Progresso and Cozumel

[hunter@heart]

My wife and I will be cruising on Carnival Fantasy in June for a 5 day cruise. I have been to Cozumel 2 other times besides this time, but I have never been to Progresso. The other two cruises made stops in Costa Maya and then some others. I was just wondering how Progresso compared to Costa Maya. I have read that it is undeveloped compared to Cozumel. Honestly, on both of my other cruises, I enjoyed Costa Maya better than Cozumel. I seem to enjoy the less developed more laid back atmosphere of the area. What should I expect in Progresso?

 

Thanks

 

Matt

[hdawson]

I've been to Costa Maya twice. The port area, to me, is the most contrived and phony stop of all. Progreso is authentic Mexico. No glitz; just a small town with lots of options.

Keep reading and checkout http://www.yucatantoday.com an excellent visitor's guide for the Yucatan.

[amberc]

My hubby and I really enjoyed Progreso. Make sure to do the double decker bus tour. And sit on the top! It's like $2 a person and will give you a good little tour of the city.

[WilliamLawson]

Progreso is, for the most part, the real Mexico. Except for the hawkers who look the same everywhere selling you things you probably might not want, but they're easy to shrug off; not as hard-sell as other places like Acapulco or Cancun/Cozumel.

 

Go to the market across from the makeshift "market" set up at the "Cultural" center where you are dropped off. You can get fresh squeezed, to-die-for OJ there for cheap. Then meander off down to the beach and just chill.

[londonandlawson]

I loved Progreso and liked it much more than Cozumel, here are some pics I took in December

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Magic City Cruiser]

Just did that Fantasy cruise and I loved progresso. I loved Costa Maya, too. Both seem to me to be "no frills" cruise city mexico. As far as "authentic" Mexico, I've only been to Coz but I'm pretty sure neither Progreso or costa Maya is what you call "authentic" :D. But, in progreso, we went to the beach and it was beautiful, the food was excellent and cheap and the drinks were the same. A good time was had by all! We did a snorkel excursion and PB in Coz and saved Progreso for relaxing and drinking too much and acting silly. A good time was had by all!

[kingfish78734]

Great pics L&L!!! So glad you had a good time in Progreso MCC!!

 

We are jonesing for Progreso so badly.....we are thinking about a 5 day on Ecstasy before our Conquest trip in Sept.

[hunter@heart]

Thanks for the replies and the info. The pictures are great, thanks alot.

[LaShelle2]

NO glitz and glamor in Progresso. You should love it! It's a real dump! Definitely a place for a luxurious vacation stop. I only toured a small portiuon of the town and Corona beach, so maybe my opinion is limited. But, I was not impressed with the part I did see. This may be a good place to take a tour of ruins or hire a tour guide.

[Perrier]

Just ret'd off the Ecstasy. We weren't big fans of Progreso. We still had a good day, but we're not eager to return. We didn't plan anything, just hung out on the beach. We did do the double-decker bus, on the advice of many here on these boards, & it was OK. I'm glad my kids got to see the town & we passed by a couple of schools when the children were outside playing, so it was neat for my kids to see the schools.

 

We sat on the beach, played in the water & sand, collected shells (there are tons!) & did the Banana Boat ride (which was lame). The market where the shuttle drops you off is pretty cool.

 

I'm glad we didn't stay on board, but Progreso won't be on my Top 10 list of cruise ship ports of call.

[MoCookies]

Just went on a Carnival cruise to Progreso and Carnival. Did Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, which was laid back and awesome. There's not much to do in Progreso, so we went to the Mayan ruins. After driving by the Corona beach place in Progreso, I was really glad we skipped it. Chichen Itza was really cool to see, but its a long bus ride. Some of the closer ruins include a chance to swim in a cenote. That's what I'll be doing the next time I do that itinerary again.

[Penny1234]

Hi, im traveling with my 5 yr old who wants to go to the beach for shells...is it close/safe enough to walk to once you get off the ship or do you recommend booking a beach excursion thru carnival? I also have a group of 20 people going. Any recommendations? Thanks!

[hdawson]

The beach is a short three block walk. It's very safe. Good restaurants. Keep reading and checkout http://www.yucatantoday.com

[jgmpuma]

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/fantasy_c_07/fantasy_map.htm

 

 

I found this link a while back. Tons of photos of both Coz and Progreso.

[tkat]

I like the laid back underdeveloped feeling.

 

We rode the bus into Merida, long ride but interesting and got to see a lot of things.

 

We had a nice palm tree drink from the place on the beach when we got back to Progreso. Enjoyed the open air market and went to the grocery store, my Mom's favorite place to shop?! Got some good vanilla cheap and some tasty wine coolers. We also bought bottles of sodas which we were allowed carry on and drink on ship.

 

I am looking forward to going back, the double deck bus sounds interesting and a nice way to see a lot.