Star Princess - Western Caribbean

[Bob Loblaw]

Hi Redrobin and Sunshine,

 

I will try to answer your questions, but first, please call me Becky. I am not actually Bob, that is just my screen name from an Arrested Development character.

 

Also, I will try to attach some photos to this post, but I have a mac and I don't know if it will work, but I'll try.

 

I should not have said not to take your mother on this tour. Only you and she know whether she is up to the walking, the heat and the tender rides. There were plenty of older folks there who seemed to enjoy it very much. I'll try to describe it as best I can.

 

We took tour #A-1, Tulum, Lost Civilization of the Mayans. The guidebook for Princess says this trip is 7 hours, but they gave us a notice after we booked that said they were changing that to 8 hours. Overall, we enjoyed it tremendously, having never seen anything like it. We learned a lot about Mayan civilization. The park was beautiful, and the ruins were fascinating. I'm glad we did it despite the "sheep" issues, and I would do it again (well, no, I'd see something new next time, but I don't wish I hadn't done it...how's that for a double negative).

 

The wait to board the tender was long, as I have mentioned earlier. There are places to sit during most of the wait. The tender ride to Playa Del Carmen was 1/2 hour, but you can also sit down. It's a pretty wavy ride compared to the cruise ship, so use seasickness medications if needed, and hope that others do the same! However, it's not bad. Neither my daughter nor I felt seasick, and we had both experienced seasickness a couple of days before on the Ocho Rios Semi-Sub ride (another story).

 

The bus ride started about 9am. I think there were three busloads of people from the Star on our tour. Each bus is like a regular bus from home, with air conditioning, cushioned bucket seats and a bathroom in back. Our guide was terrific. His name was Raul Torres. We learned a lot about Mayan culture from him. My daughter was taking notes, as she made a presentation at school about this trip when she returned home (she is 12). The whole trip was a little over an hour, as we stopped at a gift shop on the way, where they also had bathrooms. At the stop they gave out free tequila shots (at 10 am???). Back on the bus, Raul also stopped talking and just chatted with some passengers individually, as many people took little naps (we had gotten up so early!).

 

When we got to the ruins, Raul took us in with him. There is a 1/2 mile walk to get into the park, but there is also a sort of train pulled by tractors that you can ride for $2 round trip. Raul spent about an hour showing us around the ruins and pointing out differnt things. He always tried to keep us in the shade, as it was very hot. Hats and sunblock were very important. You can buy a hat for about $2 from the vendors you walk by at the front of the park. Then we had 45 minutes to walk around on our own. Some people were swimming, and others (like us) walked around the ruins some more. Some people went back to the park entrance and shopped. Note: the bathrooms there are not very nice. The toilets have no seats, and you can't flush toilet paper. Try to use the ones on the bus or at the stop along the drive. Also, most people brought water from the ship to drink. As for the walking, I guess the ruins might be as long as 5 football fields wide and 3 across. Maybe bigger. One of my photos shows the little model of the park overall, and then I will try to include some actual pictures that give a sense of distance. It depends on what kind of shape you are in as to whether it will bother you. There are paths to walk on, but sometimes you might want to walk off a path to get closer to something. Then you are walking on big rocks. You are also walking uphill as you get closer to the water and to the main temple.

 

We had to be back on the bus by 1pm, and when we arrived thay had lunch for us (ham and cheese sandwiches, a choice of chips, and cold bottled water or soda). We ate it as we drove off. An hour later (there is no stop on the way back) we were dropped off at the pier in Playa Del Carmen. Here my timing gets a little fuzzy, but I think we had about 45 minutes before the tender was due to arrive at 3pm. If you walk along the main road (Constituyentes)about 4 blocks up from the dock, there is a shopping area on the right (5th Avenue). It continues down 5th Avenue. We didn't shop, except for my new favorite store on the whole planet. At the intersection of 5th Ave and Constituyentes, there is a "Chocolate Cafe" called "Ah Cacao" that is like Starbucks but for chocolate milk. they also sell mexican chocolate and coffee and smoothies. Our guide pointed it out, and sure enough I saw him there buying his drink right after the tour. They have a website, but alas, they don't sell anything over the internet.

 

There is a restaurant called "Pelicanos" that is right next to the dock where many people got drinks while they waited for the tender. They have a bar, and also tables where you could order food. Their prices were steep ($14 for a frozen margarita and a virgin pina colada), but I had to have a margarita while I was in Mexico.

 

There is a shade shelter where people stood to wait if they weren't using the restaurant, but people lined up pretty early (a line formed at about 2:45). We just sat at the bar until the tender arrived and let others get on before us. We were still able to find seats on the tender. Remember, sit on the lower deck near the back to be off and back onto the ship first. Our three busloads accounted for about 150 people, and the tender was filled with 500 people, so there must have been people from other tours waiting as well. The tender ride is so long (1/2 hour each way) that they don't have tenders going back and forth as frequently as at other ports, so I guess more people are left waiting for the ones that come.

 

I've tried to attach pictures, but I still need to fiddle with the picture size, and I have to go now. I will try to add the pictures to this post later this evening.

 

I am happy to answer any other questions.

 

Becky

[redrobin]

Hi Becky,

 

Thanks for the detailed description. That was great! Would love to see your pictures. I'm not good with things like that, so definitely understand if you don't. :)

 

Neither my daughter nor I felt seasick, and we had both experienced seasickness a couple of days before on the Ocho Rios Semi-Sub ride (another story).

 

Would love to hear your semi-sub story from Ocho Rios! I'm considering a semi-sub tour in Grand Cayman since other's have recommended it. Princess has two there, a See & Sea Tour using the Seaworld Explorer semi-sub and the Land & Sea Tour using the Nautilus semi-sub. Am wondering what the differences are using the different tour companies. Was curious about your experience. Thanks!

[Bob Loblaw]

I think I did it with the attachments. One picture is of the overall layout from a model at the entrance. You can see that the ruins portion are actually clustered around each other. Two pictures show the view looking from the far side of the park to the largest temple. The water is just beyond the temple, off a cliff. The other picture shows the view from the side of the park closest to the water looking back toward the wall in the distnace. The wall runs around the length of the ruins area.

 

For us, the water was so choppy in Ocho Rios on our Semi-Sub that 3 out of 4 passengers were green. For me, I enjoyed the choppy ride out (I usually like the water), but as soon as I set foot in the undersea cabin where it was hot and rocking, that was it. I felt awful for the next 1 1/2 hours, and consider it a major victory that I didn't actually throw up. One woman did. Other passengers asked if we could turn back. Most passengers didn't last very long underneath. Only my 8-year-old son and three other ladies were unaffected. There were about a dozen of us that were miserable. Also, for the short time I was below deck, there was not really anything to see other than bits of coral. Nothing much happened until a guy dove in the water and brought fish food to draw out some fish.

 

Now, that was just my experience. I don't know if it would have been better on a different day, when the seas were calmer, or if the seas even get any clamer in that area. Like I said, it was enjoyable at first.

 

I must say that I heard others talking about what a great time they had on the Semi Sub in Grand Cayman. They were talking about all the fish they had seen. Nobody on our tour was happy, so I noticed when these other people said they actually saw things and had a good time. Maybe things will go better for you there.

 

If you are thinking of an actual submarine excursion (as opposed to a semi-sub which stays on top of the water), the people at our dinner table did that and really enjoyed it. I would imagine there is less motion once you go beneath the waves, so maybe that would have been a better choice for us. They did the Atlantis Submarine excursion in Grand Cayman.

[unforgettable]

This may sound like a silly suggestion, Robin - but why don't you consider signing on to the roll call for the specific sailing of your Star Princess cruise? That way, you can find out if there are others in your same age group, or situation (adult children traveling with a parent your mom's age) and perhaps you can determine from them which might be the most appropriate tours for you and your mom. You might also find some folks you can socialize with along the way. Of course, this is JMHO.

[sunshine426]

Becky, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your very informative post!! We are actually going on the Muyil Ruins tour, but most of your information is very relevant for us! I expect my DD will also be taking notes, even though she is 24!! She chose this itenerary because she wanted a cultural experience, and not just beach days! I am just happy to spend time with her! I love history as well, and learning new things, so am really looking forward to this trip. Glad to hear there is a bar at the tender dock. We found if you can see the line, you can relax with a coctail and then just scoot over when the line drops down. They are always the longest when the tours get back! Only two more weeks!

[redrobin]

unforgettable,

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I am aware of the roll calls, but am really not interested in joining one. No offense to my fellow passengers :) , honest, but I'm not looking for folks to 'mix and mingle' with on my cruise. I'm more interested in getting input from cruisers, like yourself, who have recently been on the Star about the ship, itinerary, Princess excursions....

 

 

Becky,

 

Thanks for the information and photos - very helpful. Looks like you had nice weather that day!