The only true excursion we did on our Carnival cruise was an all inclusive day trip to Passion Island, off the coast of Cozumel, with our family. This island is rated as #8 on 'Things to do in Cozumel' on Trip Advisor. It's fairly inexpensive coming from Mainland. I've seen it online for around $45 pp & I'm sure you could get it way cheaper in person. As a Carnival Excursion, we paid around $70 pp but it was still worth it & going a different way wasn't really an option for us. I'm so happy that we decided to go. It was such a great time! After docking in Cozumel, we herded off the boat with the rest of the passengers, all heading out own ways. We & headed to another small boat
^My mom & grandma holding Little Sophie's hand.
Sophie's realllly excited. ;)
We had a few glimpses of the Cozumel shore, as we headed down the dock to a speed boat that would take us to Passion Island.
The boat ride over was a little under an hour & quite enjoyable. We sat up front so we had a nice breeze & view out the front windows. The captain of the ship explained the rules for once we got there, told us what the day would look like, had us fill out waivers & told some jokes, too. 
Once we got to the island, we were greeted with these beautiful views above! From the dock this was the view to our right & left. It was gorgeous! We were pretty excited to spend the day there.
The family walking down the dock. (I, of course ran ahead, being the first person on our boat to make a "touch down" on the idyllic island ;) & to get photos. ) 
Sophie girl looks good doing the "Island Life," doesn't she? She had such a great time playing in the sand! 
Right away she spotted a crab! It was adorable watching her inspect it.
^The grands-Paw & Mimi. :) ^Momma Cita & Sophie 
The Island only had a few standing structures-a few shops, bathrooms, a kitchen with and open dining room & this little church for ceremonies. 
It had few structures but LOTS of palm trees. 
Sophie immediately found a little playground & got to playing! There was a sweet lady that worked the playground, watched her play & helped her climb around. Sophie felt instantly comfortable with her. With in minutes, she was reaching up for her to help her on to the next play set. Though, we saw she was in good hands, we found a table next to the play area & watched her play.
Instead of hitting the food or beach, Zachary & I sat on a little adventure first, as the Mosby style requires. We did make sure to stop by the bar for our free drinks & took some margaritas with us as we walked the island. We found a gorgeous, still lake that perfectly reflected the sky off of it. Truthfully, I wanted to jump in this water over the ocean. It was just so idyllic! 
We made our way back to the beach side & found the lovely palms all lined up, begging for us to take pictures of them. 
Zachary carved our names in a palm, leaving our mark on the island, even if it only lasts a few days. :) Z+H in a heart, were there! 
After our walk, we set out for the food! We grabbed a few more drinks & loaded up our plates with chips & guac, Mexican rice & fish & chicken tacos. The excursion included an unlimited buffet & unlimited drinks, though they did cut off my sister-in-law. haha. You never know about quality when it comes to 'All Inclusive' food & drinks but the food was delicious & the drinks were strong. We saw them making the food through the kitchen windows & were pleased with the quality. 
Somehow the chair Zachary was in broke while he was sitting in it! Poor guy flew backward & had to catch himself from falling. I made sure to force him to freeze in spot to take a picture, as good bloggers do. As good blogger husband's do, he obliged & even posed for it. :) 
After we ate, we finally headed down to the beach where Sophie was digging in the sand. 
^Jacob & Lauren hugging in the surf. (My brother & sister in law) 
Momma Cita lounging in the sun. 
^Can you see my grandma out there by the hammocks?
These hammocks were pretty awesome. There were a few hammock stations spread out among the water. It was lovely to swim out a little way & lay in one. It was so relaxing having the water flow past you & small waves crash into you. I could have stayed out there forever.
Overall, we had a fabulous time! I could have stayed there all day but the 3 hour excursion time on island wasn't so bad. We were worried that since we were going on a cruise excursion it would be super crowded but it actually wasn't. It was a good amount of people but not enough to take away from the experience.
TRAVEL TIP: Take tips! Tipping in Mexico is customary, though not required. While it's not required, you'll still want to tip all the wonderful employees you come across, i.e. your waiters & waitresses, the lady who watches your kids, the bar tender, the boat crew, the tour guide, etc. A few dollars here & there will suffice & will be much appreciated by those serving you. Change is difficult so make sure you take tips in $1 & $5 bills.
Also, at least for the Carnival excursion, the "tour guide" & the "boat operators for the catamaran" work for separate companies. The tour guide, that works for Carnival, can not accept tips once back on the catamaran & off the Island. He very comically explained this to us & told us that the tips would be split between him & a few other carnival employees that helped on the tour, as we waited in line to get back onto the catamaran, leaving the Island. He made it clear that we didn't have to tip him but we could if we wanted to. So, if we had money (which most of us didn't because we hadn't thought about tips!), we tipped him on our way off the Island. Once we got onto the catamaran, a few minutes into our trip back, the same tour guide encouraged us to tip the captain & crew of the catamaran, since they worked for a separate company. He also suggested we give their company an honest review, good or bad, on Trip Advisor.
I felt like the catamaran crew was a little shafted in the Tip Department. If you had money leaving the Island & listened to the tour guides' spiel about tips, you would have given your remaining tip money to him, thinking that the boat crew was included. Not that he gave that impression, he just didn't mention them. By the time he encouraged us to tip the catamaran crew, you would have no money because you already handed it out. So, not surprisingly, the boat crew received few tips. I didn't get the impression that this was intentional by our tour guide but I do think he should have explained this to us a little better BEFORE we gave him the rest of our tips.
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