Mayapan Ruins, Lazy River Tubing & Cave Snorkel

[cruisegal96]

We are considering the Carnival excursion Mayapan Ruins, Lazy River Tubing & Cave Snorkel. Has anyone done this excursion?

[GypsyLadyLikes2Wander]

Hello CruiseGal,

 

I actually have kind of the same question. I am sailing on Carnival Valor August of 2019 to Progreso and Cozumel. On the Carnival website this is listed as a brand new excursion and only has one review written about two weeks ago. This looks like the best option for an excursion in Progreso to me. I have found a tour company called Lawson's Yucatan Adventures (or something like that) online as well. They have pretty much nothing but 5 stars on every review site I've researched... and has the same type of excursion/tour. But they are much more expensive for just one person (solo cruiser here) their tour is also brand new and doesn't have a description on their site...

 

http://www.lawsonsyucatanexcursions.com/

 

So far from what I've read about similar excursions, this is a less touristy tour with probably less people. But I've also read there is a bit of traveling involved. ****My question is; does anyone reading this know if this excursion is being offered at the pier like at other ports of call or should I book through one of the two options I previously mentioned?**** Because as we all know the same excursion the ship and most excursion websites sell are usually found right at the port of call for MUCH cheaper lol!

 

ALSO... I am really interested in this Lawson tour place because of all the fantastic reviews and was wondering if anyone else who might happen to be sailing out of NOLA August 26, 2019 might want to join me, maybe get a group together and pay less per person for a unique Yucatan excursion??! ;p:cool::D

[Lee2385]

I’m following as this looks great but no details on the Carnival site!?!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[GypsyLadyLikes2Wander]

I’m following as this looks great but no details on the Carnival site!?!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

I suggest going to the Carnival website but not logging in and then doing a search on Mayapan.

[cruisegal96]

We are back from our cruise on Triumph & we did this excursion. It was awesome & one of best parts of our vacation. Our group walked out together & met on the pier right off the ship. We took a short walk to the nice new charter buses. Very comfortable & had AC for the hour & 40 minute ride to Mayapan Ruins. The guides were great & gave us lots of info as we passed through the area.

 

We arrived at Mayapan & it was really cool to see all the ruins. You can climb them & the views from top of pyramids were great! We got to spend about an hour there, the guides gave some general history to the group briefly, then we were able to tour the ruins on our own.

 

Back to the bus for a short ride to the cenote where we did the lazy river tubing/snorkel part. This place was beautiful. You walk down & get tubes for cenote, then float through a small cave into an open lazy river with walls around you with lush greenery, so cool!!! It is pretty short though, & there are lots of birds flying over head, needless to say, when you exit, there is lots of bird poop floating in the water. If you can get past that part it was really amazing! Once you exit, leave your tube & walk down to the cave where you snorkel. This was very neat to see the cave formations.

 

Then we were taken to a Hacienda for lunch & this was another great place. Beautiful architecture & the food was very good. A pork sandwich & fruit was included with the tour cost, but you could order from the menu for additional cost.

 

I highly recommend this tour & was so glad we did it. We saw some amazing things & it was the highlight of our cruise.

 

I will try & post some pics soon.

[GypsyLadyLikes2Wander]

:) Thank you so much for the informative and in-depth review! Now I'm really REALLY excited! Glad you had so much fun :D

[cruisegal96]

Here are pics of Mayapan Ruins from our June 2018 cruise:

[cruisegal96]

Continued pics of the Mayapan, Lazy River & Cave Snorkel Excursion. The cenote was so pretty with lush greenery down the walls. You just have to look over the bird poop at the end where you get out, but I enjoyed it so much, I got past the bird mess.

These are pics from the Cenote tubing & cave snorkel:

[cruisegal96]

These next pictures are the end of the Mayapan Ruins, Lazy River Tubing & Snorkel Excursion. After leaving the cenote, we are driven to a Hacienda for lunch. This was a beautiful "Estate" like open air restaurant where lunch was included. The hacienda grounds were absolutely beautiful. We were so happy we chose this excursion, it turned out to be one of the best parts of our cruise!!!

[cruisegal96]

I left this picture out of the cenote & cave snorkeling pics. It was so cool in the cave, I didn't actually snorkel, but it was great just floating in the cave.

 

We are so glad we did the Carnival excursion Mayapan Ruins, Lazy River Tubing & Cave Snorkel. It was so much fun & we had a great time at the Progreso port.

[drvmywifecrzy]

Any other reviews of this? It sounds pretty good except the long bus ride

[drvmywifecrzy]

Any other reviews of this? It sounds pretty good except the long bus ride

 

 

Not much activity. Still looking for newer reviews

[cruisegal96]

Any other reviews of this? It sounds pretty good except the long bus ride

 

 

The bus ride is about 1.5 hours, but didn't seem long at all. It wasn't bad at all on the charter buses we were on. My husband & daughter we concerned about the length of bus ride, but after, neither of them found it to be an issue. We chose this one because it was the shortest bus ride to ruins. The other ruins were 2 to 3 hours away. There is not much around the actual port area.

[yaksarefunny]

During the water portions of this excursion (cenotes & lazy river) is the exit and entrance the same place? We have a member of our party who has an artificial leg and will have to take it off to enter the water. They will place it on the shore, but will need to put it back on after swimming, so they will need to get out at the same place they got in.

[Hobbie_16]

On 7/17/2018 at 12:58 PM, cruisegal96 said:

I left this picture out of the cenote & cave snorkeling pics. It was so cool in the cave, I didn't actually snorkel, but it was great just floating in the cave.

 

We are so glad we did the Carnival excursion Mayapan Ruins, Lazy River Tubing & Cave Snorkel. It was so much fun & we had a great time at the Progreso port.

 

 

Do they allow you to take you towel and a dry bag with you or do you go back to the bus and change prior to lunch? 

[scuabacruiser]

Taking 4 teens on spring break in April and this looks like something they would like. Thanks for the pix and info.

[scuabacruiser]

On 12/1/2018 at 1:47 AM, Hobbie_16 said:

 

 

Do they allow you to take you towel and a dry bag with you or do you go back to the bus and change prior to lunch? 

Not sure but we usually wear quick dry shorts and shirt on these things. Assuming it will be hot, you should dry off fairly quickly. Besides, everyone else will also be wet, so I assume they are prepared to let you change or dry off before getting back on the bus. 

[Hobbie_16]

My boyfriend is just really nervous about leaving our camera, wallets and bags on the bus while were in the water. and wants to take them with us. I didnt know how that worked with your belongings while you're on this excursion 

[TayYay]

Hobbie_16, I'm not sure when you are sailing, so this may be too late. We are scheduled for this tour in early February and are using floating waterproof phone pouches; I bought us each a small, hard sided wallet that will fit into the pouch with our phone in order to keep our money and cards on our persons instead of leaving them on the bus. We've used similar pouches on previous cruises and it works great. We just use our phones for photos, so the camera issue has never come up. 

 

I am even more excited about this excursion after reading this review, so thanks cruisegal96!

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by TayYay

[badwolf1009]

I was just wondering what to do about a camera?  I'm torn between getting a really good point and shoot or a waterproof rugged one.  Any camera I brought would probably get pretty wet right?  Photography is a hobby of mine, but I don't want to bring my good expensive gear.  I also want to get good photos.  Are there any lockers or anything by the cenotes to put a camera in before you go into the water?  I don't have a phone that takes good pictures, they're pretty poor quality.

Edited January 31, 2019 by badwolf1009

[ABQrobin]

I am so looking forward to doing this excursion sometime in the future.  It wasn't offered when we did Progreso 3 yrs ago so we did Uxmal which was fantastic.  We love all the Mayan ruins and this one looks to be amazing!  From what I have read, it just recently opened to the public so that is why we didn't see it before.  

Thanks for posting photos... looks perfect.  My son is also a Mayan lover so he will be thrilled to hear about this excursion.

[WomanWillSail]

On 1/31/2019 at 2:25 PM, badwolf1009 said:

I was just wondering what to do about a camera?  I'm torn between getting a really good point and shoot or a waterproof rugged one.  Any camera I brought would probably get pretty wet right?  Photography is a hobby of mine, but I don't want to bring my good expensive gear.  I also want to get good photos.  Are there any lockers or anything by the cenotes to put a camera in before you go into the water?  I don't have a phone that takes good pictures, they're pretty poor quality.

You should bring a good camera if you are a photography buff. You will regret not having a camera at the places you will visit, especially the Mayapan archeological site and the cenote. At the cenote, you can swim and leave the camera within site if you are in the water, and take photos from the edge. Definitely bring it.

[ABQrobin]

On 1/31/2019 at 1:25 PM, badwolf1009 said:

I was just wondering what to do about a camera?  I'm torn between getting a really good point and shoot or a waterproof rugged one.  Any camera I brought would probably get pretty wet right?  Photography is a hobby of mine, but I don't want to bring my good expensive gear.  I also want to get good photos.  Are there any lockers or anything by the cenotes to put a camera in before you go into the water?  I don't have a phone that takes good pictures, they're pretty poor quality.

 

I can recommend a camera I have been using for several years, Fuji XP series.  They are waterproof and shockproof and take pretty darned good photos.  It is my travel camera, has been on all cruises as well as backpacking and hiking in the mountains.  Shoots photos and video.  Not real expensive but does a great job overall.  It  doesn't do what a big Dslr can do, but it is something I can carry in my pocket anywhere.  My DH just bought an Olympus TG series for same purpose - can use it snorkeling or hiking, all activities, but a bit more$ than my Fuji XP.

[Libertarian]

Thank you for posting this.We were looking at this one and couldn't find any info.

 

[Libertarian]

Do you have to snorkel?How deep is the water?Do you float in it without tubes?We are not strong swimmers so that's why I am curious.