katibug Posted July 20, 2018 #1 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Has anyone done this Sea Turtle excursion? Would love to hear your experiences! https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel-mexico/save-a-sea-turtle-experience-304269?b=6A766173376D30782B6D796B6A5358326235586277513D3D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katibug Posted July 24, 2018 Author #2 Share Posted July 24, 2018 No-one? Okay. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyBBQlady Posted July 25, 2018 #3 Share Posted July 25, 2018 We have this excursion booked. We leave on Saturday. I'll tell you how it went when we return. My daughter really wanted to do it so I hope it's a good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katibug Posted July 27, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted July 27, 2018 We have this excursion booked. We leave on Saturday. I'll tell you how it went when we return. My daughter really wanted to do it so I hope it's a good one! Thank you so much!!! This looked like such an amazing opportunity, but I was getting nervous since no one responded. Have a great cruise, I'll look forward to your update. :) ~~Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwtrouble Posted July 28, 2018 #5 Share Posted July 28, 2018 I can't wait to see if anyone has anything to say on this. Considering it for our cruise in October. It looks like you can only book this through the ship, have you found this to be true ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinp36 Posted July 30, 2018 #6 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I have read some great reviews on the social networking page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katibug Posted August 4, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted August 4, 2018 We have this excursion booked. We leave on Saturday. I'll tell you how it went when we return. My daughter really wanted to do it so I hope it's a good one! KyBB - how was it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyBBQlady Posted August 8, 2018 #8 Share Posted August 8, 2018 We absolutely loved this excursion!! There were 6 of us travelling together. We boarded the bus to go to the excursion and it was very nice--great air conditioner! We made a stop before arriving at the beach to go to the primitive restroom (very clean) and take some pictures. There were some roadside stands with things for sale. No pressure to buy. We arrived at the beach and were broken up into small groups about 8-10 people per group. Our group had 8 people in it. We received instructions on how to dig the hole and what to do when we found a turtle. Our group found 11 sea turtles! It was amazing. We also collected any unhatched eggs and hatched egg shells. Every group found turtles. Then we gathered on the beach to release them. It was a once in a lifetime experience! There were several that didn't want to dig so they took photos and watched. You were then given an opportunity to purchase a t-shirt if you wanted. They were $15 and $20 dollars. After the activities with the sea turtles were over we all boarded the bus and had another stop at a Mayan village (replica) it was interesting--and a tequila tasting there. The tequila tasting was completely optional. There was no pressure to buy anything. After this we went back to the port and spent some time shopping and back on the ship. We all really like this excursion! It was interactive and the guides were super friendly and informative about the area. My husband really liked it too. I don't know if we just lucked out by finding so many turtles but I'm glad we went and had this experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katibug Posted August 10, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted August 10, 2018 We absolutely loved this excursion!! There were 6 of us travelling together. We boarded the bus to go to the excursion and it was very nice--great air conditioner! We made a stop before arriving at the beach to go to the primitive restroom (very clean) and take some pictures. There were some roadside stands with things for sale. No pressure to buy.We arrived at the beach and were broken up into small groups about 8-10 people per group. Our group had 8 people in it. We received instructions on how to dig the hole and what to do when we found a turtle. Our group found 11 sea turtles! It was amazing. We also collected any unhatched eggs and hatched egg shells. Every group found turtles. Then we gathered on the beach to release them. It was a once in a lifetime experience! There were several that didn't want to dig so they took photos and watched. You were then given an opportunity to purchase a t-shirt if you wanted. They were $15 and $20 dollars. After the activities with the sea turtles were over we all boarded the bus and had another stop at a Mayan village (replica) it was interesting--and a tequila tasting there. The tequila tasting was completely optional. There was no pressure to buy anything. After this we went back to the port and spent some time shopping and back on the ship. We all really like this excursion! It was interactive and the guides were super friendly and informative about the area. My husband really liked it too. I don't know if we just lucked out by finding so many turtles but I'm glad we went and had this experience! You have TOTALLY made my day - thank you! We'll be booking this. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leekh Posted August 10, 2018 #10 Share Posted August 10, 2018 By any chance anyone done this w/o going through Carnival? Can this be done on our own when we arrive in port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurasue Posted August 16, 2018 #11 Share Posted August 16, 2018 By any chance anyone done this w/o going through Carnival? Can this be done on our own when we arrive in port? Look up Cozumel Turtles on Facebook. The effort is run through the local ecology department. Unfortunately from what I’ve seen most of the local efforts are held later in the day and don’t work for when our ship is in port. I’m really NOT a cruise ship excursion person but this is one we decided to book through them since it doesn’t appear DIY is going to be possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan2771 Posted May 16, 2019 #12 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this excursion in the past year? Thank-you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwtrouble Posted May 16, 2019 #13 Share Posted May 16, 2019 We did it last October and it was wonderful, we would do it in a heart beat again. Keep in mind you will not find all the turtles alive which is sad. But the ones you are able to rescue is Heart warming. Below is the turtles we were able to rescue from our nest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan2771 Posted May 27, 2019 #14 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Thank-you so much for your feedback pjwtrouble! I really appreciate it and the lovely photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted June 2, 2019 #15 Share Posted June 2, 2019 So just a question because I know nothing about this in Cozumel but I do know here in the US, it is illegal to tamper with any of the Sea Turtles or their nests. Are you just randomly digging or can the experts tell where the nests are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwtrouble Posted June 2, 2019 #16 Share Posted June 2, 2019 It's a sea turtle rescue team that helps you with the digging, I believe it is a non-profit. All the nests are marked and a lot of the turtles have already hatched out the night before. You are going in and finding the ones that could not make it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDani226 Posted August 15, 2019 #17 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Just wanted to add that we just did this through Royal last week. My 8-year-old LOVED it! We happened to find a lot of turtles, and were with only one other family, so she got to save a lot:) I would definitely do this again. The only downside is I would have liked to know about the other stops they make on the excursion. Afterwards we went to a replica of a Mayan village, which was not bad. We got to taste corn tortillas and salsa, supposedly how they used to be made, as well as chocolate straight from the cocoa bean. We were just not prepared for it as it was not advertised as being part of the excursion. However, on the way to the turtles, we stopped at an out of the way shop. It was a very pretty area, and presented as a photo opportunity, but it was pretty clear that it was an effort to get us to buy something from the shop there. Other than that we really loved the trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-leg5 Posted August 15, 2019 #18 Share Posted August 15, 2019 23 minutes ago, DrDani226 said: Just wanted to add that we just did this through Royal last week. My 8-year-old LOVED it! We happened to find a lot of turtles, and were with only one other family, so she got to save a lot:) I would definitely do this again. The only downside is I would have liked to know about the other stops they make on the excursion. Afterwards we went to a replica of a Mayan village, which was not bad. We got to taste corn tortillas and salsa, supposedly how they used to be made, as well as chocolate straight from the cocoa bean. We were just not prepared for it as it was not advertised as being part of the excursion. However, on the way to the turtles, we stopped at an out of the way shop. It was a very pretty area, and presented as a photo opportunity, but it was pretty clear that it was an effort to get us to buy something from the shop there. Other than that we really loved the trip! Glad to year you enjoyed it. We are thinking of it as a future excursion. The tour description does say it goes to a Mayan village although it suggests you drive through. Do you know if you went to El Cedral, (with a tiny old church) or Pueblo de Maize? Or possibly even both, if you did a round trip of the island? Or was the shopping area just an Oceanside area? trying to work out where they take you. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDani226 Posted August 15, 2019 #19 Share Posted August 15, 2019 14 minutes ago, c-leg5 said: Glad to year you enjoyed it. We are thinking of it as a future excursion. The tour description does say it goes to a Mayan village although it suggests you drive through. Do you know if you went to El Cedral, (with a tiny old church) or Pueblo de Maize? Or possibly even both, if you did a round trip of the island? Or was the shopping area just an Oceanside area? trying to work out where they take you. Thanks. It was just a small Oceanside area on the opposite side of the island (of the port). No other stops. Just those 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan2771 Posted August 15, 2019 #20 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) Actually we did the excursion last week as well! It was on August 2nd and we did it with Carnival. It was a total of 4 hours from start to finish, and did not include a stop in Mayan village. We had a stop at a scenic look out, and there was a place to buy souvenirs and drinks. They only accepted cash. I wasn't aware that this stop would happen so we didn't have a lot of cash on us and they do not take credit cards. This stop was before getting to the turtle beach. Also recommend bargaining down the price if you find something of interest We really enjoyed the experience. Our family was paired with another father/daughter and we found 11 baby green sea turtles. Another group also found 11 at there nest, one group found 8 baby turtles, a group found only 1, and one group found zero. It was overall a fantastic experience and our girls and the other girl in our group was ecstatic each time they found one. We dug down about 4 feet. One important piece of advise is that it was so gosh darn hot. One person when we got to the beach fainted from the heat. Bring lots of water and a good hat. There is no place for shade on the beach, and they did not have enough beach umbrellas for the groups. So do yourself the favor and have good sun protection. There was a photographer there who took a picture of each family holding baby sea turtles, and you could purchase the framed photo when you got back to the bus. The ecological team also sold T-shirts. Cash again for T-Shirts and the photo. We would highly recommend this excursion and made some great memories. Edited August 15, 2019 by Susan2771 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-leg5 Posted August 15, 2019 #21 Share Posted August 15, 2019 17 minutes ago, Susan2771 said: Actually we did the excursion last week as well! It was on August 2nd and we did it with Carnival. It was a total of 4 hours from start to finish, and did not include a stop in Mayan village. We had a stop at a scenic look out, and there was a place to buy souvenirs and drinks. They only accepted cash. I wasn't aware that this stop would happen so we didn't have a lot of cash on us and they do not take credit cards. This stop was before getting to the turtle beach. Also recommend bargaining down the price if you find something of interest We really enjoyed the experience. Our family was paired with another father/daughter and we found 11 baby green sea turtles. Another group also found 11 at there nest, one group found 8 baby turtles, a group found only 1, and one group found zero. It was overall a fantastic experience and our girls and the other girl in our group was ecstatic each time they found one. We dug down about 4 feet. One important piece of advise is that it was so gosh darn hot. One person when we got to the beach fainted from the heat. Bring lots of water and a good hat. There is no place for shade on the beach, and they did not have enough beach umbrellas for the groups. So do yourself the favor and have good sun protection. There was a photographer there who took a picture of each family holding baby sea turtles, and you could purchase the framed photo when you got back to the bus. The ecological team also sold T-shirts. Cash again for T-Shirts and the photo. We would highly recommend this excursion and made some great memories. Yes, good to note- cash only on the east side since there is no electricity other than a few generators. 1 hour ago, DrDani226 said: It was just a small Oceanside area on the opposite side of the island (of the port). No other stops. Just those 3. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bm6pm5 Posted August 17, 2019 #22 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Great to hear all of the recent reviews. We are doing this in 2 weeks. My daughter is really looking forward to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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