Leave Monday NEED help with excursions...

[milomlo]

HI all! We are leaving on Monday from Galveston to Progresso and then Cozumel. I am wondering how SAFE it actually is to take your own excursions (not booked through Carnival). It will be my husband, myself, and our two boys ages 12 and 8. I am just concerned about safety. Is it just as safe to do something on our own? My husband and I have our passports but the kids will just have their birthcertificates.

 

Any suggestions would also be appreciated ;)

[WilliamLawson]

You will be fine. You can head over to the bus station (ask for 'camiones a Merida') and go that way into town, or you can hire a taxi to take you there as well. Just be sure to leave plenty of time to find that ride back or ask the taxi driver to pick you up at a certain point, if going to Merida, say. Again, leave time to find alternate transportation should a taxi driver not show up.

 

There are plenty of options once you step off the bus at the Casa de Cultura in Progreso which is where the shuttles leave you. Skip the beer/drinking tours, they're just dumb. Dzibilchaltun ruins is nice (bring a swimsuit) and just getting to Merida is great also.

 

But as far as safety goes, you will be fine.

[hdawson]

William. You are so spot on about the beer drinkiing tours such as the one offered by Carnival. Just plain Dumb!

 

By the way. My cruise and day in Merida is temporarily up in the air. Last Thursday I had a stroke. Vision is a bit disturbed. I planned to drive to Mobile.

[timmy's girl]

If you want to go to the beach, it is a short 2 or 3 blocks from where the buses/shuttles drop you off. You can also find vendors there that have excursions for about half the price too.

 

We have been twice. Once we took a tour into Merida and once we just walked to the beach.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[lgbteacher]

William. You are so spot on about the beer drinkiing tours such as the one offered by Carnival. Just plain Dumb!

 

By the way. My cruise and day in Merida is temporarily up in the air. Last Thursday I had a stroke. Vision is a bit disturbed. I planned to drive to Mobile.

Sorry to hear about the stroke. My 20 year old daughter had one this last December. Her vision was also affected. The opthomologist corrected it with glasses that have a series of prisms on one of the lenses. Hope they might be able to do this for you. I also hope you get to Merida. I know by your posts how much you enjoy this area.

[Carriecruises]

We were there 3 weeks ago and did our own thing. We are late risers and are travelmates are early so they got off the ship early and headed to the beach. We did later. We just walked to the beach from the shuttle. Just a few blocks and grabbed a table on the beach. We immediately had a waiter there asking if we wanted drinks. The breeze was nice. I don't think I would have a good time in the summer at the ruins but the beach was nice. Plus I got an 3/4 to 1 hour massage for $10 plus tip. My husband still misses the food there. You will be fine. At least in the beach area. I can't speak of other areas because I haven't been.

[hdawson]

milomlo. You'll find Progreso, Merida and the entire Yucatan state to be very safe. Certainly, Merida is safer than most US cities of the same comparable size.

 

http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/03/31/how-safe-is-mexico?ncid=AOLCOMMtravdynlprim0890&icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl4|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.travel.aol.com%2F2010%2F03%2F31%2Fhow-safe-is-mexico%3Fncid%3DAOLCOMMtravdynlprim0890

 

Relax and enjoy.

[milomlo]

Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate it.

@Hdawson - I am very sorry to hear about your stroke. I pray you make a full recovery and the same for lbgteacher's daughter. May prayers are with all of you!

 

One more question. Although this may be the wrong thread, but has anyone ever traveled without a passport since the new laws and did you have trouble? I know carnival told me the kids didn't need a passport, but then of course all their paperwork suggests one. I keep finding

contradicting information online. I think since we are on a "closed loop" cruise we are ok. Just want to confirm with some folks who have actually done it.

[MommyMonster]

William. You are so spot on about the beer drinkiing tours such as the one offered by Carnival. Just plain Dumb!

 

By the way. My cruise and day in Merida is temporarily up in the air. Last Thursday I had a stroke. Vision is a bit disturbed. I planned to drive to Mobile.

 

Sorry to hear about your Stroke! Praying for a speedy recovery and hope you get to make your cruise!

[MommyMonster]

HI all! We are leaving on Monday from Galveston to Progresso and then Cozumel. I am wondering how SAFE it actually is to take your own excursions (not booked through Carnival). It will be my husband, myself, and our two boys ages 12 and 8. I am just concerned about safety. Is it just as safe to do something on our own? My husband and I have our passports but the kids will just have their birthcertificates.

 

Any suggestions would also be appreciated ;)

 

We have only been to Progresso once, but it was by far my favorite!! We went to Cozumel on our first port day and Progresso on our second.

When we got off the shuttle bus, we walked the few blocks to the beach. We got a little of the "selling", but politely said no and everyone was respectful of that. There is also a little tourist market right there where the bus lets you out. I can't remember the name of the restaraunt that we ended up at, but you can just pick something by what they are offering. I know that we spent $22, I had 4 margarita, DH had 4 beers, kiddo had 3 bottled cokes and we had chips and salsa and quacamole. I couldn't believe how cheap it was. Everybody was so friendly too, as the sun moved, the waiter would move tables and shade around to keep everyone cool. DH got a massage on the beach, which he said was wonderful. I think it was $20. There are boats and things available for rent or rides for a fee. DH and the kiddo rode a Banana Boat for $5 a piece and had a blast! There were also quite a few kids finding shells on the beach. We had our snorkel gear, so we took it and kiddo used it to look at the fish and stuff in the water. The sand on this beach is a little rougher than some of the beaches at Cozumel to us, but we were so much more relaxed. We ended up spending less than $75 in Progresso, and I even bought a "Mexican Dress" there. I bought a "Mexican Dress" This was a big contrast from the $140 that we went thru in Cozumel, 1/2 of which was at Senor Frogs. They charged us almost as much for my kiddos coke as they did my margarita.

 

I had also read on one of the CC boards about the local market in Progresso, so we took a short detour to see that as well. My son was 7(I think) at the time. There is a meat market, produce stand, a couple of food stands like taqherias, even somebody selling flowers. It is truly a "local market" We didn't spend alot of time there, but it was neet to see. We all came home with a new appreciation for the grocery store and refrigerated meat cases for sure.

 

None of us have our Passports, so I just plan to get back to the ship an hour earlier than we have to. We have also done our own thing in Cozumel as well. I can share a little about what we did there if you want.

[MommyMonster]

Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate it.

@Hdawson - I am very sorry to hear about your stroke. I pray you make a full recovery and the same for lbgteacher's daughter. May prayers are with all of you!

 

One more question. Although this may be the wrong thread, but has anyone ever traveled without a passport since the new laws and did you have trouble? I know carnival told me the kids didn't need a passport, but then of course all their paperwork suggests one. I keep finding

contradicting information online. I think since we are on a "closed loop" cruise we are ok. Just want to confirm with some folks who have actually done it.

 

We do not have our passports, we may get them before our November Cruise, but we have traveled on 4 cruises with out them and have never had any trouble. Our next cruise will be with NCL and they are also recommending that all passengers travel with a passport. Like I said we have never had a problem. I would recommend that you take some type of photo ID for your kids if you have it, an Identakid card or school ID. When we were coming thru customs last year, the lady asked if my son had one, and we did not. We had never needed it before, and I don't think it was required but then she began to ask him a series of questions about where he lived, who is this lady next to you, etc. She even asked him if he knew who the other people we were with were. No big deal, but this time I am taking him a photo ID.;)

[Tennessee Rose]

John,

So sorry to hear about your stroke. I will be sending well wishes and thoughts your way. Just want you to know I always make a point of reading your posts on CC, I guess because I generally agree with your opinions on things! And I remember your kindness in sharing your photos of Progreso and Merida before my cruise there last Feb.

 

milomlo---You may want to check out tours from Autoprogreso. We used them to go to Uxmal and it was wonderful. Nice comfortable air conditioned bus ride (1 1/2 hrs from Progreso) and very informative tour guide, Geraldo.

[milomlo]

We do not have our passports, we may get them before our November Cruise, but we have traveled on 4 cruises with out them and have never had any trouble. Our next cruise will be with NCL and they are also recommending that all passengers travel with a passport. Like I said we have never had a problem. I would recommend that you take some type of photo ID for your kids if you have it, an Identakid card or school ID. When we were coming thru customs last year, the lady asked if my son had one, and we did not. We had never needed it before, and I don't think it was required but then she began to ask him a series of questions about where he lived, who is this lady next to you, etc. She even asked him if he knew who the other people we were with were. No big deal, but this time I am taking him a photo ID.;)

 

OH my! I just saw this. I do have an old school ids for the kids, but my 12 year old looks nothing like his id now. He has grown up so much. It is now Friday and we are leaving Monday. I guess I try it. I am for sure getting these kids passports so I don't have to worry about that again. Figures that the price increased when I finally decide we need to travel more. :rolleyes::D

 

 

OH and as for excursions. I think we are taking the beach advise for Progreso and we are doing a Dune Buggy Excursion in Cozumel (not through Carnival). My only worry now is that we make it back in time for departure. :rolleyes

[MommyMonster]

OH my! I just saw this. I do have an old school ids for the kids, but my 12 year old looks nothing like his id now. He has grown up so much. It is now Friday and we are leaving Monday. I guess I try it. I am for sure getting these kids passports so I don't have to worry about that again. Figures that the price increased when I finally decide we need to travel more. :rolleyes::D

 

 

OH and as for excursions. I think we are taking the beach advise for Progreso and we are doing a Dune Buggy Excursion in Cozumel (not through Carnival). My only worry now is that we make it back in time for departure. :rolleyes

 

 

You will make it back in time for departure. Just make sure you take some type of time piece with you. Come back and post about your experience when you get back!

[hdawson]

Thanks everyone for your concern, prayers and good thoughts. I feel that I'm fine with minor vision change. Been to the optomitrist for tests and waiting for the nurologist to clear me for driving. I now fully expect to make my cruise Aug 28th and spend a few hours in Merida. YEA!

[WilliamLawson]

Hdawson - I am sorry to hear of your stroke which I just read about! I think it's time you came to Merida and relaxed here for a while - maybe you are stressed!! Also, glad to see you are OK now and the cruise is on for you. Although I will probably be out of town from the way the calendar is looking, if things change you are definitely going to have a beer/coffee/chai/horchate with yours truly!

 

All the best!