Can you give a review of the excursion? We are thinking about doing this in Sept on our 7-night Fantasy cruise.
DCL's Chichen Itza excursion cost $150 per person. We met at 7:15 in the Buena Vista theater, along with the other DCL-run Cozumel excursions. When they got the green light, the different excursion groups were separated and sent off. Our group, along with the group going to Tulum, was escorted to the ferry that went to the mainland.
The ferry was more comfortable than I expected. We were seated inside and it was a large boat, fully enclosed and climate controlled, with bathrooms, and the seating was similar to bus or airline seating. My son and I sat by a window and watched the ocean the whole way. For the first time, we saw flying fish, which was cool. The waters were calm and no one seemed to have any problem with nausea. The ferry ride lasted about 30 minutes.
Upon arrival at the mainland, we met our guide and were escorted a few blocks in to a parking lot with buses and vans. We were in a group of 16, and were placed in a van that would drive us to Chichen Itza. The van was climate controlled and clean, but not extremely comfortable. The legroom in the van was about what you'd get in a standard economy airline seat (aka cramped). But it was okay, and the van ride lasted about 2 hours. On the way there, they gave us iPads that were programmed with info about Chichen Itza, and we got to explore those on the way there, and educate ourselves about the ruins. The guide, who was not the driver, was very nice and a bit funny, and he talked to us about Mayan culture and history on the way there.
Upon arrival at Chichen Itza, they gave us cold bottles of water, and the guide led us through the ruins for about 30 minutes and talked about them. Then we were given about 45 minutes to explore the ruins independently. Due to my son being very hot, we spent most of that time sitting in the shade, but we were content. We'd seen the ruins and they were impressive and worth the trip in our opinion.
Afterwards they gave us more cold drinks, and also cold washcloths to cool ourselves off with. They took care of us very well. The drive back seemed longer subjectively, because we had no iPads and the driver was done narrating. Upon reaching the coast, we were about 10 minutes late for the 4pm ferry (ferries run on the hour), but fortunately our guide was in communication with them and they held the ferry for our group. We arrived back at the Disney Magic around 5pm.
The bottom line for me is that this was a cultural excursion to see a world wonder, and we did get to see that and learn about it. We also got great photos of the ruins. I'm very glad I had brought a good UV umbrella and that my son had a good hat. It's important to bring sun protection there (and rain protection: the show will go on regardless of the weather). I also recommend bringing a cash tip for the guide. Ours did a very good job of explaining the culture and of caring for our needs throughout the excursion. He also thanked us repeatedly for coming and especially for bringing our children to learn more about Mayan culture.