Port Adventures Advice Pls: Cozumel & Costa Maya — the good, the bad, and the ugly

[microgrl]

We just got off the Wonder. In Cozumel we did the Alebrije painting and chocolate excursion offered by Disney. This was at the Mayan Cacao company. We had a mixed group from 7 to 70 and everyone had fun. The Alebrije had a base coat of paint which was a smart idea and saved lots of time. We got a short introduction about the history of Alejibre and some instruction about how to paint them. We all got to choose one figure to paint and we got a bag with a paint pallet, some extra paint, a post card and an apron. We had over an hour to paint after which we left the figures to dry while we had a short presentation about the history of chocolate and the Mayan method of preparing chocolate. The tour ended with a trip to a gift shop. We all had a great time on this excursion and the only problem was that there were some issues with transportation back to the port. However, I think this was due to the ship arriving late.
In Costa Maya we did the Mayans through the ages tour offered by Disney. We were met by our guide at the port and took a 40 minute bus ride to a small village. On our way, it began to rain. When we arrived at the village, our guide said it was too rainy to go to the ruins and asked if we wanted to continue the tour or head back to port. We all wanted to continue to the lunch. We drove to a traditional house in the village. It was beautiful and consisted of several huts and a big open space surrounded by stools and umbrellas. Our hosts had prepared chicken, tortillas and salsa for lunch. The food was excellent and the guide was very knowledgeable. We had a great time and we’re glad we got to do some of our excursion.
We had a 7 year old boy with us and he had a good time at both excursions.

 

[jeepnjudy]

We did the Chacchoben Ruins Tour with Native Choice and loved it!

We also did this tour and it included an authentic lunch where we made fresh tortillas. This by far was one of my family's favorite excursions. In Cozumel we rented a Jeep Wrangler for the day and toured on our own. Much cheaper and more relaxing than being stuck with everyone on the ship!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Are people still allowed to tour on their own? I thought you had to take one of their excursions.... Covid.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Are people still allowed to tour on their own? I thought you had to take one of their excursions.... Covid.

At this time, if all members of your party are fully vaccinated you can tour on your own. If any members are not fully vaccinated (eg those too young to be vaccinated) you must book a Disney excursion to debark in port.

 

[imahistorygeek]

We did a Chacchoben ruins excursion with another cruise line. It was billed closest to Costa Maya (little under 1 hour drive). Scenery is boring, but out guide talked the whole time giving us a comprehensive history of the area and people. I believe she is a school teacher in the town close by. We had such a great time and the ruins were magnificent. Even my husband who is not crazy at history liked them.

 

[SnowWhitee]

On our first cruise in 2012 we went to Costa Maya. It was such a horrible experience for us I swear I will never go back. If we ever end up on a cruise with that port again, I will stay on the ship. Back then there were no beach resorts - it was a man made port for tourism. Basically your only choice was the ruins. After we got there I learned there were fire ants everywhere. One child stepped on a hill and had them crawling up her. She was getting stung and crying. Needless to say, I spent half my time looking at the ground and half at the the ruins. Our girls were younger back then and I did not want any of us stepping on those ants. Then part way through it started raining. It go so bad we were told we couldn't finish the tour. I have never been so wet in my life. Nothing on us was dry - even our underwear was wet. On the long bus back to the port the driver would not turn off the AC, so we froze the entire time. When we got back on the ship we threw our socks away they were so dirty. Good thing we brought a second pair of tennis shoes. We all had to use them because it took 2-3 days for the ones we wore to the ruins to dry.