A friend of mine would like to see the Mayan Ruins in Chichen Itza, I visited there several years ago but did it as an excursion out of Cancun. I was thinking that maybe we could do it as an excursion out of a cruise ship, but it seems that Holland America and Carnival are the only ones with excursions there. Does anybody know any other cruiselines that offer this excursion? We are looking at going next year.

Do you need the ships excursion? What about a tour offered by a private Co? There will be plenty of operators at the pier. Just book it when you get off. Its done all the time and will save you money too.

I have done private tours such as these in other parts of the world and it was always more fun and often less expensive than ship excursions. I hope you are able to do this, but let me add one important word of caution: You must allow plenty of time to get back to the ship!! The ship will wait for you if you're on a ship excursion which is delayed, but if it's a private tour, they'll sail without you. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just make sure to find out how long it will take to get there from Cancun and try to get back at least an hour or 2 before sailing. It's possible that some cruises don't offer that excursion because they are not in port long enough to get there and back, so please do your homework. I've been on several cruises that stop in Cancun and the Chichen Itza tour is always very popular, so the fact that the tour is not being offered makes me think that the ship will not be in port long enough for you to do this. If it's a priority, make sure to choose a cruise that allows you enough time.

When I went to Chichen Itza it seems like it took at least a couple of hours to get there from Cancun, maybe 3 hours. On the way back the bus ran out of gas so we were stranded for about 45 minutes, as the driver had to hitch a ride to a gas station and back to the bus. However, on that trip we were staying in Cancun, so thank God time was not an issue. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Do you mean that some cruise lines offer NO excursions while in certain ports? I wonder why as this is a source of income. Seems odd.

No, of course not. I've re-read my post and I can't figure out how that message came through from what I said, but if my point was unclear, let me try again.

I meant that this tour is usually a very popular excursion on cruises. So, if this tour is not being offered by the ship, that tells me there might not be enough time in port to get to Chichen Itza and back from Cancun. Many cruises only allow 8 hours or so in port, which would not leave enough time for the Chichen Itza trip, so Don should avoid those.

I think your idea for a private tour is a very good one, but ONLY if there is plenty of time. Therefore, if Don wants to do Chichen Itza independantly, he should seek out a cruise that allows a very long day in Cancun. Maybe the cruises he mentioned are the only ones that have enough time in port to get to Chichen Itza.

The ? was to the orig. poster P M

OK, sorry, I was the one who misunderstood.

Sorry about the confusion BTW. I can see why you thought that way. Cheers, Larry