the dock. I looked up to see if my family was there. Nope.

I walked through security. They were quickly passing everyone through. I was not on the “list†however, so when they reached me, there was a quizzical look and a “Mr. Bartlett?â€Â

“That’s me†and I walked on to the ship like this was all part of my plan. What I had realized on the ride over was I was starving and tonight was the surf & turf. I did not want to miss that. My seating had started at 6:00. It was now 7:00. I ran up to the dinning room, still carrying my backpack and dressed in my dirty clothes. I sat down at the table just as the ship started to move. My in-laws were wide-eyed. My wife was calm. My in-laws said they were surprised at my wife’s composer. When asked if she was worried, she told them, “I was a little shocked he wasn’t here for dinner. But, the boat was not moving yet, so I wasn’t worried.†Eventually, the captain had announced there were 140 people late to the boat but they were on their way. My wife just assumed that included me. Even after explaining my story, my wife didn’t blink. This was by far not the first time I had cut it close. Like a bad penny, she knew I always managed to show up.

Throughout dinner, my heart was still racing. That was really close. And I was furious because I had raced back to the ferry dock knowing I needed to be on that 4:00 ferry to Cozumel. All that planning, and I still almost missed the boat.

Lesson Learned: The ferry to Cozumel runs every TWO hours.

SMB

[Gregswife]

I thoroughly enjoyed your post and look forward to reading the accounting of your first cruise. You have a way of telling a story, that makes one feel like they are right there, experiencing it along with you...

[JoeyandDavid]

Great story!!

[rogue]

WOW! That was a great story. It's always nice to have a happy ending. :grin:

[Mebert]

SMB,

That was one the the most exciting and thrilling stories I've ever heard and very well written.

I was on pins and needles wondering what the outcome would be. I particularly like the line about the passengers who watch the gangplank.

I'm really happy you made it to the ship on time.

[cruisetarp]

I'm so glad your story had a happy ending. Thanks for telling us all about your adventure.

[sailingrose]

So glad to hear you made the ship. I book independently but I make sure I have lots of time to spare and I double check ferry schedules!!!

Yes, we've watched some people miss the ship from our balcony. Last time I felt sorry for the guy as his wife was screaming at him from a deck below.

I happen to meet up with her in the bar that night and I didn't envy him when she got home :grin:

[hazelson]

Great story!!!!

We love to watch those last minute races down the dock .....

[btate]

Thank goodness for good writers and memorable experiences. . . Glad you got to see the ruins. Check out the ruins in Costa Maya if you ever make it South of Cozumel.

[Shari2]

Great story, SMB! Glad you made it! I'll have to remember that the ferry to Cozumel runs every 2 hours. :grin: