Has anyone done Xcaret with Disney?

[northwenald]

I was interested in going on this excursion but when I called DCL to ask how much time you get to spend there they told me only 2.5 hours Can that be right? I can't imagine taking over an hour to get there and only be able to spend a couple hours there. For anyone who has done this, do you think it is worth the travel time? I would be interested in seeing the beach and all the marine life that they have at this place. Thanks everyone !!!!!

 

[SueEllen]

We did this with Disney and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! I wish we would have had more time there, but we did get to see and do a lot. We did the underground river float, walked out to the beach, ate lunch, and walked through the entire park. We did get to see the entire park, even though we didn't have much time to spend in each area.
I think we had about 3 1/2 hours if I remember correctly.

Sue Ellen

 

[cats mom]

It does seem like the biggest complaint about the DCL excursion to Xcaret probably is the lack of time.

FWIW, we took the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen on our own and it's very easy to do. There was another family on the ferry back to Cozumel with us who had been to Xcaret. They did say the DCL excursion got there later than they did and left earlier.

I know not everyone is comfortable venturing out on their own though.

 

[Tinkermom3]

Here is a link with photos of our Xcaret experience:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23673622#post23673622&highlight=Tinkermom3+Xcaret

We did the excursion through Disney. I personally would not feel comfortable doing this on our own. We were really pushing it for time. Plus as you will read in my report above the tour guide service was awesome! We got more than just transportation to and from Xcaret. We also got lots of info about the area from our tour guide. The entire excursion is about 7 hours. We left first thing in the morning and got back about 45 minutes before the ship was to leave port. This gave me exactly 30 minutes to run over and hit some shops across the street from where the Magic is docked.

You end up with about 4 hours at Xcaret since it takes a bit to get there and back. This was NOT enough time to see even half of this wonderful park. We really wanted to see the Mayan Ruins there but did not have time. If you go on the underground river this takes up about 1-1/2 hours of your time. You do not HAVE to do the river which would leave more time to explore Xcaret.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[northwenald]

Here is a link with photos of our Xcaret experience:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23673622#post23673622&highlight=Tinkermom3+Xcaret

We did the excursion through Disney. I personally would not feel comfortable doing this on our own. We were really pushing it for time. Plus as you will read in my report above the tour guide service was awesome! We got more than just transportation to and from Xcaret. We also got lots of info about the area from our tour guide. The entire excursion is about 7 hours. We left first thing in the morning and got back about 45 minutes before the ship was to leave port. This gave me exactly 30 minutes to run over and hit some shops across the street from where the Magic is docked.

You end up with about 4 hours at Xcaret since it takes a bit to get there and back. This was NOT enough time to see even half of this wonderful park. We really wanted to see the Mayan Ruins there but did not have time. If you go on the underground river this takes up about 1-1/2 hours of your time. You do not HAVE to do the river which would leave more time to explore Xcaret.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks Tinkermom3 those pictures are great !!!! It looks like a very beautiful place. We would not do the underground river so that would give us some more time. I would love to spend some time at the beach, see some ruins and see the aquarium. That was a great review !!!! I think that I would like to try it. Four hours seems like that could be enough time. Will I miss out on any good shopping in Cozumel? Maybe I will have to do my shopping in Grand Cayman Thanks everyone !!!!!

 

[Selket]

The family sitting next to us at dinner did Xcaret and they were extremely disappointed in the lack of time - I think maybe they ended up with less than 3 hours there. I think many of those who went on the DCL excursion on our cruise at the end of September were upset and ended up getting some of their money back.

I agree that it is an excursion I wouldn't want to do outside of DCL but it made me worry that you really get short-changed on the time you spend there - especially for the price you pay. We did Tulum last year and I thought that was well done and worth the price.

 

[Jenn31]

We're looking into doing this excursion but are disappointed in the lack of time Disney gives you, we may just venture out on our own and go to xcaret.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Is there a quicker way to get there other than doing the DCL excursion? DH is fluent in Spanish (parents are from Mexico), so I'm wondering if we could do this on our own.

 

[Tinkermom3]

Is there a quicker way to get there other than doing the DCL excursion? DH is fluent in Spanish (parents are from Mexico), so I'm wondering if we could do this on our own.

I do not know how much quicker as Xcaret is on the mainland. We really did not spend much time waiting for transportation.

You could take the ferry over from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen and then take a taxi to Xcaret and then back the same way. I am pretty sure that I remember a kiosk outside of the ferry area where you could purchase your own ferry ticket. I do not know how you would get your taxi once you get to Playa del Carmen, I am just assuming you could as we saw lots of taxis. With your DH able to speak Spanish fluently I would think it would be a lot easier for you than those of us who do not speak the language.

The ferry took about 40-45 minutes and the bus ride was about 15-20 minutes. Then there was just the walking time to get to each so I would estimate that it is about 1-1/2 hours traveling time from the Magic to Xcaret. You could probably save about 15-20 minutes doing it on your own. Again, this is just a guess assuming you can get on the first ferry and find a taxi right away.

I really liked the tour guide as he took us INTO Xcaret and gathered us together and helped us all get to where we wanted to go. He also told us some of the "must-see" attractions.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jenn31]

I do not know how much quicker as Xcaret is on the mainland. We really did not spend much time waiting for transportation.

You could take the ferry over from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen and then take a taxi to Xcaret and then back the same way. I am pretty sure that I remember a kiosk outside of the ferry area where you could purchase your own ferry ticket. I do not know how you would get your taxi once you get to Playa del Carmen, I am just assuming you could as we saw lots of taxis. With your DH able to speak Spanish fluently I would think it would be a lot easier for you than those of us who do not speak the language.

The ferry took about 40-45 minutes and the bus ride was about 15-20 minutes. Then there was just the walking time to get to each so I would estimate that it is about 1-1/2 hours traveling time from the Magic to Xcaret. You could probably save about 15-20 minutes doing it on your own. Again, this is just a guess assuming you can get on the first ferry and find a taxi right away.

I really liked the tour guide as he took us INTO Xcaret and gathered us together and helped us all get to where we wanted to go. He also told us some of the "must-see" attractions.

Hope this helps!

How long did you actually get to explore xcaret? If it was 3 hours, did you feel like this was long enough to see everything?

 

[Jenn31]

How long did you actually get to explore xcaret? If it was 3 hours, did you feel like this was long enough to see everything?

I'd love to do it through Disney for the convenience factor, but if I get more time there and if it's cheaper than booking through Disney I may do that.

 

[Tinkermom3]

I'd love to do it through Disney for the convenience factor, but if I get more time there and if it's cheaper than booking through Disney I may do that.

We had about 4 hours total. You can read my full report if you click the link in my post above. It was not enough time to see the entire park. It is kinda like trying to do everything at Epcot or MK in 4 hours. Even doing this on your own you will not have enough time to do everything or even close. You only have 8 or 9 hours or so in Cozumel.

I am still glad we did it. It is an amazing and beautiful place. I think if my kids had been older, especially our DD who was 6 at the time, it would have been better. The underground river is awesome but my kids got bored about half-way through. They were ready to move on to the next thing.

 

[jdybnsn]

We did this excursion through Disney, and had a little over 3 hours (so I guess it must vary depending on how quickly organised the group gets through the different stages of the trip).

It is a wonderful place, BUT just no where near enough time.

The underground/ and semi underground (there are two routes) river trek is unmissible........ but the time you have done this you have lost another hour, and then it is lunch....leaving only around 1.5 hours to get round the rest of the vast, but wonderful place........we went at quite a pace, and were clock watching constantly - this meant it really wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been, and there were still large chunks we missed. there was no time to browse in the gift shops !

Our other annoyance was that there was some wonderful Mexican food available at the place - what meal token did Disney issue ?...burger & chips .......considering the cost of this excursion, this we felt was very poor - shame on you Disney !
Also the free ice cream you are supposed to be entitled to, we found none of the staff knew anything about it (although we were not bothered, the kids were !!)

Loved the park , but really it does not make for a good cruise ship excursion due to the limited time IMO.

 

[Tinkermom3]

We did this excursion through Disney, and had a little over 3 hours (so I guess it must vary depending on how quickly organised the group gets through the different stages of the trip).

It is a wonderful place, BUT just no where near enough time.

The underground/ and semi underground (there are two routes) river trek is unmissible........ but the time you have done this you have lost another hour, and then it is lunch....leaving only around 1.5 hours to get round the rest of the vast, but wonderful place........we went at quite a pace, and were clock watching constantly - this meant it really wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been, and there were still large chunks we missed. there was no time to browse in the gift shops !

Our other annoyance was that there was some wonderful Mexican food available at the place - what meal token did Disney issue ?...burger & chips .......considering the cost of this excursion, this we felt was very poor - shame on you Disney !
Also the free ice cream you are supposed to be entitled to, we found none of the staff knew anything about it (although we were not bothered, the kids were !!)

Loved the park , but really it does not make for a good cruise ship excursion due to the limited time IMO.

I agree about the meal! We purchased some fajitas in addition to our free burgers but they could at least give you a choice.

I wonder if they changed the ice cream deal. We were given a popsicle just before boarding the bus to leave.

We did not have time for the gift shop or even to pick up/buy the photos they take of you in the river. We too were clock watching quite a bit.

This is a tough one as the park is amazing but there really is not enough time to enjoy it while having to get back to a cruise ship whether done on your own or not. I still am glad we did it but would not do it again unless I was on a land-based trip in Mexico. If you have older kids (or no kids) and go in knowing you will get to do only a few things than I would recommend trying it as it really is a beautiful park.

 

[Nik's Mom]

How long did the excursion take, from the time you left the ship to the time you returned?

 

[Tinkermom3]

How long did the excursion take, from the time you left the ship to the time you returned?

7 hours almost exactly. I had read up on this so much before hand I really kept my eye on the time. That and I REALLY wanted a bit of time to hit some shops in Cozumel. We had about 45 minutes before all aboard time once we got back to Cozumel so I used 30 minutes to shop. DH kept tapping his foot telling me to hurry that we had to get back to the ship. It was right across the street, geesh...men! I was able to get a few trinkets and the kids got some fun Mexico tourist-type souveniers. And nope we did NOT miss the ship - Ha!

 

[jdybnsn]

. We had about 45 minutes before all aboard time once we got back to Cozumel so I used 30 minutes to shop. :

That's interesting...we had about an hour & half left when we returned to the ship - we too did a bit of shopping.........I guess it may depend then, also on the tie up of the other excursion that goes to the ruins (they catch the same ferry back).....so I'm guessing times are a bit fluid, not least because of this.

I remember getting to the park at well after 11am, nearer 11.30am., and we were told to meet back at the entrance at around 3pm. The journey to & from the park involves a ferry, a short hike through the town, and a bus journey.....Disney obviously leave themselves plenty of 'slack' in the system for getting people there & back - hence why the time there is so limited.

 

[northwenald]

Would we have enough time to see the ruins, marine life(aquarium) and some time on the beach and maybe some shopping? I was thinking that we could skip the underground river(I hate the thought of being underground and the water is cold). Can I do everything I want in 3 hours? Thanks !!!

 

[Tinkermom3]

Would we have enough time to see the ruins, marine life(aquarium) and some time on the beach and maybe some shopping? I was thinking that we could skip the underground river(I hate the thought of being underground and the water is cold). Can I do everything I want in 3 hours? Thanks !!!

I would think that you would have enough time if you skip the river. The river eats up a good chunk of time. Although we did not do the ruins I was told it is a pretty good hike from the beach area so I would prioritize the areas you want to see.

 

[cdndizzylizzy]

We did the XCaret excursion last Feb, and I agree with the earlier posters who have said that there is lots to do, in a short amount of time, but it is well worth it.

A few extra thoughts:

Definitely take Bonine before the ferry if you are prone to seasickness, particularly if it's windy and wavy on the ride from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen. We watched lots of people get greener and greener. You may want to sit upstairs and outside - it is breezy, but I think it's better than being downstairs.

The underground river really isn't exactly underground - it's not claustrophobic at all, and there are many places where you can get out if you want and walk. Our youngest daughter was a bit nervous at first, but she ended up really enjoying it. You can speed it up if you want to go faster by swimming a bit with the natural current. I don't think XCaret is worth the trip if you don't do the river.

Unless I missed the "real" ruins, I would not go to XCaret to see the ruins - there is definitely a ruins/pyramid structure, but it's just part of the park, and I don't think it's the same as visiting a true ruins site.

The butterfly room is cool, as is the pool of sea turtles.

Walking around near the beach was interesting, but we had so little time it did not make sense to turn it into a beach day - we took a few pictures and moved on.

If you do the river, give yourself 5 minutes to get your picture from the Shutters-like spot - they are great pictures, and I was sorry I did not have time to buy our family posing in the river!

If you are never going to the Mayan Riviera, it's worth doing the DCL excursion...