Tulum Ruins Excursion

[disneypilots]

Hi Sally, Feb 14th 2004 will be our 4th Disney Cruise, But 1st Western. Do you have any advice on the Tulum Ruins excursion ??
DW and two children ages 10 and 12, as well as DGP and DGM.
Will we still have time left over to see you and do some shopping ?? See you in about 50 days !!!!

Regards, Mark

 

[hawkrn]

I think I can help you. We just did 12/20 Magic and did Tulum. It was me and DS, 10. My overall opinion was that it was a lot of money for something that was beautiful but not exactly something I would do again if I had the chance. First, you have to take a ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen (mainland). If you even remotely get sea sick, you will be horrified by this ride. It is 35 minutes each way, and we saw many people vomiting on our ferry (251 people) and others very close to getting sick. The employees of the ferry carry plastic bags in their back pockets, so it wasn't just a freak occurence on that day. Then you take a 45 minute bus ride to Tulum with a bathroom stop of 15 minutes along the way. While the ruins are pretty, there were tons of bugs! They were everywhere. I thought going down to the beach would help-but they were worse there. You could see them dead in water even. The beach is small and very crowded. You also cannot climb the ruins. We were there approximately 2 hours and then had a Subway sandwich on the bus ride home. Which by the way, wasn't until 2pm so we were starving. Then you have to take the stomach tossing ferry back to the ship. We didn't get to the ship until about 5:15.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Julie:

Thanks for the review. We're planning on doing the Tulum ruins excursion next summer with our DSs who will be 16 and 13 at that time. We've been on whale watches, DH and I have been on a cruise already (So has DS15, but not DH13) and so far we haven't experienced any seasickness. Can you tell me exactly what it is about the ferry that makes people so sick?? Thanks!!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

When we did this excursion there were many people sick on the ferry - but the swells were unusually high! These passenger ferry's are fully enclosed. There is no place to sit outside or windows that open. I do best outside - so instead I chose to sit by a window where I could look outside. We had also taken seasick pills which I think helped us a little.

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by BriarfoxinWA
When we did this excursion there were many people sick on the ferry - but the swells were unusually high! These passenger ferry's are fully enclosed. There is no place to sit outside or windows that open. I do best outside - so instead I chose to sit by a window where I could look outside. We had also taken seasick pills which I think helped us a little.

You're KIDDING!?!?!? No windows that open and NO OUTDOOR Seating?!?? I am not happy to hear this!! I'm not worried about getting seasick, but I DO NOT want to be locked inside a ferry boat like that. Grrrr....... I know it may sound irrational, but I've seen documentaries about how often ferry boats sink, killing everyone trapped inside!!! Especially ferry boats in countries that may not have as strict guidelines and laws and policies about such things. Oh well

 

[hawkrn]

on the first ferry trip, it's all the people doing xcaret and tulum, so there were 251 people. It was a large ferry, enclosed and airconditioned. I'm not sure what a cataraman is, but if it's a boat that has 2 "legs" with water going between them, then that is what the ferry is. On the return trip it was just Tulum people and there was a small upper deck that was outside. I think that would be worse with all the motion! The people that were sweating and pale were all looking outside-I thinking focusing on something in front of you helps. They show an advertisement video so we watched that. The swells that day were not big, as a matter of fact, we did not know there were swells at all until the boat started

 

[disneypilots]

Wanted to thank you all for the feedback. We will consider a different excursion, something with less seasickness and Bugs !!!

Any suggestions ???

Many Thanks Again

Mark

 

[Michelemouse]

Just wanted to post a different experience.

We did this excursion on the 10/11/03 cruise and loved it. No bugs at all at Tulum...beach not at all crowded. It was fantastic! The ruins were absolutely beautiful and the only negative comment I can make is that I wish we had had more time to explore the site. The one thing I will agree on is that not eating lunch until 2:00 was difficult. If I were to do this excursion again I'd bring some kind of snack in my bag. (Also remember to bring bottled water!)

As for the ferry, I think the reason it is a bit bumpy (we had no problems at all) is because it travels at high speed. Also, the entire top floor is open so there are plenty of seats outside. We didn't realize there was a top floor until our return trip but loved the ride from up there!

As for shopping, if you have early seating you won't have much time before dinner but the ship does not depart the port until later in the evening so you can go into town after you eat. Late seating diners should have plenty of time to shop before dinner.

Hope that helps.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I have to add that while the ferry ride was an "adventure" the rest of the excursion was great! We went late March/early April and the weather was great, no bugs, and the beach was not very crowded. We had a great guide and really enjoyed it overall.

I wasn't too thrilled with the ferry - but they are newer looking. We rode the regular ferry one way and the cat. ferry back. They were virtually the same inside. I did make sure that we sat near an exit

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks Michele and Briarfox, your posts make me feel better about the ferry ride. We definitely want to do this Tulum excursion!

 

[Tesabat]

We did this excursion on the 11/8/2003 cruise. The ferry ride was a bit rough, but we all did fine... though people around us were sick. The staff was handing out little pink bags to many, many people. My DH who gets quite seasick had taken Bovine and had a SeaBand on - and sat by the window so he could keep is eye on the horizon, and actually felt better at the end of the trip than I did! (No band, no bovine.) There are various seating options - and even a t-shirt shop ($5 shirts) and a bar. The ferry has comfortable seating, air conditioning (lower floor) and tv/movies to watch.

There were no bugs at all at Tulum when we went. We had plenty of time to wander around the ruins alone AND enjoy some beach time. Lots of people were having a blast at the beach, and especially the kids... though the surf was rough on that particular day. The bus ride passes quickly - on the return trip they do not stop for a bathroom break...they do it on the way in because they want you to shop.

There are bathrooms at Tulum that cost .25 and are attended and clean...unlike the bathrooms at the potty stop on the way in.

For us, we enjoyed this excursion simply because we were able to see a place we all REALLY wanted to see. My son was disappointed to discover you can no longer go in any of the buildings or climb the main tower. He had a book about ancient places that he had since he was five, and at that time you could enter the buildings. Our guide explained they recently did away with this because people were defacing the ruins.... that was a disappointment for our son initially, but he regrouped and we were just amazed at the beauty of the location. It really is amazing if you like history. We got him back on track by thinking about all the footsteps that went before him...and how it was like to live there back when it was a thriving city.

Overall - we enjoyed this excursion and would not have planned it any differently. If we go on the Western again, we will skip this, but simply because we've already been there and felt we saw and did so much, we do not need to visit it again when there are still so many things to see and do in and near Cozumel.

 

[LVTravel]

Just back from the 1-3 Magic. About half the people on the ferry were sick to their stomachs on the ride from the island to the mainland. Extremely bad from all reports.

 

[Doctor P]

I have problems with motion sickness and did the Tulum Ruins tour with my family in July. Yes, the ferry ride is rough, but most people do not get sick as it is more a jostling than a rolling motion. Some of it for me was that it was a very different motion than that on the ship. I did not get sick (I had been using the sea bands and taking Meclizine) but there were a number of people that we getting queasy. I don't believe however that ANYONE ended up getting sick. DSD gets motion sickness in our car a lot and did not have problems with the ferry. This tour was one of the highlights of our cruise--the ruins are awesome. The tip about bringing a snack and a large water bottle is very good advice.

 

[ELIJAH'S GRANDPA]

We took the tour on the 12/6 cruise and were glad we did. I think one person got sick on the boat ride. Yes there were bugs. But we got to see a cultural and historic and spiritual site that most people only dream of seeing. The little beach below the ruins was very nice also. I posted a trip report at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=481040 and day 5 has a report on Tulum.
ps There's a link to my pictures at the bottom of the report.
John

 

[SeaSpray]

Are these bugs "seasonal"?? I mean, are they there all year round, or just certain times of the year??? We're cruising the end of August/beginning of Sept.

 

[The4OfUs]

We did the Tulum ruins in 1991 on our honeymoon in Cancun - it wasn't the ferry, but the bus ride that was rough and bumpy and LONG... *grin* But I don't remember any bugs at all. We were actually there on March 21st, the solstice, which was very exciting. We considered this tour, as we've always told the kids about how Daddy climbed to the top but Mommy couldn't get more than 2 steps up (heights...ugh) - but once we found out you can't get near them anymore, we opted for a different one.

It was a fascinating place.

We DID do a ferry that sounds similar to this one, except from Cancun to Isla Mujeres - and that was a horrible experience too, terribly rough and rolling and lots of sick people. It was so bad we hired a local to take us back in a tiny little boat! To be honest, that experience is why we haven't cruised yet, DH is worried about seasickness in a big way thanks to that silly ferry. He's willing to risk it tho...

Maybe it's just that area of water?

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

We did Tulum in August 2003. It is an adventure from the ferry ride, the walk through Playa deCarmen and the hour bus ride to get there. My DS's 10 and 14 enjoyed the ruins and we had about an hour on the beach after the tour. When we returned to the ship there were still several hours left to go into Cozumel and shop. The ship does not leave until late and I think you have to be on board by around 10PM.

 

[abusymommy]

My DH and I went on this excursion with friends of ours when we cruised on a different cruise line. We were at the Tulum site with others from the Disney Cruise, so I suspect the tour itself is probably similar.
We would not go on this tour again, especially not with kids. It was nice to be able to be at a historic site, but the inability to enter or climb the structures made it less than optimal. The best part of the entire excursion was the beach there.
If you decide to swim there, have your swimsuit on under your clothes, because there was nowhere to change anywhere close to the beach site. We were there in the month of May and it was a steaming 102 degrees, so the water was a welcomed site!
Don't forget to bring bottled water if you go!

 

[Mark8076]

We enjoyed the Tulum excursion when we went 5 years ago on our honeymoon. The boat ride is not that bad--- have you ever been out on a crouded lake in a speed boat? That's a whole lot rougher.

One note of caution--- there is a pyramid there to the Goddess of Fertility. The story goes that if you kiss while standing on it you will get pregnant. Trust me, it's true. We found out we were pregnant 5 weeks after returning from the trip and our friends we met on the cruise found out they were expecting 2 weeks after returning.

 

[Juli]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
Are these bugs "seasonal"??

I also wondered if they are of the biting kind? I've been debating if we need bug spray on the Western cruise at all except for this excursions.

Juli

P.S. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. We are scheduled on this excursion on the 1/31 Western cruise and I've been a bit concerned about it. Would rather do the Chankanab Beach & Snorkel, but DH and kids out voted me. Have to get some education in somehow!

P.S.S. Not being able to climb ruins is nothing new to our family. We've toured indian ruins out west and other historic places and it is rare that you get to climb on any of them. When it happens, we are delighted, but know that we are basically helping to destroy the place.