Chacchoben Mayan Ruins

[flyingdoxie]

Hi! First time cruiser here. We will be sailing on the Carnival Liberty 11-16-06 for 6 days. We've never cruised or been there before, so I'm being conservative and booking through Carnival for shore excursions. I have this perhaps irrational fear of missing the ship :D

 

So, I'm thinking of booking the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins. Has anyone been there through Carnival? Is it worth it?

 

How much time should we allow before/after an excursion to get on/off the ship? And (perhaps a stupid question) how does one get on & off the ship? The schedule states we depart from Costa Maya at 6pm but the tour schedule shows it ends at 5:30. Does that mean the tour ends on the ship?

Thanks for your help! :o

[Chupa Cabras]

Hi flyingdoxie! I was in Cosa Maya last week. We went with David and Ivan, and I highly recommend them.

 

You walk right off the ship to a very long pier. At the end is Costa Maya, a port village created just for the cruise ships. It might take 30 minutes tops to get from the line inside the ship to the port itself.

[Eliot Ness]

Hi flyingdoxie! I was in Cosa Maya last week. We went with David and Ivan, and I highly recommend them.

Nice review Chupa Cabras, here is a link to your review (for the OP):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=353229

 

Here is link to another review that includes the David and Ivan ruins tour:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=352914

 

Here is a link to a LOT of very good pictures from the above review:

 

http://valor2006.shutterfly.com/action/

 

And finally, here is a link to book the tour with David and Ivan:

 

http://www.chacchobenruins.com/

 

HTH,

 

John

[kelz66]

Those pictures look familiar...LOL

 

David & Ivan were incredible!!! Worth every dollar.

[pxy cda]

We took the David and Ivan tour on our recent May 12th cruise. It was the highlight of the trip - IMHO you would be crazy to book this tour with anyone else! Take this tour it is worth every penny!!

[Zeno]

Another vote for David and Ivan for this tour. They make it really special!

[gamecockvic]

Go with the Carnival tour only if you like to pay more and want more people in your group. We went with Ivan and David the week of May 20, 2006. You are met at the fishing village one hour after your ship docks. Carolina rode in our van and told us much about Mexico. Ivan was our guide for a group of about 15 people. He grew up at the site and was very knowledgeable. David rode back with us and we talked about politics in Mexico as well as their business. This is the best and most informative tour we have ever taken! They are all excellent and very nice people too.

 

Don't worry about anything. The vans are new and air conditioned. The roads to the site are very good. The fishing village is worth seeing. They will drop you off either at the ship or the village. Best of all, smaller groups for much less money with better guides! How could you go wrong?

[sanrionjb]

I was to the Chacchoben ruins in January, booked through Carnival. It was a great tour and the whole Carnival group was split into smaller groups. We had about 15 in our group. We didn't mind paying a little more to know we'd be back on the ship in time and such.

[Baltimore Cruiser]

Ivan and David are as secure as booking thru the ship, we just got back yesterday from our cruise, we all agreed that Ivan and David were the highlight of our excursions. I was so paranoid about booking outside the ship, but they make sure that you are back with plenty of time to spare, the vans are new, and they have many contacts in the village if there is a problem. I understand the previous poster said they had a small group with going thru their ship, but I can guarantee they did not get the experience of someone who grew up in the ruins and knows as much as these 2 guys do. Just the drive from the town to the ruins was extremely interesting. David was so engaging that our group of 12 never got bored. We could have spent so much more time with him. We had him at the end drop us off at the ship vs the town. They will do whatever you want.