I went on Carnival Ecstasy 3 years ago.  We were supposed to go to Calicia but had to go to Progresso instead.  It was alright, just not a lot to do,  We went on the same cruise last week, and Progresso was terrible.  The water is dirty and full of seaweed.  You can't relax or pla with your kids because vendors keep coming up to you.  I would not recomend this cruise to anyone.

 I love Progresso.  I was there in Sept for the 3rd or 4th time.  Vendors are no worse here than any other place.  We had a table on the beach and enjoyed some great nachos and drinks.  We also had an hour massage on the beach for $15.00 each.  Can't beat that. 

Anonymous:

You can't relax or pla with your kids because vendors keep coming up to you.

You need to have two things to avoid this:

1. a spine
2. an in-depth understanding of the Spanish language

And here's how you work it:

• don't make eye contact
• and say "No" or "No thank you" [if you care to be polite, that is] to the vendor
• and speak in Spanish.

This last is the tough part for many, because Spanish has, like, a different word for almost everything.  It's quite rude of them.

"No" is Spanish is spelled n-o, and it is pronounced "no".  Practice in front of a mirror for a few minutes.

"Thank you" in Spanish is spelled g-r-a-c-i-a-s, and is pronounced "GRAH-see-us".  More practice.

Put them together: "Gracias, no."  That would be the syntactically correct Spanish way.

Now you can enjoy the second and third world countries of Central America, which are all vendor-saturated.

While I enjoyed Progresso, I can say I would much,, much much prefer Carniva to resume calling at Costa Maya.

 Having been on 34 cruises I can say that the vendors in Progresso are only outmatched by the Jamaaicans.  It was very difficult to enjoy a meal or quiet moment.  Yes, I am very good at saying "no" in a variety of ways -all in Spanish, but that doesn't mean I want to do it a hundred times in a 3 hour beach visit.

 Enough with Progresso, already.  If Carnival has folks who love it - great, continue, but alternate it with weeks in Costa Maya for cleaner water, safer beaches and very few vendors.

 Gracias muchisimo

Just finished a fun, happy Ecstacy cruise October 31st.  My comment card said something like this:

 "I loved my cruise.  The crew, staff, room, food were GREAT!!! Cozumel was great.  The shipboard activities and Halloween party were great. Progresso is not great.  I will be looking for cruises to ports other than Progresso.  Hopefully those cruises will be with Carnival!"

 I was in Progresso once previously and things have only gone downhill since then.  It's not pretty, it's not festive.  Sorry, but it looks like someone took an industrial port and said, "Hey! Let's see if we can fool people into making them think this is a vacation spot!"

We were told the water wasn't safe to enter, so our excursion fees were happily refunded by Carnival.  It's a whole lot of nothing for these beach-lovers.  My friend described it as a "pile of rocks".  I had a difficult time coming up with anything to say about that description.  It's not a vacation destination I'll ever choose again.