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Chacchoben Ruins tour

als310

By als310,
in Costa Maya

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sausimayok

sausimayok

Posted
Posted

Hi AUTUMN SUN,

I changed our ruin tour back to the extreem. I figured, that if there were a few Carnival people and read somewhere, not to worry we would get back on time. I can't believe it, less than 95 days, how long have you been waiting? I have been counting since January.

See you on the ship, Jan 1/06.

Brenda

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AUTUMN SUN

AUTUMN SUN

Posted
Posted
Hi AUTUMN SUN,

I changed our ruin tour back to the extreem. I figured, that if there were a few Carnival people and read somewhere, not to worry we would get back on time. I can't believe it, less than 95 days, how long have you been waiting? I have been counting since January.

See you on the ship, Jan 1/06.

Brenda

 

SINCE THE END OF MARCH. I HAVE LITERALLY WISHED THE SUMMER AWAY, THE YEAR FOR THAT MATTER! IM BEYOND EXCITED!!:D

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Buffettfan 225 "Live from...." Rare

Buffettfan 225

Posted
Posted

I have been reading nothing but rave reviews, one question:

How difficult is it to get a taxi to Mahahual in Costa Maya?

I read that some people experienced long line wait time after getting ticket for taxi, I wouldn'y want to miss my arranged tour.

Also of Costa Maya & Belize which "ruin site" is an overall better experience taking into account bus drive time, size of ruins etc. Thanks.

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Sheffie

Sheffie

Posted
Posted
I have been reading nothing but rave reviews, one question:

How difficult is it to get a taxi to Mahahual in Costa Maya?

I read that some people experienced long line wait time after getting ticket for taxi, I wouldn'y want to miss my arranged tour.

Also of Costa Maya & Belize which "ruin site" is an overall better experience taking into account bus drive time, size of ruins etc. Thanks.

 

We didn't have any problem with getting a taxi into Mahahual. We didn't rush to get off the ship, nor did we get the shuttle down the pier. We weren't late for our tour with David.

 

I haven't been to the ruins in Belize, so I cannot compare them. I just know that in Costa Maya we got to see a lot of ruins and had a great tour.

 

Have a great cruise!

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  • 2 weeks later...
AUTUMN SUN

AUTUMN SUN

Posted
Posted
what is the lagoon like that they take you to on the extreme trip. Is it sheltered? Does it have coral and lots of fish for snorkeling?

 

thanks

 

jc

 

 

You might want to do a goggle search for " Laguna Azul Costa Maya." This tour is so new, I dont know if anyone has been on it yet. You can always e-mail them with questions.:)

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AUTUMN SUN

AUTUMN SUN

Posted
Posted
what is the lagoon like that they take you to on the extreme trip. Is it sheltered? Does it have coral and lots of fish for snorkeling?

 

thanks

 

jc

 

 

You might want to do a goggle search for " Laguna Azul Costa Maya." This tour is so new, I dont know if anyone has been on it yet. You can always e-mail them with questions.:)

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AUTUMN SUN

AUTUMN SUN

Posted
Posted
what is the lagoon like that they take you to on the extreme trip. Is it sheltered? Does it have coral and lots of fish for snorkeling?

 

thanks

 

jc

 

 

You might want to do a goggle search for " Laguna Azul Costa Maya." This tour is so new, I dont know if anyone has been on it yet. You can always e-mail them with questions.:)

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rojova

rojova

Posted
Posted

My wife and I are on the Dec 25 Miracle cruise. She has CP, but walks well with a cane. We also have a wheelchair for long distances.

 

We would like to do a ruins tour. Is this possible with her using a cane or a wheelchair?

 

We would appreciate any feedback.

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greatdanemom

greatdanemom

Posted
Posted
Just back today...they are having problems with the local unions. We waited for over Two hours to go on this tour but gave up when it was clear there was not enough time left !!

 

Please forgive my ignorance but who is "Native Sons?" Is that the name of a tour company in Costa Maya? Or is it the name of a specific tour? Any info would be helpful to those of us going in the future.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. Sorry you had such a bad experience and I hope the rest of your cruise was very good.

 

Cheryl

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Sheffie

Sheffie

Posted
Posted
My wife and I are on the Dec 25 Miracle cruise. She has CP, but walks well with a cane. We also have a wheelchair for long distances.

 

We would like to do a ruins tour. Is this possible with her using a cane or a wheelchair?

 

We would appreciate any feedback.

 

Maybe you could e-mail David and Ivan to get a better idea about this. I don't think you could do the wheel chair, but a cane would probably be do-able. There are some places along the way where she could rest for a few minutes on a wall, but not a whole lot of them. David or Ivan would be able to help you out better than I can.

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monijohn

monijohn

Posted
Posted

Is this any problem with Ivan and David's tours. Anyone have specifics, please pass it on. First time I've heard of any problem. Thanks John

 

 

Just back today...they are having problems with the local unions. We waited for over Two hours to go on this tour but gave up when it was clear there was not enough time left !!
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MI-DI

MI-DI

Posted
Posted

The only thing I can tell you is that a lot of people were there waiting for the tour. The local big shots wanted to put two people to each cab instead of using a bus.After two hours we gave up and left.

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Images

Images

Posted
Posted

We went on this tour with Ivan in September. It is just excellent. Ask questions about Ivan's life as a boy and how the village life has changed. He has alot to say about their way of life. I don't think this tour would work well if you had a cane, and a wheelchair would be impossible. We were able to climb some ruins.

 

He does have an e-mail address on his web site and they do respond to your questions within a day or two.

 

We were driven in a van by a driver, Ivan in the front passenger seat answering our questions on way to the ruins.

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rfische1

rfische1

Posted
Posted

We just got back from our cruise Sunday and used David and Ivan for our tour to Chacchoben. This was the highlight of our cruise and Ivan was the reason why. I cannot imagine a better tour guide to tell the story of the Mayan culture. He did not sugar coat the fact that they were a warring people, but he did give us the rational. His explanation of their spirituality was especially fascinating to me as I am taking a related course in college. His knowledge of their way of life was such that it could only be told by an ancestor. Finally I would be lying if I did admit appreciating seeing the temples and village. This is a very impressive site that I have heard is better for visiting than some of the better known ruins.

 

We also had trouble with unions which delayed our departure about 45 minutes. It seems they do not like how popular his tours are becoming and want a cut of his action. As mentioned, he is fully licensed, but the small town cops can be bought as it seems to be the case here. The bottom line was he could not ride in the vans with us to the ruins, but he did conduct the tour once there. As it was, the tour went way over the time he quoted (we were back in plenty of time though) and he reduced the tour cost because of the troubles.

 

Finally, don't let this stop you from booking this tour. Ivan and David were very open about the problem to us and will do all they can to make the tour go. The tour is worth it.

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Nan-L

Nan-L

Posted
Posted

I was on David and Ivain's Tour on the 12th of Oct. Must be the same day as the people above were speaking of.

The taxi cab union is fighting w/ Ivan and David, trying to take all the money. They actually blocked their bus so they couldn't get out and Daivd had to call the police. The taxi's wanted us to all take taxi's to the ruins so they could make $$, then David could meet us there...we choose not to be redused to their strong arm tactics.

We did have to wait about 2 hr's to have him get in settled.

We are going to write a complant as soon as Ivan gives us the names etc. that we need. Hopefully this will put a stop to the strong arm tactics the union is pulling with Ivan and David.

The tour was wonderful and well worth the wait. We were back at 5:00 at the pier. He reduced the price by a few dollars which was nice since is wasn't his fault to begin with.

I am asking all who were that day or any othe day that the union was holding them up to contact Ivain via e-mail and ask for the info. When you get the info please write a letter explaining the problems we are having and hopefully it will put a stop to this. There is enough money being made in this area that the few who want it all have to be stopped!!

 

**As a note to get to the large ruins you have to climb steps, it would be hard for anyone with any problems to do this. There are other ruins to see but the best is at the top of these stairs.

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efofan

efofan

Posted
Posted

I sent them an email about 3 days ago, and I understand it may take a few days to be in touch, but I thought I'd check if anyone else has been in touch in the past week or so. I am hoping that we may end up in CM on Saturday 11/5 since Cozumel was our intended port, so I'm trying to make contact and set up something preliminarily since Carnival didn't include our cruise in their latest iteinerary change announcement (I mean, why get ahead of ourselves...embarkation is only SIX DAYS away!!!!!)

 

Sorry to hear about the taxi union trouble, but as long as the timing isn't cutting it too close to be back on ship, I'd like to give them my business, even if it means having to put up with a little hassle.

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