What are best ruins? excursion advice needed

[rkmom]

We will be on Carnival Miracle in July, going to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Belize. I've read that GC and Coz have best snorkeling, so plan to do that there, as well as relaxing on beach. So, we thought maybe the Chaccoben ruins in costa Maya and Cave Tubing in Belize.

 

But what are these ruins like? We have been to Tulum 12 yrs ago and enjoyed it. Are the Chac. ruins similar in size / appearance--some people have said it was not that impressive. Are ther others near CM that are better?

 

We will be in port 10-6, and have to leave time to tender, etc. I had contacted Ivan and he had openings. I was just wondering what they are really like, and if it would be better to see Altun Ha in Belize and do something else in Costa Maya. the only other thing I've read about on the CC boards is relaxing at Tapas. Are there other good excursions?

 

Thanks for advice. Sorry I'm rambling. KL

[DebP]

Hi Rkmom. We will be on the Miracle in just a few weeks and our situation, questions, and thought process for making decisions were exactly like yours. We decided to do the ruins in Costa Maya with Ivan. Like you, we saw Tulum several years ago while sailing on the Paradise, so I will be interested in drawing some comparisons. We will save Cozumel and Grand Cayman for snuba and stingrays, and Belize will be cave tubing. I will post our reactions when we return. BTW-we will have 5 (my husband, three boys ages 11,13, and 16, and myself).

[rkmom]

Thanks Deb, I'd like to hear your comments after the trip.

Anyone else have any comments or suggestions. There are just too many choices on this whole trip. I know I'll enjoy anything, I just want to be able to do it all, and not miss out on something great, cause who knows when we will get a chance to do this again!

 

So, are ruins better in Costa Maya or Belize? Or is cave tubing something not to be missed, so just go with Costa Maya ruins regardless? What else is a good excursion in Costa Maya? Anything?

 

Thanks! Kim

[DebP]

As promised, I will fill you in on how our excursion plans went now that we are back from a wonderful cruise aboard Carnival's Miracle last week. I will start by saying that this is a VERY active itinerary, and my husband and I (along with our boys 11, 13 and 16) were really exhausted by the last full day which was thankfully a day at sea. The amount of time in each port seems too limited. The trip was not relaxing, but very fun and rewarding.

 

Our first port was Grand Cayman where we did the cruise's Coral Reef and Stingray Safari. I booked this through the ship since the last time my husband and I went, our private operator's boat had trouble which stressed us out. We all loved this stop and did not have a problem being part of a crowd since even the private operators are not far away on the whole sand bar. This was my 11 year old's favorite excursion and all of us enjoyed it. A surprising challenge was making it back to the ship since the tenders were struggling with swells in the afternoon. They actually suspended service for a while leaving many passengers in lines at the dock for at least an hour.

 

Our next day was Costa Maya. I scheduled a Mayan Ruins excursion here since there didn't seem to be much else to do at this "artificial" port, and because we wanted to visit ruins during the trip and wanted time to do other things in Cozumel. This turned out to be the best excursion for my husband and me, and the boys really enjoyed it too. We booked with Ivan and were met by David who was absolutely fantastic! As you've read, he has a lot of knowledge and genuine interest in educating others about the ruins, Mayan myths and culture, and the horticulture of the area. We had a small challenge finding their place (the sign had blown down and the make-shift replacement was in Spanish), but David spotted us and came out to greet me. We waited quite a while to start because we were supposed to be with another group, but they cancelled at the last minute, which was to our advantage. My husband and I had been to Tulum, and these ruins are not as breath-taking in terms of the ocean views at Tulum, but they were every bit as interesting, less crowded and the quality of David's tour would cause me to recommend Chaccoben. The amount of time we had was adequate, and I was so happy that we had left the pier area.

 

Our next day was Cozumel. I had signed up for Snuba with the ship (online), but found out at the site that one son's asthma caused this not to be safe for him. They allowed us to switch to Unlimited Snorkel and refunded us the $30 per person difference. They took us to Sunset Beach which is underwhelming compared to Chankanab (sp?) where we had been before. The guided snorkel tour was interesting and I know we saw more species than we would have on our own, but it was way too crowded, particularly when our group got mixed up with another large group. If this would be your first snorkeling experience, the guide is nice, but if you've already done that, I would do the snorkeling on your own at the park.

 

As an aside I will tell you about a successful jewelry excursion I took as well. I had purchased a tanzanite and opal ring 4 years ago at Diamonds International and one of the opals had fallen out this past year. After speaking to the staff at the gift shop and the ship's professional shopper (Lacy), I was encouraged to talk to a specific store manager to see if they would do anything. I left the ship alone to be at the store at the pier at 8 when it opened. While they wouldn't take the ring on trade in and could not replace the opal, the manager (after I dropped Lacy's name) suggested I see a specific person at the actual work shop in Cozumel. The snorkeling ended at 11, so after a shower we took a taxi to Los Cinco Soles arriving at 1:30 and hunted down the jeweler. He then took me to another store to see the big boss (a Canadian woman). With her permission, they fixed my ring by adding two beautiful diamonds in place of the opal, charging only for the stones (a reasonable amount). They were originally going to ship me the ring since they doubted the work could be finished, but then agreed to try to courier it to the pier store before the ship departed. It was down to the last minute (I think I was the last passenger to board), but the ring arrived and the work was beautiful. I will certainly shop there again if I have the opportunity. The only caveat is that I did confirm that the prices and the quality of jewelry in the ship's gift shop are unbeatable. I actually wore a piece ashore (along with the paperwork) at the first three ports and asked the salespeople if they could beat the price for the same piece, and they wouldn't. Carnival allowed me to return the piece when I was successful at having my ring repaired.

 

Our last stop was Belize, and this was probably the favorite of my 16 year old. We did the cave tubing, which was really a lot of work, in part because the water was low so we were constantly being rushed to keep up. Additionally, my 11 year old received a tube that was too large, so he had a hard time reaching over the edges into the water to paddle. Several other stressed parents seemed to have similar problems. We ended up pulling him most of the time. We booked with Extreme Cave Tubing, which was a fine operation (our guide was Star), but our group of about 24 ended up all mixed up with some larger group-a bit chaotic. The meal at the end was a nice touch-we were hungry and tired. We had a nice bus and our valuables were secure, and the air conditioning actually worked for the ride back to the port (though not on the way out). I would recommend this excursion, as long as you know what you are in for. As an aside, I noticed a big difference in the temperment of the Belize merchants and tour guides relative to other countries. They are far less pushy, but also less polished. One of the assistants who worked with Richard was offended (and let me know it) when I avoided him thinking he was possibly with another operation and trying to lead us astray. They shop keepers also were far less attentive. Belize offers a very interesting study in contrasts.

 

All in all, I am very happy with my decisions and how our excursions worked out. Everyone in our group enjoyed each day. Even though we were exhausted at the end of it all, we are already looking back on all the things we saw and did and are thankful to have done so much.

[spiritkat090909]

Last October we went on the RCCL Rhapsody & booked the ship excursion to the Kohunlich ruins. It was a really long excursion (2hr bus drive both ways), and the most strenuous one I've ever taken... also THE BEST! Beat out the Swim with the Stingrays in Cayman, even. Very interesting & we were allowed to climb on the ruins still. Quite beautiful. I think we had about 2 hours exploring. (Bug spray & a full water bottle required!) We were so tired at the end of the exploring, that the 'box lunch' provided by the cruise line was quite tasty. My sister went with us & had done the Tulum ruins previously... she said that Kohunlich was much more interesting & beautiful. NOT for the physically challenged.