Cozumel- Secret River- worth the cost & long trip

[tukkerlove]

those who have gone on this- have you come back happy that you put forth the cost of this? It's an expensive tour, it's a long drive there and back... I'm just wondering if it's worth the time & the price tag? Obviously this would eat up the entire time we are in Cozumel, so we wouldn't be seeing anything else if we took this trip. Any reviews out there?

 

[algae]

Hands-down, yes. It is definitely worth the cost and travel time. This is something very unique in the world IMHO.

 

[jlwhitney]

Best excursion I have ever done in the bahamas/carribbean. Completely worth every penny.

You really can't go wrong at all.

 

[wiigirl]

Hands-down, yes. It is definitely worth the cost and travel time. This is something very unique in the world IMHO.

Agreed! Completely worth it....

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH and I signed up to do this shore excursion a few weeks ago. I read the fine print and it said no wheel chairs, or scooters. It also discouraged pregnant people. o.k. none of the above is a problem. Since scooters and wheel chairs can't go underwater, it stands to reason that they would be turned away.

When we checked in for the shore excursion, the vendor started telling us that anyone with shoulder, knee, or back problems shouldn't go. um, why isn't any of this mentioned on the DCL web site? DH has health issues with all three of those, and if we had received complete info ahead of time, instead of being told at the dock, we wouldn't have signed up. DCL did refund our money, but we were disappointed that better information hadn't been available before we signed up. i did mention it on our comment card, but so far the info has not been updated.

 

[Weedy]

Did you have to go to Playa del Carmen or could you just catch the ferry back to the ship?

Drive approximately 30-minutes to Playa del Carmen where you will have approximately 90-minutes free time to enjoy the shopping, cafes and restaurants or even the white sand beach, before the ferry ride back to Cozumel.

 

[jlwhitney]

Did you have to go to Playa del Carmen or could you just catch the ferry back to the ship?

Drive approximately 30-minutes to Playa del Carmen where you will have approximately 90-minutes free time to enjoy the shopping, cafes and restaurants or even the white sand beach, before the ferry ride back to Cozumel.

No you can't just take the ferry back on your own, well i guess you could but it would be the same one and you would pay twice. We did not get the 90 mins, more like 20-30 tops. Playa Del Carmen is pretty nice to walk around and there is a giant souvenir shop with decent prices and everything you really could want to get in it. So its nice to have a few mins there.

Note: at the end of the tour they give you a shot of this neon green liquor that has a licorice taste to it. They sell it there, but its pricey. You can get it at that giant souvenir shop for cheap.

Another note: If you want pictures be prepared to buy them after the tour because you cant take anything down with you. This is more for safety then anything else. Once you are down there you will see why. Plus most standard water proof cameras will take terrible pictures down there because there is no light other than headlamps on your head and the flash light the guide has.

 

[jlwhitney]

DH and I signed up to do this shore excursion a few weeks ago. I read the fine print and it said no wheel chairs, or scooters. It also discouraged pregnant people. o.k. none of the above is a problem. Since scooters and wheel chairs can't go underwater, it stands to reason that they would be turned away.

When we checked in for the shore excursion, the vendor started telling us that anyone with shoulder, knee, or back problems shouldn't go. um, why isn't any of this mentioned on the DCL web site? DH has health issues with all three of those, and if we had received complete info ahead of time, instead of being told at the dock, we wouldn't have signed up. DCL did refund our money, but we were disappointed that better information hadn't been available before we signed up. i did mention it on our comment card, but so far the info has not been updated.

When we did the tour in April, they never mentioned anything about shoulder knee or back problems. For some with those problems it could be a problem for others it wouldn't have been. Most of it is fairly easy, its more of watching your footing so you don't trip. There area couple of spots where you step down a decent amount or up, but those are very few. Some spots you float/swim in.

 

[sgc1107]

Is this something pooh sized (but active) people can do?

 

[jdb in AZ]

When we did the tour in April, they never mentioned anything about shoulder knee or back problems. For some with those problems it could be a problem for others it wouldn't have been. Most of it is fairly easy, its more of watching your footing so you don't trip. There area couple of spots where you step down a decent amount or up, but those are very few. Some spots you float/swim in.

strange. i wonder if somebuddy had problems after your cruise and before ours, that caused the vendor to be extra cautious.

 

[SleepyDeb]

Is this the Xcaret excursion?

 

[AStamm]

those who have gone on this- have you come back happy that you put forth the cost of this? It's an expensive tour, it's a long drive there and back... I'm just wondering if it's worth the time & the price tag? Obviously this would eat up the entire time we are in Cozumel, so we wouldn't be seeing anything else if we took this trip. Any reviews out there?

DS and I did this excursion in June and had a fantastic time. While we didn't have enough time to explore Cozumel when we got back to the ship, the 2 hours spent in the caves more than made up for it. I wouldn't hesitate to book this trip again.

Is this something pooh sized (but active) people can do?

This is definitely an active excursion. While there are some tight spots throughout your time below, I don't think any of them would keep someone on the heavy side from being able to make it through. Not sure how large the life vests and wetsuits are though. I personally wouldn't have been comfortable putting one on when I was 75 pounds heavier. This excursion was sort of my "congratulations on hitting your weight-loss goal" trip.

 

[jlwhitney]

DS and I did this excursion in June and had a fantastic time. While we didn't have enough time to explore Cozumel when we got back to the ship, the 2 hours spent in the caves more than made up for it. I wouldn't hesitate to book this trip again.



This is definitely an active excursion. While there are some tight spots throughout your time below, I don't think any of them would keep someone on the heavy side from being able to make it through. Not sure how large the life vests and wet suits are though. I personally wouldn't have been comfortable putting one on when I was 75 pounds heavier. This excursion was sort of my "congratulations on hitting your weight-loss goal" trip.

you don't have to wear a wet suit, they said long sleeve shirt and shorts would work fine too. And the tight spots were very few.

No one looks good in the wet suits...haha..actually most people they were they wrong size and too big for them.

 

[MedicGoofy]

How good of a swimmer do you need to be for this?

I have been contemplating this for our Fantasy cruise next year but am unsure about my mom as she does not 'swim'. With a lifevest, she's great at floating and slowing paddling along. Other than that, she sinks if no life vest. (she's not a swimmer at all!!).

Thanks

 

[jlwhitney]

How good of a swimmer do you need to be for this?

I have been contemplating this for our Fantasy cruise next year but am unsure about my mom as she does not 'swim'. With a lifevest, she's great at floating and slowing paddling along. Other than that, she sinks if no life vest. (she's not a swimmer at all!!).

Thanks

You don't swim really at all. The life vests are the good ones that really keep you afloat and all you do is slowly paddle. She will be fine. You are only in deep water for maybe 10-15 mins total and that is spread out.

 

[sgc1107]

That makes me feel better! My DH & I are active doing the insanity program now but it's not a weight loos program just muscle building so we can do physical stuff but still in plus (1x or 2x) cloths. I will bring shorts & long sleeve to be prepared! But we've got 9 months maybe by then we'll be lookin' better!!

 

[dleighb]

We've been back for a week and my husband still hasn't quit talking about it. He has already said that if we do another cruise to Cozumel, we are going to El Rio Secreto again.

They will offer you a walking stick. Take it. My husband and I are pretty active, and we still found it helpful in a couple spots to plant it and use it for support.

If you have any issues with motion sickness, take a Dramamine before getting on the ferry each way. DCL will offer one to you just in case when you go into the room to check in. Take two. One for the trip over and one for the return. And take the plastic baggie they offer you when you get on the ferry. We don't have issues with motion sickness and didn't have a problem, but there were definitely a few who were glad they took the plastic bags.

The CD of photos costs $70. For $100, you get the photos, two shirts, and the bottle of liquor. We looked for the liquor in the stores, but couldn't find it, but it's possible we weren't looking in the right stores. We had about an hour in Playa del Carmen before the ferry left. We're not big shoppers, so we brought a book with us and sat and read on the beach.

Do bring a change of clothes, so you can be dry after the river. We bought some Keen H20 shoes, and they let us wear those. I think they were much more comfortable than the ones they offer you. If you wear those, then you will also want a change of shoes. You do not need to bring a towel from the ship. El Rio Secreto provides you with a towel, so don't waste space in your bag for that.

If you do a search for El Rio Secreto on the internet, you will find their page. If you have any concerns about size or health limitations, I would advise you contact them as they will be able to answer your questions. We found everyone there to be very friendly. I was hoping to do X-caret on our next trip to Cozumel, but apparently, we'll be doing El Rio Secreto again. They have two paths, and my husband wants to try for the one we didn't do.

Enjoy your trip! We did.

 

[tukkerlove]

Thanks everyone- sounds like a can't miss trip, guess we'll be braving the ferry & bus ride.

 

[collectoraholic]

I've done this excursion 3 times in the past year; 2 times within two weeks of each other just last month. I can't recommend it enough! It's amazing!!!!!! If anyone has the opportunity to do this excursion, do it! Do it & don't think twice about it.

And do take motion sickness tablets. Even if you don't normally have any issues...the ferry can be VERY rocky.