teddy

We went on this excursion in January 2018.  Here are my memories of it.

The 45 minute ferry ride was a bit bumpy, but neither my wife nor I deal with any kind of motion sickness, so I'm not a good judge of whether it was bad.  The ferry does have restrooms down below.  The ferry was completely full both going to the mainland and returning to the island.

The bus ride was around 45 minutes or so and there was air conditioning on ours. We had two guides  One of them gave us a soft pitch on something they were selling.  To be honest, I can't even remember what it was, so it obviously wasn't that intense.  I do remember he talked a lot about a lot of things, not just whatever he was selling.

At the ruins, we went as a group as far as the part that overlooks the water, then made our way back to the bus individually.  The tour guide we had was awesome...you could tell that Mayan culture and history was a passion of his.  We had 40 minutes to get from the overlook back to the parking lot on our own.  The guides told us that anyone who wasn't there at the required time would have to pay for a taxi to take them (and someone who would wait for them) back to the ferry.

It was hot for us when we went (we are from Maine).  I'm glad we had hats and sunglasses because there is very little shade as you are walking through the ruins.  There was an option to take a shuttle rather than walking at the ruins, but that cost extra.  

There is a lot of shopping by the parking lot at the ruins.  It reminded me of how most ports (that we've been to) make you walk in a maze to get through them so you go by the most shops possible.

We went to La Playa Xpu-ha Beach Club for the beach break part of it.  I enjoy the local food, so I enjoyed lunch.  We relaxed on the beach for...maybe a couple hours...I am not 100% sure.

We were almost late getting back to the ferry in order to get back on the ship in time.  One of the tour guides escorted us straight to the ferry and ensured we all boarded.  I suspect that normally, they let people walk back from the bus drop off point on their own in order to encourage shopping.  Since we booked through Royal, we were not at all concerned about missing sail away.  That was a level of comfort I have remembered when we have done things on our own in ports.  I don't know if I would go to the mainland from Cozumel unless I was on an official Royal excursion.

Edited to add that we really enjoyed the excursion and would certainly do it again.

 

15 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We have a US credit card and we find that we save by converting money locally, at a lower rate, rather than letting Royal or Canadian credit card companies convert it. 

My in-laws (who live in Canada) do this as well.

They even go so far as having a checking account over here for things such as sending the grand kids checks for birthdays and shopping when they visit.

We never gave trip insurance a thought until January of this year when we saw someone evacuated out of Labadee on a medical helicopter.  My wife and I both looked at each other with the same thought...."what if??"  In addition, we both have things that could be considered pre-existing, so we decided to learn more about travel insurance.

After a lot research and asking for recommendations, we went with Allianz on a per trip basis for our two upcoming cruises (as opposed to a yearly plan).  Prices were very reasonable, and we met their requirements for pre-existing conditions.  

As we get older and into (semi) retirement, we will probably go with a yearly plan, but for now, single trip plans meet our worst case scenario needs.



 

19 minutes ago, twangster said:

/snip

I think masks are controversial because they are new to most people in the West. 

I cut most of your post to save space, but I'd "like" it twice if I could.

Since I work in a supermarket, I wear a mask at work.  I even started wearing one before they were mandatory.  They really aren't that big of a deal.

While I'm all about freedoms and have plenty of concerns with government overreach, mask/face covering usage is simply not the hill to die on.



 

14 hours ago, twangster said:

At least on a cruise ship the maximum time I spend next to a stranger is at a show or muster drill.  I can choose to skip a show or leave 10 minutes in.  Stop the shows and that's solved.   In the WJ I can be in and out in 20 minutes, if I take it to go 1/3 of that.  

I agree.

The big joke among people who know me is why would I want to go on a cruise ship surrounded by people when I don't like crowds?  It's hard to explain to someone who has never been on a cruise that, with just a couple exceptions, I can always find plenty of personal space.  

 

My first cruise ever and my wife's first in well over 20 years was on Mariner in January 2018.  We did a 5-night stopping at Costa Maya and Cozumel.

I'm glad it was no shorter and wished it was longer.

The thing that sticks with me the most is the customer service level.  Every employee we interacted with was outstanding.

Regrets:  I didn't try the Flowrider.

It will be interesting to see if we can still book guaranteed inside cabins......and if they cut the people already booked in the cheap seats, will we be among them?

17 hours ago, Greg787 said:

That's where I'm currently at and it's eeirly empty. 

I live in the greater Portland area, but spent the first 27 years of my life in Jackman....Quebec plates on the road were always a mainstay of summer.

My wife and I went up last week....the roads were empty.  Very weird.

4 hours ago, Rene Desmarais said:

Didn't CBC released news yesterday, there might be talks of closing the border for a year?

That will totally devastate the tourism industry along the southern Maine coast.  Canadians come down in droves during the summer....except now they aren't.

On 6/25/2020 at 8:52 AM, monctonguy said:

Welcome to the nightmare we have been dealing with..your Mom is dying??...too bad, you cant be here.

We are hoping to not have to deal with this....my in-laws live in NB and all their kids are in Maine.  My father in law is not in good health (not covid, just a tired heart).

Many thanks to everyone for this information.

 

1 hour ago, ptod said:

Our governor is considering a negative test result as a way out of the quarantine.  Curious, do Maine's rules state the test has to be taken within a certain number of days before someone visits?

There is a compliance form that is "supposed" to be filled out.  It states

I certify that ONE of the following is true (PLEASE CHECK ONE):

I have received a negative test result for COVID-19 on a specimen taken no later than 72 hours prior to my arrival, consistent with Maine CDC guidance. OR

 I will quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Maine or for the duration of the stay; OR

 I have completed a 14-day quarantine in Maine prior to my stay.

https://www.maine.gov/decd/sites/maine.gov.decd/files/inline-files/KeepMaineHealthy_GuestComplianceCertificate.pdf

https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/faqs#:~:text=Seasonal homeowners%2C workers traveling to,quarantine in Maine effective immediately.

I put "supposed" in quotes as I really don't believe many people are following the rules.  

5 hours ago, alamode123 said:

I thought that the US was like Canada. Any switching of provinces here requires a 14 day quarantine.

I believe here in Maine, we are supposed to either quarantine or have negative test if we go to and come back from any other state besides NH and VT......ditto for all visitors from any state but those two.

 

2 minutes ago, CruisinForABruisin said:

You mean properly? 

I mean for any reason legit or not. 
 

I work in a supermarket.  We Are the proverbial flies on the wall.  

I can’t even imagine the “Karens” policing everyone who drops their mask for a split second while cruising.
 

Mask Police are currently all over retail stores just waiting to call you out for not wearing it wearing it to their standards. 

It's hard for me to get worked up about being around people on our next cruise when I work in a supermarket.  

Shoot, the Navy lets sailors and Marines swim off the stern of amphibious assault ships...as a bonus, an inside cabin on a cruise ship will seem like a suite after a float on a gator freighter.   

Edited to add link for those who don't know what I'm talking about.
https://www.businessinsider.com/marine-corps-swim-call-2016-2

Only way we’ll cancel is if a quarantine is required when we come back home.

I’ve always thought that when they price a guarantee higher than a pick your own, they are trying to steer people towards specific blocks of cabins. 
 

I should insert a caveat here....

When we book onboard, We can pick our room and still get the lowest price. 
 

We book Insides, so our views are always obstructed.  

My thought is that if you have any concerns about where your cabin may be,  choose your own room.  My wife is in a bunch of Facebook cruising groups and sees a lot of "I was assigned this room I don't like, how can I get it changed".

We literally don't care where we end up, so we do the guaranteed room and are happy.  Sometimes the savings is minimal, but for us, savings is savings.  We're cheap thrifty.   

2 hours ago, wstephensi said:

You can have a similar experience by waking up around 0430 or 0500 and walking around the ship.  Dark in many areas and very quiet.

 

My wife and I do this.

As much as we want to sleep in on vacation, it's hard to readjust our body clocks.  We go out, try to find a cup of coffee somewhere, and explore.  We end with watching the sunrise.

We like it.  I've never really had a problem with people there, either.   There are jerks and idiots everywhere, and I see no more at the Windjammer than anywhere else on the ships.

 

In my limited geographical experience, social distancing is a joke.  25% capacity or 100% capacity doesn’t matter. 
 

People will stay the proper distance apart until they want something or feel they have the “right” to do something.  
 

We experience this everyday in supermarkets where capacity is limited based on square footage.