Tulum Excursion Modified!

[stormkrow]

Excuse any duplication in this post . . . we just got back from a 17-day vacation.

DCL has modified its Tulum ruins excursion at Cozumel. We learned just 5 minutes before we were scheduled to leave for our Xcaret excursion that DCL had added a stop for the Tulum excursion at Playa del Sol for a 45 minute swim in the ocean. (Refer to MrsG's earlier post)

Our family wanted very much to go on the Tulum excursion, but were turned off by the heat. Several other cruiselines incorporate a stop at a local swimming hole to cool off after touring the Mayan ruins. DCL initially did not follow suite. Apparently, they received numerous complaints about the lack of "cooling off" time, that they modified the excursion for the first time during our cruise on July 6th.

Our family quickly decided to switch excursions (which was painless) and went on to Tulum. We're glad we did.

The beach where we got to swim was beautiful, but the driveway leading from the road to the beach was anything but beautiful. The driveway was a junkyard cluttered with various road equipment, tanks, and other junk. Huge potholes were in the dirt road. DCL could have found a better access point to the ocean.

 

[MrsG]

We were also glad we went. But you are right, the road to and from the beach was potholed and definitely not built for buses. I think it was the best Disney could do as it was added at the last minute so in the future they may pick a different beach to stop at. Also, I am sure access is free right now so Disney probably didn't have to swallow extra cost. That access road is an accident waiting to happen.

Congrats with your vow renewal! I'm assuming it was private because we saw no mention of it anywhere on board.

 

[Hopkins]

For hubby's that don't much like swimming or the beach, are there other things to do at Playa del Sol besides swimming? 45 minutes is a long time to watch people swim and bake on a beach. I hope there is a cafe or something with shade or some stores.

Thanks in advance.
Tina
Magic Western 1/18/03

 

[MrsG]

Nothing else to do. They did have tables with umbrellas for shade, though. I decided not to go in the water (I hate to be wet and get back on an airconditioned bus and freeze) but DH did enjoy the water. The time did pass quickly.

 

[trishy]

I was on that Tulum excursion and was pretty frustrated with the time allowed there. We had our time cut short due to some late arrivals back to the buses after the ruins tour. Take into consideration changing clothes in a tiny, filthy restroom and the time to rinse off, grab stuff and get back on bus, we saw 20 minutes of swim time. Personally, I'd prefer to have the extra time at the ruins (as the late arrivals did) and skip the beach stop. Many people were cooling off on the beach right there at the ruins site. That makes more sense to me. Why go anywhere else and have the time cut short from late arrivals? The beach was beautiful at Tulum. The waves were a bit more than Playa, but most people do not take younger children on this excursion anyway. Approx. 90% were adults or older children (10 and up). I could've sat and watched an iguana eating leaves outside a small ruin site for half an hour - it was so cute.

At Playa there are also about 8 hammocks in a shaded area outside the restrooms for those who don't want to get wet. There are things to buy in a little shop there, mostly jewelry & blankets - the guy quotes an astronomical amount in pesos and then brings it down to a more realistic (still too high) figure and then gives you this fantastic discount (ha! ) - all with a calm, cool look on his face - until you start to walk out - then the fantastic discount gets quite low as his face starts to take on a look of desperation. My dd got this onyx heart bracelet - started at 271 pesos - to $30 - $22 (walking out now) - $15 ("hum, let me look again") - $12 ("okay, it's a deal"). I hate this kind of haggling cr@p - but dd really wanted it.