Booked a Tulum & Beach Break Tour with RCI. Need help with some Q's and suggestions

[tusconcam]

Hi there. (Pardon me but Yes I have already posted this in Ports of Call; but I was hoping to cover all bases by posting here too)

My girlfriend and I are taking a cruise with Royal Caribbean on the Oasis of the Seas late April on a Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

We have already booked with Royal Caribbean an excursion called Tulum Tour and Beach Break.

 

I'm just wondering if someone could chime in with any information/experiences/suggestions they might have with this excursion?

Was it worthwhile?

How was the beach and food portion?

Were you rushed?

Was it organized well? etc. etc.

 

I'd really also like to know the procedure we undergo once we are off the ship to get to Tulum.

Is there anyone corralling those who have signed up for the tour?

Do we have to take a bus or taxi to get to the Ferry docks and if so is this on our own? or do we walk there?

 

Our travel agent told us that she thinks that the ferry is paid for already for us since we bought the tour. Is this true?

Once off the ferry how do we find out tour bus that takes us to Tulum?

 

If you have anything else to add/suggestions it would be most appreciated.

Sorry for the large number of questions. Just want to know/be organized.

 

Thanks

Cameron.

[bluebeard39]

My Wife and I did this back in 2012. You will get off the ship in Cozumel and be taken to the ferry that will take you to the main land. Once you get off the ferry you will line up with a tour guide, the person will take you to a bus that will drive you to Tulum. You get a bathroom break once you are off the bus then proceed to the Tulum site with the guide who will take you around then they will give you time for exploring on your own. You will meet up at the bus and go to a Beach resort to have lunch (Very Good local food) and be on the beach for about 2 or 2&1/2 hours. Then the bus ride back to the Ferry and back to the Ship at Cozumel. You will probably not have much time to shop for anything as that happened to us. It is a great activity and not to rushed. We enjoyed this tour. Sorry for the long post.:D

[FlyStef]

My family of 10 did the Tulum Ruins and Beach Break with RCI in Nov. 2015. Of everything we did on our cruise, this excursion was the biggest disappointment. We barely got to see the Tulum Ruins. Barely. We spent more time at this awful tacky gift shop the bus stops at on the way for a "bathroom break", than in the Tulum Ruins. Our guide was not very knowledgeable regarding the ruins themselves. He knew about mayan life, but almost nothing regarding the architecture, structures, uses, etc. Also, as part of a large tour group, you are led away from the structures, so you don't get very close to any of the ruins, and when the guide was finally finished, we only had 15 minutes to explore the ruins ourselves. I didn't even see 1/3 of the site. I was so infuriated, and so was most of our family. The beach break was fine, but the day we were there, the beach was covered in several feet of sea weed and the seas were far too rough for swimming. We all would have preferred having that hour and a half in the ruins, and not on the smelly unswimable beach.

 

Overall, I would go back and do Tulum while staying in Mexico, but not as part of a cruise ship day excursion from Cozumel. It's not worth the travel for the short amount of time you are there. I also didn't think it was terribly well done either, I was not impressed with our guide or the mandatory 45 minute stop at the tacky overpriced souvenir shop.

 

ETA The ferry fee is included in your tour fare.

There is a sign once you get off the Ferry in Playa del carmen on what bus to load into. It's a bit of a long process.

There is a fair amount of walking, being able bodied is important for this tour.

Edited February 24, 2016 by FlyStef
answer specific questions in OP

[Clarea]

I mentioned this on the other forum, but in case you don't go back there, consider how rough the ferry ride is. We've known people who have taken this excursion, and it's not unusual for passengers to get sick. If you are prone to seasickness at all, I be wary.

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Hi there. (Pardon me but Yes I have already posted this in Ports of Call; but I was hoping to cover all bases by posting here too)

My girlfriend and I are taking a cruise with Royal Caribbean on the Oasis of the Seas late April on a Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

We have already booked with Royal Caribbean an excursion called Tulum Tour and Beach Break.

 

I'm just wondering if someone could chime in with any information/experiences/suggestions they might have with this excursion?

Was it worthwhile?

How was the beach and food portion?

Were you rushed?

Was it organized well? etc. etc.

 

I'd really also like to know the procedure we undergo once we are off the ship to get to Tulum.

Is there anyone corralling those who have signed up for the tour?

Do we have to take a bus or taxi to get to the Ferry docks and if so is this on our own? or do we walk there?

 

Our travel agent told us that she thinks that the ferry is paid for already for us since we bought the tour. Is this true?

Once off the ferry how do we find out tour bus that takes us to Tulum?

 

If you have anything else to add/suggestions it would be most appreciated.

Sorry for the large number of questions. Just want to know/be organized.

 

Thanks

Cameron.

 

My daughter and I did this in 2014 off the Vision. You go strait from the boat to the ferry with your guide. Once the ferry gets to Playa you walk with your guide to the bus. Its about an hour bus ride to Tulum. You get off the bus and either walk through the market area to the entrance of the Runes or pay a couple of bucks for a trolley. In August we took the trolley because it was HOT. The runes are amazing. We did not do the beach break but we could see where you took the stairs down to the beach. I would estimate the elevation about 100 feet down to the beach, which would mean about 100 feet back up :). We had some free time at the market at Tulum and about an hour in Playa before the ferry took us back to Cozumel. There was no time left to shop around the port in Cozumel. The tour was worth it and close to any price we could get from local providers. Ferry cost is included and it is a ferry just for RCL tours. RCI provided a snack lunch that was horrible, bottle of water, vacuum packed tuna, and crackers. At least there was stands at Tulum and Playa we could get some empanadas.

[FlyStef]

I mentioned this on the other forum, but in case you don't go back there, consider how rough the ferry ride is. We've known people who have taken this excursion, and it's not unusual for passengers to get sick. If you are prone to seasickness at all, I be wary.

 

YES! Our ferry ride was the vomit comet from hell. Everyone was throwing up everywhere,it was all over the walls, the floors. It was awful. I felt so bad for the ferry workers running all over the ferry with bags and paper towels trying to clean up a mess before the next mess happened.

Edited February 24, 2016 by FlyStef

[tusconcam]

Thanks for your replies.

 

It seems like it is a mixed bag based on the reviews.

I have been to Tulum before when I was in Cancun years ago and not as part of a cruise ship excursion. My girlfriend has not been there. I was hoping to hear that was more of a favorable experience as we are not into water based activities (wear lasses) and Tulum is a fairly renowned place of historical significance etc.

 

Hmm What to do now?

 

More experiences are appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Clarea]

YES! Our ferry ride was the vomit comet from hell. Everyone was throwing up everywhere,it was all over the walls, the floors. It was awful. I felt so bad for the ferry works running all over the ferry with bags and paper towels trying to clean up a mess before the next mess happened.

Just not how I want to spend my excursion. I'd prefer to go to these places sometime when I'm staying on the mainland for a week or so.

[mommasharn]

I will never forget the ferry ride! I NEVER get seasick, but holy moly. It was ugly. At one point I think I was praying for death, but I'm not sure because I was so sick. [emoji51][emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

[TnTWalter]

I would skip also. you will spend so much time in being transported or waiting for transportation [at least 4 hours]...

 

I've stayed in Tulum and enjoyed the ruins... because it was a nice way to spend a couple hours one morning .... ek balam ruins were nicer. The tulum ruins overlook the ocean which is pretty. We also avoided the cheesey shopping etc. at the entrance.

[CntPAcruiser]

My family of 10 did the Tulum Ruins and Beach Break with RCI in Nov. 2015. Of everything we did on our cruise, this excursion was the biggest disappointment. We barely got to see the Tulum Ruins. Barely. We spent more time at this awful tacky gift shop the bus stops at on the way for a "bathroom break", than in the Tulum Ruins. Our guide was not very knowledgeable regarding the ruins themselves. He knew about mayan life, but almost nothing regarding the architecture, structures, uses, etc. Also, as part of a large tour group, you are led away from the structures, so you don't get very close to any of the ruins, and when the guide was finally finished, we only had 15 minutes to explore the ruins ourselves. I didn't even see 1/3 of the site. I was so infuriated, and so was most of our family. The beach break was fine, but the day we were there, the beach was covered in several feet of sea weed and the seas were far too rough for swimming. We all would have preferred having that hour and a half in the ruins, and not on the smelly unswimable beach.

 

Overall, I would go back and do Tulum while staying in Mexico, but not as part of a cruise ship day excursion from Cozumel. It's not worth the travel for the short amount of time you are there. I also didn't think it was terribly well done either, I was not impressed with our guide or the mandatory 45 minute stop at the tacky overpriced souvenir shop.

 

ETA The ferry fee is included in your tour fare.

There is a sign once you get off the Ferry in Playa del carmen on what bus to load into. It's a bit of a long process.

There is a fair amount of walking, being able bodied is important for this tour.

 

This was to a large extent our experience when we did this excursion in 2014. We knew about the long travel time and the potentially rough ferry trip, so that didn't come as a surprise, and we had better luck with the beach portion and found the food pretty good as well. Our disappointment was the short amount of time we had to see the ruins on our own, maybe 25 minutes, after the guided tour portion. We had a better guide than the person I quoted here, but were still not impressed with how the tour was given overall.

 

Since we likely won't ever get to that area on a land vacation, we're basically glad we did this tour, but we'd never do it again. As long as you know what you're getting into, it's okay. But compared to the tour of the ruins at Chacchoben we did on our Costa Maya port stop a number of years ago, if I could have only done one, it would be Chacchoben. Even though it also had a lot of travel time, the employees told us about the culture during that time and answered questions about their country, so we were prepared once we got to the ruins site, where there was a professional guide for that portion around the ruins.