Xplor Park Carnival Shore Excursion - my review

[miel]

According to Carnival's website, this is a new tour. I wasn't able to find much info about it here on CC, so I wanted to share my thoughts.

 

We were there Thurs. July 16 from Carnival's Breeze. Cost was $149.99 per adult and $99.99 per child.

 

It was awesome! We thought it was also worth the hefty price tag too. Our only regret was that we didn't have more time there, as we felt very rushed the entire time. We were in port from 10am to 6pm. There is absolutely no time to do anything else while in Cozumel on this tour.

 

We met in the Ovation Lounge (main theater) at 9:45am as instructed on our tickets. Once off the ship, we walked a the length of the pier (we were at Puerta Maya) and then boarded a blue & yellow ferry that was already docked and waiting.

 

I suggest sitting inside the ferry with A/C. There were also seats outside and on top too where it was open air. The ferry had nice, comfortable seats similar to a coach bus. The staff sold bottled water, beer, powerade, and even margaritas. A Dos Equis bottled beer was $4. Seas were smooth that day so luckily, the ride weren't too choppy. My family and I had taken a bonine that morning though just in case. The ferry ride to mainland is 35 minutes; however, it does not depart until the ferry is full. I feel like we waited at least 15 minutes once on for it to actually leave.

 

Once we reached Playa Del Carmen, on the pier, a Company Tour Guide named Alberto was waiting for us with a sign that said Xplor. He had a younger man helping him too. They wore matching blue polo shirts with their tour company name embroidered on them. They affixed paper wrist bands on each of our arms. There were 30 of us from the Carnival Breeze. These were not Carnival employees.

 

The ferry of course had much more than 30 people, as the ship sold many different shore excursions that were also on the mainland.. Ruins, Shopping, Coba, etc.

 

We (the 30 of us from the Breeze) then walked just a few hundred feet and boarded a nice, coach bus with cool A/C. Our driver's name was Armando. The drive from the pier to Xplor park was 10-15 minutes.

 

Once there, you are given a helmet that must be worn at all times in the park that has a 4 digit number on it. You are also given the opportunity to rent a locker and a key to the locker on a velcro wrist band. So be sure to take the cruise ship's beach towel with you, a change of clothes, sunscreen (we applied it while on the bus) and any personal items you may need. There was no additional fee to rent a locker. They asked you to hold up your bag so they could see how big it was and how many lockers you would need. Our family of four had 2 lockers. They tell you if you lose the key though, it's a $30 fee.

 

There are restrooms next to the check-in place where you obtain your helmet and locker key. Be sure to go before beginning your adventure!

 

There are 4 main attractions at the park and Alberto, on the bus ride there, warned us that you may only have time for 2-3 of them.

1. zipline

2. ATV

3. floating in underwater cave (there's a long and short route)

4. rafting in underwater cave

 

 

We did 1-3 in that order but HUSTLED all day in order to get it done. We ate the last 40 minutes, so be sure to eat a nice, big breakfast on the ship. The food is buffet style and very good. It's open air outdoors but in a covered space. Seating is wooden picnic style tables so it doesn't matter that you're wet. I had tortillas with shredded chicken, refried beans, guacamole, chips, brownies, and Pepsi. They also had pizza, hot dogs, and fruit.

 

 

The ziplines take the bulk of your time. The lines are long. I heard someone say they only allow 2000 people in the park at a time. The excursion description lists 14 ziplines. You will not zipline 14 times. You will actually zip line 6-7 times. The stations have 2-3 ziplines at each one so people can go spaced out on each of the 3 instead of waiting on 1 person to go from start to finish on 1 zipline.

 

The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. I felt safe the entire time. The gear seemed top of the line and very durable. On some of the stations, you have the option to go tandem if you wish. I think the staff more often asks if you want to partner up just to shorten the lines. But if you want to go single, stand your ground. They don't mind. Just tell them you'd prefer to go alone. They have walkie-talkies in which the communicate with the staff at the ending station to ensure they don't send someone too soon.

 

At one of the stations (the highest) you are forced to wait in the direct sun. It is very hot. The rest of the stations are shaded.

 

The ATV course was impressive! It was a lot longer than we expected. You drive over a bridge, inside a cave, through big puddles, and it has lots of fun curves. There were two stop-points on the course with a staff member there just in case you needed something or were experiencing a problem. The ATV has headlights you flip on when you drive through the caves.

 

The water in the underground float was cold. I think I remember reading it was 77 degrees. The staff issues you a life jacket and you just follow the course. As I mentioned above, you can take two different routes - a short and long one. We did the short one and it took about 10 min.

 

After that, we ate and then changed clothes and ordered our photos.

 

There are cameras all around the park that take photos of you. Some of the photo ops have a button you push to take the photo. That's where the number on your helmet comes into play. The photos are grouped by your number, so remember your #! I believe I read on the park sign at check-in that it was $75 per person to receive all photos taken of you in the park on a thumb drive. There were four of us, and we decided from the beginning that we would just purchase 1 thumb drive for our daughter, so we made sure to pose with her in photos a lot. However, at the end, when we were reviewing the photos on the monitor (the pull them up for you), they offered all 4 of our photos on 1 thumb drive for $109.00. We were in a rush, and said yes. Once we got home, we were very disappointed, as there were only 8-10 good photos on it. There were even some people we didn't recognize on our thumb drive. The timing of the flash was always hard to be ready for, so in the majority of our photos, someone's not looking/ready or making a weird face, or has a deer in headlights look lol!

 

If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken my iPhone with me in a clear, plastic pouch that hangs around your neck like a lanyard. These are waterproof and sold at the park in their gift shop. Or if you had a LifeProof waterproof case on your phone, purchase something that holds the phone around your neck so your hands are free when you zip line.

 

We created wonderful family memories, but I wish we didn't have to rush the entire day. I hope this review helps someone!

Edited July 22, 2015 by miel

[JohninDC]

Thanks for the review - does not sound like my cup of tea (especially for that price) but it sounds like your crew enjoyed it. Thanks again. :)

[miel]

You're welcome. :) I realize it's one of the most pricey shore excursions offered but felt as if we really got what we paid for.. park admission, ferry ride x2, bus ride x2, a guide, lunch, locker rental, etc.

 

And I meant to add in my review I would NEVER do this excursion on my own for fear of being left behind.

[c-leg5]

Maybe OK to do if you are staying on the mainland but not worth it to me from Cozumel.

 

We have enjoyed Xcaret while staying in Playa but wouldn't do it on a cruise ship day in Cozumel.

[losbun]

Thanks for posting this review. I thought about this excursion as it seemed a lot of fun and different but for the cost and the how much time would get eaten up with transportation I decided against it. But I would expect we'll go to Playa Del Carmen again and this sounds like a great excursion.