Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog by one of our members – Eddysr – who had a very nice experience on a cruise stop in Cozumel, Mexico. We thank him for being kind enough to share his experience with us. Enjoy!!
A great day for me is a day that I am witness to an unexpected gesture of kindness. This was the case on our Western Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean. The last port we visited was Cozumel, Mexico. We arrived shortly before noon, Miami’s daylight saving time, but actually not even10 a.m. local time – a detail that escaped both me and my wife. We spent some time walking along the seawall; window shopping and taking pictures, thinking that it would be lunch time pretty soon.
My wife had a gold bracelet that needed to be repaired, so we thought that it would be a good opportunity to have it repaired in Cozumel, where it would be much cheaper than in Miami. We stopped at a store to buy a bottle of Xtabentún (a Mayan liqueur made with honey and anis) and there we asked where we could find a jeweler who could make the repairs to the bracelet. We were told there was one about fifteen blocks from the main street, across from the market plaza. My wife is a very determined woman and had made up her mind that she was going to have her bracelet repaired that day, so we went.
We made it to the jewelry store close to what we thought was 2 p.m. Once we arrived, the jewelry store owner told us that it would take him at least an hour to have the bracelet ready, because he had other work to finish ahead of ours. We agreed to leave the bracelet, and then walked back to Avenida Rafael Melgar to have lunch. I even asked the man to keep my bottle of Xtabentún for me, so I could avoid walking around so far carrying the heavy bottle.
After lunch we went back to get the bracelet and found that the jeweler wasn’t there and every store on that block was closed. I’m sure you can imagine our dismay; besides the actual value of the bracelet, it is one of those pieces of jewelry with a lot of sentimental value. My watch said that is was almost 4 p.m., which was almost time to report back to the ship, and there was no sign of the jeweler returning. Luckily, there was a hardware store across the street that was open and they knew our man. They told us that he had gone home for lunch and would be back in a little while. Not wanting to be late to the ship, I left a note for the jeweler pleading with him to please send the bracelet to my address in Miami or to call me collect, that I would send him payment for the repair and the cost of shipping the bracelet to us. Also, in that note, I told him that he could keep my bottle of Xtabentún and enjoy it.
We took a taxi to the port, already resigned to the fact that my wife wouldn’t see her bracelet ever again, and went into our stateroom to rest. After a short time in the cabin, I started thinking that it was strange that it was so close to 5 p.m. (according to my watch) and the ship was still at the port. Then we got a call and the voice on the line asked for me by name. I was told to “Please go down to the pier, Don Jose is looking for you.” I had no idea who that could be. I didn’t know anybody on the island and I had no hope that the jeweler would get back to his store in time to realize that we were leaving without the bracelet.
Good thing that I didn’t take off without my wallet, because down on the pier was our jeweler, calling my name. He had my bottle of Xtabentún and the bracelet. I paid him for the repair and insisted in giving him money to compensate him for his expenses (he had taken a taxi to be able to make it to the ship on time), but he didn’t want to accept it until I convinced him. Talking to him, I realized that my watch was two hours fast and that Mexicans don’t take lunch at 12 noon, like we do, they eat between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
This incident left a very special memory of that cruise for both, me and my wife. The small act of kindness and honor shown by this man makes me feel good and is the first thing I think about, when I think about Cozumel and its lovely people. After all, it is often the people you meet and/or share your time with that makes a cruise memorable.
Related posts:
Join MeetOnCruise to Make Friends Before Your Cruise, Create Your Cruise Profile and Share Reviews and Tips.
If you like our blog, you'll LOVE MeetOnCruise. Join right now.
Tags: cruise, cruise experience, Guest post, royal caribbean
