Long shore excursion vs Short docking time

[DrSammy]

Hi everyone!

 

Here's a puzzler...

 

The Reflection is scheduled to dock in Cozumel at 10:00 am and depart at 7:00 pm. A shore excursion to Chichen Itza is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am and last 9 hours, meaning it returns to the ship at 7:30 pm.

 

Will the cruisers on this excursion need to train for the 500 meter pier run, and will those with Traditional dining at 6:00 pm miss their daily crock of French Onion Soup?

 

(For those who were told that there would be no math in this forum, you may submit your answer in the form of a haiku or interpretive dance.)

 

Thanks.

Edited September 20, 2022 by DrSammy

[canderson]

Here's a data point for your calculation.  A straight no-delays run from the Cozumel ferry to Chichen Itza is about 3:45.  

 

It's quite the site, even though you aren't allowed to climb the Temple of the Sun for some years now, but it really is a lot of bus time.

 

Perhaps better done as part of a week at a Tulum or Playa resort.

[Mark_K]

It’s not cheap, but when we were there we booked a private Chichen Itza by air tour.  Total time round trip from/to Cozumel airport  was 6-7 hours, and a short plane ride is a lot more fun than a long bus ride.

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, DrSammy said:

Hi everyone!

 

Here's a puzzler...

 

The Reflection is scheduled to dock in Cozumel at 10:00 am and depart at 7:00 pm. A shore excursion to Chichen Itza is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am and last 9 hours, meaning it returns to the ship at 7:30 pm.

 

Will the cruisers on this excursion need to train for the 500 meter pier run, and will those with Traditional dining at 6:00 pm miss their daily crock of French Onion Soup?

 

(For those who were told that there would be no math in this forum, you may submit your answer in the form of a haiku or interpretive dance.)

 

Thanks.

If this is a ship's excursion then no problem.  The ship will wait as it did for our group to return.  We arrived back about 2 hours late and were "assisted" on board.  Saw others on a private tour be left behind.

You might need to dine at Oceanview or a later time or even miss a meal - heaven forbid.

Just remember shore excursions are being pieced together and often have missing or incorrect information. 

As an example, the April 15 night TA to Amsterdam showed Southampton with a London excursion with airport dropoff.  Maybe for those who were unhappy and did not want the last 3 nights?

[DrSammy]

Thanks for the help everyone. 🙂

 

Personally, I was fortunate enough to have gone to Chichen Itza many years ago when you could climb the temple. It's the couple we're travelling with who want to go on this excursion - yes, it's a ship's excursion - because they've never been and don't know when they'll have another opportunity to go. I just wanted to be sure they'll be okay.

 

I plan to relax on board and dine at the Lawn Club Grill that evening.

 

Sammy

[DCPIV]

6 minutes ago, DrSammy said:

I just wanted to be sure they'll be okay.

 

As mentioned, they will be fine if it's a ship excursion.  Long day, though.

 

If you want to do something fun on shore that doesn't take a lot of time, DW and I loved the Mexology "class."  Bring your liver, though!

[LeeW]

Not sure if I have ever seen the mainland excursions (ferry) get back on time.  They all wind up on a dedicated ferry that comes back to the cruise ship dock.  It gets there when it gets there.  These trips have way too much travel time versus tour time for us.

[wineoclock]

Chicken Itza is an amazing place. Went over 30 years ago. Prefer Palenque though & oh Tulum ❤️
 

On any long tours I generally prefer to do ship excursions. 

[prmssk]

For those that want to get to Chichén Itzá on a cruise, I suggest finding a cruise that stops at Progreso, Yucatán (unfortunately, I don’t think Celebrity usually stops there).  The travel time is cut significant enough to allow a good amount of time at the site. We had originally planned an excursion from Cozumel but it was really hard to justify 4 hours in a bus and 2 hours on a ferry for about 45 minutes at the site. 

 

I agree with others though that as long as it is a Celebrity excursion they will be fine. They will be on one of many excursions that completely fill the last ferry that the ship anticipates waiting for (as I don’t think they are ever on time getting back from the mainland).

[canderson]

8 minutes ago, prmssk said:

For those that want to get to Chichén Itzá on a cruise, I suggest finding a cruise that stops at Progreso, Yucatán (unfortunately, I don’t think Celebrity usually stops there).

We've been there once, but not with Celebrity.  It's quite the novel port layout.  Talk about 'getting to the mainland'!  You might not want to take the time to walk the long road from the ship out in the ocean to the mainland (3.5 miles).  I've tendered from closer in ! 

 

Fortunately, they provide good transport options!

 

[39august]

I went to  Chichin Itza many years ago and climbed that temple. Holy cow! Going down was a lot harder than climbing up. I would not do this tour as a cruise excursion. Way too many hours wasted traveling to the site. I suggest that if they want ruins on this cruise, select the Tulum tour. Still have to take that ferry, which is frequently rough, but they will have a much shorter bus ride and longer at the  site. And Tulum is pretty impressive itself. 

[prmssk]

6 hours ago, canderson said:

We've been there once, but not with Celebrity.  It's quite the novel port layout.  Talk about 'getting to the mainland'!  You might not want to take the time to walk the long road from the ship out in the ocean to the mainland (3.5 miles).  I've tendered from closer in ! 

 

Fortunately, they provide good transport options!

 

Progreso really is quite the unique port experience!  And they keep making improvements to it so we may see more cruise lines stop there in the future.  I would like to go back and see the Uxmal Mayan ruins.

 

6 hours ago, 39august said:

I suggest that if they want ruins on this cruise, select the Tulum tour. Still have to take that ferry, which is frequently rough, but they will have a much shorter bus ride and longer at the  site. And Tulum is pretty impressive itself. 

 

Tulum is definitely worth seeing.  It's still a long day from Cozumel but you get more time at the ruins.