Progresso

Hello all!

My husband and I are thinking of taking a quick 5 day get away and the stops are Progresso and Cozumel. We are not new cruisers, but this would be the first time to Progresso. I have heard mixed feelings about that port and I was wondering whether to book an excursion there or stay on the ship. Any excursion ideas would be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance!

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Going to Progreso and not visiting the ruins of Chichen Itza is like going to Paris and not visiting the Eiffel Tower. Chichen Itza is considered one of the new Eight Wonders of the World and every other ruin site in Mexico pales in comparison.

However, if you are not up for the long drive, you can always tour the colonial city of Merida, which will be a nice departure from the more common cookie cutter, tourist trap atmosphere that most cruise passengers encounter at other ports in Mexico and the Caribbean. You'll get to take a more genuine glimpse at what life in Mexico is truly like.

If you read those "mixed reviews" on Progreso, you'll notice that most of the negative ones are from people who didn't venture much farther than the pier and immediate downtown area. Of course they'll be disappointed.

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Thanks! On our last cruise we toured Tulum and loved it! So the ruins are a great idea! I love culture and history.

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I agree with above. Progresso is a vacation spot for the nationals. We went during the winter + it was literally abandoned. So, we hopped a bus tour to Meridia + were pleasantly surprised. Might be nicer during the season, but not much in the winter.

Google Lawsons Original Yucatan Excursions.

Not cheap but supposed to be very good.

We've been many times, and this summer we went on two different excursions, the first was the Jaguar Bike and Beach Tour, the second was Uxmal and Ochill.

The bike tour was a blast, we learned to stand up paddle board and went to a very nice beach. Relaxed and a small group.

Uxmal and Ochill was my favorite, here are some images I captured

https://plus.google.com/photos/117499626016771042173/albums/6069803374983436961?authkey=CNXamJ7rqMWaqgE

Later this month we are going on the salsa making jaunt. Friends want to go, so I'm game!

.

After reading this on the Progresso boards:

Check out the cool thing we did in Progreso!

It was educational to say the least. The kids probably took the best experience away. Nothing like an 11 yr old asking why there was no phone service?

We delivered 16 back packs that day. Each one filled with children's personal hygiene items, school items, along with small games and toys.

Culture Shock? ... Nah, they loved it!

Look Dad!, ... Look! ... There is a dog on the roof!

One thing for sure, children in every culture understand coloring books!

Out of the 8 or 9 cruises our children and family members have taken together, this 4 hours seems to be one of the most talked about experiences of all their memories.

Just got back from Progresso last week. We 3 ladies took the local bus into Meridia for $3 each return.

Spent the day walking around and shopping, felt very safe.

We have used Autoprogreso Tour company and they are excellent.

Please don't stay on the ship.

Progresso is one of my favorite ports because it is, as of yet, unspoiled. So many other ports have one of the artificial Disneysque representations of what the cruise line thinks Mexico should look like. You could be in Houston in some of those ports!

Progresso has a really fun open market with vendors willing to bargain. Sit down and chat with some locals over a beer or some Mexican soda. While we are careful about eating and drinking in Mexico, there is some authentic cuisine available in town. Enjoy Progresso before its developed.

I did the Uxmal with Hacienda Ochil excursion through Carnival - Uxmal is as wonderful as everyone says. The bus was comfortable; the guides were fantastic. Went mid February, the weather was beautiful. I can't recommend the excursion highly enough.

In Progresso we did the Dzibichiltan ruins which were great! We had young kids so didn't want to try Chichen Itza. The ruins were incredible to see and also there is a cenote, which is a natural pool you can swim in. Very refreshing after the ruins!

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Going to Progresso in January but still haven't settled on what to do. DW and I are considering a trip to Merida; looking at the architecture and doing some shopping sounds like a good way to spend the day there.

One question: Will we need (or want) to exchange dollars for pesos? I imagine that far away from touristy areas we probably will but I'd like to hear others' experiences there.

Progresso is a good port to see a more authentic Mexico. Cozumel is great, but it is set up for tourism.

Going to Progresso in January but still haven't settled on what to do. DW and I are considering a trip to Merida; looking at the architecture and doing some shopping sounds like a good way to spend the day there.

 

One question: Will we need (or want) to exchange dollars for pesos? I imagine that far away from touristy areas we probably will but I'd like to hear others' experiences there.

Your dollar bill will be just fine, no need to exchange

Will we need (or want) to exchange dollars for pesos? I imagine that far away from touristy areas we probably will but I'd like to hear others' experiences there.

Merida is not "that far away". A nice size older city with many modern conveniences. Heck, stop at Chili's, TGI Fridays, or Burger King. You can live it up at Wing Stop, catch a football game! Some folks in our group on the last trip stopped by a bank with a credit card and got dollars. Dollars are good anywhere we went.

You might consider stopping by a bank on your way out to exchange any pesos you receive as change back into dollars.

Thanks all! I am going to look up everything suggested! I promise we won't stay on the ship.

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We have been to Progresso numerous times, I recommend going to Uxmal with Auto Progresso. What makes Uxmal great is that you can actually climb the ruins.

We've been to Progreso (1 s) a number of times and prefer Uxmal to Chichen Itza. "Chicken Pizza" is really too large to take it all in in a few hours and you can't climb structures there these days. At Uxmal you can still climb at least one.

Even just hanging out in Progreso for the day can be fun.

I think we will probably choose Uxmal. We loved Tulum!

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We have been to Tulum and Uxmal and would choose Uxmal hands down. Look at Autoprogresso to save dome $$

Going to Progreso and not visiting the ruins of Chichen Itza is like going to Paris and not visiting the Eiffel Tower. Chichen Itza is considered one of the new Eight Wonders of the World and every other ruin site in Mexico pales in comparison.

 

However, if you are not up for the long drive, you can always tour the colonial city of Merida, which will be a nice departure from the more common cookie cutter, tourist trap atmosphere that most cruise passengers encounter at other ports in Mexico and the Caribbean. You'll get to take a more genuine glimpse at what life in Mexico is truly like.

 

If you read those "mixed reviews" on Progreso, you'll notice that most of the negative ones are from people who didn't venture much farther than the pier and immediate downtown area. Of course they'll be disappointed.

 

 

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Love this port, it so reminds me of how Cozumel was 20 years ago.

TBerN1969!

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We just returned from a trip on the Elation and really enjoyed Progreso. We took the Carnival excursion to Uxmal as it was longer than the AutoProgreso offering. Climbing the ruins was an amazing experience. The restaurant at Uxmal provided a very nice lunch option as well. I'm not sure if the guides are always the same but Felipe spoke excellent English and was knowledgeable and entertaining.

Please note that our tour made it back to the ship 10 minutes before we were supposed to be on board and another group member's excursion was even later, so Carnival gave us all the time they could.

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I laughed when I read an above posters comment that they went to Uxmal in February and the weather was perfect. We went in Feb of 2012 and the temps were almost 100 degrees. Thought I was going to die climbing. But it was a wonderful experience.

Next trip to Progresso will be in August. I know it will be hot. Can anyone suggest something I might be able to do with my 83 year old mother? She has limited mobility. She can walk short distances with a walker but plan to have her in a wheel chair for safety and timely movement.

I recommend the ruins of Uxmal. Simply amazing and has several large pyramids to explore on your own by foot. The town by port looks a little rough and the water was rough and cloudy by the beach. I would just do your research of places of interest and I'm sure it will be a great day in port!

I will also suggest staying away from shops in the mall off the port of Cozumel.