We were first time cruisers with Carnival and unlike many non-organized travelers that like to "go with the flow"..... I study and do my homework before I go on any trips and travel overseas. This was our first cruise experience and I have to say that Carnival is EXTREMELY ORGANIZED. We had no problem with check-in, no long waits, and everyone that we met was very friendly and went above and beyond to make sure that we felt welcome and happy. The boat was very nice and the activities were endless. The best part of the actual ship were the times spent with our wait staff in the London dining room. Rica and Pande. They were absolutely awesome. Always smiling, great personalities and knew each of us by name. We had a party of 6 and they never once forgot who we were and by the time we left we felt sad to say goodbye along with the rest of the families that they waited on. There literally was a LINE the last night from everyone hugging them goodbye. We had a balcony room with 4 people and it was not crowded at all. Very comfortable and our steward, was wonderful. The food was great everywhere we went and at no time did we ever get bored.

We chose not to book an excursion through Carnival for Cozumel after I did research on things to do. Half of my party wanted to scuba dive, the other half swim with dolphins and zipline. Chankanaab Park had it all, so I decided to contact a dive shop directly, make reservations and boy was it WORTH IT. I communicated with Gilmer from El Clavado Dive shop which is located in the park. He was fantastic. We literally got off the boat, went straight to a taxi, it took less than 10 minutes to get there and once we were at the park, Gilmer met us at the gate, led us in, immediately took us diving and had everything else arranged. I honestly made the best decision in the world contacting him directly. While all the cruise ships passengers were still waiting to go on all their "guided" excursions, we were already off diving in the beautiful water swimming with fish! My number one priority was SAFETY and at NO time did we EVER feel unsafe. From the taxi, to the scuba diving, to shopping, etc. It was completely awesome!!!

Now as far as Progresso is concerned, I would NOT venture off on my own there. You definitely need to go on a Carnival excursion. I wouldn't suggest doing the Chichen Itza tour because it is a VERY long drive there and back....... we went to the all-inclusive beach break in Progresso with the guide Alex. He made the entire trip to Progresso worth it. Amazing guy!!! When we go back we will definitely do whatever tour HE is doing at the time..... I tell ya, from the staff on the cruise to the amazing people that we met during our excursions, my weariness about feeling unsafe in Cozumel and the Yucatan is gone. Read more