Mexico - Riviera Maya Excursions

January 2017, Monica Rendon private tour - Sac Actun Cenote, Tulum Ruins, private beach, local taco stand

We initially thought we would take the bus (colectivo) to the ruins, and then I happened across information about an amazing private tour guide operator. I contacted Monica via email to make arrangements. You can find more reviews for her on TripAdvisor, and she has a Facebook page titled SOY La Pesera. Our excursion was a bit unusual, as we had friends who happened to be staying at a resort in Cozumel at the same time we were staying at Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an. Monica picked up our friends at the ferry dock in Playa Del Carmen, and then she picked us up at the resort for our day.

Meeting, transportation, etc.

Our friends had no trouble finding Monica at the appointed time and location when they disembarked at the ferry dock. I had provided Monica with our stay information, and she was able to enter our resort to pick us up in front of the lobby. The vehicle/van had two seat rows behind the driver's seat, which easily seated 2 to 3 people in each row. The vehicle was clean and comfortable. Monica had a cooler in the back for us filled with cold Corona and bottled water. She spoke good English, and she assisted us perfectly with our day's activities. She exchanged our cash for pesos, negotiated and made our purchases for us at each stop, provided information about the best restrooms, beaches, food, and more.

View from Tulum Ruins

Tulum Ruins

Our first stop was at the ruins, which was just a short drive from our resort. It was not too busy when we arrived before 9:00 a.m., although it was quite busy with a few tour groups by the time we left. 

Riviera Maya Mexico - Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an Adults Only

January - February 2017, 7-nights with Friday arrival, King Jr. suite #41223

We enjoyed our week at Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an, and hope to be able to visit again. This post takes up where one of my previous posts, Travel between Lansing, Michigan and Cancun, Mexico..., left off. Our check-in and arrival experience is covered in that post.

Sunrise from guestroom balcony 41223

More photos and information about Bahia Principe can be found in my Travel Reviews Facebook album.

Guestroom 41223

This room is located on the top floor in building 12 near the two main pools and Cenote snack bar. Our room number designated the exact location, just as I had read in a post by someone else: 4(resort - Sian Ka'an) 12(building number) 2(guestroom) 3(floor). There were two guestrooms at the top of the stairs to our room, and the room number across from us was 41213.

Lansing, Michigan / Crowne Plaza Lansing West

January and February 2017, 2 separate nights - weekday and weekend, King deluxe room #547 and King corner room #416

Our stay at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West was just as impressive this trip as it had been November 2016. The hotel is very clean and well maintained, and the staff is excellent. There was a minor snag with my first night's stay, and staff members went above and beyond to make this right. I had two separate stays here, which I am combining into this one post. We stayed on a weekday, and then on the weekend a week later. I used points for both nights.

View from the 4th floor

Platinum perks and check-in

I received the Platinum on-site amenity choice for both stays: bottled water, beverage in the lounge, or bonus points. I always choose the points, since I tend to use my points so frequently. I had reserved a corner guestroom for my first night, and a deluxe room for my second stay. I would have reserved a corner room for both nights, except a corner room was not showing as available for the second stay when I made the reservation online. When I checked in for the first night [corner guestroom, weekday], the front desk agent had difficulty finding me a corner room. She said there had been one set aside for me, although it was showing that it had not been cleaned, even though we were not checking in early. I waited a few moments while she called someone to confirm whether the room had been cleaned or not. She then told me deluxe rooms were available, and I said that would be fine. She assigned us a guestroom on the top floor, and said she would request a corner guestroom for us when we returned.

When I checked in for the second stay, we received a corner guestroom on the 4th floor. The employee apologized for the fact that I had not received this type of guestroom the week earlier, and she said there was an amenity in the guestroom fridge for me.

Travel between Lansing, Michigan and Cancun, Mexico via MiamiAir booked through Apple Vacations (destination Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an in Riviera Maya )

January - February 2017

This post could easily become extremely long. I have condensed the information somewhat to focus on the main points. If you have any questions, or would like more details, just ask!

Although our travel experiences include over 15 resort stays in Mexico and the Caribbean (some before I started this blog), this was our first experience with Apple Vacations and MiamiAir. You can find separate posts in this blog for Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an and our excursions.

Booking through Apple Vacations with MiamiAir charter flight

We booked our vacation over the telephone with an Apple representative, since we had not booked with them before, and I had a few questions. If you want to have access to your Apple Vacations booking online, I suggest booking online instead. I found out afterward that you can access your Apple Vacations booking online, if you book online; however, you cannot access your itinerary and such for reservations that have been booked over the telephone.

We booked this trip at the last minute because we happened upon an amazing price--$839 each for 7 nights, including air. We then paid an additional $78 each to upgrade our airline seats to Preferred Perks Plus roundtrip, which is similar to first class. The airline upgrade said it included the following per person each way: fresh meal/snack box, two standard alcoholic drinks (21yrs.), and preferred check-in, security, boarding and seating. Without Preferred Perks Plus, there is a fee to select seats, and another fee to check bags ($40 roundtrip per bag when purchased through Apple beforehand--$50 at the airport).

The telephone number provided in our travel documents to check flight status before heading to the airport was incorrect. The telephone number Apple Vacations provided was for Norwegian Air. The telephone number on the MiamiAir website to check flight status is: (305) 871-8001.

Miami Air in Lansing, Michigan

Departure from Lansing, Michigan via Miami Air 

The MiamiAir website provided the following information for check-in: Ticket counters will open 3 hours prior to departure. Check in locations are as follows: Lansing, Michigan Capital Region International Airport (LAN) – Main Terminal, check-in counters located at Door 2. I also found this news story about the Apple Vacations/MiamiAir/Lansing Airport relationship.