Newbies!

[Karen Whittington Dunaway]

My husband and I will be going on our first cruise after Thanksgiving. We don't know anyone who cruises so we are here for ANY information/suggestions. Leaving out of NewOrleans going to Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico, 1 day each.

 

[Greg]

Went to both of these ports about 6 months ago.

Progreso is a pretty small and poor town. It lives off of the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise Line for the most part. Carnival actually built the new pier there a couple years ago. Progreso's pier is about 2 miles long so even to go into town you take a bus (they are free to get into town and I believe the buses come and go about every 30 minutes). There isn't much to see in the town itself as far as I know but there are excursions available. I did go into town but just to catch another bus to go to the Uxmal Mayan Ruins. I do recommend these ruins highly - especially if you've never been. It is about a 90 minute bus ride each direction (which is included in the tour price). We used AutoProgreso for the tour company instead of going through Carnival, it'll save you about $25/person ($49 versus $75 last time I looked) and the buses Carnival uses are actually run by AutoProgreso too. They are a very reputable company. Many excursions can be booked directly through the excursion company rather than going through Carnival. Carnival usually charges about 25-30% more for the same excursion. All reputable excursion companies offer the same refund policies as Carnival offers for weather, port changes etc.

Cozumel is probably the most popular cruise destination in the Caribbean as far as number of cruise ships coming and going on a daily basis. Cozumel offers so many options as far as excursions - everything from relaxed beach locations to high intensity adventures. I along with my group decided on the Nachi Cocum Beach Resort. For $55/person it's a beach resort with all you can eat and drink the whole time you are there. For additional fees you can take a snorkeling trip, rent jet skis, etc. We had a great time and all of us would go back their again in a second. They have some of the best overall reviews on the internet I have seen also. Nachi Cocum is about a 15 min cab ride from the port and the wait time for a cab is just seconds (there are hundreds of them, for the thousands of cruisers who are in port on a daily basis). We took a cab their shortly after getting off the ship and came back about an hour and a half before the ship left to do some shopping near the port - there is a ton of shopping right at the port and by a ton I mean dozens and dozens of shops!

Welcome to Cruising Earth!

 

[Karen Whittington Dunaway]

Went to both of these ports about 6 months ago.

Progreso is a pretty small and poor town. It lives off of the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise Line for the most part. Carnival actually built the new pier there a couple years ago. Progreso's pier is about 2 miles long so even to go into town you take a bus (they are free to get into town and I believe the buses come and go about every 30 minutes). There isn't much to see in the town itself as far as I know but there are excursions available. I did go into town but just to catch another bus to go to the Uxmal Mayan Ruins. I do recommend these ruins highly - especially if you've never been. It is about a 90 minute bus ride each direction (which is included in the tour price). We used AutoProgreso for the tour company instead of going through Carnival, it'll save you about $25/person ($49 versus $75 last time I looked) and the buses Carnival uses are actually run by AutoProgreso too. They are a very reputable company. Many excursions can be booked directly through the excursion company rather than going through Carnival. Carnival usually charges about 25-30% more for the same excursion. All reputable excursion companies offer the same refund policies as Carnival offers for weather, port changes etc.

Cozumel is probably the most popular cruise destination in the Caribbean as far as number of cruise ships coming and going on a daily basis. Cozumel offers so many options as far as excursions - everything from relaxed beach locations to high intensity adventures. I along with my group decided on the Nachi Cocum Beach Resort. For $55/person it's a beach resort with all you can eat and drink the whole time you are there. For additional fees you can take a snorkeling trip, rent jet skis, etc. We had a great time and all of us would go back their again in a second. They have some of the best overall reviews on the internet I have seen also. Nachi Cocum is about a 15 min cab ride from the port and the wait time for a cab is just seconds (there are hundreds of them, for the thousands of cruisers who are in port on a daily basis). We took a cab their shortly after getting off the ship and came back about an hour and a half before the ship left to do some shopping near the port - there is a ton of shopping right at the port and by a ton I mean dozens and dozens of shops!

Welcome to Cruising Earth!

So there is shopping within walking distance of port at Cozumel? Is there anything within walking distance of port at Progresso?

 

[Greg]

So there is shopping within walking distance of port at Cozumel? Is there anything within walking distance of port at Progresso?

Tons within walking distance in Cozumel. In Progreso there is just one duty free shop on the pier, otherwise you have to take a bus (free) to the mainland a couple miles where more shopping is. When I say "pier" in Progreso most people get the wrong impression -it is the World's Longest Pier, nearly 4 miles long.

Here is a picture from a cruise ship docking in Progreso, the white building is the duty free store, the buses in the background, the mainland is about 3-4 miles to the right...