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CALICA? who or WHAT is THAT?

soon2bretired

By soon2bretired,
in Playa Del Carmen/Calica

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soon2bretired

soon2bretired

Posted
Posted

Does this place really exist? can't find anything on it except that it's a gravel pit of a place? why can SOME ships go to cozumel and others can't? i am considering cancelling with carnival; this isn't something i wanted to do or pay good money for. Do we get dumped off there and have to PAY to get somewhere else?

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kathy7558

kathy7558

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You're right - it's a rock quarry. But it does have a dock, so you don't have to tender in to Playa del Carmen instead. There's not much right at the dock - just some locals selling their crafts.

 

Taxis into Playa are cheap and it's a short ride. You can also hire a taxi or take a group tour to Tulum from Calica. There's also an ecological park quite close and you can get on the bus to the park and back at almost any point in the day. Carnival sells the excursion including the bus and admission for basically the same price as the admission to the park.

 

Go and enjoy!!:D

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soon2bretired

soon2bretired

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Thanks Kathy! It doesn't sound so bad! I just wanted this trip to be special (i am surprising him with a suite) because my husband is retiring next year and it'll be our last trip with the 4 of us since my oldest son is going to be studying abroad next summer and then grad school after that. I like the idea of not tendering in case weather is acting up, less chance of not getting there if we're docking. It's our first western carib. cruise and i was SO looking forward to that paradise beach in cozumel. thanks!

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Kittymama

Kittymama

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It's actually a great stop. No, there's nothing to see from the ship. However, it's close to Cancun. And best of all, it's a very short (just a couple of minutes) bus ride to Xcarat. There's a shuttle bus that goes between the ship & the park all day. Xcarat is absolutely wonderful--animals for the kids to see (iguanas everywhere, gorgeous birds), stunning beach with hammocks to laze away the day, restaurants, a tubing "river", manatees, dolphins (including a dolphin swim program), various local performances throughout the day, & it finishes up with a fabulous show in the main theater of the history of Mexico complete with absolutely stunning costumes. We absolutely loved it & would go back in a heartbeat.

 

I'll also agree with the folks recommending Playa. We got incredibly lucky on one cruise & actually docked there. Absolutely loved it. Beautiful beautiful little town, great--& CHEAP--shopping, excellent--& CHEAP restaurants. Lovely beach. Can't go wrong there either.

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mesmall

mesmall

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which beach did you go to in Playa? Did you just ask the cabbie??Did they have any watersports or toys there?Music? How about Xcaret?do they have any entertainment(Reggae band?)on the beach?Water toys? I know I have too many questions but I have 2 boys 13 and 15 and they want some action at the beach and don't lay around much(which is what I"LL be doing!) Thanks!:)

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PINEVIEW01

PINEVIEW01

Posted
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Thanks Kathy! It doesn't sound so bad! I just wanted this trip to be special (i am surprising him with a suite) because my husband is retiring next year and it'll be our last trip with the 4 of us since my oldest son is going to be studying abroad next summer and then grad school after that. I like the idea of not tendering in case weather is acting up, less chance of not getting there if we're docking. It's our first western carib. cruise and i was SO looking forward to that paradise beach in cozumel. thanks!

The weather acted up so we couldn't dock there when we were on the Holiday the last time. We ended up at Cozemel that day instead. If you want to go to Cozmel instead, it is a very cheap, short ferry ride there.

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NRWO

NRWO

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Calica is a port that Carnival does a very poor job of explaining to its guests.. It is simply a place to port, period. It is an ideal jumping-off port for lots of great sites/excursions as was posted previously. Same goes for Belize. Often people would see where they are docking and not even get off the ship. TAs and PVPs need to do a better job of explaining Calica's purpose and what to do when calling there.

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corina27

corina27

Posted
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Calica is a port that Carnival does a very poor job of explaining to its guests.. It is simply a place to port, period. It is an ideal jumping-off port for lots of great sites/excursions as was posted previously. Same goes for Belize. Often people would see where they are docking and not even get off the ship. TAs and PVPs need to do a better job of explaining Calica's purpose and what to do when calling there.
the same could be said for Progresso as well.
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cheshyrkat

cheshyrkat

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the same could be said for Progresso as well.

 

I TOTALLY agree...The first stop in Progreso with the "Corona Beach Break" was extremely disappointing, but this time I did a tour of Uxmal. Wow. What a difference! Yes, you have to ride in a bus for an hour and a half to get there but the ruins were amazing! If I had done that excursion first I would have a totally different opinion of Progreso!

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clackey

clackey

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Yes, my friends both Calica and Progreso are only a place to park. I can't really say that because I enjoyed both places. In Calica, we booked a beach break through Carnival. If you like to get buzzed this is a good trip. It was a gorgeous beach, open bar and had good food. A short taxi ride can take you to Playa where there are nice beaches, bars, shopping and about anything that you would want to do. Calica is also a jumping off place for Xcaret, Tulum, Xel-Ha, and any number of neat places. (Do a google.) You can also take the ferry over to Cozumel and still do your Paradise Beach thing.

 

Progreso has a few things that you won't find anywhere else. An open fish market comes to mind.:D No really, we enjoyed looking around town, shopping in the middle of town away from the tourist traps. One time we took a trip to Dzibilchaltun and , I must say, the ruins are neat. You can also access Chichen-Itza from there. Then there is the town of Merida to explore and more ruins at Uxmal.

 

So you see, my friends, all is not lost. Pick a tour and have fun. These trips are what you make them. ENJOY!

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lawmomma

lawmomma

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Actually they are trying to improve the looks of the "rock pit"....compared to our stop there 1 yr ago....they are building more permanent structures for the vendors so there is hope.....still lots to do from there....Xcaret was still closed as of 12-10-05 and Carnival had not but Xel-ha back on the excursions list because they wanted their reps to check it out....had just reopened that weekend we were there. I was very happy to be going to Calica instead of Progresso.:o

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