Question about Chacchoben ruins tour

[jimandami]

Hi all! We are going to be in Costa Maya in October and would love to take the Chacchoben ruins tour through Native Choice. However, we are only in port from 12:45-5:30. Do you experts think that is enough time to complete the tour? Should we book through our cruise line (which I really don't want to do because not only is it more expensive, they make us pay for our 3 year-old, where Native Choice does not) given the tight time frame? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Tanker4]

That's quite a dilemma. If the ship doesn't arrive until 12:45 you will be lucky to get off much before 1:00 pm or so. Then it's a 5 minute or so walk to the head of the pier (unless you're lucky enough to catch the trolley). From there I'd figure another 15/20 minutes or so to hook up with and get onboard Native Choice's transportation. We've done that tour (it's great) but it takes roughly and hour for them to drive each way then another 1 1/2 to 2 hours at the ruins. Looks like to me that schedule would be cutting it pretty close especially if anything happens. Of course as you said, you could book through the ship and if anything happens they will hold the ship until you get back but, it is somewhat more expensive. I guess what I'm saying is that if i really wanted to do this tour in the short port time allowed I think I'd bite the bullet and pay the extra for booking thru the ship. Good luck............:)

[jimandami]

Thank you Tanker....that's what I figured. We are just starting to look into excursions and I am finding that our port times are a little strange. We have this one in Costa Maya and then in Grand Cayman, we are there from 10:45-4:45. We wanted to do the Turtle Farm but the lagoons close at 2 so not sure how well that will work out either. Anyway, my DS8 is so excited to see ruins that we will probably just bite the bullet and book through DCL!

[bus man]

I second the suggestion to bite the bullet and book through the ship. We were very pleased with Native Choice, but we had all day in port . . . and we used most of it taking the tour, start to finish.

 

I would also see if the ship offers a tour of the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman. You should be able to get there in time to see the lagoons, but booking through the ship means that you'll be on an early tender ashore . . . thus giving you more time on the island. If you book a tour on your own, you'll have to wait to leave the ship until those who have booked ship's tours have debarked first.

[Tanker4]

Thank you Tanker....that's what I figured. We are just starting to look into excursions and I am finding that our port times are a little strange. We have this one in Costa Maya and then in Grand Cayman, we are there from 10:45-4:45. We wanted to do the Turtle Farm but the lagoons close at 2 so not sure how well that will work out either. Anyway, my DS8 is so excited to see ruins that we will probably just bite the bullet and book through DCL!

 

 

Since your DS is excited about seeing the ruins, you picked a good place to go. The site is still being explored but quite a bit of it has been uncovered and the last time we were there they allowed you to climb on a couple of the structures. Really interesting if you are into the Mayan culture (which we are).:)

[jimandami]

Thank you both!

[kickboxrca]

I would drop Native Choice an email. We have close to a full day in port, but we wanted to do the longer tour (Chacchoben Extreme - with the kayaking). I was a little concerned about the timing ... he assured me that they have a lot of our ship passengers on the tour - and that they know how long it takes.

 

Do you know how many ships are in port when you are there? If you are the only ship there, then everyone they would be touring would be in the same situation you are.

[Sanlj]

We were at Chacchoban two weeks ago and loved it, but I would definitely recommend booking through the ship considering your short time in port. We actually had two people in our tour group fall and get injured while climbing the ruins, which resulted in a delay while they received medical attention. (By the way, the tour guides recommend climbing the stairs SIDEWAYS to avoid falling...they were not designed for climbing!) Since we were on a ship tour, we never worried about timing.

 

These were my first real ruins experience, and it was incredible. Have fun!

[Tralynn]

We just did a tour with Native Choice on April 3rd and it was excellent, however we were in port from 10 am until 6 pm. They are extremely reputable and I'm sure if all goes as planned you would have no issues, however it is at least a 50 to 60 min. drive each way. A lot can happen, such as flat tire, accident, etc. If you would be cutting it close returning to your ship, you may want to consider booking through the ship.

 

The tour we booked (Chacchoben Ruins & Seven Color Lagoon) got us back to port at 4:30 (an hour before they asked us to be back on the ship) I always want to have at least an hour of wiggle room.

[thephantomsgirl]

I'm on a Disney cruise with a port time of 12:45 to 5:30. As much as I'd love to do the Native Way tour, it's just cutting it too close for my comfort.

[robhawk]

We are using DCL for the excursion too! I am too nervous about the tight time frame.

[CruisersNC]

We just did a tour with Native Choice on April 3rd and it was excellent, however we were in port from 10 am until 6 pm. They are extremely reputable and I'm sure if all goes as planned you would have no issues, however it is at least a 50 to 60 min. drive each way. A lot can happen, such as flat tire, accident, etc. If you would be cutting it close returning to your ship, you may want to consider booking through the ship.

 

The tour we booked (Chacchoben Ruins & Seven Color Lagoon) got us back to port at 4:30 (an hour before they asked us to be back on the ship) I always want to have at least an hour of wiggle room.

 

 

LOLOL That rude guy sticking his tongue out in your signature is GREAT!!! I love it!!! lolol :D

[Skitheboat]

We are also on DCL. I hate to book through the cruise line, but I am also worried about timing. The short port time is such a bummer.

We have 2 boys, 9 & 11, & in GC we are taking them to stingray city. I was concerned about the timing there also, but after much research & emailing, I booked through Stingray Sailing. They're highly recommended on this board & the tour time frame fits with DCL.

[yoyomum]

We have booked with nativechoice and emailed with Ivan to tell him about the time issues. He said they were able to do it for the first couple of Disney fantasy cruises and made some adjustments to the tour such as discussing some of the history on the bus. We will be the only ship on port that day and they have booked at least 2 separate groups for that day as it was sold out earlier and they opened up another group. If we are late then that will be a lot of people missing their ship. Hope it won't happen though. For us we have no choice but to book with them as dcl won't accept our almost 3 yr old.