Anyone been to Puerto Chiapas?

Seems as thoug my NCL STAR Panama Canal cruise stops at Puerto Chiapas and there is not too much information out there.

Any suggestions for this port?

Don

Hang out in the port and ship (jmo). Was there last October on Zuiderdam. Took a van to Tapachula. Large run down city close to Guatemalan boarder. The cruise ship port is newer and has a nice open air bar/restaurant with a swimming pool.

As was mentioned, there is usually a shuttle to Tapachula available which was $10 per person round trip as of last year. Not a tourist town, but the market close to where the shuttle stops is very interesting. You can also get a taxi to some Mayan ruins not too far from town. There are some not too inviting beaches around the perimeter of the docking area, but there is easy way to get to them. Native dancer perform periodically in the port building and you can buy internet time there, as well.

We truly dislike this particular port! For cruise passengers we think "it sucks" and have no idea why the Mexican government decided to build a facility at this location. The port facility is actually excellent, well maintained, and the adjacent facility is pretty nice. They even have a decent outdoor swimming pool, which seemed to be more popular with our crew (Veendam) then the passengers. The various things to see and do in this region leave a lot to be desired...but the cruise lines (and local taxi drivers) are happy to take your money. We did not hear anyone on our cruise saying good things about the various tours. There is a good argument this port should be considered more of a sea day with, perhaps, a short walk around the Port facility.

Hank

P.S. For the record, we really like Mexico and live there (Puerto Vallarta) for 2 months a year.

Thank you everyone for this information....

Sounds like a "lost day" and we will probably take a short walk around the pier and spend most of the time on the ship enjoying cocktails by the ship's pool!! :)

Don

Sounds like a "lost day" and we will probably take a short walk around the pier and spend most of the time on the ship enjoying cocktails by the ship's pool!! :)

 

Don

That's what we did. Really dirty, polluted water and air. We were not impressed at all with this port.

I see you were on the Star for a Panama Canal cruise.

That is the ship we will be on in January.

How did you enjoy the Star and the cruise?

Any advice or recommendations?

Don

I see you were on the Star for a Panama Canal cruise.

 

That is the ship we will be on in January.

How did you enjoy the Star and the cruise?

 

Any advice or recommendations?

 

Don

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Star. We were in a port side aft balcony cabin and spent the whole canal crossing on our balcony. All day! Listening to the guy NCL brought on for the day.

For the first time ever, we bought the thermal suite spa package. Used that everyday too! So quiet and peaceful.

We eat dinner most nights in the main dining rooms, but on NCL we always make at least one trip to Le Bistro. It's really good.

You have another post asking about Las Caletas in PV. We went there on this cruise. We've done a couple of land vacations in PV, and a couple of cruises. Love Las Caletas!

Thank you...

We also have an aft facing suite, but unfortunately, it is not at the end, but in the middle next to the end suite.

Thanks for the "thumbs up" on Las Caletas...we will book it because of all the great reviews.

How did you like the Star in comparison to other NCL ships?

Don

Thank you...

 

We also have an aft facing suite, but unfortunately, it is not at the end, but in the middle next to the end suite.

 

Thanks for the "thumbs up" on Las Caletas...we will book it because of all the great reviews.

 

How did you like the Star in comparison to other NCL ships?

 

Don

I liked it! My favorite NCL ship is the Spirit, my least favorite is the Sun. Haven't been on any of the new ships.

I liked it! My favorite NCL ship is the Spirit, my least favorite is the Sun. Haven't been on any of the new ships.

Uh OH! :)

I am the exact opposite of you.

My "least" favorite NCL ship was the Spirit.

I really like both the Dawn and the Gem, and since the Star is the sister ship of the Dawn I should really enjoy her as well.

The one thing I really liked about the Gem was the "Great Outdoors" where you can enjoy your buffet breakfast and lunch outside on deck in the aft of the ship....so nice! :)

The Breakaway is real nice too.

The entertainment was the best, but a little too big for me. :)

Don

Uh OH! :)

I am the exact opposite of you.

My "least" favorite NCL ship was the Spirit.

I really like both the Dawn and the Gem, and since the Star is the sister ship of the Dawn I should really enjoy her as well.

 

The one thing I really liked about the Gem was the "Great Outdoors" where you can enjoy your buffet breakfast and lunch outside on deck in the aft of the ship....so nice! :)

 

The Breakaway is real nice too.

The entertainment was the best, but a little too big for me. :)

 

Don

I tend to like the ships that have the bathroom split into 3 tiny compartments instead of 1 small compartment. It's the small things that make me happy. :D

We coming up on a PC cruise on the Star and have booked the Izapa Ruins & Chocolate Discovery for Puerto Chiapas. Izapa is the ancient ruin where they believe the 2012 Mayan calendar originated. I'd rather see something interesting in the countryside rather than spend another day on the ship. Don't get me wrong, I love sea days, but a PC cruise already has a lot of them and I find it interesting to see something that is a 180 from my everyday life. That said, I'd probably only do a ship's tour.

We truly dislike this particular port! For cruise passengers we think "it sucks" and have no idea why the Mexican government decided to build a facility at this location. The port facility is actually excellent, well maintained, and the adjacent facility is pretty nice. They even have a decent outdoor swimming pool, which seemed to be more popular with our crew (Veendam) then the passengers. The various things to see and do in this region leave a lot to be desired...but the cruise lines (and local taxi drivers) are happy to take your money. We did not hear anyone on our cruise saying good things about the various tours.

We were on the Amsterdam in April/May. I intensely disliked Tapachula. When we got there, there was a demonstration going on and gun-toting police. The demonstrators were artisans who had been told by the municipality to close their handicraft stands. I can only think of one reason for this -- that those in power wanted to increase the take at the cruise terminal. I found it very, very curious that only one silver shop could do business at the terminal.

I truly looked forward to seeing Tapachula because I wanted to see how Mexican themes possibly melded with Guatemalan influences, but there was were no local handicrafts to be had. We did stroll to the market but the streets were muddy so we took the van back to the ship.

Here's the kicker: We'll take the reverse of the Amsterdam itinerary over Christmas 2015 and the New Year's. Yes, we'll stop in Puerto Chiapas. And, yes, I will go to town hoping that it has changed to the better.

We coming up on a PC cruise on the Star and have booked the Izapa Ruins & Chocolate Discovery for Puerto Chiapas.

That sounds like an attractive option. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

We coming up on a PC cruise on the Star and have booked the Izapa Ruins & Chocolate Discovery for Puerto Chiapas. Izapa is the ancient ruin where they believe the 2012 Mayan calendar originated. I'd rather see something interesting in the countryside rather than spend another day on the ship. Don't get me wrong, I love sea days, but a PC cruise already has a lot of them and I find it interesting to see something that is a 180 from my everyday life. That said, I'd probably only do a ship's tour.

Thanks Teri....

I will look into this.

Enjoy your cruise and please report back on how you enjoyed this tour.

Don

We were in Chiapas twice last year and took an old gaudily painted bus over to the fishing village that is across the channel from the cruise terminal.

If you want to see big hotels and that sort of thing, don't take this trip. If you want to see how the fishermen live and play, the trip is interesting and not very costly.

We took a couple of girls from the ship (waitstaff) on the second trip, and had a lot of fun !!!

I'll try to remember to report back on how the tour goes. We're bringing our three year old daughter and I told her we were going to see trees that grow the beans that chocolate is made from. Now she's excited to see "Chocolate Trees". I hope she's not disappointed. :)

I'll try to remember to report back on how the tour goes. We're bringing our three year old daughter and I told her we were going to see trees that grow the beans that chocolate is made from. Now she's excited to see "Chocolate Trees". I hope she's not disappointed. :)

Teri,

I guess it depends how they present it.

We just came back from Disney World with my two grandsons (one is 4 years old) and we went to "The "Land" in EPCOT.

He was fascinated with the boat ride through the exhibit and the way we cultivate the food we eat fascinated him.

It was one of their favorites at Disney :)

When is your Panama Canal cruise?

Don

I took this exact same trip this April on the Star. I took the mangrove tour and after the tour joined the long line of passengers at the Shore Excursions desk demanding refunds which was provided without question by the staff. I wrote a review of this tour on NCL's excursion review website page. In 22 years of cruising this is the only time I have requested a tour refund, it was that bad. I spoke with other passengers about their tour experiences and they were without exception unhappy. Those who had taken the long trip to Tapachula found the city dirty and unwelcoming to tourists and were constantly being approached to buy drugs, as was the case during our tour. There seems to be no reason to port here, unless the ship gets cheap fuel and low port fees. The port reception area is nice, they have put a lot of work into it. It is open air, not air conditioned. There is a free folklorico show in the port which was good and a large swimming pool. There is the standard tourist shopping kiosks in the port reception area. Everyone at the port speaks English. Having been there, I would get off the ship to walk through the port reception area but that would be it. If you do an excursion, make sure the bus is road worthy. Ours had multiple large cracks in the driver's windshield and bald tires. The driver spent most of his time while driving on his cell phone. I asked him to stop this while driving but he said "no problem, there is no traffic", which was true.

Regarding the Star, I do not know if she has been in drydock since April. I had a balcony cabin which was nice but the flooring on the balcony was bare metal with some kind of abrasive coating which made walking barefoot painful. I was very impressed with NCL's response to my comment about this, they immediately upgraded me to a junior suite and apologized about the balcony flooring. Very impressive customer service by NCL. The captain opens the very front of the ship as it enters the canal and the gentleman doing the presentation about the canal from the previous evening is on the bridge discussing points of interest as the ship sails through the canal. He uses the ship's loudspeaker system so it is easy to hear him. Check with customer service on how to access the front as it is normally closed to the passengers and can be a little difficult to find the entry way. The rest of the Panama Canal tour was great and I thought the Star quite nice without any problems inspite of its age.

Hi - we did this cruise on the NCL Star last October/November. It was the trip of a lifetime!!

I just noticed on this thread that people dont seem particularly keen on the Puerto Chaipas stop. I have to say we had a very interesting day - we booked for the Argovia Coffee Plantation trip with NCL which is around a 1.5 hour drive up into the mountains. It was such an interesting drive through little typical Mexican villages etc to get there and the plantation and botanical gardens were beautiful. It was a bit more expensive than other excursions but judging by the experiences of people who stayed around the port area or went to Tapachula it was worth spending the extra money. We had a fantastic day!!:)

Don,

Sorry, I didn't look at this thread for a while. In response to your question, our PC cruise begins on October 20th, so we're frantically trying to finish things up at work and pack before we head out a week from Saturday. You're right about kid's perspectives. It's one of the things I enjoy most about traveling with our daughter. She sees things that would pass us by without a second thought or brings new wonder to something we've seen many times before.

dronfield,

I'm sorry you had such a horrible excursion. Hopefully the one we'll be on will be better. I was glad to hear they open the bow through the canal. I was wondering if they would do this.

Waringstown8,

Hopefully our tour will be more like yours and that we also thing it was a trip of a lifetime!

To get to the bow viewing area on deck 8, go all the way forward, and the door (crew only) is in the middle of the cross hall. They usually have a person there to point you the right direction.

In Chiapas, we found a kiosk after going through the terminal building and they were selling tours for around 45 dollars for their "triple tour". We didn't do it, but some who did said it was very good for the price.

We found a table near the entrance selling tours of the fishing village and we took that. It was fun and the kids who ran the old gaudy bus made it a good trip. No big hotels, just a village of fishermen and we got to see how they work, live, and play.

Don,

Sorry, I didn't look at this thread for a while. In response to your question, our PC cruise begins on October 20th, so we're frantically trying to finish things up at work and pack before we head out a week from Saturday. You're right about kid's perspectives. It's one of the things I enjoy most about traveling with our daughter. She sees things that would pass us by without a second thought or brings new wonder to something we've seen many times before.

 

dronfield,

I'm sorry you had such a horrible excursion. Hopefully the one we'll be on will be better. I was glad to hear they open the bow through the canal. I was wondering if they would do this.

 

Waringstown8,

Hopefully our tour will be more like yours and that we also thing it was a trip of a lifetime!

Teri...have a wonderful cruise.

Looking forward to your review upon your return! :)

Don

I'm back from our PC cruise and wanted to give you an update on Puerto Chiapas. We did the Mayan ruins and chocolate discovery ship excursion.

First of all, the port was much nicer than I expected. Just off the ship is a huge paloppa with a bar and nice swimming pool. There was a shuttle to "town" but I'm not sure where that went or what that was like. My guess is this is not the port for shopping and strolling town. We drove about 30-45 minutes to the ruins and nearby town for the chocolate demo. It was extremely hot but the bus had AC and they offered water, soda or beer whenever we wanted it. The ruins are well kept but if you've been to Tulum or Chichen Itza you will be disappointed. These are smaller and more earthen in nature. Still, historical.

In the town there was a tent with chairs for us to sit in the shade while we waited for the chocolate demo. During our wait some men played music while women in traditional dresses danced. They brought up people to dance with them and our three year old dd did it. For the chocolate demo we stood in a large gazebo and they actually roasted and ground the beans in front of us. Someone mixed the chocolate by hand and gave us samples. They also made hot chocolate to taste.

While in the town we also walked through the streets a bit to see a church and then through a market. There were items to buy if you wanted, but it was a local market and not a tourist market so they had fruits, veggies, meats, fish, etc.

This is certainly a port that is more a realistic look at life in Mexico rather than the slick look of Cabo. Although it may not be for everyone, we enjoyed our day and I preferred it to sitting on the ship.