Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins on board tour

[princessliz1]

has anyone taken this tour through Royal cruise planner? The price just went down and it is peaking my interest.

[Clarea]

If this is one of the excursions that start in Cozumel and take a ferry to the mainland, you should know that the ferry ride can be very rough and it's not uncommon for people to get sick on that ferry.

[princessliz1]

any other Cozumel excursions that are recommended?

[Clarea]

any other Cozumel excursions that are recommended?

Check out the Cozumel port of call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=210

[princessliz1]

thank you! it is our anniversary that day so I am looking for something special!

[Clarea]

thank you! it is our anniversary that day so I am looking for something special!

You're welcome, and Happy Anniversary!

[jspang]

While going to Chichen Itza is a trip everyone should do in their lifetime, doing on a cruise makes it a horribly long day. I would only do it thru RCCL. Your probably looking at 3-4 hours of ferry ride/bus ride before you even get there. I would assume 2 hours to tour the ruins then back again. It is something I would recommend but only doing it when your doing a land vacation in Playa or Cancun.

[TC1957]

While going to Chichen Itza is a trip everyone should do in their lifetime, doing on a cruise makes it a horribly long day. I would only do it thru RCCL. Your probably looking at 3-4 hours of ferry ride/bus ride before you even get there. I would assume 2 hours to tour the ruins then back again. It is something I would recommend but only doing it when your doing a land vacation in Playa or Cancun.

 

We haven't made the trip on a cruise excursion but LOVED visiting Chichen Itza. It's not like it is "just outside" Cancun...it is a long bus ride. We visited during the spring equinox and were able to see the Shadow of the Snake God (only visible at sunset on the spring and winter equinox)...along with about 150,000 of our best friends. You would be hard pressed to see and appreciate everything there in 2 hours (in my opinion).

[xpcdoojk]

There may be options to fly from either Cozumel or Playa. We did it 20 years ago when we were doing a dive vacation in Cozumel. Flew from Coz, landed in Playa, picked up a few, landed at the site, literally next to C I. We left before the tourists buses arrived, had the place virtually to ourselves. After the pilot circled the site and we were able to take some great aerial shots.

 

JC

[tiredmomof2]

I just came off the December cruise on Oasis. When we were lined up for our excursion, I noticed a sign that said "Chichen Itza by Air." I walked over, and they said they had just started doing the trips by air for Chichen Itza. The price was something like $450 per person.

[ONECRUISER]

There may be options to fly from either Cozumel or Playa. We did it 20 years ago when we were doing a dive vacation in Cozumel. Flew from Coz, landed in Playa, picked up a few, landed at the site, literally next to C I. We left before the tourists buses arrived, had the place virtually to ourselves. After the pilot circled the site and we were able to take some great aerial shots.

 

JC

Wow, that's the way to go!

[merdon]

We did this excursion 2 years ago through RCCL. The ferry going across is very rough (take motion sickness meds the night before and don't eat breakfast ;p). It's a long day but to me worth it. It's one of the new 7 wonders of the world.

[39august]

Isn't RCI now offering a flight excursion? Seems I've read a post about it. I did Chichen Itza more than 20 years ago from Coz by air. We landed on a cleared strip in the jungle right by the site. Taking off looked like we were not going to clear the trees! CI is an incredible experience.

[gerelmx]

Also you can go by air

 

Chichen Itza is the Capital of the Mayas, I will go again

[HicksRA]

The Vision is now going to Yucatan (Progresso) with an excursion to Chichen Itza which avoids the ferry ride and is cheaper than the one from Coz. We’ll be doing that in a couple of weeks.

[RlrCstr]

The Vision is now going to Yucatan (Progresso) with an excursion to Chichen Itza which avoids the ferry ride and is cheaper than the one from Coz. We’ll be doing that in a couple of weeks.

 

I sailed on the Vision in November and did RCL's tour from Progresso.

It was the first to leave in the morning and was the last to return. Made for a full day.

But it was completely worth it. Wonderful trip. Bring a hat--it was sunny and there is almost no shade there.

A special place---definitely go.

[JimAOk1945]

I agree it's totally worth it to see this amazing site. My wife took tons of pictures for her website which you can see in the link below

http://nancysoasis.com/chitchen/chitchen.html

[39august]

How long was the bus ride from Progresso, please? Cost? I might sail Vision on a short cruise just to see Chichen Itza again.

[HicksRA]

I sailed on the Vision in November and did RCL's tour from Progresso.

It was the first to leave in the morning and was the last to return. Made for a full day.

But it was completely worth it. Wonderful trip. Bring a hat--it was sunny and there is almost no shade there.

A special place---definitely go.

David, what were the options for lunch on this tour?

Thanks.

[RlrCstr]

How long was the bus ride from Progresso, please? Cost? I might sail Vision on a short cruise just to see Chichen Itza again.

 

The bus ride was about 2 hours. Before C.I. there was a stop at a store to buy souvenirs.

At that time, they gave us the lunch. It was a ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips,

a stale chocolate bar (I didn;'t see anyone eat more than one bite of it), and a bottle of cold water.

We then went to the ruins (a short ride from the shops).

At the ruins there are Many vendors, some of them not easily taking 'no' as a reply.

They were at the gate in as well as on the grounds of the ruins.

 

I donot recall the cost of the excursion.

 

We had a couple of hours there, and then the 2 hour ride back.

[keishashadow]

We've enjoyed exploring Chichen Itza, but when staying in Rivera Maya resort area via a guided tour.

 

You can no longer climb it but there are other minor sites where you still can in the general area, along with cenotes in which you can swim. Unfortunately, the time constraints of docking in Cozumel are limiting.

 

I seriously suggest saving it for when you can do it 'right' and take your time. A few hours at the site really doens't do it justice IMO

 

We did Xunantunich via CCL Belize port stop. Lucky to get 2 hours at the site, majority of time spent for refreshment breaks in bars/tourist traps along the way.

If visiting Costa Maya as a port of call, tours to Chaccoben allows you plenty of time to explore, although it is not as grand as the above mentioned sites.

[CanobieFan]

I did this tour with Royal a few years ago. Unless you're heart set on seeing the one pyramid, I wouldn't say it's really worth doing this tour on a cruise. You have an extremely limited time at the site and won't even get to see most of the place. It was also full of so many awful tourists and it had so many little stalls selling random junk, EVERYWHERE that it kind of takes away from any sort of historical significance, sadly. You'll also have to enjoy the fun ferry to Mainland Mexico. It doesn't bother me but one of the times I rode over it was quite choppy and multiple people were getting physically sick and they were handing out barf bags! And after that, you still get the multiple hour bus ride to the site.

It was also the least interesting of the five Mayan sites I visited, and definitely the most 'touched up' and heavily visited.

 

2016-02-18 by CanobieFan

[JasonMason]

I just did this excursion in December and would probably echo what the others have said in a few areas:

 

1. Getting there is a challenge, especially if you, or in my case, your companion suffers from motion sickness. We got off the Independence to find the ferry bouncing around like a rubber duck in a hot tub. Since they could only board one person at a time as it took three grown men to hold the gangway in place, you sit on this small boat for quite some time before it takes off. I am not prone to motion sickness, but this was rough even on me.

 

2. Once you are off the ferry, you are quickly herded through the port and "mall" area to your bus or tour van. They provide a paper bag lunch, but neither of us ate it. I will say that our tour guide was very engaging and did a great job of keeping everyone entertained... However, it takes several hours to reach the site once your vehicle departs, and isn't a terribly pleasant ride (IMO).

 

3. The site is amazing. Generally I am cruiser that prefers to sit by the pool and enjoy an empty ship while in port (especially Cozumel), but this was the first cruise for the person I took with me, so I wanted to give him the full experience and this was the excursion he chose. There were a lot of people, and the peddlers were even worse than those you encounter in the port (especially with the jaguar call - those who have been know exactly what I'm talking about ;)) But, the pyramid, site and ruins were absolutely amazing to see and I am super happy we had the opportunity to experience it.

 

4. Going back to the ship... By the same logic of "what goes up, must come down", you will have a 2 hour bus ride and hour long ferry trip back to Cozumel. I will also add that the weather in Cozumel on the day we visited was not super good, so this probably contributed negatively to the ferry experience... If you go in prepared for that, you should be okay. I had my companion take his motion sickness pills a half hour before we got back to the ferry and he still was having trouble on the trip back.

 

Overall: It was a great experience I am so glad we got to share. Would I recommend this excursion, yes. Based on the total travel time, DEFINITELY book it through Royal so that if (heaven forbid) anything should happen that delays your return to the ship, they won't leave you behind! Also, take your motion sickness pills before you even get off the ship in case you sit on the ferry for a while like we did, and bring extras! Once we got back to the Indy we both pretty much just crashed.

 

All that being said, prepare to be off the ship and on your feet for the entire day! I don't think I would necessarily do it again, but I'm glad I did it once!

 

Long winded, but I hope it helps! Have a great vacation!!!