Calica Dock at 1PM Edventures?

[3boysvus]

We're Kim and Joe (I'm Kim). Are you going to the meet and greet thing after muster drill?

[3boysvus]

fla mom - just heard back from Bonnie - her reply was so quick:D - and here's the deal. We will be sharing a van back to Tulum b/c they can't bring private cars to the pier - go figure - and then we will have private tours from there. Sounds great:D . We are so excited we can hardly stand it.

[fla_momuv3]

We're Kim and Joe (I'm Kim). Are you going to the meet and greet thing after muster drill?

 

Hi Kim. Don't know if we'll go to the meet & greet, since we'll have our kids with us. It's our very first cruise, and I'm sure we're going to be busy taking everything in, especially on that first evening! I think I read somewhere that there's a kids' orientation for the teens and camp carnival at some point that evening as well. We'll meet up on the van to Tulum if nothing else! :)

[3boysvus]

Just out of curiosity, where's Lutz?

[fla_momuv3]

Just out of curiosity, where's Lutz?

 

Lutz is a suburb of Tampa, on the northside. My dh and I both work in Tampa, but kids are in Pasco county schools.

[3boysvus]

Okay - thought it sounded familiar. A friend and I go to Tarpon Springs about once a year, I'm guessing that's why it sounded familiar. 14 days - I can't stand it...I wanna go NOW.

[fla_momuv3]

Since we don't know what we're in for, we're excited about being on vacation. All that follows is gravy! I used to live in Key West as a middle schooler (mid 70's), and can't wait to show the kids one of the more unique places I've lived. Haven't been to Mexico since I was 15 (late 70's), so looking forward to revisiting there. It's so close now we can almost smell the sea breeze!

 

You go to Tarpon Springs once a year? We live here, and don't go! Sometimes what's right in your own backyard...We need to make more of an effort I guess :)!

[10sbabe]

We went on Edventure the first week of March. Everyone met at the pier and loaded in a 15 passenger van to Tulum where their store/office is located. We toured Tulum by ourselves for 30 min, then our guide Ray (who was great) took us (4) to the ceynotes, saw the monkeys, had lunch by the beach, and snorkeled in the lagoon. It was to windy to see the turtles. It's really a nice day.

Just a word of warning, Edventures contracts out the transportation. On the way to Tulum our driver accidently hit a 5-6 foot wide speed bump at 50 mph. The driver pulled over immediately to see if we were ok, but the damage was done. If you have ever sat behind the rear axel of a bus or van you know what happened, we flew up and hit the ceiling. The nose things on my sunglasses embedded in my scalp and bled, and after 3 weeks our necks are still sore. We were not wearing seat belts (our fault), on the way back we sat in the first two rows in the van and most of us wore a seat belt, but not all of them worked. The cool water at the ceynotes really felt good on the bump on my head. Ray (ask for him) really went out of his way to try and fix what started as a bad day. Just remember even on vacation scary things can happen.

[3boysvus]

Fla mom - I know what you mean. We live about 30 miles south of the Cape and rarely watch the rockets and shuttles launch - we only seem to notice when a house guest points them out - really kinda sad.

 

Tarpon Springs - yep my friend has a thing for Greek Men and architecture - I have to admit there are plenty of nice things to look at there;) .

[fla_momuv3]

Fla mom - I know what you mean. We live about 30 miles south of the Cape and rarely watch the rockets and shuttles launch - we only seem to notice when a house guest points them out - really kinda sad.

 

Tarpon Springs - yep my friend has a thing for Greek Men and architecture - I have to admit there are plenty of nice things to look at there;) .

 

Okay, now I really need to make more of an effort after such a ringing endorsement of the uh...Greek...architecture. :) Also, gotta check out the baklava! LOL

 

Funny about the launches...we watch everyone that isn't covered by a cloudy sky. We can see them very clearly from over here. The best are at dusk when the whole sky glows. Beautiful!

[fla_momuv3]

We went on Edventure the first week of March. Everyone met at the pier and loaded in a 15 passenger van to Tulum where their store/office is located. We toured Tulum by ourselves for 30 min, then our guide Ray (who was great) took us (4) to the ceynotes, saw the monkeys, had lunch by the beach, and snorkeled in the lagoon. It was to windy to see the turtles. It's really a nice day.

Just a word of warning, Edventures contracts out the transportation. On the way to Tulum our driver accidently hit a 5-6 foot wide speed bump at 50 mph. The driver pulled over immediately to see if we were ok, but the damage was done. If you have ever sat behind the rear axel of a bus or van you know what happened, we flew up and hit the ceiling. The nose things on my sunglasses embedded in my scalp and bled, and after 3 weeks our necks are still sore. We were not wearing seat belts (our fault), on the way back we sat in the first two rows in the van and most of us wore a seat belt, but not all of them worked. The cool water at the ceynotes really felt good on the bump on my head. Ray (ask for him) really went out of his way to try and fix what started as a bad day. Just remember even on vacation scary things can happen.

 

10sbabe...thanks for the heads up (ouch, sorry!) about the transportation from the pier. Seatbelts and a death grip seem to be the norm when travelling in other locales. I'll be sure to make the kids buckle up! What a horrible way to start the day. Glad it turned out better than it started, if with a bit of whiplash. Maybe it'll be worth the effort to learn some cautionary phrases in spanish (Be careful. Stop, I'm scared! and the like) I already yell them in English at my teen drivers. I hope you're feeling better!

[3boysvus]

10sbabe...thanks for the heads up (ouch, sorry!) about the transportation from the pier. Seatbelts and a death grip seem to be the norm when travelling in other locales. I'll be sure to make the kids buckle up! What a horrible way to start the day. Glad it turned out better than it started, if with a bit of whiplash. Maybe it'll be worth the effort to learn some cautionary phrases in spanish (Be careful. Stop, I'm scared! and the like) I already yell them in English at my teen drivers. I hope you're feeling better!

 

Note to self - no barrettes on the top of my head and buckle up. fla mom I"m now off to grab DS's Spanish book and learn how to make appropriate taffic comments in spanish.:eek:

[fla_momuv3]

Note to self - no barrettes on the top of my head and buckle up. fla mom I"m now off to grab DS's Spanish book and learn how to make appropriate taffic comments in spanish.:eek:

 

My dd is in her 5th year of Spanish (she's a senior this year), so I'm charging her with coming up with the appropriate phrases. Put all that education to work, finally! :)

 

No barrettes or anything sharp or spiky on the head. Just a soft hat, maybe.

[3boysvus]

Good too know - translator onboard. Maybe instead of dealing w/ the towel in the bag, I'll just fold it and put it on my head during the ride to Tulum:p . We could tie them on with a ribbon and say it's the "all the rage" back home...but could we say it wit

[3boysvus]

Good too know - translator onboard. Maybe instead of dealing w/ the towel in the bag, I'll just fold it and put it on my head during the ride to Tulum:p . We could tie them on with a ribbon and say it's the "all the rage" back home...but could we say it with a straight face.:confused:

[fla_momuv3]

Good too know - translator onboard. Maybe instead of dealing w/ the towel in the bag, I'll just fold it and put it on my head during the ride to Tulum:p . We could tie them on with a ribbon and say it's the "all the rage" back home...but could we say it with a straight face.:confused:

 

Uh oh, the pressure's on. Now my dd will clam up and pretend not to understand Spanish! ;) She feels very inhibited speaking it, but understands more than she thought. She found that out on a school trip to Europe last summer, where they spent a few days in Spain.

 

If we're to start a new fashion trend with towels, I guess I should rethink my plan to bring old beach towels (ones I don't mind "forgetting" or leaving behind by accident), and bring something more fashion forward! :) LOL Embarrass my kids, but good!!

[3boysvus]

I thought about doing the old leave em behinds too, but DH said he'd carry them...okay gotta go to Wal-mart and get cute leave behind towels to start fashion craze in Calica, because we both know he won't carry them.

[blessedwith12]

Just back from a fantastic Edventure Tour. The previous day we had a harrowing taxi ride in Cozumel so the first thing my sister did was ask our driver at the port if he was a slow driver. We had William (Memo) and he assured us he was a slow driver. His nickname is Turtle. He was a great driver and a very courteous, informative man. Our guide for the day was Ricardo. I can't say enough good things about him. We saw the ruins, Dos Ojos, the turtle sanctuary at Akumal, and the lagoon. Also, a great lunch on the beach. A fantastic day we will never forget!

[fla_momuv3]

Just back from a fantastic Edventure Tour. The previous day we had a harrowing taxi ride in Cozumel so the first thing my sister did was ask our driver at the port if he was a slow driver. We had William (Memo) and he assured us he was a slow driver. His nickname is Turtle. He was a great driver and a very courteous, informative man. Our guide for the day was Ricardo. I can't say enough good things about him. We saw the ruins, Dos Ojos, the turtle sanctuary at Akumal, and the lagoon. Also, a great lunch on the beach. A fantastic day we will never forget!

 

blessedwith12, Thanks for the review! I'm so excited about our tour, especially for the kids to experience it. I've only seen one bad review in all the hundreds I've read all over the internet, as well as these boards. I figure it was a personality clash, more than anything.

[blessedwith12]

Same here - I only read one bad review. We were very impressed with all of the Edventure people we met. We threw a wrench in their plans by changing our itinerary when we got there and they changed gears without batting an eyelash. We had some medical issues which required some extra planning and handling throughout the day and Ricardo was so patient and kind. My sister and I struggled with the snorkeling (1st time for both of us) and once again, Ricardo was extremely patient and funny - making us very comfortable and making sure we got to see everything. I forgot to sign the back of our traveler's checks and Bonnie caught up with us at the restaurant for me to sign them - acting like it wasn't a problem at all. She joined us for lunch and we enjoyed talking to her. Also, later in the day Eddie ran into us and wanted to make sure we were having a good time. In their literature, it says they want to give you a tour as if they were taking their own family - they definitely did that for us. Your children will never forget their day. My daughter said, "Life will never be the same." She could not say "Awesome" enough about seeing the cenote. The ruins are also absolutely beautiful. Just hold your camera up in any direction and shoot. We had planned on skipping them and I'm glad we didn't. Also, the lagoon was so much nicer than I expected. Glad we went there, too. Have a great time - I'm envious. We would definitely go back again!

[fla_momuv3]

Same here - I only read one bad review. We were very impressed with all of the Edventure people we met. We threw a wrench in their plans by changing our itinerary when we got there and they changed gears without batting an eyelash. We had some medical issues which required some extra planning and handling throughout the day and Ricardo was so patient and kind. My sister and I struggled with the snorkeling (1st time for both of us) and once again, Ricardo was extremely patient and funny - making us very comfortable and making sure we got to see everything. I forgot to sign the back of our traveler's checks and Bonnie caught up with us at the restaurant for me to sign them - acting like it wasn't a problem at all. She joined us for lunch and we enjoyed talking to her. Also, later in the day Eddie ran into us and wanted to make sure we were having a good time. In their literature, it says they want to give you a tour as if they were taking their own family - they definitely did that for us. Your children will never forget their day. My daughter said, "Life will never be the same." She could not say "Awesome" enough about seeing the cenote. The ruins are also absolutely beautiful. Just hold your camera up in any direction and shoot. We had planned on skipping them and I'm glad we didn't. Also, the lagoon was so much nicer than I expected. Glad we went there, too. Have a great time - I'm envious. We would definitely go back again!

 

blessed...Thanks for expanding on your experience! I'm looking forward to it so much, I could almost skip the cruise! Okay, I'm excited about the cruise, too. We are doing the cenotes, lagoon, lunch, and ruins. Not necessarily in that order. We're going to have to drop the zipline for time reasons. We also want to include some shopping for souvenirs. Thanks for the part about being beginner snorkelers, because that's what we are! My dh can't even swim (I know, we live in Florida AND have a pool--he's from Detroit, what can I say?), but they assure me that he will enjoy it as well. How expensive was lunch? I think for us it'll probably be more of an early dinner, since we don't get in until 1 p.m. My dd is dying to try a margarita in Mexico.

[blessedwith12]

blessed...Thanks for expanding on your experience! I'm looking forward to it so much, I could almost skip the cruise! Okay, I'm excited about the cruise, too. We are doing the cenotes, lagoon, lunch, and ruins. Not necessarily in that order. We're going to have to drop the zipline for time reasons. We also want to include some shopping for souvenirs. Thanks for the part about being beginner snorkelers, because that's what we are! My dh can't even swim (I know, we live in Florida AND have a pool--he's from Detroit, what can I say?), but they assure me that he will enjoy it as well. How expensive was lunch? I think for us it'll probably be more of an early dinner, since we don't get in until 1 p.m. My dd is dying to try a margarita in Mexico.

Our lunch was $ 60 for 4 people including tip. Two of us had fajitas and two had tacos. They were very large portions and really great. The view from the restaurant is beautiful - you eat outside with a gorgeous view of Akumal. We did not have any drinks with our meal - we had just grabbed our drinks from the cooler Edventure provided. Ricardo was so patient with us beginning snorkelers. Ask for noodles or life jackets if you are uncomfortable. I am a swimmer but I couldn't get the hang of keeping my mouth shut around the mouthpiece and kept getting mouthfuls of water.:) I finally got it at the lagoon. At the ocean, a life jacket gave me the confidence I needed. They have very nice inflatable jackets that weren't bulky. I know what you mean about skipping the cruise - the day with Edventure Tours was definitely the best of the vacation. My daughter was afraid they couldn't live up to that - we had such high expectations, but it was fantastic. If you see Bonnie, Eddie, or Ricardo, tell them Patty, the Ohio mom of 12 said hello! What great people.

[fla_momuv3]

Our lunch was $ 60 for 4 people including tip. Two of us had fajitas and two had tacos. They were very large portions and really great. The view from the restaurant is beautiful - you eat outside with a gorgeous view of Akumal. We did not have any drinks with our meal - we had just grabbed our drinks from the cooler Edventure provided. Ricardo was so patient with us beginning snorkelers. Ask for noodles or life jackets if you are uncomfortable. I am a swimmer but I couldn't get the hang of keeping my mouth shut around the mouthpiece and kept getting mouthfuls of water.:) I finally got it at the lagoon. At the ocean, a life jacket gave me the confidence I needed. They have very nice inflatable jackets that weren't bulky. I know what you mean about skipping the cruise - the day with Edventure Tours was definitely the best of the vacation. My daughter was afraid they couldn't live up to that - we had such high expectations, but it was fantastic. If you see Bonnie, Eddie, or Ricardo, tell them Patty, the Ohio mom of 12 said hello! What great people.

 

It's looking better and better! :) We are getting down to the wire, and I'm so glad I listened to my instincts and didn't book one of the Carnival excursions. For one thing, I think it would be CROWDED with ship people. Not that people from the ship would be a bad thing. I've already agreed to share our tour with another small group if one should happen to have the same plans. I just like the idea of it being more personal, and this sounds so perfect. Can't wait. We love mexican food, and the meal HAD to be a part of the plans.;) My dh, who was a bit nervous about the snorkeling is getting really pumped up for it, too. Thanks again!

[blessedwith12]

I am so thankful for the boards and all the information I got. I would never have booked the Edventure Tour if I hadn't stumbled upon Cruise Critic. (or the day in Nachi). I asked so many "dumb" questions before I went but I am so glad I did. I was much better prepared and able to enjoy myself.

If you do the ruins, early in the day is good because it won't be as hot or crowded. I think they usually start their tours with that because it is right by their shop. We tried to limit ourselves to 45 minutes there because we had a full day planned. At Akumal (the ocean snorkel with the turtles), they take you out in a boat and you swim to shore. It isn't that far out (how far depends on the water visibility that day) and I wore the life jacket for my peace of mind. My daughters (16 and 21) didn't use one. The water was very calm - I wouldn't have needed a jacket if I could have figured out how to breathe. I probably should have skipped the snorkel and just swam! From there we went to the restaurant where you can eat barefoot and in your suits! I am so excited for you - you will have a great time.

[fla_momuv3]

I am so thankful for the boards and all the information I got. I would never have booked the Edventure Tour if I hadn't stumbled upon Cruise Critic. (or the day in Nachi). I asked so many "dumb" questions before I went but I am so glad I did. I was much better prepared and able to enjoy myself.

If you do the ruins, early in the day is good because it won't be as hot or crowded. I think they usually start their tours with that because it is right by their shop. We tried to limit ourselves to 45 minutes there because we had a full day planned. At Akumal (the ocean snorkel with the turtles), they take you out in a boat and you swim to shore. It isn't that far out (how far depends on the water visibility that day) and I wore the life jacket for my peace of mind. My daughters (16 and 21) didn't use one. The water was very calm - I wouldn't have needed a jacket if I could have figured out how to breathe. I probably should have skipped the snorkel and just swam! From there we went to the restaurant where you can eat barefoot and in your suits! I am so excited for you - you will have a great time.

Our ship doesn't get in until 1:00, so early in the day is relative! I do think, however, that we will start with the ruins because of it's location to their shop. I e-mailed them to ask about timing for the restaurant so we knew if we should eat a late breakfast or snack before, or will be go to lunch following the ruins...not sure of timing. We're not doing the turtle swim because of my dh not swimming well and I also have an 8 yo. We're doing the cenote and lagoon, though. So, I guess we'll just see how it all plays out. Because of the heat, although they allow 1 1/2 hours for the ruins, I can see us getting through in an hour, unless we are really captivated and it's not too hot! My kids are fascinated by stuff like that. We went camping at St. Augustine last summer, and they loved all the historical stuff.