Costa Maya official for 11/6 cruise!

[PrincessCindi]

I just hung up the phone with DCL and they said they just made the formal announcement / changes for the 11/6 cruise to go to Costa Maya instead of gGrand Cayman.
Just though I would share the info with fellow 11/6 cruisers

Oh she also said all excursions for Costa Maya could only booked once on board.

 

[jel0511]

I'm not suprised. I was looking forward to Grand Cayman BEFORE Ivan, but now that it's a ravaged island I really wasn't looking forward to seeing that. O.K. Now full steam ahead for Costa Maya!! I wish we could go on the Ruins Tour, but DS is 3 and they only allow 5 and up on that excursion......

 

[budwmn]

I wish they'd make an announcement for the cruises they now know will not be going to Grand Cayman. We're on the 12/4 Western and can't get a straight answer from DCL.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

A senior MGR. told me that we DEFINATELY would be stopping on our 11/20/04 Western sailing.

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by budwmn
I wish they'd make an announcement for the cruises they now know will not be going to Grand Cayman. We're on the 12/4 Western and can't get a straight answer from DCL.

I just got off the phone with DCL, we're on the 11/6/04 sailing. The answer I got from the CM was VERY vague as to why we were not going to Grand Cayman, something about the government first, then hurricane damage. My guess is that the port at Grand Cayman IS opening as scheduled on 11/29, but they are severely limiting the number of ships that will be able to dock for awhile. DCL probably just got word that they're not able to dock on 11/9 (the date we were to dock in Grand Cayman) and they might be relying on the GC government on to when they can resume stopping. If you do get Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman, you will not be able to book any excursions for that port until boarding.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Budwmn: I totally agree with you. We are also on the 12/4/04 Western. I did start looking into booking excursions on our own just in case we do not go to Cayman Island. I will probably reserve a snorkeling trip this week.

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by LAMPSKIES
A senior MGR. told me that we DEFINATELY would be stopping on our 11/20/04 Western sailing.

As I stated above, this is out of DCL's hands and in the hands of the GC government. They are going to be severely limiting the number of ships in port, and DCL might be told by the GC government that they can't stop, regardless of DCL's intentions.

Edited to add: It an article in the Washington Post today, they've indicated that Grand Cayman probably won't open to tourists for 4 - 6 weeks. Visit www.washingtonpost.com and scroll down to the travel section.

 

[jel0511]

I decided to pst a new response, instead of edited my last post again. Here is a link to a news report out of Grand Cayman. It does state that only one of the two terminals used for tendering will be open when they reopen the port, and the one that DCL usually uses is out of commission until late November/Early December.

http://www.caymannetnews.com/2004/10/744/cruiseships.shtml

 

[scottygirl]

Anyone know the times we will be in port?

 

[Pootsie]

I just returned from the 10-9 Magic cruise. We stopped at Costa Maya and we had a great time. We booked the horseback riding through another website. I think it is CostaMayaExcursions.com but I am not positive. I actually found the website on these boards. It was 35 dollars per person for 1 and a half hours. When we got off the ship we had to pay 3 dollars per person for transportation to the horseback riding. Everyone was very nice and we had a great time. THere was even a nice beach to swim after the ride but we didn't bring our suits with us. I also got my daughters hairbraided.

We had to take a taxi back to the dock ($2 per person). At the dock there are shops and a large salt water pool with lots of lounge chairs. The kids had a great time in the pool until we saw something floating in the water......yes it was large pieces of POOP! Ugh!


OVerall though, we had a good day at COsta Maya. I wouldn't make plans to swim at the beaches right near the ship because they are very rocky.

Have fun!!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

I just received an e-mail from the Costa Maya tour excursions company. They do not want to take my reservation because they feel the Magic will be in the Caymans on the 7th of December.

I replied back that I would still like to make the reservation because I feel that we will be in Costa Maya. It is a snorkeling reservation, so I have to make one on my own because my children are 5 & 6 and my neice and nephew are 7 & 9.

 

[sjcubedofct]

You can't blame Disney for not making a decision about the itinerary in December. Can you imagine if they made the decision to go to Costa Maya, then determined they could go to Grand Cayman? Everyone would be in an uproar for them to change the itinerary again. Be patient. When Disney can make a firm decision about each cruise, they will. It's better to make one firm decision than to go back and forth.

And really, at the end of the day, isn't it better to be on a cruise, regardless of the itinerary than to be at home?

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

This was my reply that I just got this morning:

Good morning,

The Magic is expected to start calling Grand Cayman in December, excursions in Costa Maya are not currently reserved for the Magic past November 23rd.

December reservations for the Magic are only accepted for the Port of Grand Cayman. Excursions reserved in Grand Cayman for Magic Passengers would be switched to Costa Maya in case of continued Costa Maya visits.

Thank you,


He will not let me book. However, I do not have a reservation for Cayman Islands with them because we were/are going to do Captain Marvins.

 

[linda8892]

I sure hope that the weather is better in Costa Maya this week than it was last week when I sailed there on the Carnival Glory. 3 ships were due to dock on 10/11 and only the Glory did, but all excursions were cancelled....what a disappointment. I went out in the rain and just went to the shops by the pier.

 

[AnnMorin]

well we are the next cruise past 11/23!
hopefully they will figure it out in the next coming weeks