Progreso Cruise Ship Terminal — Local services in Progreso

** Shame on RCL and Beware of Progeso Cruise Port! If I could leave a negative score it would be a -10. Absolutely horrible experience. Docked here with another ship. Left the ship to explore the main land and found out that you needed to fight through all the people crowded into this small port to reach the transportation area. Well to my surprise there was a triple line of people waiting for the free shuttle but to goto the main land. I tried to grab a taxi and quickly was told not to approach them. As I walked away cruise employees were grabbing the same taxis. I spoke to a supervisor to ask what was available and the guy tells me (while counting a pile of cash that he was collecting from the people selling the tours) that either book a tour or wait in the line. It was ridiculous. People had waited an hour and only half way to the front of the line and then people feared the same on the return trip. So 4 hours in line to use the free option? Sounded crazy. I ended up fighting the crowd and going back to the ship, as there is nothing else to do on this dock other than to watch them build new port space to crowd it even more, watch the trucking as the end of the dock was the main shipping for the city trucks in and out non stop. I stopped to ask the customer service about the experience and they were shocked to hear what happened. Then as we were getting ready to leave the ship had mechanical issues and we had to stay overnight. So we could not get off the ship as there was no transportation to the main land, nothing on the port open, trucks running all night long and the casino closed. I was a horrible experience and definitely RCL should have stepped up. Absolutely horrible, we arrived ten hours late with no compensation for missed flights, rentals and hotels rooms. All the flights and hotels were booked and rentals were far and few as there was a swifty...

Progresso cruise ship terminal is one if the least favorite terminals we have ported in. One interesting fact though, it is the world's longest pier! That being said, taking a bus is a MUST. Once off the pier We booked an excursion through Carnival and ended up opting out of it. It was a $170 excursion. No food or drinks included and they told us AFTER WE BOOKED we would not be able to get in the water because the beach was closed. No thank you! 8 hours in Mexico with no food, water or swimming? RESEARCH BEFORE GOING ON ANY EXCURSION!!! We took a short bus ride off the pier and into town. We walked a few blocks to the local market where we ate authentic Mexican food. It was the best ever! Handmade, fresh empanadas for $1 each! We then walked through the rest of the market and headed to the local beach. We got 2 chairs and an umbrella for a total of $15. Be careful! If they offer to bring you drinks, DON'T DO IT!!!! My friend got a bucket of beer (6) and they charged her $50 and added a hefty tip on top of that. Either bring your own drinks or go get them yourself. And don't leave items unattended! Not a safe...

I know that Progreso is not even close to Cozumel in asthetic appeal or entertainment options, but having been here many times, I can say that the tourista zone is a better experience than in years past... Vendors on our day in port were more courteous and less aggressive, even though we were the only cruise ship in port that day. The shops and common areas were clean and in reasonably good condition. Even when we passed back through after returning from our excursion into Merida, the shopkeepers were polite and did not gang up on you if you ventured inside a shop. I would recommend going to shop in the duty free zone in port instead of venturing into Progreso from the five+ mile long pier, because it's pretty sketchy out there. Take a cruise ship excursion into Merida for a vastly better experience if you want to go ashore outside the port...