After meeting executives from Caribbean cruise heavyweight, Carnival, the State Governor for Quintana Roo, Félix González Canto, came out smiling. He'd confirmed, in Cozumel, on Monday, that the cruise line will sail to the island six days a week in September and declared that this year "there will be no low season".

Cruise ship season busy.

Traditionally, the cruise lines reduce the number of Caribbean cruises during September and October in what is considered to be Cozumel's annual low season.

But this year it seems there is a longer high season on the high seas.

Carnival is doing extra well. In the first six months of 2010, their ships brought more than a million passengers to the island, 42% up on the same period the year before.

Carnival cruise ship.

González said that, next year, Carnival hopes to bring more than 700 cruises and increase total passenger volumes by 12%. He was careful to point out that many other cruise lines will visit Cozumel in 2011 as well.

Cozumel has regained status as a world-leading cruise port since the massive investments in infrastructure that were needed after Hurricane Wilma destroyed piers in 2005.

Today, the world's newest and largest vessels can dock comfortably in Cozumel.

Passengers can step off their ship without the need to "tender" back and forth in slow and expensive shuttle boats.

Spanish cruise line, Pullmantur, also started to use Cozumel as a Caribbean "homeport" earlier this year, with passengers flying directly in and out of Cozumel from Europe.

Take a look at our Tourist Information section for more about Cozumel cruises.