I could be forgetting some it's been so long but I think the general questions being asked were:

Can we have more detail on the optional excursions for this tour, especially the Cozumel one - have you been able to find out if we can do the Atlantis submarine on this tour? If not, what are the options for things to do on Cozumel if you don't want to snorkel/dive? What are the timings for the Xcaret excursion? Is there plenty to do in Xcaret if you don't want to get wet?

Is there any update on where we will be staying in San Pedro? Both Mike and myself are hoping it won't be the Banana Beach hotel!! If we are staying there, will the TM/local guide offer things to do there/transport into the centre of town, for those of us who don't want to do the snorkeling trip?

Is it looking likely that the Iberostar Tucan in Playa del Carmen will re-open as planned next month? And if so, will we definitely be staying there in Feb?

Many thanks and best wishes,

Bob

I am really sorry about the delay in response to your questions. Good news though, everyone is back from their travels and I have a response to your queries.

So for the Cozumel excursion, I have received a little bit of information from our agent. Included in this excursion is:

Round trip transfers, ferry tickets, English speaking assistance in Cozumel, boat ride in Cozumel with snorkelling, and buffet lunch.

Please note that there is an additional reef protection tax which costs $10 USD per person and this will need to be paid on the day.

The Atlantis Submarine Cozumel is something that is available for you, if this is preferred. It will cost approximately $160.00 USD, which includes transfers and the tour that lasts for approximately 2 hours. If you are interested let me know and I will get this organised for you.

For the Xcaret excursion, you will arrive at approximately 09:00 am and leave at around 9:30 pm. There are plenty of things for you to do if you don’t fancy getting wet. There are a number of included shows, exhibitions and cultural tours, you also get access to beaches, bays and natural pools and on top of all of this you have admission to Xcaret Mexico Spectacular show, a musical journey through the history of Mexico. This list is by no means exhaustive.

You will be staying at the Banana Resort, and your Tour Manager will certainly be happy to help organise alternative arrangements. We are still confirming our other hotels for this tour, so I will have to come back to you on this one.

I hope this helps, and again I apologise for the delay.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Many thanks indeed for these updates; I am sure that a lot of work has gone into getting them for us! I presume that the cost of the Atlantis submarine includes all transfers from the hotel to Cozumel and back again, so we won't have to find our way by ourselves at all? If so, I would be very happy for you to arrange this for me and I presume this option will be open to anyone else who would like to do it? If so, will others be able to join me if they don't prebook - in other words, some of my fellow travellers who are not on the forum but who are doing the add-on? It would be nice not to be the only one doing it, although I think Sally was also interested? The Xcaret trip sounds too long - more than 12 hours there, I think I'll have a lazy day at the hotel instead! Here's hoping we do stay at the Iberostar Tucan so we can enjoy the lovely facilities there.

I'm not thrilled to be honest that we will be staying in the Banana Beach hotel, but I am glad that the TM will be able to advise us of other things we can do in San Pedro and will help with transport links etc.

Thanks again,

Bob

I have passed this over to the overseas team, in hope they will be able to organise the excursion for you. The price does include transfers, so you will not need to worry about that.

The Tour Manager are there for that exact reason, they will be more than willing to help you get around the local area.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Cheers,

Bob

Could you please confirm which days in the itinerary the three available optional excursions are:-

- Cozumel Island - full day

- Snorkelling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve - half day

- Xcaret Eco Park - full day.

I can't see at first glance how they can all be packed in to such a busy itinerary!

Thanks

Sally

I have passed these questions over again to get an accurate answer for the both of you. I do apologise for the length of time it takes for a response. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Kindest regards,

Monty

The Hol Chan snorkeling is offered for our free day in San Pedro (originally Caye Caulker) and I presume the Cozumel and Xcaret trips will be offered on each of the free days we have in Playa del Carmen.

Cheers,

Bob

Apologies for adding to your workload but this needs to be sorted out!!

Best wishes,

Bob

Please note: This post was moderated to remove personal information.

Thanks for flagging this to us. I have spoken to the team responsible for sending out documentation and they are going to give you a call shortly.

I can only apologise for this.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Busy day here...

Best wishes,

Bob

Best wishes,

Bob

That's fantastic news. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Yet another question I'm afraid - could you please tell me who we do the internal flight (to Flores) with and what their baggage allowance is? I'm starting to think about what to take and know from experience that a lot of internal flights restrict it to 20kgs which makes a big difference on an 18 day trip.

Thanks

Sally

I have had a response to all of your questions - about time I know!

Bob - The submarine excursion is totally separate to the Cozumel snorkelling trip so transfers will not be shared. I am afraid that, after speaking to the overseas team, you will have to book this directly with the tour manager/agent or look into the possibility of doing this in resort, as our company would not get involved in this as we don't offer it as an optional excursion.

Sally - The optional excursions run daily, so it is completely up to you when you would like to squeeze them in to your itinerary. In regards to flights and luggage allowance, you will fly with Avianca and you are allowed 23kg of hold luggage and an additional 10kgs for hand luggage.

I hope this helps.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Thanks for the info. This is obviously disappointing as I was hoping JY would decide to offer it as an excursion. I'll have to wait and see if any others doing the add-on want to do it and if the TM/local agent will organise it - I don't want to do it by myself: an excursion involving ferry and motor transfers in a country where people don't readily speak English could be fraught with difficulty and I don't want to end up lost or stranded; it is stress that I could well do without. That's why I do escorted tours! It's increasingly looking like I will be kicking my heels for the two days in Playa del Carmen, which is a pity as I booked it on the basis that there would be a "range of optional excursions" - two isn't a "range!" On the now defunct Mexico tour which ran this year, there were five offered for the add-on. You live and learn...

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Mike, I've seen a couple of posts from you recently on the forum but none concerning the Mexico tour - did you pay the final balance in the end? I'm still looking forward to the tour and hope everything works out despite the niggles and disappointments over the excursions.

Cheers,

Bob

Yes, despite my misgivings, I did pay the final balance. I still have concerns about the tour and the way that the arrangements have been handled but, like you, I'm hoping for the best. Unfortunately I don't think that is how we should have to approach a holiday; rather we should have complete confidence in JY and their agents which on this occasion is somewhat lacking.

By the way, I've tried to keep abreast of the progress of restorations at the Iberostar Tucan hotel in Playa del Carmen. Apparently renovations began around mid October shortly after the fire, and the official line as far as I can establish is still that the hotel will re-open mid December. You may recall that I did ask JY, through the forum, if they could provide an update on this but my question remains unanswered. Having said that I'll apologise straight off if I've missed it.

I'll be staying at the Crowne Plaza hotel the night before departure, so if you're flying in the day before I'd be very pleased to meet you for a meal in the evening.

All the best and have a great Christmas.

Cheers

Mike

I'm staying at the Cambridge Hotel at Gatwick (never been there before, booked for me by JY). My flight gets in at 18.20 so I reckon I won't get to the hotel before 7pm. I'll go for a bite to eat pretty much straight away as I don't like eating late at night - there is a restaurant in the hotel so I'll probably eat there. I've just looked at the menu and it sounds very good! I don't know how far the Crown Plaza is from there - if it is within walking distance you'd be very welcome to join me!

Best wishes,

Bob

PS I nearly didn't see your post as it wasn't highlighted in bold as having new posts and I didn't get an email notification!