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A fun way to spend your port stop in Cozumel!

Look, I’ve done a lot of shore excursions in my cruising career. Some of them are better than others, no doubt. Hopefully it means something to you when I say that this is one of the better ones I’ve done in my many years.

This was a ship’s excursion, and let’s be honest — it’s designed as an experience for tourists. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Tourism is the main industry on Isla Cozumel, and over half of the island’s visitors come from cruise ships.

For this excursion, we met off the ship on the pier, where many of Royal’s excursions meet in Cozumel. Once we arrived, we showed our tickets and were asked to fill out a waiver form (!). We were also given wristbands for the excursion.

At the designated tour time, our guide led us through the port and to a waiting van. The total time to our destination was just about five minutes.

We arrived at Barriecito and were greeted by a welcome drink (margarita or non-alcoholic hibiscus juice) on our way to the arena. We had about 15-20 minutes before the match started where we could take pictures, shop for souvenirs, or buy snacks and drinks. I was pleased to see the prices were reasonable ($3 for a soda and $4 for a beer).

The wrestling match itself lasted about an hour and a half, and boy, was it fun! The arena wasn’t particularly full (there were only two small ships in port that day), but the emcee, referee, and wrestlers did a great job getting the crowd enthuastic and involved.

After the wrestling match, everyone got a souvenir picture taken with the wrestlers (which, of course, they try to sell you later ;). We then walked over to another part of the complex where we got another margarita and some tacos. We had about 25 minutes to eat before we were taken back to the cruise port in another taxi van.

The tour met around 10:30 and we were back to the port area around 1 pm. This left plenty of time for us to explore the area around the port, shop for souvenirs, etc. Overall, this was a great excursion for wrestling fans, first-timers to Cozumel (you’ll still have some time to explore the port as long as your ship doesn’t leave too early), and those of us who have been to Cozumel too many times to count and just want to do something different. (Also — the arena is air-conditioned! So it’s a great option during the hot summer months in Cozumel.)