Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins Express

[abqmommyof4]

Keeping  my hopes up  that  we  will still cruise in  November.    has  anyone  done this excuionrsion in Cozumel?

if  so what  are your  opinions. It is  a ship  sponsored  tour.

 

Thank you

 

[satxdiver]

It is worth seeing if you are leaving from the port at Progreso.  It is a long bus ride but well worth seeing the ruins.  We did this about 6 years ago and enjoyed it.

[dns65]

There is a lot to see at the site but on this excursion I believe you only have  1.5 hours at the site based on what I read when I was looking at excursions for my cruise in February which has a port call in Cozumel.  You probably will see the ball court, get a photo op at the main pyramid and a few other small things.  You wouldn't have time for the observatory or other significant structures.   You are also going to be doing this at the hottest point of the day.   

 

These ruins are better to see on a land vacation in Cancun or Riviera Maya where you will have more time.  But if you think this is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity and you'll never be in the area again, do it with the understanding you are only going to see a few major structures and most of your time is going to be spent on the bus and riding the ferry to/from Cozumel.  6 hours of this 8 hour excursion is transportation to/from the ruins

There is one passenger review of the tour on the Princess excursions page, you may want to look at their review 

Edited June 29, 2020 by dns65

[LeeW]

Much easier to go from Progresso than from Cozumel.  With Coz you have the 45 minute rocky ferry, plus the long bus ride in each direction.  Typically these are the last excursions back onboard before sailing, and usually late.  The ruins are worth a lot more than an hour or hour and a half.  Uxmal is a better site (less busy), slightly shorter bus ride from Progresso.  Still over an hour each way.

 

Having been on the ferry for just a short trip you couldn't pay me to take it to the mainland.  When Princess couldn't dock a few years ago the ship anchored off San Miguel and used the ferry to get to shore.  Less than 100 yards and people were still getting sick on it.

 

If you really want to go to Chichen Itza from Coz it would be well worth the extra cost to take the flight excursion.  Spend more time at the ruins and a view from above.  Costly, but no worse than some Alaska flightseeing trips.

Edited June 29, 2020 by LeeW
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[BarbinMich]

When we stopped at Cozumel a few years ago, I did a ship excursion to Altun Ha, about 30 miles from Belize City.  IMHO, it's a great site if you're interested in Mayan sites.  There's a central grassy area surrounded by 3 structures of varying heights (the 4th hadn't yet been excavated).  There's a stairway up to the top of the tallest structure.  I found it interesting that the lowest "step" on the monument I spent the most time around is about 30" high; certainly too high for me to step up on.  Later I did some reading about the Mayans who were probably about my height (5') and learned they clambered up on all fours <g>.  

[caribill]

10 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

When we stopped at Cozumel a few years ago, I did a ship excursion to Altun Ha, about 30 miles from Belize City.  IMHO, it's a great site if you're interested in Mayan sites. 

 

I assume you visited Altun Ha when the ship was at Belize City.

 

From Cozumel the trip to Atlun Ha would be about 8 hours each way including the ferry at Cozumel.

[BarbinMich]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I assume you visited Altun Ha when the ship was at Belize City.

 

From Cozumel the trip to Atlun Ha would be about 8 hours each way including the ferry at Cozumel.

You're right.  My memory is not always accurate these days 😪.  I guess because we dropped anchor quite a bit offshore and had to take a "shuttle" (very large boat) to B.C., it seemed like we'd gone to B.C. from Cozumel where we were the next day.  The itinerary was Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Costa Maya, Belize City, Conzumel.  This was our second time to Belize and I highly recommend it.

[voljeep]

not chichen Itza Mayan ... but we did the Tulum ruins from Cozumel ... and it was indeed an all day thing ...

 

then had a blast doing the Scoot Coups the next time in Coz ...

[lx200gps]

On 6/29/2020 at 6:45 PM, LeeW said:

Much easier to go from Progresso than from Cozumel.  With Coz you have the 45 minute rocky ferry, plus the long bus ride in each direction.  Typically these are the last excursions back onboard before sailing, and usually late.  The ruins are worth a lot more than an hour or hour and a half.  Uxmal is a better site (less busy), slightly shorter bus ride from Progresso.  Still over an hour each way.

 

Having been on the ferry for just a short trip you couldn't pay me to take it to the mainland.  When Princess couldn't dock a few years ago the ship anchored off San Miguel and used the ferry to get to shore.  Less than 100 yards and people were still getting sick on it.

 

If you really want to go to Chichen Itza from Coz it would be well worth the extra cost to take the flight excursion.  Spend more time at the ruins and a view from above.  Costly, but no worse than some Alaska flightseeing trips.

I'll have to agree with flying in. Chichen Itza is a stunning visit and well worth taking the time to enjoy. Our very first (of many) trips to Coz was a week long land stay, and we did a day trip, flying a vintage Aero Cozumel F27 from Coz Airport to the landing strip at the ruins. Made for a bucket list day and at the time was only about $200PP. The pilot did a wing-over right around El Castillo and grabbed a stunning photo. Wish I could find it in my archives ;o(

[geoherb]

We took the excursion to Tulum on one of our cruises. The ferry ride is rough. On the way over, we were fortunately in the front seats. I could see the hostesses carrying seasickness bags to people, but I didn't turn around to look. The ride back was even rougher. They call it the vomit comet for a reason.