Carnival Excursion Recommendations in Cozumel and Progresso

[agp_mzk]

So, first the disclaimers: Yes, I understand that it is perfectly safe and often easier to "do it yourself" at most cruise stops. However, I'll be traveling alone on my upcoming cruise and am more comfortable with cruise line excursions under the circumstances. Yes, I've checked out the Ports of Call forums, but those aren't nearly as active as this one, and therefore a lot of the information there is outdated. I've been looking through the excursion offerings and am suffering from a bit of decision paralysis. 

Now, for the fun part. 😄

Have you taken any particular Carnival excursions in either of these ports that you would recommend? Or that you'd strongly NOT recommend? Why or why not? 

I enjoy quiet, beautiful beaches (have done Nachi in Cozumel twice on previous cruises), snorkeling, sailing, kayaking, culture, and exploring local cuisine. I do NOT handle long bus rides well (severe motion sickness; most boats don't bother me, for whatever reason), so ruins are out. I prefer small excursion groups when possible. Love kids but would prefer adult company on this trip. My cruise will be in December, if that factors into your recommendation. 

Let's hear your stories, please. And photos, if you have them and feel like sharing!

[Elaine5715]

I was surprised at how much I liked the Atlantis submarine at Cozumel.  I also travel solo and don't do non Carnival excursions.   

[webzila]

At Progresso the beach is right by the pier which is like a mile long. You just take a free shuttle and you're there. No excursion necessary

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Tiger0613]

9 hours ago, agp_mzk said:

I enjoy quiet, beautiful beaches (have done Nachi in Cozumel twice on previous cruises), snorkeling, sailing, kayaking, culture, and exploring local cuisine. I do NOT handle long bus rides well (severe motion sickness; most boats don't bother me, for whatever reason), so ruins are out. I prefer small excursion groups when possible. Love kids but would prefer adult company on this trip. My cruise will be in December, if that factors into your recommendation. 

Which ship and sailing?

 

How long is too long? I did the Scenic Photo Tour and Foodie Experience in Progreso on 12/28/16.  There is a coach bus ride from the ship to Merida and within Merida.  It was a roughly 45 minute ride to the first stop. You get off the bus and walk around in several places.  Lunch at a restaurant was included, and we got samples at a bakery(cream puff) and drink shop(horchata or a green drink). There was a lady just inside the restaurant making corn tortillas.  The tortillas were really good.  I don't remember too many, if any, kids on this excursion. 

 

What boats are a problem for you?  I did the All Inclusive Passion Island by Twister in Cozumel on 2/11/17.  You get on the Twister boat at Puerta Maya.  The  20(?) person boat does spins in the water on the way there and back. We were there for at least 3 and a half hours.  Lunch and some drinks were included.  There were inflatables(trampoline, climbing wall, and something else) and hammocks in the water.  They hammocks weren't right next to the inflatables.  There were kids, but they were mainly hanging out on the trampoline. There were loungers on the beach.  I don't remember if there were any umbrellas.  There were a few tables and wooden hanging beds in the shade.  The buffet area was covered. There were two groups that came by Twister and two or three groups that came by catamaran.  The Twister groups left Puerta Maya later than the catamaran groups and had the island to themselves for about an hour after the catamaran groups left.  Scheduling could move that time to themselves to the beginning.

[CoW mAn]

If you don't mind animals in captivity then Chankanaab is a great option

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heyDxl2F7X4

 

Alternatively Pasion Island has beaches and plastic things they call kayaks

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmErsCpESk4

Edited July 1, 2019 by CoW mAn
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[bertram15146]

My DH and I were just in Cozumel back in the beginning of May and did the Mayan Ball Game, Mexican Show & Lunch.  We both really enjoyed it, and if you are into culture you might enjoy it as well!  It was a low key excursion, but that was what we were looking for in addition to something that didn't include being in the water and my husband does not snorkel, etc.

 

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel/mayan-ball-game-mexican-show-and-lunch-304257

[smurfm69]

 I know this is not a Carnival excursion, just wanted to give an additional option.  We go to Paradise beach which is a short, inexpensive taxi ride.  Always enjoy our time there.  Hope you have fun whatever you decide to do.

[agp_mzk]

Thanks, everyone! Some really neat suggestions here. The photo/foodie tour of Merida definitely sounds like something I would enjoy; I'll be sure to check that out!

I'm sailing on the Carnival Fantasy from Mobile on December 14th. As far as how long is too long on a bus, anything more than an hour would probably be pushing it; shorter if the road is very windy or hilly. The Twister boat ride sounds like a no-go; I can't even watch 3-D movies without becoming miserably ill...

[lab_love123]

Maybe Dzibilchaltun ruins in Progreso. That's about a 30-45 minute bus ride. The other "nearby" ruins, like Uxmal, are probably outside your comfort zone for bus-sickness because they're further away. In Cozumel, I haven't gone yet but on my upcoming solo cruise I booked Carnival's "Beach Escape" excursion. It's like $29.99, includes your transportation to/from the beach club, which was the big seller for me. There appears to be a lot of other activities you can do there as well, and other excursions like snorkeling, zip lining, etc. that use the same beach club.  

 

As a side note: I had thought about going to Paradise Beach in Cozumel on my own because it only costs $3 to get in, plus they ask you to spend about $10 on food and drink, so $13 isn't a bad price. HOWEVER, it's a ~$15 taxi ride each way. I could probably find other people to share a taxi with, but I did not want to depend on that. So for budgeting purposes, I assume that I have to pay all costs by myself. So after $25-30 for transportation, plus the $13 minimum I would spend there, it really just became cheaper to do Carnival's excursion. And less stress for me not dealing with all the what-ifs.  

[Hotdog 52]

In Progresso, the Uxmal ruins your and trying price match with aautoprogesso.

[Organized Chaos]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:47 PM, Elaine5715 said:

I was surprised at how much I liked the Atlantis submarine at Cozumel.  I also travel solo and don't do non Carnival excursions.   

 

This looks awesome. We're doing something similar in Aruba next March, but it's a semi-submersible, not a sub. You go down into the hull of the boat to look out the windows. I'd like a full-on submarine much better. We're considering a shorter cruise later this fall just so we don't have to wait as long till next year's, and we've been looking at Progresso/Cozumel. If we end up going, I think we'll seriously consider this.

[Tiger0613]

The San Gervasio ruins are in Cozumel.  My mom and I did this tour on 12/29/16.  It was supposed to be 3 hours and 15 minutes(9:00am-12:15pm).  We got back about an hour later than the scheduled return time.  We didn't miss the ship, but the late return messed up our other plans.  I don't remember much about what the guide was saying on the way to the ruins because I kept falling asleep.  It wasn't because of what he was saying.  A comfortable seat in a moving vehicle with a cold AC/fan blowing on my face will put me to sleep almost every time.  The ruins were the first stop.  I think the bus ride was about 35 minutes to the ruins.  I liked the ruins.  You could climb on some of them.  None of them were particularly tall.

 

I saw more than the rest of the group because I took off on my own.  I couldn't stand listening to the tour guide that we got go on and on and on about the differences in skin color in his family.  Three other groups stopped and then passed us while he was still talking.  My feet were killing me.  I had to get moving.  I saw all but one set of ruins.  I was realizing how long I had been away.  My mom didn't see much because she went back to the bus.  Some of the first ruins are roped off.  She was standing next to the rope and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.  The guide rudely said that you can't go past the rope.  My mother wasn't trying to do that.  She clearly wasn't even touching the rope.  Hopefully you would get a better guide.

 

After the ruins, we drove around the eastern side of the island.  We stopped at a rocky beach for 15(?) minutes or so.  There was enough time to get a drink at the bar if you wanted to.  There were some hammocks before the rock.  I walked out onto the rock to watch the waves break against the rock.  I had to watch where I stepped because there were alot of holes in it. 

 

After the beach stop we drove through the city(mainly downtown) on our way back to Puerta Maya.

 

The photo/foodie tour in Progreso got back an hour late too.  It was supposed to be 9:30am - 2:00pm.  We got back to the port at 3:00pm.  We had to be back onboard at 3:30pm.  I didn't get a chance to look in the shops.  I know most of the shops were selling the same stuff, but I wanted to look anyway.  I didn't want to be in the long line at 3:30pm, so I was only able to take a glance at each shop on my way to the ship.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Tiger0613

[Tiger0613]

2 hours ago, agp_mzk said:

The Twister boat ride sounds like a no-go; I can't even watch 3-D movies without becoming miserably ill...

I think the catamaran would be a smoother ride since it is slower and the only way little kids can get there.  The minimum age for Twister is 7 years old.  The catamaran version is also $20 cheaper than the Twister version.

[JQTravels]

We did the Intimate Mayan tour while on the Vista, San Garvasio Ruins, and Cala Mirador.  Only 7 people total on our tour.  We did a review if you would like to take a  look.

 

[Saint Greg]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:47 PM, Elaine5715 said:

I was surprised at how much I liked the Atlantis submarine at Cozumel.  I also travel solo and don't do non Carnival excursions.   

 

Planning on doing that one in August.

[agp_mzk]

Lots of great input, everyone. Thanks!

[agp_mzk]

Thanks to @Tiger0613, I've looked into the details of the photo/foodie tour of Progresso, and I think we have a winner! I've never visited mainland Mexico; I think this will be a perfect tour for me. 

Still looking into options for Cozumel. I'm torn between a catamaran/snorkel option or maybe a beach day. Decisions, decisions...Honestly, I think planning a cruise is almost as much fun as going on one!

Edited July 1, 2019 by agp_mzk

[Wolfsrule]

I just did the dolphin swim and lunch in Cozumel . It was by far one of the best excursions I’ve ever done. It’s only like 5 minutes from port, you get plenty of time with the dolphins, a free buffet lunch with unlimited drinks, free lockers for your stuff, and access to the rest of the park after the dolphin swim. The rest of the park had replica Mayan ruins you can explore, a beach with hammocks, a swimming pool, and a sea lion show, as well as more I didn’t get to. I’d do it again.

Edited July 2, 2019 by Wolfsrule

[agp_mzk]

Has anyone done the "VIP La Casa" adults only beach day through Carnival? It's pricey but sounds like it might be worth the splurge for a quiet, relaxing day. 

[meanjean80]

10 minutes ago, agp_mzk said:

Has anyone done the "VIP La Casa" adults only beach day through Carnival? It's pricey but sounds like it might be worth the splurge for a quiet, relaxing day. 

My sister, brother and I did this last year.  WE LOVED IT.  Seriously amazing day.  However, one caveat:  from what i understand the tour rents a variety of vacation houses to use for this purpose.  You may not end up at the same house we had.  Also, we were warned when we went that the beach was by a mangrove area and would therefore be murky.  We did not find it to be murky whatsoever, just not as Caribbean blue as some might have expected.  The food and service was amazing, I paid an extra $40 for a massage that was ten times better than the spa on the ship would have been, there was a pool option if we didn't like the water (we stayed by the beach).  Agreed we would do this again next time we were in Cozumel without kids.

 

 

[LoungingMcCoy]

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel/mariachi-tacos-tequila-and-shopping-304221

 

We took this one in January and it was a lot of fun if you're up for morning margaritas and tequila.  The shuttle ride is short, maybe 10 or 15 minutes.  The dancers and mariachi band were really good and seemed to enjoy themselves a great deal.  The tacos were very good.  The tequila tasting was very fun and informative.  Did I mention margaritas?  The gift shop was ok.  Mostly touristy stuff.  We got some souvenirs for our friends and family there and I thought the prices were good.   

[TravelE]

We loved the Elite Champagne Catamaran Cruise and Snorkel. The snorkeling and equipment was fantastic. The catamaran is very nice. They serve lunch and unlimited quality drinks. The crew is outstanding. It is a bit pricey but I was able to price match it to a similar Viator tour.

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel/elite-champagne-catamaran-sail-and-snorkel-304286

[agp_mzk]

3 hours ago, TravelE said:

We loved the Elite Champagne Catamaran Cruise and Snorkel. The snorkeling and equipment was fantastic. The catamaran is very nice. They serve lunch and unlimited quality drinks. The crew is outstanding. It is a bit pricey but I was able to price match it to a similar Viator tour.

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel/elite-champagne-catamaran-sail-and-snorkel-304286

I'm torn between this and the La Casa beach day. They're at about the same price point. Good thing I have plenty of time to make up my mind! Lots of reviews of both on the Carnival site, but not many here. I'll have to do some more digging through trip reports and the Ports of Call board. 

[Elustriah]

We will be on the same cruise. This isnt a carnival excursion but I think it sounds neat for progresso and we will be there!  We thought about the ruins but I'm not riding a bus for 2.5 hours. 

 

https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/progreso/ghost-town-misnebalam-atv.html#Description

 

Depending on what you like to do Mr Sanchos in Cozumel is a short can ride from the port and only 55.00 all inclusive has great pool and beach. It would be a beach/pool day kind of place. We go every time we are in Cozumel.

 

 

[evandbob]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:12 PM, Tiger0613 said:

I think the catamaran would be a smoother ride since it is slower and the only way little kids can get there.  The minimum age for Twister is 7 years old.  The catamaran version is also $20 cheaper than the Twister version.

 

 

The last 3 times I went to Passion Isle the sargasso seaweed was piled high along the shore and blanketted the water as well.  Is this still the case?  I know that the seaweed comes and goes, depending on tides, winds and currents, but 3 times over 2 years is too much.  I've gone to Passion 10 even 5 years ago and it was free of seaweed, but the last 2 yrs were horrible when I went.

 

I've gone to Nachi a few times as well recently and they don't seem to have this problem, just some stray seaweed, not mountains of it.