Todd and I just got back from our first cruise! And now we can’t wait to go on another one!
We travelled on the Carnival Fantasy out of the Mobile, Alabama port. A full review of the whole cruise will be out later, but I wanted to share about our amazing excursion out of Progreso first.
What’s amazing is that Carnival is the only cruise line to stop in Progreso, Mexico…and honestly you can tell (they have 2-3 cruise ships stop a week, while other ports have more of an average of 8-9 a day!). The dock is over 4 miles long, but once you get into the city, it doesn’t look like the typical “cruise port.” You can have the option of the beach, however, the town itself doesn’t have much to do for a typical tourist, so for that reason I would definitely recommend an excursion.
We decided on the VIP Chichen Itza and Cenote Ikkil with lunch. The cost is about $120 per adult, and honestly it is totally worth it!
By being on the excursion, you get to be some of the first people off the ship. Then, you go straight away to your excursion guide. Our guide was Ricardo. He took us to a very nice travel van(complete with snacks for the ride, comfortable seating, and air conditioning). The travel time to Chichen Itza is about 2 hours, but he made the time go quickly. He treated our ride like a tour bus, and told us all the ends and outs of Progreso. He was so knowledgeable and fun, the 2 hours passed very quickly. For the last 30 minutes of the drive he played a history channel video for us about Chichen Itza, which some of us might have used as a slight nap time. lol
Once we arrived at Chichen Itza (it’s busy because it’s one of the new 7 Wonders of the World), they dropped us off at the entrance and he guided us right through.
We didn’t have a ton of time at the ruins (about an hour and 15 minutes), but honestly it was enough time to see the highlights, get pictures, and check out the vendors.
pro tip: If you want to bring in a go-pro or a filming camera (not a DSLR or phone) then you have to pay an extra $5.
Ricardo was awesome, because he told us all the ins and outs of the ruins and what makes them so special. We now know a lot about Mayan culture!
Pro tip: When you are standing in from of the main ruin, clap your hands really hard. You should hear a sound that sounds similar to a bird. They say this is the same sound the bird that the Mayans worshipped makes.
Ricardo walked us through all the ruins and in one spot he even showed us where some of the original color was!
Ricardo was also really helpful in showing us which vendors to buy from. A lot of the vendors there get the stuff they sell from China, however there are a few local families there that actually make what they are selling. We made sure to buy our souvenirs from them!
Pro Tip: make sure to check out the obsidian glass sun viewers from the vendors, you can even watch an eclipse through one!
Next up on the agenda was to go to the Cenote (a sink hole turned underground lake) to go swimming.
Honestly guys, this was the highlight of our trip! The cenote was absolutely beautiful!
On the excursion you have about an hour and 15 minutes to split your time between the authentic Mexican buffet and the cenote.
Pro tip: start with the cenote over the buffet, it gave us more time to swim (we could have swam a lot longer!)
The water is so refreshing in the cenote. They say it stays around 65 degrees all year long, and that sounds cold, but honestly it was perfect. Also, make sure that you jump off the ledge a few times!
Pro tip: save your money and request a life jacket if needed from your tour guide rather than renting at the cenote
Also, make sure to bring some cash to rent a locker for your stuff (it was very afforable). Also, don’t bother with sunscreen, they make you wash it all off before you get in!
Lastly, we ate at the authentic Mexican buffet (Todd is still talking about how delicious the food was)!
The lunch is included in your excursion price, and it seriously was really good! There was a mix of Mayan and Mexican food, and lots of fresh fruit, which we were really happy about!
Pro tip: either bring cash for drinks (including water) or bring your own like we did!
The restaurant where we ate was super beautiful and resort-like! I honestly wanted to stay way longer than we could!
Pro-tip: The green sauce that will be sitting on your table is not mild salsa, it is habanero sauce! Go lightly! It is very spicy. A man next to us poured way to much on his food and turned bright red!
After eating we got back on our van and headed back to our cruise ship! One great thing about going on a cruise sponsored excursion is that they will not leave you if you are late!
We used the two hours back (they played another documentary) to take nap number two of the day! lol!
Overall this excursion was amazing and I would honestly recommend this cruise because of this excursion! This was definitely the highlight of our trip!
What cruise excursion have you been on that you have absolutely loved!?
-Kasey
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