We get asked often about purchasing Ultramar ferry tickets in advance, opposed to purchasing them at the booth upon arrival to the dock. I have always said that it is fast and easy to buy your tickets at the dock so there is really no need to pre-purchase them online, however, I thought we should test this out and see which method of buying tickets is the best.
Thankfully, the Ultramar ferry has a newly redesigned website that launched April 13th. http://www.granpuerto.com.mx/ I browsed through the site and found the info to be helpful and accurate. Their booking engine is a bit complex. It took me about 7 minutes to complete the transaction of booking my round trip ticket on their website.
I was charged $11.97 USD for 1 round trip ticket from Puerto Juarez to Isla Mujeres. Accepted payment method is credit card (MasterCard, Visa or American Express only). It seems like the website is using a booking program that is not specifically designed for the ferry service. You need to select a ferry time and date, although it then says “You can choose the time that best suits you.” With round trip tickets you can depart from either port.
I instantly received an email saying that my reservation was being processed and that I would be notified by email within the next 8 hours. Five minutes later I received my final confirmation email with a link to print my coupon voucher. The voucher is long, prints on 2 pages, and I am instructed to bring this printed voucher and ID to the ferry dock 30 minutes before departure.
Their cancellation policy is vague. A phone number is the US is listed as well as an email address. “Your request will be processed and if it complies with the cancelation policies for the reserved service we will refund the corresponding amount to your credit card.” It does not state what those policies are.
Next is the test…with my voucher I will go to the ferry dock on the day that I have ordered it for, however I will go at a different time. My husband will purchase a ticket by going to the counter and we’ll see which is faster and easier. Stay tuned…
About CARM
My name is Trina. I moved to Cancun in 2005 from the United States. It was not an easy move and I had to overcome many challenges, but along the way I met some awesome people. I worked for many years for a travel agent here in Mexico before I decided to go out on my own and offer travelers the best service and advice about Cancun that I had learned over the years. This is my dream come true.