Chichen Itza

[Benneth]

I’m looking for some shore excursions for our upcoming cruise in January visiting Puerto Costa Maya and Cozumel. I was wondering if Royal Caribbean offers shore excursions to Chichen Itza directly from the cruise line. It seems like a fun place to spend the day with my family, but it’s a hefty two hour drive one way so I’m not sure if Royal Caribbean does it. I’m also going on a smaller ship (Mariner) not sure it that matters. Has anyone visited Chichen Itza with Royal Caribbean in Puerto Costa Maya? Thanks!

[bobroo]

Royal has never had excursions to Chichen Itza from Costa Maya and its fair to say they never will. Excursions to the  sites of Kohunlich, Chacchoben, and Dzibanche you'll find in your Cruise Planner won't disappoint.

FYI, the one way travel time from Mahahual to Chichen Itza is easily double your two hour drive estimate. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Not really going to be helpful to @Benneth, but I have decided to finally bite the bullet and do the Chichen Itza excursion when we go to Progreso on Serenade (7-6-23).  I have always avoided it due to the very VERY long day that it entails, but decided to go ahead and jump this time.  It's our only port (shorty 4 nighter) so it will consume all of my available energy !  I hope I don't regret it.  Think it might be hot in July ?  

[Ryan79]

1 hour ago, bobroo said:

Royal has never had excursions to Chichen Itza from Costa Maya and its fair to say they never will. 

Not true at all! It was offered on my Dec 2022 Harmony sailing. I thought about this one very hard and it was the travel length disclosure that was in the excursion description that made me choose something else. 

[Benneth]

5 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Not true at all! It was offered on my Dec 2022 Harmony sailing. I thought about this one very hard and it was the travel length disclosure that was in the excursion description that made me choose something else. 

My friend went on Symphony this January and I saw that they had gone to Chichen Itza, but I was not sure if it was directly through Royal Caribbean or through an external transporter. If I am going to Chichen Itza, I'd much rather book through Royal Caribbean as I can guarantee that I will make it back to the ship on time (I have 8 hours in Costa Maya). 

[Benneth]

6 hours ago, bobroo said:

Royal has never had excursions to Chichen Itza from Costa Maya and its fair to say they never will. Excursions to the  sites of Kohunlich, Chacchoben, and Dzibanche you'll find in your Cruise Planner won't disappoint.

FYI, the one way travel time from Mahahual to Chichen Itza is easily double your two hour drive estimate. 

Chacchoben just made its way into my cruise planner and that's why I am asking. Looks like a nice place to visit with some beautiful Mayan ruins and rich history. In your opinion, which of the three excursion sites are most worth visiting? So far, Chacchoben is the only one that has popped up in my cruise planner.

[Ryan79]

1 hour ago, Benneth said:

If I am going to Chichen Itza, I'd much rather book through Royal Caribbean as I can guarantee that I will make it back to the ship on time (I have 8 hours in Costa Maya). 

100% agree. The CP described about 5-6 hours of total travel time from what I remember. That’s a whole lot of real estate to travel and hope nothing goes wrong if booking outside of RC.

[ChessE4]

16 hours ago, Benneth said:

Chacchoben just made its way into my cruise planner and that's why I am asking. Looks like a nice place to visit with some beautiful Mayan ruins and rich history. In your opinion, which of the three excursion sites are most worth visiting? So far, Chacchoben is the only one that has popped up in my cruise planner.

Do it. Several pyramids, nice walk, monkey sightings, gift shop and snack bar. Been there twice.

[ChessE4]

21 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Not true at all! It was offered on my Dec 2022 Harmony sailing. I thought about this one very hard and it was the travel length disclosure that was in the excursion description that made me choose something else. 

Was that from Cozumel or Costa Maya?

[loki007]

a day trip from Cozumel would be more doable I think. Chichen Itza is pretty incredible and about a 90 minute drive from the playa del carmen area (need to take the ferry over). I would think this is the port Royal would offer excursions from if they were going to have them. 

[KJones]

Chichen Itza through RC was only available at our Cozumel stop. In Costa Maya our "ruins" excursion option was only Chacchoben.

[Benneth]

1 hour ago, KJones said:

Chichen Itza through RC was only available at our Cozumel stop. In Costa Maya our "ruins" excursion option was only Chacchoben.

Was planning to have a beach day in Cozumel and to visit the Mayan Ruins in Costa Maya, but if that’s the case I might just have to switch it around. How long did you have in Cozumel and how long was the excursions duration?

[KJones]

@Benneth I don't recall the exact hours, but the excursion was about 8 hours. It includes the ferry from Cozumel to mainland (45min each way), plus the bus ride (~1.5hr each way). You will only spend around 2hrs (maybe 2.5hr) at the ruins. The excursion took up at least 85% of the time the ship was docked. There's no time for any other sightseeing. Perhaps a little browsing in the shops right at the port, but not much else.

[Benneth]

On 5/8/2023 at 5:13 PM, KJones said:

@Benneth I don't recall the exact hours, but the excursion was about 8 hours. It includes the ferry from Cozumel to mainland (45min each way), plus the bus ride (~1.5hr each way). You will only spend around 2hrs (maybe 2.5hr) at the ruins. The excursion took up at least 85% of the time the ship was docked. There's no time for any other sightseeing. Perhaps a little browsing in the shops right at the port, but not much else.

We have about 11 hours in Cozumel (7 AM to 6 PM). Hoping that Royal might offer it, but for now my safe choice is Chacchoben in Costa Maya.

[Wheeler825]

I did Chitzen Itza from Cozumel Via Royal in 2015.  It was a blast.  Drive was entertaining more than boring.  My only gripe was that Mexico could do itself some favors and boot the trinket peddlers from the ruins site itself, keep them outside.

[Alanf]

On 5/6/2023 at 6:11 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

...I have decided to finally bite the bullet and do the Chichen Itza excursion when we go to Progreso on Serenade (7-6-23).  I have always avoided it due to the very VERY long day that it entails, but decided to go ahead and jump this time.  It's our only port (shorty 4 nighter) so it will consume all of my available energy !  I hope I don't regret it.  Think it might be hot in July ?  

How was your experience?

[Benneth]

Don’t know if anyone is still following but Chichen Itza is in my excursion list for Cozumel. Entails 6 hours of travel time, 9 hours total. When does Royal Caribbean have the biggest sale usually? It’s currently listed for 35% off.

[WAAAYTOOO]

24 minutes ago, Alanf said:

How was your experience?

It was definitely worth the effort.  I had learned about the ruins at Chichén Itzá in the sixth grade and I finally saw them for myself !  Yes, it was a lot of travel time but I’m glad we went.  The grounds are actually pretty compact - the sites aren’t way, way apart - so the walking was less than I expected.  It was h.o.t.  As the tour guide said, “There are 2 season in the Yucatán - hot and extremely hot”.  We were in the extremely hot season, apparently.   Lol

I’m super glad that we went with a Royal Caribbean excursion b/c we were a little bit late getting back to the ship.  I don’t think we would have been in danger of getting left behind, but I still would have been very stressed if we had been on a third party excursion.  We were tired when it was over but both very glad we did it.  I think going to these ruins from Progreso, vs Cozumel probably saved an hour or so in travel time, so not a huge difference, but still, saved a little time.  At least we didn’t have to ferry to the mainland and THEN ride a bus for another 2 hours !

[Rackham]

1 hour ago, Benneth said:

Don’t know if anyone is still following but Chichen Itza is in my excursion list for Cozumel. Entails 6 hours of travel time, 9 hours total. When does Royal Caribbean have the biggest sale usually? It’s currently listed for 35% off.

Let me be the first to tell you that trying to time a Royal sale is a fool's game. Buy when the price is acceptable to you, then cancel and repurchase if there's a price drop. Recently prices only go one way, up, so buying early is typically netting the best cruise planner pricing. 35% off is about the best you're going to see. There might be a 40% off sale sometime in the future, but it's not something that regularly happens or something you can count on.

Edit: And in the meantime the base price could go up. So the discount could be the same or greater, and you end up paying more.

[TimeRacer]

We did the Chichen Itza from Cozumel excursion, and yes, it was a long, hot day (115 the day we were there..oy!!) but even my 8 year old, who looks super grumpy in all pictures, now says it was amazing. 

It's a long, early day. The Windjammer opened early that day since there were so many early excursions. I can give you a bit of a play-by-play if you like, but for brevity's sake now, I'll say this: Worth it. Absolutely worth it. Chichen Itza is absolutely fascinating, the tour guides know how to get you where you need in whatever time and crowd you have to navigate, and the drive doesn't seem too bad because the guide uses it to give you history and background on the site and the Yucatan at large.

[TimeRacer]

53 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 At least we didn’t have to ferry to the mainland and THEN ride a bus for another 2 hours !

I think the ferry ride was the worst part for me. It isn't bad; it's comfortable and air conditioned and goes by quickly, but I actually managed to get a little sea sick!

[Alanf]

18 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

It was definitely worth the effort.  I had learned about the ruins at Chichén Itzá in the sixth grade and I finally saw them for myself !  Yes, it was a lot of travel time but I’m glad we went.  The grounds are actually pretty compact - the sites aren’t way, way apart - so the walking was less than I expected.  It was h.o.t.  As the tour guide said, “There are 2 season in the Yucatán - hot and extremely hot”.  We were in the extremely hot season, apparently.   Lol

I’m super glad that we went with a Royal Caribbean excursion b/c we were a little bit late getting back to the ship.  I don’t think we would have been in danger of getting left behind, but I still would have been very stressed if we had been on a third party excursion.  We were tired when it was over but both very glad we did it.  I think going to these ruins from Progreso, vs Cozumel probably saved an hour or so in travel time, so not a huge difference, but still, saved a little time.  At least we didn’t have to ferry to the mainland and THEN ride a bus for another 2 hours !

I’m glad you found it worth it!  Thanks for the report.  I think since my WOS 9/17 trip offers this from Cozumel and requires that FERRY, I’m going to cancel and change to something less travel time intensive.

[cruisefam86]

I would definitely book through the cruise line or else you may end up in a situation missing the ship. We did that excursion while we were staying in Playa Del Carmen we were gone 11 hours. 

[Benneth]

2 hours ago, cruisefam86 said:

I would definitely book through the cruise line or else you may end up in a situation missing the ship. We did that excursion while we were staying in Playa Del Carmen we were gone 11 hours. 

Oh yeah, definitely; wouldn’t want anything to go wrong on my first cruise ever!

[CruiseMsclDad]

Ok just my two cents, I have toured both Chichen Itza , and Mayan Ruins of Tulum. Both are amazing to see...however we did a private tour, with both my sons,  with a probably the most energetic tour guide in the world. It went like this, "you are now standing on the same spot 46 handicapped were decapitated, Oh and over hear at the well of death is where all the strangling took place! Oh wait wait over here the ground ran red with sacrifice of the..." You get what I mean. There was not one square foot where some horror had not taken place.

My advice tour these amazing structures, learn about how they were built, the amazing astronomy feats of the Mayans, but if you have kids,  skip the gory stuff Even my oldest was completely grossed out.