tetleytea

We went on a late train departure, so it was not sold out.   It did not matter which side you sat on--if you wanted to switch seats at any time, you could--or even go out back.   However, wildlife was probably also less plentiful, because we went later in the day.

On 1/31/2024 at 3:33 PM, charliedalrymple said:

 

It depends.  We had an full-day excursion to a sheep farm in New Zealand that included a fabulous lamb lunch in a beautiful country setting.  (This was Royal Caribbean, not Princess.)

You've got to love when you read all those excursion blurbs in the listings, and it says, "...and then you will enjoy a scrumptious lunch, catered by our tour guides."   You go on the excursion, and it's this ice chest containing sandwiches in plastic bags.   (p.s. which I don't mind--I just find it hilarious how they oversell it)

I don't know whether it is unusual or not, since I've only taken one non-independent Princess excursion ever, but I will say that if they bait-and-switch what the excursion is after you've paid for it, AND it is not unusual to issue OBC instead of a refund because you no longer want to go on that excursion which Princess just changed, then I would say we have here a very bad thing.   And I am glad that I have gone independent.  

edit:   I will also add that I booked independent NON-refundable excursions for a Princess cruise before, which we were unable to actually cruise on because United Airlines ended up unable to fly us to the port.   The independent tour operators offered us REFUNDS on their NON-REFUNDABLE tours, because of those circumstances beyond our control.

I noticed that mileage may vary.   Sometimes they want $80 for the carts, but we got it for $60.  It seems who charges admission, who gives free stuff, etc. can vary depending on high season.

Renting the cart comes with free admission to all the beaches they are working together with.  And at Krazy Lobster, it comes with a free margarita.  For a group of 4, it totally makes sense to rent one.   Parking wasn't really an issue at any of the beaches--you just park in a Mexican parqueo (a.k.a. that patch of dirt over there).  And there are a couple stops on that pink road that you normally would not go to unless you got a cart.  Including $2 cervezas.

I think I remember Barbanegra as El Capitan, and it wasn't so much a beach as it was a restaurant that happened to be by the beach. And since we were coming off a cruise ship, we didn't find sampling local restaurants a priority.

Chunky Monkey I remember as being quieter, because it is off to the side and away from the vendors, and also as far as you can drive your golf cart without going out of range.  Krazy Lobster is like the first beach you will pass.  Chunky Monkey is the last.  Their problem was, you have to walk about 40 yards away from the beach and into/near their restaurant in order to pick up any respectable Wifi signal.  And since I'm coming off a ship with no internet plan, I kind of want that Wifi.  Other beaches had good Wifi that was right on the beach.  Krazy Lobster's was good, but they were also very busy (including--especially--their Wifi.  As in, you couldn't connect).   People may talk & stuff about wanting to disconnect on their vacation, but I happened to find lounging on a beach chair with Wifi a perfect fit.

To be honest, I thought all the beaches were more-or-less the same.  We rented a golf cart for the day, and we decided to beach-hop.  We didn't have to pay anything, and I think part of that was because we had rented a golf cart, and those guys must have some arrangement with the beach guys.  After visiting well over half the beaches there, I think I like Krazy Lobster the best.  Chunky Monkey and Playa Lunas were the quietest--especially if you wanted to disconnect from Wifi, since Chunky Monkey's Wifi simply didn't reach all the way to the beach.  But really, I can't imagine what exactly a single cruiser would want that truly differentiated the beaches from one another.

Here's a map.  I took this tour in Costa Maya, and this came with it.   Cruise ship is on the lower-right, beaches are all on the left half, and the vendors are mostly right behind the beaches.  All the black, in the lower-right corner--that's the cruise ship pier.   You walk up, just past the black--that's where independent operators rent out golf carts.  I rented mine for $60 for the day; in peak periods they want $80.   It can seat 4.  

The vendors are all in the center of the map, right behind the beaches.  There is a "road" there (more like a big pedestrian walkway), where they all set up shop.  But there are also a few good vendors in the upper right center of the map, as you take that pink road winding over to the beaches (I find that the vendors who see the least amount of traffic tend to offer the best deals, and the ones on the pink road certainly see the least amount of traffic).

The exchange rate when I was there was 16:1 pesos/US dollar.  But if you do credit card, they raise it to 20:1--which means a good, solid markup of 25% for using your credit card.  On the road with the arrows on it, there's a BBVA bank which has an ATM and it seems fairly safe to use it, but they wanted 175 pesos for an ATM transaction fee--i.e. over $10 transaction fee.  Costa Maya can really gouge you at times.  I am much happier shopping in Cozumel over Costa Maya, but like the OP said, if somebody is selling something local and specific to Costa Maya, then that makes sense.   I don't remember anything that particularly fit that category, though.

We just cruised.  I used the old app; my SO used the new.  I had the better experience. 

15 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

Quintana Roo, the Mexican state that includes Cozumel is considered to be one of the safest in mexico.  Personally, it is also a place where you are less likely to be hassled walking through the town.

On the insurance, yes:   I accept the insurance in Mexico, whereas in the US and Canada I usually do not.  The price of renting a car with insurance is about in the $110 range for the day.  Expensive, but compare it vs. the other excursions you could be doing.  

However, what kind of hassling walking through town?   We had merchants harass the tar out of us.  Nothing like Montego Bay (Jamaica), which was terrible.  But Costa Maya and Cozumel, we had merchants hassle us a lot--once we left the immediate cruise ship port area.  The ports are all Americanized:  prices in dollars, no haggling, cruise ship tourist prices.  But then you step out into the actual streets, and it's Mexico; with Mexican culture.  Even in the port, I saw another cruise ship passenger literally, but gently push a merchant away, whom he didn't want to talk to.

I really like the supermarkets in the Mexico ports.  It's like going to Walmart in Anchorage or Ketchikan and buying your tourist stuff there.  They're for the locals, so it's harder to single stuff out to buy because they don't just market it like, "hey, this is a touristy thing, you want to buy me," but that is a good thing.   And then they were selling bananas at below $0.25 a pound (after you do the math in your head--they sell it in pesos per kilogram).  You hungry?   Just buy a bunch of fresh bananas for practically free and snack.   Can't bring bananas on the ship, but plenty of other foods you can bring on with no issue.   I'm still working on finishing my Mexican salsa and vanilla from there.

I read an incident on here of this in Skagway, and that cruise port is the U.S..   I don't remember much what happened, but the guy got stuck with loss-of-use fees from the car agency.

On 12/3/2023 at 2:41 PM, c-leg5 said:

You will not find a “beach” with good snorkeling - you need rocks. Some locations have loungers in man-made sandy areas.
 

Suggestions of websites to check:

Cabana Beach, Chankanaab.

Buccanos (not Mondays)

Sky Reef

Del Mar Latino

Park Royal day pass

 

What about Punta Sur?   All the rocks seemed to be down there in the south.

LOL and I don't even drink.    😄     The others in my party loved the samples--and one of them quickly just had to down my sample, too.

My understanding is that the CC insurance only works in the US and Canada.  Also, all the red tape that goes with claiming on insurance is the last thing we need during a cruise.  If the CC works and there's a way to get back on the ship without compromising your case, I am definitely interested.

2 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

 

I believe that is what is at the Mi Mexico lindo outlets perhaps thay have the one at El Cedral?

 

I have read it is re-branded for US market but I have no idea of price.

 

I am not sure I would be tequila tasting and renting a car, especially on a cruise day unless you have a designated driver. It could be included in a custom tour easily enough.

The tour guide at the Tequila place said it is not sold in the US and said nothing of Mi Mexico Lindo, but...he is trying to sell you something, and I try to practice sound judgement whether to believe everything I hear at Caribbean shops.   The samples at El Cedral are indeed very good.  The tequila tasting itself is good.   But caveat emptor before you buy the tequila.  I can't tell you for sure--I bought their agave nectar; not the tequila.  

28 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

I'm sad to hear that you had to put up such a fight to get your FCC. May I ask what your reason for cancelling was? I want to avoid any problems getting FCC if my elderly father has to cancel our cruise. 

A United Airlines meltdown.  They cancelled our flight and were unable to rebook us within 72 hours, causing us to miss the departure.   72 hours?!??   We cushioned our flight to land comfortably well before the cruise departure time for precisely this reason.  Aon was useless.  They gladly collect your premiums and do nothing.     So if Princess is still selling Aon travel insurance policies to their customers (and not Nationwide, as I see on Google), then uh...let's just say we will never become Princess Elite.

https://www.princess.com/en-us/blog/cruise-tips/is-cruise-insurance-worth-it

Pretty much any TA will tell you that yes, you need travel insurance, and actually I don't argue the point.   But if they don't honor the claims, then what's the whole point?

El Cedral.

You pay like $3 bucks USD to get in, and for that, you get free samples and a free drink.  However, I suggest you Google their tequila first (brandname:   "Regalos de Dios") before you plunk down $100 on a bottle.  El Cedral is, overall, an interesting place with some respectable shops and a couple other places to see besides tequila.  If you have a car.

I was just at Costa Maya, and this was barely a topic of conversation.   I wouldn't worry about it.

Aon?   I thought Princess said they dropped Aon and moved on to Nationwide?

I have rented a car and DIY'ed Cozumel every time I have been, but one thing I don't see myself ever doing:  I will never decline the rental car insurance.  

I saw it said that you don't want the vanilla from the supermarket, but do note that there are supermercados on Cozumel itself; and the prices are quite good.  You're going to have to know some Spanish, though.   The one I'm thinking of is named, "Chedraui".  It is NOT a tourist trap, but I found the experience quite good, as a tourist.  Not just for the vanilla, but for all kinds of nonperishable items.  I brought some salsa home, which definitely was not made in New York City.

We used Butts Up last week on our cave tubing + ziplining tour, and only had one issue:   we also booked ATV, and they didn't let us do it.  They didn't make us pay for ATV.   I think we would have been squeezed for port time if we had done it, anyway.  Cave tubing + zipline alone took up about 75% of the time in port we had.
 

One thing they didn't tell us was, the hike was a little more than just a hike.  We had to ford 3 rivers, and they were knee-deep and had a strong current.  For me, it only added to the adventure (this is, after all, an adventure tour), but little kids might be afraid and/or need a little extra help.   One of the 3 crossings, we had to use a rope to get across, but the water's depth and current will vary depending on the weather.

They also served us each a fairly large tamale for lunch.  We didn't know about that, either.  You have to pay for drinks.  

All told, Butts up was fine.  Cave tubing was great.   Ziplining was not the hardest I've ever done.

You said, "will receive" [an FCC].   I had to kick, scream, escalate, even talk to an attorney to get mine.  And my reason for cancellation was clearly a covered condition--I should have gotten refunded; not even FCC.   Make sure you call/write Princess and hold them to their own terms.    Sitting around and waiting can be risky.   And if it sounds like I have a less-than-favorable opinion of Princess now because of it, it's because I do.

Mine's not a shareholder OBC issue.  It's a travel insurance issue.  Your subject line was general and suggested that Princess is on the ball.  Maybe their shareholder OBC is on the ball, but my experience with Princess could not be more the exact opposite.  

Meanwhile I have emailed customer services at least 30 times (literally) and they have not responded even once.  And every time I call Princess, they turn around and say to email customer services.     About a sailing that same month.