Playa mia book thru ship or private?

[canadian85]

How does Playa Mia know if your kids have buffet or not?

 

I booked with Carnival who told me not to buy passes for the kids, (the 2 adults have AI and buffet). Carnival confirmed in email that kids 5 and under are free, and that I should only buy pass for the adults. Cost was $183 includes transfers.

 

Now they say that I would have to pay for the 5yo.

 

Should I cancel and book privately?

Or just keep emails and hope they don't charge for the kids when we get there?

 

If we book privately, AI and buffet for adults, and buffet for both kids (5 and 3) then the price is $189 + 32 transfers.

[overthehillcruiser]

My 2 cents worth would be to go to Mr. Sanchos, book online @ cozumel water sports dot com for less money and just as nice...Right now it is still $45 PP AI for adults., and will go up $5 in Jan...We were there last April and enjoyed it..Check out the website ...good luck...

Edited December 3, 2013 by overthehillcruiser

[canadian85]

I'm really set on playa mia because of the kids pool. Although they might not want to swim at the beach!

 

Has anyone taken kids 5 and younger without a ticket and get in no problem?

[overthehillcruiser]

Mr. Sancho's does have a pool. We did not use it, so not sure if it is considered a kid's pool ?

 

upload pictures online

[canadian85]

Playa Mia has a mini waterpark for young kids.

 

Anyone been there with a 5yo and had to pay?

[Prisc777]

The water park came with the Playa Mia all inclusive ticket (http://www.cozumel-watersports.com/excursions/playamiadaypass.html) we also booked with them...but most probably they also sell it separately...

[mitsugirly]

We were there this year, booked with the cruiseline, didn't pay for our 5 year olds (2 of them) and had no problems at all. We did take our email and reservations just in case they did question it, but they didn't. :)

[canadian85]

Thanks mitsugirly, I was trying to figure out how to PM you questions but then found this site doesn't allow that.

 

I'm still debating booking direct with playa mia, it would only be a couple dollars more to book direct (including 32 transportation). Since they said 3yo will be free. That would be booking 2 adults AI and the kids buffet.

This way we would have more time than the ccl excursion, so I might cancel and book direct.

Did you see if drinks available for kids in the buffet area? Like fruit juice?

[fbricks70]

Playa Mia is great, we loved their water park!

[FL011049]

Thanks mitsugirly, I was trying to figure out how to PM you questions but then found this site doesn't allow that.

 

I'm still debating booking direct with playa mia, it would only be a couple dollars more to book direct (including 32 transportation). Since they said 3yo will be free. That would be booking 2 adults AI and the kids buffet.

This way we would have more time than the ccl excursion, so I might cancel and book direct.

Did you see if drinks available for kids in the buffet area? Like fruit juice?

 

What did you decide to do? Also trying to figure out if it is worth it to book direct.

[canadian85]

I ended up cancelling CCL excursion and i'm glad I did. We just paid when we got there. There was a big sign that had all the pricing options on it. We paid for AI for the 2 adults, buffet for the 5yo and the 3yo was free. It came to $149.

We just walked thru the shopping area and used a taxi. They said $17 each way. So with taxi and tip we paid $189.

Once everyone on the ship excursions were gone, there were very few people. It was really easy on our own and we had extra time before and after the ships excursion.

[flcruiser08]

How far was the taxi ride?

[bguppies]

How far was the taxi ride?

 

From Carnival's pier (Puerto Maya), maybe 15 minutes...(it only takes us 15 minutes to get to Nachi Cocum, which is just past Playa Mia and Mr. Sanchos)

 

Edited March 9, 2014 by bguppies

[flcruiser08]

Thanks, we had booked through the ship but they just canceled it

 

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

[moesyk4]

We just went in january and booked privately, it was super easy and for us, much cheaper than the cruiseline. We prepaid through their website and DH got the AI package and our 4 year old DS and I both just paid for the day pass. In hindsight, I would've just gotten us the buffet too and to order food was pricey and not much better. It ended up being a wash as far as that goes.

Anyway, taxi I believe was $16 each way (for up to 4). It was about a 10 minute ride, absolutely no issues.

A big plus for going privately is being on your own time...we got there an hour before the ship's excursion and stayed 45 minutes later.

And I agree, I know some people on here are big Nachi or Chakanaab fans, but Playa Mia was fantastic for kids...besides the really nice kids play area (which had at least 7-8 little slides, tons of little fountains, pirate ships, etc.) they had the big water slides (DS was too little), the water toys (it was windy and quite chilly that day so we did not use), a playground on the beach, a kid's play area with toys, and beach toys scattered in the sand, in addition to everything adults would want like kayaks and the adult pools.

[FL011049]

Just wanted to come back to say that Playa Mia booked on our own was very easy, and I would have been so mad if I had spent twice as much through the ship.

 

We pre-paid online because we knew there would be 6 ships in port and were worried they would 'sell out'. When we got to port, we walked through the shopping plaza (go all the way to the left) and the taxi attendant asked where we wanted to go. We got in a cab (four of us) and within 10-15min we were there. We paid our $16+ Tip and walked to the ticket counter. I presented my e-ticket, and in we went. We were among the first dozen or so people there (it was about 8:30) so we easily found lounge chairs along the beach.

 

We stayed until 1hr before the ship was due to leave. We went to the front of the buildings and many cabs were waiting. We paid another $16 + tip for our return trip and walked right back into the trip with plenty of time to spare.

 

I absolutely recommend doing this on your own.

 

And, as a side-note the food was pretty good & it's worth it to buy the 'all inclusive' for the adults because it includes all drinks and bottles of water.