21 Dec 2022
I didn't enjoy the activity of jumping in on the whale sharks, it's not the peaceful event I imagined at all. You ride an hour out to the sight, then everyone gets 2 jumps. You swim as fast as you can to keep up with the whales, then get back in the boat and go to the back of a line of 100 other boats... hoping the whale will stay surfaced long enough for another group to go. If you care about animals and nature, this probably isn't the trip for you. 3 people in our boat got sea sick and didn't get to jump (2 jumps each) - but even though I paid for their tickets, I didn't get any additional jumps to make up for the 6 lost jumps.
Additionally, I didn't enjoy going with this tour group - primarily because our group of 12 was split and kept completely separate. I paid in advance for photos - they had all of us separated by boat for the photos, even when we asked to take a big picture together. When booking, I asked if we'd be able to spend time as a group and was assured we would spend time on the beach together after the whale sharks. Our boat arrived first and we asked the captain to call the second boat so we could all hang out together. The second boat approached, my friends were waving at us and yelling out. Their captain drove past us anyways and anchored on the other side of the beach. It took 30 minutes to walk there. That seemed completely unnecessary. This was an activity I wanted to do with my friends for my birthday. I understand there are capacity limits on a boat, but after asking repeatedly about being able to spend time together, I was very disappointed.
Of a 4 day weekend in Playa Mujeres, this day, for me, was wasted and I'd rather have stayed at the resort and spent time with friends and family.