PacificMountain2012

Used Island Marketing about a year and half ago for a trip to Goffs Caye. Had no problems whatsoever. They ask you to put down a 20% deposit and pay the rest in cash at the dock. Island Marketing doesn't actually do the excursion, I think it was Eco Tours, but I am probably wrong. This is how it worked, we got off the tender. There are a lot of excursion operators at the dock looking for their customers. We found the Island Marketing guy pretty quick, he had a sign that matched our confirmation. He took us to their counter, Eco Tours, in a building at the dock. We paid, received bracelets and went back to the dock where the boat picked us up along with probably a dozen others. We boarded and off we went, past our ship, to the Caye. Our children (11, 9, 5) had a great time snorkeling and swimming in the water, as did we. There is some food and drink for purchase, which alright. There were some locals there having a party with music, which added to the fun. We will probably go back in October and use Island Marketing again. Hope this helps.

My suggestion is to ride the bus into Progreso from the dock (you have to as its the only way to get to Progreso. Once there either hire a cab for the day and hire them to take you to Merida or walk up to the Autoprogreso bus station and catch the express bus to Merida. Have the cab take you Plaza de la independencia, this is in the center of Merida. The bus will drop you off a couple blocks south, they have maps available there. Take sometime to walk around the plaza and enjoy the sights. At around lunch time head three blocks north, not a long walk, on Calle 62 to Calle 55 and have lunch at "La Chaya Maya". They serve only Yucatan food there (as authentic as it gets). Once you have finished your wonderful meal there, head back to the plaza and make a stop at "Dulceria y Sorbeteria Colon" for some of the best ice cream you will ever have; try the corn or the guava. From there head back to Progreso by cab or bus. My wife and I did this, by bus, and still talk about the day we had. You can exchange dollars for pesos in Merida or you can use your dollars, either way your change will be in pesos. Have a great time!

I would plan close to a whole day. Absolutely amazing place. There are four different exhibit halls and you'll want to make time for the Tom Hanks narrated movie, which is about a hour long.

We have done this, with almost the same age group as your children. We recommend the room to everyone we know. K2 describes the layout perfectly. There is fairly decent closet space for 5, use under the beds for your empty suitcases and anything else you don't need instant access to. The two showers and sinks help tremendously in the morning and evening. The second shower has the small tub, very key if the 3 year old doesn't like to be in the shower. We had no problem in having the steward put the beds together. We loved the room, it was still a bit tight, but we weren't stepping on each other all the time, and really it was rare that we were all there at the same time during the day. Have a great family cruise!

Can not recommend the Hampton Inn at Hobby. I'm diamond level with Hilton and stayed in a lot of Hampton Inns and for whatever reason that one has always been a little below par. I like the Hampton Inn in Clear Lake/Webster much better. Its a bit farther down the road from Hobby, but not that far. Don't know about La Quinta at Hobby, sorry.

Use a private service. You could be cutting it very close, a later flight would be better. Hope for no fog!

We did it from the Crown Princess in July, well worth it. Terrific trip and great crew.

We were on the July 18 sailing of the Crown and went to Tracy Arm Fjord. First, although we loved the cruise and would do it again in a heartbeat we would probably avoid the Crown, although I will say our children loved the Kids Club.We have not sailed the Solstice but have friends who really liked it. If you chose to go on the cruise through Tracy Arm Fjord, treat yourself and splurge on the small boat excursion to the glaciers, provided its available. We did it and it was fantastic. Anyway you go, Alaska is worth it.

There were two. The one I went into was not a porta potty. It was a wood shack adjacent to the other. It flushed, however I believe it just went down to a removable tank. The water came from a roof top tank. All in all not that bad an experience.

Never been there as an excursion, but visited twice, Well worth it in my opinion, in fact look forward to the next time we have an opportunity to go. If you're old enough to remember the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs it is a must see. Even if your not old enough its a great way to see history, my children love it.

Been to the Money Bar a few times. Always had great service and the food is good. Never noticed any US beers there, typical Mexican beers in bottle or can. There is a current that moves from the right to the left, as you look out at the ocean. It gets stronger the farther you move to the left, past the pier. Best thing to do is enter the water and before going out too far swim up a distance (or you can walk it on the rocky beach then enter) and then using the current drift back down to to the Money Bar. We usually do this several times before lunch.

Yes. Walk out the terminal, head a bit to the left, cross the street where cars are picking up passengers, and head over to the buses. Easiest is to grab a porter and him/her take you and your baggage through customs and straight over to the buses. There are also numerous port employees around that can give you directions.

My first choice would be to visit Uxmal. The ruins are spectacular, on par with Chichen Itza. Yes there is walking, however there is a bit of shade and the sights around you make you forget you are walking!. The second choice would be Dzibilchaltun. It is a closer drive but not as spectacular, although worthy of a visit. A visit here also gives you the chance to see and swim in a cenote.

Whichever trip you chose, pack hats and extra water because it is most likely going to be hot. They have two seasons there, the hot season and the hotter season.

Exit the ship. Walk through the dock stores and jump on the free bus to town. The pier is 4 miles long so you have to take the bus. Once the bus drops you off in town, just head straight down to the Malecon (road running parallel with the beach) and beach. Easy walk, pretty hard to get lost. There are plenty of restaurants both on the beach and on the Malecon to eat at. Plenty of cheap massages available too. If you want to avoid many of the vendors, and there are a lot, just head up the beach a bit or simply say no gracias. The crowd thins out as you move up the beach and so do the vendors. There are also some decent food and drink opportunities up there as well and the beach is the same. Have a great time!

We were on the Magic in October '14 on did the Goff's Caye excursion through island Marketing. By the time we tendered to shore and paid we were on the 10:00 boat to the caye. It takes a bit of time to get there, but there are some things to see, islands, fishing shacks and your ship as you pass it. We had a great time there. DW took two of our children snorkeling, which they loved, while I played with our youngest in the water off the sandbar. We ate chicken kabobs for lunch and soda for lunch. There were some locals there having a small party with music which added to the atmosphere. It started to rain as we left and poured the entire trip back, but that just added to the adventure. All in all, we had a great day. Here is a link to our You Tube video of the trip, Belize and Goff's start at about 7:42.

Have a great trip!

Great work! Thanks so much our youngest will really enjoy it.

Head over to the Vienna Café for your real ice cream milk shake (promenade deck). They're a coupe of bucks, but they are great. Black and white's my favorite!

There are a number of whale watching options from Skagway. Unlike Juneau however they are on smaller boats or fishing boats and usually only hold six passengers. Some include: Never Monday Charters, Orca Enterprises, and Choctaw Lady Charters. Do a Google search for "whale watching skagway" and you'll get the list, as well as a USA Today article about whale watching in Skagway.

That is what I figured. Thank you.

Our family is booked on an inside passage cruise in July. The cruise is for my father's 80th birthday and his TA booked the cruise. There's lots of family and lots of cabins. In booking the cruise, the TA booked three rooms for my family and my sister's family. In doing that she put my son in my sister's room. We have different last names, is this going to present any challenge at check-in? Its no problem once we are on-board, just concerned about check in or some unforeseen issue. Thanks.

Its a full size bus. We've used it a few times.

I believe the bus Autoprogreso sends you on on the "Merida By Foot" is their city bus which runs to and from Merida and Progreso all day. That bus drops you off about two blocks south of the plaza, easy walk. Do a google search for "grupo autoprogreso" and click on the map. There is a great shopping area a couple blocks east of the terminal as well. We toured Merida a couple years ago and loved it. Have fun!

Just show up. I don't believe there are any umbrellas with the beach chairs.

Finding a book dedicated to Uxmal is pretty difficult, of course there a lot of books that cover Uxmal, in part, while covering the Mayans. However, I was able to find two that are specifically about Uxmal, both are more like pamphlets than books, but they cover the history of Uxmal and what each structure there is all about. Uxmal - A Practical Guide and Photo Album - I bought this onsite at Uxmal as it seems to cover everything and was great to have as walked around. Its about 40 pages long with pictures. Uxmal The History of the Ancient Mayan City. This is about 60 pages long and does a great job of covering the history. Hope this helps.

About 2 years ago the green fees for 18 were $145 and included the cart. There was a 9 hole option and I believe it was $80 or so.