Cancun from NCL Sea

[jlines]

Since this was the port I had the most trouble getting info on, I decided to post some for anyone else interested. We were here on 6/17. We decided to wait for the open tender service because we were tired of waiting in long lines to get off. The tender is verrrrrrrry slow so it takes awhile to get to shore. It drops you off at Playa Tortugas which is on the top of the 7. Isla Cancun is in the shape of a 7 for those who have never been there. We just planted at the beach in front of Fat Tuesdays since we really didn't have a lot of time at this port. We were able to rent an umbrella with 2 chairs. The beach itself had a lot of seaweed, but the sand is incredible and the water dazzling. We walked all the way to the Fiesta Americana which is at the point of the 7 and back. (Had to get that walk-a-mile in even though we probably walked 3!) We brought our snorkeling equipment along for the heck of it even though posters said there isn't much to see here. Believe it or not, I saw tons more fish here than at Dzul Ha on Cozumel. There isn't much coral to see but there were schools and schools of fish. There is a flea market behind Fat Tuesdays where my kids were able to get some great bargains - learn to haggle as it pays off. We had a great beach day. The tender back was awful. We were on supposedly the last one (it was full to the brim yet there were people who couldn't get on so there must have been another one) that left at 3:30 yet didn't get back on the ship until close to 5:00. Needless to say, people were becoming very impatient - this is one port that NCL needs to reevaluate the tendering service. Hope this synopsis helps anyone else who has Cancun as a short port and doesn't want to spend a lot of money. Just getting off at the pier can be a nice day.

[Frosting Master]

We will be on the Sea at the end of Oct. I am just starting to research the ports and I did not want to book stuff for every minute of the day and not leave some down time for just hanging loose. Did the tender really take 1 1/2 hours to get back to the ship???

[jlines]

It didn't take that long to tender - it just took a long time to get back on the ship as the water was quite choppy. The tender had 3 levels. When we got to the ship, they tried about 3 times to line the ramp up from level 1. They decided this was unsafe so they put the ramp on the platform, untied the tender, and moved it to line up an exit from level 2. Then of course we all had to go up the only narrow set of steps available to get off. Again, because of the choppiness, only a few people could take the ramp at the time the conditions were just right. This whole process took about as long as the tender ride itself.

[newmexicoNita]

Sounds like we may just tender in, hit the flea market for a few minutes and head back to the ship. We too are just starting to research. We will be with 2 other couples cruising in November on the Sea. We like the idea of hanging out around the ship one or two port days anyway and already know we want to do an excursion in both Roatan and Cozumel. Have done Belize and do not care for the island at all. We love Roatan. Thanks for the tip.

 

NMNita

[okiehorselover]

Just returned from the Sea from the 7/2-10 cruise. We also did open tendering and it took 30 minutes to get to Cancun. The dads in the group did a spur of the moment snorking trip ($30 each) from a vendor at the pier. The rest (moms and kids) decided to go to the mall. NCL offers free a/c bus service to two malls, one fancy, the other with general touristy stuff like teeshirts, etc. We shopped around the mall, took the bus back to the pier and hung out at Fat Tuesdays for a bit. Then it was time to get back on the tender. Not really enough time to do much other than a little shopping. The dads LOVED the snorkling -- thought it was the best of the trip although the current was strong. It did take a bit more time to line up the boat with the ship and it was really rocking and rolling. We also heard that a woman had drowned in Cancun on a similar snorkling trip from another passenger. The current is pretty strong there. We definitely needed more time! Oh by the way, the tenders to Cancun are full of vendors trying to sell silver, cigars, blankets, tableclothes....so be prepared!

 

NCL Sea 7-04

[Cary T]

Just returned from ncl sea and cancun on 8/26. i have to agree that the tender (3 level) was the slowest boat ride i've ever taken-i think the ship could have beat it! the beach was really nice ,my daughter and a guy she met on the ship rented a waverunner right behind fat tuesdays and bargained the guy from $45. per half hour to $70. for an hour(his brother got an hour for $60. later on!). we were accosted by a throng of taxi drivers who offered rides from $20 for three down to $6. for three.we ended up taking the free shuttle to flamingo shopping mall and bought some tequila and had lunch at jimmy buffets margaritaville.it's sort of disappointing that the restaurants in the mall offered no local cuisine only outback steakhouse,pat o'briens,margaritaville and mcdonalds.i'll take another day in roatan in exchange for cancun.

[Jem4life]

Have done Belize and do not care for the island at all. We love Roatan. Thanks for the tip.

 

NMNita~ We are doing the NCL Sea over Easter 2005. I'm interested in knowing what you didn't like about Belize? Of all the ports, that one interested me the most. We are planning the cave tubing trip. What did you do in Roatan? We are thinking of either Paradise Beach or if we can, Passion Island. I had heard it was only available to certain cruise lines, NCL not being one of them.

 

As far as Cancun, being that we will be there over Easter break, I'm worried about all the Spring breakers that will be there. We may get off the ship and just "hang out" for a bit. We are travelling with a group of 15, so it's going to be hard to get everyone to agree on doing the same things.

 

Jean