Still unable to reach David and Ivan

[collegemom912]

I'm new to the message boards. All of the posts have been very helpful. I have been trying to confirm a tour with David and IVan since Oct 1. I've written 3 times with no response. Their initial response was very quick. Has anyone written them in October and heard back? Unfortunately, my outlook express does not work but I email them directly using their email addresses posted on their website. This is how i originally contacted them. Fortuantely we don't travel until January 07.

 

Thanks!

[vmom]

I finally got a response. I think their may be some technical difficulites on their end since they called me by phone..twice. I sent out 3 emails also over the course of about 3 weeks. Last week I got a phone call and about 2 days later I got a second phone call from them telling me that they had recieved my email reservation request. The apologized for being late in getting back to me. If you're not leaving untill Jan., just hold in there. If you have caller ID, the call comes up as "unknown".

[cdillon23]

I finally got a response. I think their may be some technical difficulites on their end since they called me by phone..twice. I sent out 3 emails also over the course of about 3 weeks. Last week I got a phone call and about 2 days later I got a second phone call from them telling me that they had recieved my email reservation request. The apologized for being late in getting back to me. If you're not leaving untill Jan., just hold in there. If you have caller ID, the call comes up as "unknown".

 

I think someone told me that they have been having some internet issues. It has not been real reliably for them lately. Glad you got your reservation taken care of! We are going with them in November.

[collegemom912]

Thanks I'll hand in and if I haven't already I'll send my phone number.

[Cruz-On]

What is the website information?

[Marlissa]

What is the website information?

 

 

I also answered on your other post.

 

See post number 2 in this thread. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=420714

[The Cruisers]

I've been trying to get in touch with them as well and they have not responded to my emails. I'll send another with my phone number. We leave on our cruise Nov. 11 so hopefully I will hear from them soon.

[mazda]

We were scheduled to go with David and Ian last week. We were off the ship in the time they suggested and we were left at the Cat's Meow. So make sure you get off the ship ASAP, not sure what happened, because we did have reservations and they had our names. But Barbara the owner of the Cat's Meow said they had left already. Did not know this until later though, so sat there for 1 hour waiting......

[kftw]

We were scheduled to go with David and Ian last week. We were off the ship in the time they suggested and we were left at the Cat's Meow. So make sure you get off the ship ASAP, not sure what happened, because we did have reservations and they had our names. But Barbara the owner of the Cat's Meow said they had left already. Did not know this until later though, so sat there for 1 hour waiting......

 

Not glad to see this. We are booked with them in December.

[river_sand_bar2]

We are booked with then in 2 weeks!!!! Maybe I should recheck with them:eek:

[kftw]

We are booked with then in 2 weeks!!!! Maybe I should recheck with them:eek:

 

We go with them the middle of Dec & I plan to re-confirm a couple of weeks before we go. Please post a review when you come back. It really helps us that are waiting.

[The Cruisers]

We finally heard back from Ivan. He said that they have been having email problems for the past month. He told us to meet him a the Cat's Meow one hour after the ship docks, so we are going to have to get off the ship quickly to go meet them to make sure we don't miss them.

[pwillmo]

We were scheduled to go with David and Ian last week. We were off the ship in the time they suggested and we were left at the Cat's Meow. So make sure you get off the ship ASAP, not sure what happened, because we did have reservations and they had our names. But Barbara the owner of the Cat's Meow said they had left already. Did not know this until later though, so sat there for 1 hour waiting......

So, what did you do for the day?? Did they come back or were you left holding the bag??

[mazda]

So, what did you do for the day?? Did they come back or were you left holding the bag??

 

We did go to the ruins with another vendor. There are plenty of vendors in the fishing village so we did get to go. We left about 1 1/2 hours later then scheduled. Ended up in a van with 8 other people and you get a guide assigned to you when you get to the ruins. So the day was not lost, just some time! And we had not paid David and Ivan before, the other vendor (can't remember their name) took us for the same price we had arranged with David and Ivan.

[KY Transplant]

I went on the David & Ivan tour Oct.24. I can say it was a great tour and worth the time.

 

If you have not been to Costa maya before it can be confusing. After the ship docks walk out of the tourist villages past the large tour buses and just ask anyone for David or Ivan. They will usually wear a white with red trim tshirt that says "The Natives Choice". DO NOT get on the large gold colored buses!

 

I had gotten a call on my cell phone from David prior to the cruise but it was a poor connection and still didn't get the whole conversation. He did say that technology in CM has a lot to bee desired as to why he did not respond to my email.

 

Anyhow, David confirmed I would be with Ivan that day and that he would pick me up at the Cat's Meow. David hailed a cab for me and we met Ivan at the Cats Meow. It is a long walk and unless you are young & in good shape take the cab!

 

I can say that having Ivan as my guide was a pleasurable experience. You will get your money's worth.

[rtrtx2]

we are booked with David and Ivan, we were instructeed to debark the ship and take the shuttle bus to fishing village(Cats Meow) to meet them.

[granitegal]

Kind of scary them leaving people there.... I reserved the one that has to have 7 people minimum. Glad 5 of them are with me!!!

[collegemom912]

Since I began this thread I thought I'd let you know how we've progressed. I received a response from David after 7 days. He thanked me for my patience and explained about the unreliable internet connections. I wrote to confirm our reservation on 11-4 and received a response in less than 2 days. It's a shame about the folks who were left behind. I think I will continue to remain in contact with David especially as our trip approaches.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

[ikelmay]

hi everyone - re david and ivan's internet problems. I emailed them separately three times over about 4 weeks before we heard back with a confirmation. The infrastructure in Majahual is developing and therefore the internet connection isn't as reliable as it could be. Once David and Ivan send you a confirmation, you are on their list.

 

They send out very clear instructions on how to get to the Cat's Meow. There are taxivans that leave from the port and the journey takes only minutes. $3 per person. Our van had about 6 other David and Ivan tourists and I was very impressed with the way things worked for an area so new to mass tourism.

 

The confirmation note for us advised that the tour would leave about an hour after docking - we got in at 0800 and as the ship was docked in Costa Maya, we were off and over to the taxivan stop by about 0810.

 

Hope this helps

[varisian]

We were with David and Ivan last week and I got back off Constellation yesterday. It is important that folks understand that Costa Maya is a very new resort that is growing very fast from an almost zero baseline. David and Ivan are just about the only people in the area with a connection to the internet and it is not reliable and so it can be that folks just have to be a bit patient. My best advice is to book early and keep trying.

 

It is worth it.

 

David picked us up directly from the gate of the complex at the end of the pier and I understand that this will be the procedure from now on. That means you don't need to worry about getting to the Cat's Meow at Majahual.

[The Cruisers]

We were with David and Ivan last week and I got back off Constellation yesterday. It is important that folks understand that Costa Maya is a very new resort that is growing very fast from an almost zero baseline. David and Ivan are just about the only people in the area with a connection to the internet and it is not reliable and so it can be that folks just have to be a bit patient. My best advice is to book early and keep trying.

 

It is worth it.

 

David picked us up directly from the gate of the complex at the end of the pier and I understand that this will be the procedure from now on. That means you don't need to worry about getting to the Cat's Meow at Majahual.

 

That's good to know that they will pick you up from the end of the pier instead of having to go to the Cat's Meow. We leave in a couple days on the Miracle and can't wait to take this tour.

[varisian]

When you get to the ticket booth at the end of the shops, at the end of the pier, be sure to tell the folks there that you are with David and Ivan, someone will meet you if David and Ivan aren't there. You still have to pay the $3 to get the Cat's Meow but you will be met by David or Ivan before leaving the dock area.

[madisonswims]

So glad I checked in on this string. It is great to know that we should be looking for David. By the way, will he have a sign or something so that we know it is him? If we don't find him, I assume we should then just proceed to the Cat's Meow...

 

Thanks for sharing the updates. I did send a confirmation e-mail to David and the e-mail was bounced back to me as if it was never recieved...

[coasterjan]

So glad I checked in on this string. It is great to know that we should be looking for David. By the way, will he have a sign or something so that we know it is him? If we don't find him, I assume we should then just proceed to the Cat's Meow...

 

Thanks for sharing the updates. I did send a confirmation e-mail to David and the e-mail was bounced back to me as if it was never recieved...

 

I was on the David and Ivan tour last Wednesday, Nov 8th. My group of 4 was looking for where to catch the taxis at the other side of the tourist complex, and a man (I think he was a security guard) saw the "Chaccobenruins.com" paperwork in my hands and sent me over to a little booth that was marked "The Native Choice", where I paid our $3 each and from there, a nice man with a walkie-talkie got our groups together and got us in the right van which then went to The Cat's Meow. We were only at the Cat's Meow for about 10 minutes, and once they seemed certain that everyone was there and accounted for, we loaded up in Ivan's van and headed out. The booth where we paid for the taxi is near the buses and a big red wall at the far side of the tourist complex (past the pool and slightly to the right), and I found that just about anyone can direct you to where you need to be (but I didn't see anyone with a cardboard sign, for what that's worth). Just make sure you tell them you are already booked with David and Ivan.

 

Note that I was a first-time cruiser and a coward, and this was the only excursion (of 6) in which I was brave enough to book outside the cruise line. It was very simple and everything went flawlessly, and I am so glad that I did it. Others from our group did the Carnival excursion to Chaccoben, and ours was *much* better. :)

[The Cruisers]

We just got back from the Miracle and did the excursion with David and Ivan on Nov. 17. We we got to the tourist transportation area a man was trying to get us to buy a tour with him. I told him that we had a tour booked with David and Ivan and the man pointed me to David. We introduced ourselves and David checked our names off of his list. We paid the $3 to get to Majahal and Ivan met us at the Cats Meow shortly after we arrived.

 

The tour is everything that everyone says that it is. David and Ivan are professional. Ivan is very knowledgeable and a proud Mayan. We really enjoyed his explanations of the Mayan culture. It is the best tour we have taken in our seven cruises. We highly recommend that you take this tour.