Mahogany Bay or Progreso?

[CarnivalCruiser875]

Comparing two cruises in Jan 2022 that are relatively same in price and come out of the same port. One itinerary is Cozumel and Mahogany Bay and the other is Cozumel and Progreso. Having been to Cozumel multiple times, I know what is available there. However MB and Progreso are new to me. Which do you prefer and why?

[tandemcruzr]

Our choice would be Mahogany Bay. Long distance from ship to land. Buses are used. Close to 3 miles and not much to do right in port.

[keywest1]

Mahogany Bay is one of our favorites.  There is a very nice beach area when you get off the ship.  We like the variety of excursions that are available.  Last time, we did the pirates, birds & monkeys tour.  There wasn't a lot about pirates, but the birds and monkeys were worth the money.  It's a beautiful port, IMO

Progreso is industrial scenery when you pull into port.  The ruins were very interesting, but for us, this is a one and done port.  

Just doesn't have the beauty and tropical feel that we prefer.

 

[jimbo5544]

I will go the other way.  Progresso is like Cozumel was 20 years ago.

[CarnivalCruiser875]

Oh man did I screw up!!

 

The itinerary is COSTA MAYA, not Mahogany Bay! Good to hear about MB though.

[tandemcruzr]

47 minutes ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Oh man did I screw up!!

 

The itinerary is COSTA MAYA, not Mahogany Bay! Good to hear about MB though.

Costa Maya is nice. $3 cab ride to the beach at Mahuhual and $2 for return. Nice beach with restaurants and bars. You can see the ships at the port from the beach.

[dmdiver]

Haven't been to Progreso in quite some time, but it was my least favorite port.  I'd take Costa Maya & Cozumel.

[OCruisers]

3 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Oh man did I screw up!!

 

The itinerary is COSTA MAYA, not Mahogany Bay! Good to hear about MB though.

 

2 hours ago, tandemcruzr said:

Costa Maya is nice. $3 cab ride to the beach at Mahuhual and $2 for return. Nice beach with restaurants and bars. You can see the ships at the port from the beach.

 

You'll be absolutely fine.  Costa Maya is a great port stop!  :)

[Joe817]

30 minutes ago, dmdiver said:

Haven't been to Progreso in quite some time, but it was my least favorite port.  I'd take Costa Maya & Cozumel.

dm, I admit I'm new to cruising, but here I have to agree with you considering our only other port of call was Cozumel...I know. Our iten was Cozumel, then Progreso. Here's my observations:

When you pull into Progreso, you observe that you are pulling into an industrial port.. with shipping container yards, grain silos, transportation barges in the port. Container ships waiting to be unloaded.  However!  This IS a developing port, as you can see the infrastructure developing around that. In that respect jimbo is correct. When you get off the ship, you may be pleasantly surprised(like we were) of a clean, well kept, although small in terms of cruise ports, tourist area. 

 

We signed up for an all inclusive day(through Carnival) at "Hotel Reef Yucatan":

WWW.reefyucatan.com 

 

It was GEORGEOUS!! It was an all inclusive resort that had every amenity one could imagine.  Wifey & I even talked about doing this as a land vaca later on. Food was outstanding! Drinks were never ending. Bathing suits were the dress of the day. 

 

With that said, Progreso, offered us little more EXCEPT the historic city of Merida, the State Capital of Yucatan. An ancient city worth touring. Except that it was a 45 min. drive from port to city. If we only had more time....And also touring the fascinating Mayan ruins, as there are many. Other than that, honestly, Progreso, did not offer us anything that interested us. 

One thing to note though.....as we were exiting the 'tourista zona'  and upon our return, we passed through a checkpoint guarded by a Mexican Armed Forces Marine. Very similar to what one would see when entering a U.S. military post here in the state, except he was in combat gear. Not full, just his rifle, etc. Not to worry.

 

At NO point were we ever concerned. All streets that we drove though were clean, with regular commerce going on. All in all it was a great experience.  Would we do it again? Maybe...maybe not. what we did not see spoke volumes(Historic Merida and the Ruins). We are history aficionados and we passed up an opportunity. But we had a limited amount of time, and we were looking for beach time.....Here's some pics of our journey in Progreso.  Please don't discount it.

 

[ABQrobin]

Progreso is the closest port to the best Mayan ruins!  You can see 2 of the BEST in the world there....  Chichen Itza and Uxmal.  No kidding, you go to Progreso to see history.

 

Costa Maya also has some Mayan ruins a few hours away, but not as big and mind blowing as the 2 above.  Most people use Costa Maya as a beach day.

 

I have videos of each:

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a video of Chichen Itza from many years ago, but it was a land trip and not from a cruise.

 

 

[dmdiver]

We often talk about doing a 5 night out of Galveston so hubby can keep up his scuba (I have given up due to ear issues).  If we do so, we may take another look at Progreso excursions.  We've been to Chichen Itza before, but I can always go for a trip to the beach.  Thanks for the info, Joe.

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

Progreso is the closest port to the best Mayan ruins!  You can see 2 of the BEST in the world there....  Chichen Itza and Uxmal.  No kidding, you go to Progreso to see history.

 

Costa Maya also has some Mayan ruins a few hours away, but not as big and mind blowing as the 2 above.  Most people use Costa Maya as a beach day.

 

I have videos of each:

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a video of Chichen Itza from many years ago, but it was a land trip and not from a cruise.

 

 

Great vids!

[marshhawk]

We cruised to Costa Maya last year, and we were not impressed=mainly because there is not much information about the port itself.  There is a tram that can pick you up at the ship, and take you to port, and there is a large pool in the port area.  Our problem was that we couldn't' find a place to change into our suits.  There are lots of shops there and we had read that there was a large aviary there, and it wasn't open.  And the shop keepers are hungry for business, so I got tired of being invited into the shops.  You can barter shop there, but unless you actually leave the port (which we didn't want to do, due to length of time in port), then you feel kind of stuck.

 

Progresso is one of my favorite ports-I dont have a problem being in a bus, I can see the country and city, so for me it's all about the ruins. We have been to Uxmal (we did Uxmal and the Hacienda-lovely) but Uxmal, maybe because it was my first Mayan ruin (other some scattered small ruins on Isla Mujeres and Cancun) Uxmal to me was the most spectacular.  We went to Chichen Itza the next time we were there, it is a UNESCO site, but our tour guide was not the best.  He did have some valid complaints about the hundreds of people selling their wares-when the majority of items were not even made in Mexico, and we wasted some time trying to get one item.

 

Our last time we were in Progresso, we did the History of the Mayans (something like that) which took us to Xcambo, a Mayan salt trading site, which was very educational.  We saw how the Mayans created their own salt flat, learned about tilapia, saw flamingos, and the excursion then went to a beach for lunch and some relax time. 

 

Our next cruise in June is back to Progresso, but this time due to heat (which I hate) we are going to go to Kokomo beach, a day resort that is owned and run by Carnival.  In the fall, we will head back to Progresso and do Chichen Itza again (DH's choice).  I still have more ruins to visit, and things to see at this port, so I doubt if I will ever get bored.  Leave the scuba and snorkeling to Cozumel.

 

A port is where a ship docks-it's not the indication of what is behind it-and this part of Mexico is filled with treasures.