Questions about Princess Tulum excursion from Cozumel

[jb456]

Morning,

 

Just a few questions for those that have taken this trip.

 

Considering it is an 8 hour trip are there places close by to get food for lunch? Estimate cost for lunch?

 

Where do you meet the tour guide? Does he/she meet you at the cruise ship or after the ferry in Playa Del Carmen?

 

At Tulum when you have "free time" does the guide set a meeting point after that time? Or is it up to us to find our way back to the bus by ourselves?

 

Last and most important can someone confirm the times?

 

I believe the ship stays on EST time and Cozumel is 1 hour behind?

 

It says "Ship Time in Port: Arrive 9:00am Depart 6:00pm"

 

And the excursion says 9:30am to 5:30pm. Is this 9:30am Mexico time?.. Meaning it really would be 10:30am ship time/EST or is it 9:30am ship time that the excursion starts?

 

If I am not mistaken it must be ship time (9:30) since we only have 9 hours in port and this trip is 8 hours it only makes sense that it is ship time. Right?

 

 

EDIT - One other question... Since cruise only docks at 9am are those that booked this excursion given some type of priority to get off the boat first so we make it on time?

 

Thank you

Edited September 12, 2014 by jb456

[Morgsmom]

Hi!

I took the tour several years ago, but it was the Tulum and BEACH break one -- not sure if this is the same but I'll try to answer your questions:

 

1. Yes, you get priority to get off

2. The guide stays with you the whole way

3. You didn't ask, but the crossing on the high speed ferry to Playa Del Carmen is NOT for anyone with any "mal de mer"... lots of people get sick on this portion of the trip

4. You will make an annoying, mandatory stop at a gift shop before Tulum

5. You will NOT have any time on your own at Tulum; it is all guided, herd like.

 

6. That tour included lunch at the beach stop after the Tulum tour - buffet style chicken, rice, beans, etc. Perfectly satisfying.

 

I never ever book tours through the ship but since this involved so many intricate layers of transportation it was the only way I'd do it. Daughter (she must have been about 12 at the time) enjoyed it but we sped through the site so fast that even she wished we had more time.

 

enjoy!

[kruzer2012]

I took the Tulum tour...the one that doesn't have "Beach Break" in the title... in March 2014.

 

-We did get priority disembarkation

-The "high speed" ferry was a long ride, and there was some motion...but if you are prone to seasickness just prepare accordingly. Plus there was a nice breeze if you sit on one of the outside decks-which always seems to help

-We made a souvenir/bathroom stop before reaching Tulum, but it wasn't terrible. The bathrooms were far cleaner than the ones in Tulum, and the souvenirs were of a nicer quality- plus there were several displays about the Aztec/Mayan culture at the stop which seemed to entertain those who are totally opposed to shopping. We were there a total of maybe 20 minutes

-At Tulum, we were guided around the ruins for 30-45 minutes, then given an hour to further explore them on our own or to spend some time on the beach right below the ruins.

-Once back on the bus, we received cold/moist towels to wipe our faces, a snack cookie, a bottle of water, and a bag of chips as a snack.

 

All in all, it was great to go on this tour as the location of the ruins is really really pretty. It was also nice to book it through Princess, as there was no need to worry about local time vs ship time vs Houston time- the tour guide made sure you knew where to meet, and when.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree about booking this particular tour through Princess.

Its about a 35-40 minute ride from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen.

With the ferry and bus rides in both directions you have no worries about being back ontime. Its a great day with beautiful water views with the ruins perched next to the sea. :)

Edited September 12, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[RickEk]

I took the Tulum tour...the one that doesn't have "Beach Break" in the title... in March 2014.

 

-We did get priority disembarkation

-The "high speed" ferry was a long ride, and there was some motion...but if you are prone to seasickness just prepare accordingly. Plus there was a nice breeze if you sit on one of the outside decks-which always seems to help

-We made a souvenir/bathroom stop before reaching Tulum, but it wasn't terrible. The bathrooms were far cleaner than the ones in Tulum, and the souvenirs were of a nicer quality- plus there were several displays about the Aztec/Mayan culture at the stop which seemed to entertain those who are totally opposed to shopping. We were there a total of maybe 20 minutes

-At Tulum, we were guided around the ruins for 30-45 minutes, then given an hour to further explore them on our own or to spend some time on the beach right below the ruins.

-Once back on the bus, we received cold/moist towels to wipe our faces, a snack cookie, a bottle of water, and a bag of chips as a snack.

 

All in all, it was great to go on this tour as the location of the ruins is really really pretty. It was also nice to book it through Princess, as there was no need to worry about local time vs ship time vs Houston time- the tour guide made sure you knew where to meet, and when.

 

I concur with Kruzer. I took this tour last December. It was the Tulum/Beach Break tour. You are guided through the ruins, but it was very informative. I wasn't interested in the beach, which was very small at the end of a wooden staircase, so I spent the rest of the time wandering the ruins. There is food/beer to be had at the entrance to the area if you wish. I'm glad that I took the ship tour, since we were late getting back and Caribbean Princess was there waiting for us.

 

Cozumel by RickEk, on Flickr

 

Cozumel by RickEk, on Flickr

[loma linda ca a & j]

I concur with Kruzer. I took this tour last December. It was the Tulum/Beach Break tour. You are guided through the ruins, but it was very informative. I wasn't interested in the beach, which was very small at the end of a wooden staircase, so I spent the rest of the time wandering the ruins. There is food/beer to be had at the entrance to the area if you wish. I'm glad that I took the ship tour, since we were late getting back and Caribbean Princess was there waiting for us.

 

Cozumel by RickEk, on Flickr

 

Cozumel by RickEk, on Flickr

gorgeous !!

look like they should be on post cards in the gift store !!;)

[dfields1814]

We did have free time (about an hour) on an Princess excursion to Tulum. But it was a couple of years ago so things might be different now.

 

I hate shopping. But I must admit the place they took you to shop and a restroom break was pretty good. Although I did not buy anything, I did find things to look at.

 

I think we ate on our own at a restaurant by the entrance. The guide recommended this place. It was pretty good.

 

We did not go to the beach although the beach had a number of Princess passengers. If I were do do it over I might get the tour with the beach break. I found out later that beach is one of the top ones in Mexico. I do not know why. Is it because of the qualities of the beach or the view of the ruins?

 

Historically, Tulum is not all that important. But it does have a great setting good for photographers.

 

Even with the bumpy ride to the mainland, I can recommend this excursion.

[geoherb]

We took the Tulum beach break excursion last March. I'm glad we finally went, even though the tour did not give us all that was promised. (The beach was closed due to rough surf.) We had to meet in the theater on the ship, where passengers are given stickers depending on which excursion they are doing.

 

Staff led us off the ship from the theater and to the ferry. We did not meet our guide until after the ferry ride when we disembarked at Playa del Carmen. At that point, the people doing the various tours are separated into groups. It's about a 10-minute walk from the ferry dock to where our bus was parked.

 

Our tour guide gave us set times to be back on the bus at both the souvenir stop and Tulum. He expressed it in terms of how long we had--30 minutes at the souvenir stop and 2 hours at Tulum after he finished his talk. We got our snack at the beginning, when we reached the bus. It was a cold cut sandwich and a pasta salad (made with spaghetti)--not exactly what I think of with Mexican cuisine. We ate it on the bus ride down, not wanting it to try to save it for later. Fortunately I had brought along some granola bars that we could snack on later.

 

The setting at Tulum is amazing. It's also hot and without much shade. I was anticipating a tour where we'd go from structure to structure, learning a bit about Mayan culture and the specifics of each along the way. Instead our tour guide stopped in the middle of the complex and talked for 45 minutes. Fortunately for me, there were some iguanas and interesting birds nearby that I enjoyed watching during his talk.

 

When the tour guide finished, we had about 2 hours on our own. That's when we found out that the beach was closed. Our guide did not know until we made it back to the bus.

 

On the Princess website, it looks like they've cut the options down to just one for Tulum. There were two different options in the spring--our "beach break" one cost a little bit more than the regular excursion.

Edited September 12, 2014 by geoherb

[AKman2495]

We did the cobs maya tour last November. The fast ferry was a little bumpy, bu tmy wife who has a hard time with seasickness was OK. Her problem is when the boats bob up and down-not so much when you are moving fast. So, if you are like her, no problem.

 

We are grateful to have taken the Princess tour. When we arrived, we were delayed 25 minutes because a carnival ship was docking alongside. So, we were late getting to the ferry-they waited all down the line, but it did set us back.

 

The trip to Coba Maya is a little longer than that for Tulum. We did meet the guides when the ferry got to shore.

 

Anyway, we got back late to the dock and the ferry is really 40 minutes, so we were late getting back to the ship....but she was there waiting for us :D

 

A long day, but well worth it!

[jb456]

You are all amazing :) Thank you so much for the wonderful responses. Very helpful!

 

Just booked this trip and happy that it is through Princess so the ship will wait......although I would not mind spending the next few weeks getting a new passport mailed to me while I drink tequila all day on the beach LOL

[jb456]

Sorry one more question.

 

Noticed on some youtube videos the ferry has a band playing.. Is this on all of the boats or luck of the draw?

[lovevacadays]

Hi!

I took the tour several years ago, but it was the Tulum and BEACH break one -- not sure if this is the same but I'll try to answer your questions:

 

1. Yes, you get priority to get off

2. The guide stays with you the whole way

3. You didn't ask, but the crossing on the high speed ferry to Playa Del Carmen is NOT for anyone with any "mal de mer"... lots of people get sick on this portion of the trip

4. You will make an annoying, mandatory stop at a gift shop before Tulum

5. You will NOT have any time on your own at Tulum; it is all guided, herd like.

 

6. That tour included lunch at the beach stop after the Tulum tour - buffet style chicken, rice, beans, etc. Perfectly satisfying.

 

I never ever book tours through the ship but since this involved so many intricate layers of transportation it was the only way I'd do it. Daughter (she must have been about 12 at the time) enjoyed it but we sped through the site so fast that even she wished we had more time.

 

enjoy!

 

Interesting that you did not have any time on your own in Tulum. After our guide took us to the main part of the ruins and explained things to us, we had at least a half an hour there to explore on our own. And then, once we got back to the bus area, we had about an hour or hour and a half to grab lunch and look at the shops.

[azbirdmom]

We did the tour to Tulum with Princess last New Year's eve. We did not have lunch included but were told by our guide about a restaurant in the little village by the busses that had great quesadillas which we allowed time for. The food on the bus after the Tulum tour was a bottle of water, a bag of chips, and a cookie. We were told other cruise lines didn't provide anything, so we were lucky we were with Princess.

 

We went to Cozumel over Memorial Day and didn't do this tour. However, the ferry with Princess passengers on the Tulum tour was over an hour late getting back, and of course we waited for them to all return. We later spoke to some who had done that tour and they were very nervous knowing that they hadn't even left Playa del Carmen and it was past the departure time. Of course Princess plays up these sorts of occurrences as a reason to book with Princess.