Need help deciding between Royal's excursions to Chacchoben

[HappyTexan44]

 

For our Feb 2024 cruise there is a stop in Cozumel and Costa Maya.   

Cozumel is decided.   It will be Cabana Beach in a VIP Cabana spending lots of time in the water: diving, snorkeling, manatees.   There are 8 of us all doing the same thing.  We are two families who don't necessarily need to do the same thing.  

 

For Costa Maya I'm thinking of one of Royal's official excursions, because I'm thinking of Chacchoben and it has the long travel time.  They have three options.   The first two are just to the ruins and the exclusive one is 12 people in a van (Thanks cruisecritic)   The third includes the Lagoon.    There really isn't much info on that.   I understand that Royal subcontracts so I looked for info on just the excursions.  I can't figure out which matches.    For example one mention Kayaks.  But then this is in Royal's description: 

•    Relax on the beach of the lagoon before heading back to the ship.

 

So, on Royal's that includes the lagoon do you not get in the water?    Is it bad idea to get in the water?  One reason I'm leaning toward an inland day is the nasty seaweed.   

 

[c-leg5]

28 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

For our Feb 2024 cruise there is a stop in Cozumel and Costa Maya.   

Cozumel is decided.   It will be Cabana Beach in a VIP Cabana spending lots of time in the water: diving, snorkeling, manatees.   There are 8 of us all doing the same thing.  We are two families who don't necessarily need to do the same thing.  

 

For Costa Maya I'm thinking of one of Royal's official excursions, because I'm thinking of Chacchoben and it has the long travel time.  They have three options.   The first two are just to the ruins and the exclusive one is 12 people in a van (Thanks cruisecritic)   The third includes the Lagoon.    There really isn't much info on that.   I understand that Royal subcontracts so I looked for info on just the excursions.  I can't figure out which matches.    For example one mention Kayaks.  But then this is in Royal's description: 

•    Relax on the beach of the lagoon before heading back to the ship.

 

So, on Royal's that includes the lagoon do you not get in the water?    Is it bad idea to get in the water?  One reason I'm leaning toward an inland day is the nasty seaweed.   

 

Try searching for reviews and videos that include Blue Lagoon or Bacalar.

 

There have been some recently on here and more on you tube. Mixed reviews from what I have read and make sure it is recent as I think there have been different resorts at the lake over the years.

 

 

[crewsweeper]

And not to sound like a broken record , but I will, also check out Native Choice's tours to Chacchoben.

Usually small groups, great guides, and the Mayan Adventure (?) one will contain a meal and visit to s reconstructed Mayan Village.  No worries on return to ship.

[jean87510]

7 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

For our Feb 2024 cruise there is a stop in Cozumel and Costa Maya.   

Cozumel is decided.   It will be Cabana Beach in a VIP Cabana spending lots of time in the water: diving, snorkeling, manatees.   There are 8 of us all doing the same thing.  We are two families who don't necessarily need to do the same thing.  

 

For Costa Maya I'm thinking of one of Royal's official excursions, because I'm thinking of Chacchoben and it has the long travel time.  They have three options.   The first two are just to the ruins and the exclusive one is 12 people in a van (Thanks cruisecritic)   The third includes the Lagoon.    There really isn't much info on that.   I understand that Royal subcontracts so I looked for info on just the excursions.  I can't figure out which matches.    For example one mention Kayaks.  But then this is in Royal's description: 

•    Relax on the beach of the lagoon before heading back to the ship.

 

So, on Royal's that includes the lagoon do you not get in the water?    Is it bad idea to get in the water?  One reason I'm leaning toward an inland day is the nasty seaweed.   

 

I did something similar to this with Native Choice in 2021 and it was their Chacchoben Extreme tour which included a trip to Bacalar lagoon.  There were kayaks there.  We did not use them nor go into the water.  Just a personal preference of mine as the lake did not look inviting to me with bugs nor like the pictures.  I'm sure others may disagree and that's fine but no one went swimming and I think one couple kayaked.  I probably should have gone kayaking but had forgotten my bug spray so just didn't feel like going without possible protection.  We really enjoyed the ruins so if it was me, I'd do the 12 person which is what we had.  I've seen those giant buses there with a lot of people and it looked overwhelming.

[awursta]

We booked the Chaccohoben ruins through shoreexursioneer. It ended up being through Tucan Tours. We had a great time! The ruins are only about 45 minutes away. Our group only had about 11 people. We stopped on the way back and got Tamales from a lady right outside the entrance. Then we stopped at a pineapple stand and got fresh pinapple. Then back to the port. Total time was 3 to 3 1/2 hours!

[HappyTexan44]

Normally I do all the planning and deciding for vacations.  But daughter has been participating lately.   Sigh, she is growing up.  12 now.  

I have the link to look at the shore excursions for our same cruise only leaving in a few days.  She liked the idea of seeing a Mayan ruin.   But, not if it meant missing her first love, Segways.   She adores those things.  So, looks like we will do the Segway tour and when we back we'll pop over to the Aviary.  

 

 

 

[HappyTexan44]

Well, the Segway tour looks like a no-go.  Daughter meets the min. age requirement, but not the min. weight.   I emailed the provider to see if she'd been allowed since she has been on a Segway before and that was fine.  They haven't responded.  I'd hate to be rejected from the Segway tour at the last minute, and not be able to do our plan B since it would have left.  So it looks like Chacchoben.   

 

Cruise arrives at 11:00am and departs at 7pm.  I'm told we need to be on the ship by an hour before, so that means 7 hours in port.    Royal lists the Exclusive (non-lagoon) version of the tour as lasting 4 hours.  I was originally thinking that with an hour-ish drive each way we should reserve through the cruise.  But now I am wondering if it would be OK to book our own.   Toucan Tours looks pretty good.   

 

Another possibility is renting golf carts and doing like the Segway tour, only on our own.   I emailed the Red Shirts people if DD could do the driving and they said Yes, as long as a parent was next to her.  

 

ETA: With an 11 am arrival, I would guess that there will be a horde of people ready to get to shore.  More than say at 7 am, which is when we get to Cozumel.  

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by HappyTexan44

[clackey]

I second Native Choice.  We used them last week and it was pretty good.  We are a family of 4 and had an air-conditioned van holding 13 counting the guide and driver.  We were at Chocchoben for 2 hours.  We had a couple of large tours come through and it was like herding cattle.  Our tour was very informative, not rushed and even stopped at a roadside stand to buy Mangos and some of the best Pineapple that I have ever had. Plus, the tour was half price compared to the ship tours.

 

Be sure and check your time in port.  We were in Costa Maya in February and the ship arrived at 2;00 P.M. for 6 hours.  Made it hard to book anything. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by clackey

[HappyTexan44]

We have booked a private tour with Native Choice.   There will be 5 of us and it is the same price as the exclusive tour through Royal.  I know it will be more expensive than directly booking the regular tour because it is private, but I think it will be nice for it to just be us.   I am getting very excited about this port (from very meh).   Amazon Plus has a book The Mayans that I think we'll listen to.  

 

They said that they can start tours one hour after the ships scheduled arrival time. 

 

Which site is reliable to figure out which ships will be in port and when? 

I got this from https://cruisedig.com/ports/costa-maya-mexico/arrivals just now.   Carnival has two ships in at the same time????   That can't be right.   Plus, I think I read somewhere that Costa Maya maxes out at 4 ships.  If the two Carnival ships are true, then that would mean that we'd have to tender.  ugh.  I suppose I can look at the Carnival site.  

   

 

This is what I'd saved to my cruise document.   Not sure where I got that, which is why just now I looked for the same info.   On another site, they only listed three ships and didn't include the Norwegian.  

 

 

The arrival and departure times are also different with that first screenshot showing one less hour in port.  

 

The time in port and how crowded it will be has had an impact on the shore excursion.  If it is 8 hours, then I'm fine with booking a non-cruise excursion.   If it is really crowded, then I'd prefer to do a private tour.   There is the same cruise happening right now.  They arrive at Costa Maya tomorrow and the app says, "Gangway Down 12:30" and "Gangway up 6:30"   So, only 6 hours, which makes me nervous about an independent tour.  

But on the other hand, the official Royal tours start at 12:30 or 1:00 for my cruise.  
 

 

 

 

[HappyTexan44]

Well, the site that listed two Carnival ships in port was wrong.  I just looked at the Carnival website.  I really really didn't want to tender.  

[c-leg5]

3 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

Well, the site that listed two Carnival ships in port was wrong.  I just looked at the Carnival website.  I really really didn't want to tender.  

They are even having problems accommodating 4 ships and the winds this year seem to have caused serious problems.
 

I don’t recall ever hearing of them tendering even before they extended the pier to take 4 ships

[c-leg5]

3 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

The arrival and departure times are also different with that first screenshot showing one less hour in port.  

 

The time in port and how crowded it will be has had an impact on the shore excursion.  If it is 8 hours, then I'm fine with booking a non-cruise excursion.   If it is really crowded, then I'd prefer to do a private tour.   There is the same cruise happening right now.  They arrive at Costa Maya tomorrow and the app says, "Gangway Down 12:30" and "Gangway up 6:30"   So, only 6 hours, which makes me nervous about an independent tour.  

But on the other hand, the official Royal tours start at 12:30 or 1:00 for my cruise

Having done this itinerary multiple times last year, I would agree the port times are less than ideal in Costa Maya and are one reason we chose not to explore far afield last year. We have also been to Costa Maya multiple times previously.

 

There are several issues with the port hours. First, at that time of year Costa Maya will be one hour ahead (EST year round). This affects your biological “eating” clock, and means it is getting dark before you leave. Our scheduled arrival wasn’t always on time and then you have to wait for clearance to disembark. Once disembarkation was temporarily halted after it began because another ship was docking and you can’t use the pier, but if your times are correct that doesn’t look like a problem for you.

 

It is a long walk through the port and outside to where you meet Native Choice, so an hour after docking may still mean you have to hustle if there are any delays. Returning I believe you are dropped off at the port, but still have the pier to walk. All aboard is 30 minutes before sail away, we like to allow at least 1 hour.  I am trying to point out you don’t actually have 11- 7 for your excursion.

 

That said, Native Choice is a reliable company that has been around a long time. I am sure they are used to the constraints of the port hours. If I was intent on doing a tour I wouldn’t hesitate to use them. I am not sure how long their excursion is scheduled to be but I believe the ship excursion is 4 hours including about 45 minutes travel each way, so easily achieved within the timeframe.

Edited May 21, 2023 by c-leg5

[HappyTexan44]

Thank you.   

I guess I do have to set expectations that we not even make the port.  I did read about several times the cruise skipped that port.  

That Native Choice has a good reputation had been a part of my decision to go on a non-royal tour.  

[KatNiss Houston]

I had a good experience with Tucan Tours a few years back.  I remember it was quite a hike to their stand in the heat, but it was do-able and the Chacchoben tour was good.

 

In September, I booked Native Choice. We're doing the Chacchoben/Lagoon tour this time. I went with my son last time, but this time I'm going with my boyfriend and he hasn't done Chacchoben. So, we're doing the combo so I'll also get to see something new at the lagoon.

[LadyMac72]

On 6/2/2023 at 11:11 AM, KatNiss Houston said:

I had a good experience with Tucan Tours a few years back.  I remember it was quite a hike to their stand in the heat, but it was do-able and the Chacchoben tour was good.

 

In September, I booked Native Choice. We're doing the Chacchoben/Lagoon tour this time. I went with my son last time, but this time I'm going with my boyfriend and he hasn't done Chacchoben. So, we're doing the combo so I'll also get to see something new at the lagoon.

I wish Native Choice offered the Chacchoben/Bacalar with a boat ride. I would sign up for that in a minute. I went with Eco Experiences because of it.

[c-leg5]

28 minutes ago, LadyMac72 said:

I wish Native Choice offered the Chacchoben/Bacalar with a boat ride. I would sign up for that in a minute. I went with Eco Experiences because of it.

Did you ask Native Choice about it? Is it a time constraint? You would need long port hours for that.

[LadyMac72]

42 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Did you ask Native Choice about it? Is it a time constraint? You would need long port hours for that.

I did. Other companies offer it and I hoped they did to. 

[c-leg5]

10 minutes ago, LadyMac72 said:

I did. Other companies offer it and I hoped they did to. 

Thanks. I just wondered if they gave a reason. They have been in business a long time.

 

I know our recent port hours wouldn’t have worked with a tour that long so i wondered if they didn’t feel it was viable very often. However, I am surprised they don’t offer the boat option separately although I know they focus mainly on Mayan connections.

 

i haven’t heard of your tour operator. Enjoy your day and please report back, not much feedback on the boat ride.

[toras]

On 5/8/2023 at 10:05 AM, HappyTexan44 said:

 

For Costa Maya I'm thinking of one of Royal's official excursions, because I'm thinking of Chacchoben and it has the long travel time. 

 

Travel time to Chacchoben of 45 minutes is not much compared to the other two bigger ruins which are 1:30 each way. Was looking at that excursion and would definitely have gone with the cruise line’s official one, but now decided on Chacc so probably pick Native Choice.

[KatNiss Houston]

I'm back from my cruise in September. We enjoyed Chacchoben & Bacalar with Native Choice. Bacalar was fantastic - only our small group was there, clean facilities, beautiful clean water, good swimming, free use of kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. Everyone had a great time. I'm surprised to have read some less than stellar reviews, but the guide did tell us in the high season there are 100+ people there and that day it was our group of 15 or so. I'm sure that made a difference. I loved it.