I just booked the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins tour at Costa Maya through
http://www.chacchobenruins.com/ for myself, my wife, and our two teenage daughters.
This is not the same Chacchoben tour that's offered as an official shore excursion. I'm sure the official tour is great, but, in this case, this independent tour seems even more promising. On the Costa Maya board at CruiseCritic.com, various posts gave glowing reviews of the quality of the tours given by Ivan and David. Ivan Cohuo was born and grew up at the Chacchoben Ruins. His father, Serviliano Cohuo, farmed the area, but did not disturb the Mayan ruins and surrounding jungle on his property.
The tours by Ivan and David are less expensive than the official excursion ($43 vs. $69 for adults). If the only difference were price, I would book the official DCL excursion for convenience. But the real difference is getting a small group tour presented Ivan and/or David, who get very high marks for their knowledge and presentation skill.
On Wednesday, December 21st, the tour will depart from their location in Majahual village (the town near Costa Maya) at 11:30 a.m., or one hour after the ship docks.
Booking the tour is a 2-step process. First, you need to fill in a form to inquire about availability. Then, after you get a positive reply, you need to confirm and provide the names of the people you are booking. There's no credit card deposit needed (for now at least). At the beginning of the tour, you pay in cash (US Dollars or Mexican Pesos).