Cozumel Cruise Excursions (Excursions International)

A Cozumel shore excursion seller for cruise passengers

Cozumel Cruise Excursions is an online booking service for shore excursions in Cozumel, Mexico, aimed at cruise ship passengers and hotel guests on the island. Its homepage calls it "your guide to shore excursions in Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen", and says it "specializes in Cruise ship tours and represents the best independent operators". In other words, it sells trips run by local tour companies rather than presenting itself as one outfit with its own fleet. Prices are in US dollars, and the footer runs "© 2002-2026".

The site belongs to Excursions International Ltd (Cayman), which the about page describes as "a Cayman Islands Company specializing in Vacation Solutions". The same page lists the ports the company covers through a family of regional websites: Grand Cayman, its home port, from 2002; Belize from 2003; Costa Maya from 2004; and Cozumel, Jamaica (Ocho Rios and Montego Bay), Roatan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Barbados, the Bahamas (Nassau and Freeport), Puerto Rico, Cabo San Lucas and Hawaii, the last described as "a brand new destination". The excursions listed on this site are all in Cozumel; the footer links to the sister sites for the other ports. The about page calls Cozumel "The second busiest Port in the World" and says setting it up took "a year of personal research".

What it sells in Cozumel

The excursion list on every page runs from cheap snorkel trips to private charters, each with a US dollar price: a Glass Bottom Boat Snorkeling Tour at $35, a Beach Club Day Pass with guided snorkeling at $45, the Palancar Snorkeling Tour at $50, the Cozumeleno Resort Day Pass at $65, a Mini Submarine Adventure and the VW Buggy Island Tour at $74 each, Parasailing at $75, the ATV Adventure to Jade Cavern & Cenote at $79, the Mezcalitos ATV tour at $80, Discover SCUBA Diving at $85, Two Tank Scuba Diving at $104, an ATV, Clear Boat and Beach Club combination at $114, and the Xrail Buggy Adventure at $240. Private products are priced "from": Private Island Tours from $220, Private Snorkeling Tours from $350, Deep Sea Fishing Charters from $510 and Private Boat Charters from $1,200. The homepage text also mentions horseback riding, Jeep island tours and trips to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.

The featured Jade Cavern ATV trip is listed as a 5-hour tour with 9 miles of trails within a jungle reserve, a swim in the Jade Cavern cenote and a beach break day pass.

Three tours in detail

The VW Buggy Island Tour is priced at $74 per passenger aged 12 and older, $48 per child aged 11 to 4, and free for children 3 and under; a group of 11 or more adults gets the group leader's place free. The tour page says it "begins daily at 10:30am and takes approximately 5 hours", and that the timing can be adjusted for most cruise port times. It drives a full loop of the island in convertible VW "Love Bugs", stopping first for shore snorkeling off the Dzul Ha Reef with gear provided, then at the village of El Cedral with its small ruin and church, and then on the east coast for a beach stop where guides prepare a lunch of grilled chicken, tortillas, guacamole, salsa and chips. Water, sodas and bottled Mexican beer are included, and an optional stop at a tequila farm is offered time permitting. Guides are listed as English and Spanish bilingual. Drivers need a valid license and must be able to drive a manual car, though automatics are available on request, and infant car seats cost $10.

The Private Island Tours run in private air-conditioned vans with an English-speaking driver and guide who meets passengers at the Punta Langosta Pier, Puerto Maya or the International Pier. Prices are per group, not per person: a 4-hour tour is $220 for 1 to 4 passengers, $290 for 5 to 8 and $360 for 9 to 14; a 6-hour tour is $290, $360 and $435 for the same group sizes; and an 8 to 10 hour tour is $500 for 1 to 14 passengers. Suggested stops include the San Gervacio ruins, El Cedral, a tequila history tour and the beaches and bars of the east coast. The page says some admission fees, food and drinks are not included, and that guides can stop at a local grocery store so a group can buy its own.

The Mezcalitos ATV tour costs $80 for a single rider aged 16 and up with a valid driver's license, or $70 per person with 2 riders on one ATV, and includes a lunch of chicken, beef or vegetarian tacos. It meets a short distance from the cruise pier, drives through town to the north end of the island for off-road riding, stops at a cenote for a swim, then moves to a beach club with shore snorkeling, 30 minutes of kayak use and loungers, with return transport included. The booking form offers start times of 8:30AM, 10:30AM, 12:30PM and 2:30PM. The minimum age is 7, the maximum weight per ATV is 650lbs, and the page says the tour is not suitable for anyone with back or neck issues or who is pregnant.

Booking and terms

Each tour page carries a reservation request form rather than an instant checkout. The form asks whether you are arriving by ship or staying on the island, the cruise line and ship name, the number of passengers, the tour date, and your arrival and departure dates on the island "in case the excursion is not available on your requested date". The site lists ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, Costa, AIDA, TUI Cruises and Virgin Voyages, and asks passengers whose ship is not listed to get in touch.

On refunds, the homepage says: "We guarantee a full refund of your excursion deposit if your ship cannot make it into the port of Cozumel." So bookings involve a deposit, though the size of that deposit is not given on the tour pages. The private tour page adds that larger groups can ask for special pricing. The footer links to Contact, Terms of Service and FAQ pages.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The site does not name the local operator behind each tour. The VW Buggy page speaks of "our" guides and "our" buggies and calls the tour "exclusive and only available to our Cozumel Cruise Excursion clients", while the homepage says the business represents independent operators, so who delivers a given trip is not spelled out. Cancellation windows for a change of plans, as opposed to a ship missing port, are not stated on the homepage or the tour pages, which link to a separate Terms of Service page, and neither is the deposit amount. The Mezcalitos page gives the park and cenote fee two ways, $18 in the price box and $16.00 in the notes, so check it at booking.

For cruise passengers who want a small-group or private alternative to the ship's own excursions, the site sets out its case plainly, prices every trip in dollars up front and asks for your ship so tours fit the port day. Families get clear child prices on the buggy tour. Travelers who want instant confirmation and published cancellation terms before paying will need to ask through the form or the FAQ.