Princess tour- Xel-Ha and ruins

[KariB]

I posted this on the Cozumel thread too, but I am desperate for answers!! I figured it fit in here too, ‘cuz after all it is a Princess associated question!! It is just me and my three kids, ages 7, 8, and 10 and I need a plan!! We will be going to Cozumel in November (Star Princess) and would like to see the ruins and swim with the dolphins. I see Princess offers the Ruins and Xel-Ha tour. Has anybody done this tour? Is there enough time to swim with the dolphins, or is Xel-Ha mainly beach time? I would appreciate any information anybody has on this. We were originally just going to swim with the dolphins at Chankanaab, but my son is studying Mayan Ruins in school and would really like to see them “for real”.

Thanks in advance!!

Kari

[Phaedra_11]

We did the Tulum and Xel-Ha excursion approximately 4 years ago on our first cruise. I'm assuming the excursion hasn't changed much. I would say that you probably do NOT have time for the swimming with the dolphins on this tour. Have fun!

[JLC@SD]

I posted this on the Cozumel thread too, but I am desperate for answers!! I figured it fit in here too, ‘cuz after all it is a Princess associated question!! It is just me and my three kids, ages 7, 8, and 10 and I need a plan!! We will be going to Cozumel in November (Star Princess) and would like to see the ruins and swim with the dolphins. I see Princess offers the Ruins and Xel-Ha tour. Has anybody done this tour? Is there enough time to swim with the dolphins, or is Xel-Ha mainly beach time? I would appreciate any information anybody has on this. We were originally just going to swim with the dolphins at Chankanaab, but my son is studying Mayan Ruins in school and would really like to see them “for real”.

Thanks in advance!!

Kari

Here is a web site to check out Xel-Ha. We did this tour on the Grand Princess and we went to the ruins first and to Xel-Ha in the afternoon for a couple of hours. I would think the dolphins would be busy but you can check with them and see if you can book an appointment. You probably will only have time to do the dolphins or water recreation area.

 

http://www.xel-ha.com/xelha-facilities.php

[chasetf]

I posted this on the Cozumel thread too, but I am desperate for answers!! I figured it fit in here too, ‘cuz after all it is a Princess associated question!! It is just me and my three kids, ages 7, 8, and 10 and I need a plan!! We will be going to Cozumel in November (Star Princess) and would like to see the ruins and swim with the dolphins. I see Princess offers the Ruins and Xel-Ha tour. Has anybody done this tour? Is there enough time to swim with the dolphins, or is Xel-Ha mainly beach time? I would appreciate any information anybody has on this. We were originally just going to swim with the dolphins at Chankanaab, but my son is studying Mayan Ruins in school and would really like to see them “for real”. Thanks in advance!! Kari

We did this tour off the Grand some years back. I assume the ruins you will be seeing is Tulum. The trip involves a ferry ride to the mainline, bus trip to Tulum, bus ride to Xel-Ha, bus ride back to catch the ferry, and finally the ferry ride back to the ship.

 

As I remember we had about 2-3 hrs at Xel-Ha, but we did snorkeling and not a dolphin swim. We did see folks doing the swim but did not talk with anyone who did it.

 

I do not know if you have to make arrangements ahead of time or take a chance an opening is available when you arrive. The problem (challenge) will be there will be tons of buses there with others obviously interested in a dolphin swim, so if you cana be prebooked then you should have time.

 

The following link has some info and a contact email address that might supply you more information.

 

http://www.xel-ha.com/

[Coral]

I am looking at the tour of Tulum and Xel-ha. I went to Tulum years ago (before digital camera) and would like to take some pictures.

 

Can someone who has done the combo tour tell me if you felt rushed at Tulum. I have a choice of just a Tulum tour or the combo tour. The combo tour is not that much longer so I didn't know if we would be rushed at Tulum.

 

Also - did Princess provide a meal on this tour or did you stop somewhere to eat. It is a long day and there doesn't appear to be any food options included. I believe there is a subway at Tulum so that may be an option.

[Phaedra_11]

I am looking at the tour of Tulum and Xel-ha. I went to Tulum years ago (before digital camera) and would like to take some pictures.

 

Can someone who has done the combo tour tell me if you felt rushed at Tulum. I have a choice of just a Tulum tour or the combo tour. The combo tour is not that much longer so I didn't know if we would be rushed at Tulum.

 

Also - did Princess provide a meal on this tour or did you stop somewhere to eat. It is a long day and there doesn't appear to be any food options included. I believe there is a subway at Tulum so that may be an option.

 

Hi, again I went 4 years ago so this info may be outdated.

Personally, I did not feel rushed at Tulum (we did the combo tour) at all. I would do the combo tour if you want to do both.

I can't remember what we did for food on this day, sorry.

[mytime53]

Although I did this tour from another cruiseline 2 years ago, it was identical to the description given by chasetf. We were not rushed at Tulum at all; in fact, most of us were ready to leave much earlier than we did. At Xel-ha, it seemed very rushed. We weren't planning to ride the dolphins, but many people with children had promised the kids they would. By the time we got there all time slots for the rest of the day were filled. We didn't have time to see very much of Xel-ha at all. Snorkeled one small part was it, and then had to rush to the bus (to wait for people who were late, of course:) ).

I can't remember if we stopped and ate between the two stops, or if we ate at Xel-ha.

What I do remember, besides wishing we had an entire day there, is that when we left the water, I grabbed my towel (which was sitting on the back of my chair) and threw it around my shoulders. There was a sharp pain on my shoulder, which I thought must be a thorn that stuck in my towel. By the time I whipped the towel off of me, I had been bitten, stung? 3 times. By a little tiny wormy thing. Now I carry Benadryl on all excersions. Takes up very little room, and I would have been so much more comfortable (mentally) if I had had it with me, because the initial swelling was so rapid. Turns out it stopped swelling soon, and only took over a month for the itching to go away. I'm probably the only person who's ever been stung there, so I'm not trying to scare you away. Just shake your towels off before you put them on, and carry an antihistamine (both of which I figure are good advice anyplace!).

Well, now that I went off on a tangent, my original reason for posting was to tell you that with the age of your kids, even though one is specifically interested in ruins, it might not be a great tour if indeed it is Tulum. Only you know how easily bored your kids are. But everything here is off limits (or at least it was when I was there) for touching or entering or climbing on. Maybe it was just the extreme heat the day we were there, but I would put it at the bottom of my "ruins I've enjoyed" list.

[jonesiewest]

My husband and I were in Mexico for our honeymoon in September 2005. We spent an entire day at Xel-Ha and it was our favorite day in Mexico. Especially if you want to swim with the dolphins, I would check to see if you can do a tour that is Xel-Ha only. We did spend an entire day visiting the Mayan ruins and felt like we had wasted that time and money. The snorkeling at Xel-Ha is amazing and there are tons of places to eat. You can even get an all-inclusive wristband so that you can eat anywhere and all that you want.

[Genessa]

we did the combo Tulum/Xel-Ha tour with Princess and it was one of our all time best excursions. However, we did it in 2001, so our info might be a little out of date.

 

We did not feel at all rushed, but it was a very long day. Princess provided us with a lunch in a little, insulsated sack - what was permitted by the Mexican Department of Agriculture - Starkist tuna, individual can, crackers, muffin, ginger cookies [i have a good memory, but the reason I remember all this is not because I a have a psychotic memory or am obsessed by food ;), but because I don't like any of the foods that were in the sack and I was starving]. The guide did also provide some soda - orange (something else I don't like).

 

The guide was fantastic, he was of Mayan descent and if you are lucky enough to get someone similar, your son would be floored.

Tulum was amazing and should be more amazing now as they were still excavating when we were there. The guide stayed with us the whole time and explained everything without being boring. We also had about 45 minutes free time after the tour to wander on our own. If we had worn our bathing suits under our shorts, we would have gone down to the small beach below the temples, but we just watched others swim for a few minutes, then saw pole dancers and bought some bottled water and found something to eat - they had some sort of snack shop.

To save time, the guide suggested we eat lunch on the bus, so we then went to Xel-ha. A couple of people were able to make reservations for the dolphins, but we didn't even try. Instead we spent about an hour and a half snorkeling. We had brought our own snorkeling equipment, so that saved waiting on line to rent and return.

 

Like the others recommended, I'd try to make reservations ahead of time. Either that, or just spend all your time at Xel-ha.

[Coral]

we did the combo Tulum/Xel-Ha tour with Princess and it was one of our all time best excursions. However, we did it in 2001, so our info might be a little out of date.

 

We did not feel at all rushed, but it was a very long day. Princess provided us with a lunch in a little, insulsated sack - what was permitted by the Mexican Department of Agriculture - Starkist tuna, individual can, crackers, muffin, ginger cookies [i have a good memory, but the reason I remember all this is not because I a have a psychotic memory or am obsessed by food ;), but because I don't like any of the foods that were in the sack and I was starving]. The guide did also provide some soda - orange (something else I don't like).

.

 

Hi Genessa -

 

I had to laugh when reading your post. I cruised on Celebrity in 2001 and we docked in Playa de Carmen. I did the Tulum excursion on Celebrity and I remember that box lunch and ours had tuna also and I hate tuna! I do remember nibbling on the other things but I was starving when I got back to the ship. And once back on the ship, the buffet on our Celebrity ship was closed! It wasn't open 24 hours like Princess's buffet.

 

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Thanks everyone for your input. I am leaning towards doing the combo tour (and will probably eat a large breakfast!). I really liked Tulum and want to get some digital pics as my camera back then didn't take very good pics.

[bubbalu]

KariB - I'm assuming you are doing a western caribbean cruise since cozumel is one of the stops. depending on which western caribbean ports of call you will be at, there should be either dolphin or other ruin type excursions available at the other ports. DH and I are booked on a Western Caribbean cruise in Jan 07. We selected the dolphin excursion in Cozumel and a ruin excursion in Belize. Just a thought. Good luck. I know with some many wonderful excursions, its hard to narrow it down to an either/or.

[Genessa]

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Thanks everyone for your input. I am leaning towards doing the combo tour (and will probably eat a large breakfast!). I really liked Tulum and want to get some digital pics as my camera back then didn't take very good pics.

 

 

I have a smallish point and shoot Minolta and it took the most fantastic pictures ever. It was like the thing couldn't let me take a bad shot. My photos of Tulum are great.

 

Unfortunately, I dropped it one too many times, last time was in Denali, taking a picture of Denali, and it hasn't been the same since.

 

Good luck getting good shots!