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Xcaret excursion through Carnival


domie

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We are going on a Carnival Cruise and one of the two ports in Calica (which we have never been), we have children and are wondering if anyone has been to Xcaret through Carnival? The cost for the excursion is $75 per adult and $45 per child. They give an explanation of things to do, but at the bottom by an * it says SOME of the attractions are included with the admission. I know the dolphins would not be included but what is included? Is it enough to keep us busy for the day? Thanks for any input you can offer.

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We are going on a Carnival Cruise and one of the two ports in Calica (which we have never been), we have children and are wondering if anyone has been to Xcaret through Carnival? The cost for the excursion is $75 per adult and $45 per child. They give an explanation of things to do, but at the bottom by an * it says SOME of the attractions are included with the admission. I know the dolphins would not be included but what is included? Is it enough to keep us busy for the day? Thanks for any input you can offer.

 

From Xcaret's web site:

 

The Xcaret Basic Admission allows you to admire the regional culture, flora and fauna and a wide variety of the park’s attractions. The benefits you can enjoy are the following:

Access to the Park.

Water Activities: Underground River, Inlet and Natural Pools, Beach, Paradise River. Exhibitions: Coral Reef Aquarium, Marine Turtles and Manatee Lagoon, Bat Cave, Butterfly Pavilion, Deer Shelter, Jaguar Island, Spider Monkey Island, Mushroom Farm, Orchid Greenhouse, Tropical Jungle Trail, Regional Wildlife Breeding Farm, Scenic Tower.

Performances: Flying Men, Pre-Hispanic Ball Game, Equestrian Show.

Cultural: Archaeological Sites, House of Whispers, Mexican Cemetery, Mayan Village, St. Francis of Assisi Chapel.

“Xcaret México Espectacular” Celebration

Food is not included with the basic admission price. There are several places to eat at Xcaret, but the food is very expensive. You have a day pass to Xcaret, so you may want to take the shuttle back to Calica for lunch and return to Xcaret.

This is an excurison where Carnival does not charge much more than the basic cost of admission and a beautiful place to visit. Check out their web site: www.xcaret.com .

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From Cozumel, you have to take the ferry across to the mainland, which takes about 30 minutes. From Calica or Playa del Carmen, it's a short taxi ride.

 

If your cruise offers Xcaret as an excursion, it is well worth the time to visit.

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  • 3 weeks later...
We are going on a Carnival Cruise and one of the two ports in Calica (which we have never been), we have children and are wondering if anyone has been to Xcaret through Carnival? The cost for the excursion is $75 per adult and $45 per child. They give an explanation of things to do, but at the bottom by an * it says SOME of the attractions are included with the admission. I know the dolphins would not be included but what is included? Is it enough to keep us busy for the day? Thanks for any input you can offer.

 

In 2007 we did the Xcaret trip through Carnival. We also travelled with children.

 

 

Here is a summary of our excursion:

 

We arrived at Cozumel and left the ship at 8:00 am. We then boarded the Ultra Mar ferry (chartered by Carnival) to get to Playa Del Carmen (approx. 30 minute ride). Once on the mainland, our tour guide led us through the streets of Playa Del Carmen to meet the Xcaret Bus. Xcaret is a beautiful place, and we only had 4 ½ hours to visit here. We felt very rushed and barely had enough time to see it all. The first thing that we did was swim through the underground river--a definite must. We put our belongings in a big duffle bag at the entrance to the river and put on life jackets. The staff at Xcaret zipped up the duffle bag, locked it, and gave us the key on a lanyard. The water was cool (68° F), but also nice and refreshing. When we exited the river, our duffle bag was waiting for us and our belongings were safe. I noticed that they do handle the duffle bags kind of roughly, so it would be wise to wrap up anything that is delicate in your towels.

 

The exit to the underground river is right by the ocean, so we floated around in some tubes on the beach for awhile and watched people swimming with the dolphins. Straddling across Manatee Lagoon are a couple of climbing ropes that take you to the other side. DH and our 3 sons walked and swayed across the rope. The ropes were a bit wobbly, and they almost fell in, but that made it more challenging and they thought that it was a lot of fun.

 

We also entered a bat cave and saw some Mayan ruins. The kids enjoyed climbing them, but is was blistering hot. We appreciated cooling off in the air-conditioned aquarium. After the aquarium, we went for a dip in the Snorkeling Inlet and could see many fish in the water. We picked up a burger with "chips" and a Pepsi at the beach grill for lunch. Lunch cost us 485 pesos for our family, which is equivalent to $44.00 US. You could get a buffet lunch for about 250 pesos/person--$23.00 US, but we did not have enough time to do that. As it was, we had to rush back to catch the bus at 2:40 to head back to the ferry terminal.

 

Xcaret is a beautiful park. There is lots to see and do there and we wished we could have had more time. We asked at the Triumph excursion desk why this excursion is so short and we were told that they do this because they would like to bring all the Triumph passengers back at the same time on a single chartered ferry. Carnival has tried later return times in the past but had problems getting people back on time. Although the public ferry runs until 11:00 pm, they sometimes have union/labor problems, making the public ferries not as reliable as the chartered ones.

 

Things to see and do at Xcaret

(all of these things are included with your price of admission)

-Underground River

-Beach, Natural Pools and Inlets

-Snorkeling Inlet

-Manatee Lagoon

-Coral Reef Aquarium

-Rotating Scenic Tower

-Jungle Trail

-Archaeological Sites/Mayan Ruins

-Ancient Ball Game Court

-Mayan Village Mexican Cemetery

-St. Francis of Assisi Chapel

-Mayan Village

-Animals and Wildlife including Spider Monkies, Tapir, Deer, Jaquar's, Butterfly Pavilion, Sea Turtles, Flamingoes and Birds

-Papantla Flyers

-Paradise River Boat Ride

-Mushroom Farm

-Orchids Greenhouse

-Insect Pavilion

-any shows or performances throughout the day

 

Costs included in this excursion through Carnival:

-admission fee to Xcaret

-the ferry ride from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen

-bus ride from Playa Del Carmen to Xcaret

 

What Costs Extra in Xcaret and is not part of the Carnival Excursion fee:

-food and drink

-Swimming with the Dolphins

-Snorkeling

-Sea Trek

-Coral Reef Diving

-Massage

-Sky Tours

-Locker Rental

-Towel Rental

-Stroller Rental

 

 

If you are interested, I have attached a link to my Carnival Triumph Cozumel YouTube video. Here you will see photos and video clips of our excursion through the beautiful ecological part of Xcaret as well as Paradise Beach.

 

 

I hope this informaton helps to answer all of your questions. Xcaret is a beautiful, tropical park and you will love your visit there!

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