Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director

[jenseib]

Sounds like a nice day even if it was really hot. The movie sounds like a nice way to spend a hot day. Now I want a burger!

The movie was a perfect way to spend the afternoon with so much heat.

I've read from so many people how unimpressive Costa Maya is that I don't think I would be looking for it on any cruise itinerary if I could avoid it. It almost seems like the cruise lines have made it some sort of filler port....like its just a place to fit in as a stop.

Ha! The grilled tomato....I remember that trip report.

I agree...I am sure it's just a filler...on the way from here and there with out too much out of the way distance to make a stop. It promotes ruins tours but they are all a couple of hours away.

 

[AussieMumma]

Thanks for the review on Costa Maya, I've read the same sort of things on other travel blogs, definitely a place I would avoid.
Sometimes all you need is a burger and fries
Grilled tomato is a normal breakfast thing here in Australia. If you order any sort of bacon and eggs or steak and eggs breakfast etc you'll get grilled tomato on the side.

 

[jenseib]

After the movie was over we headed out to the Piazza to see what was going on. The champagne ring toss was going on so we decided to watch.



I swear this looked next to impossible to do.



Slowly a few people ringed one and their prize was the bottle.





It seemed to go on for quite some time.

We decided to head down and take a seat and watch. We critiqued the skills or lack of skills people had. After a while of making fun of people, Mom said I should try…..I guess she wanted to make fun of me too. So I got in line and waited for my turn. I got to talking to the ladies in line with me and we were all newbies at throwing but like me they all decided to give it a shot. Wouldn’t you know that as we got up close to being our turns the last bottle was won. Oh well it was good conversation while standing in line.

I think Mom may have hit the casino next. I probably did for a little bit too, but I am not a big gambler so I don’t stay in there too long.

My next set of photos are of me checking out the Crown Grill so I guess I went for a walk.







That’s a very poor shot of the menu.







If you haven’t noticed, I had my point and shoot with me at the time which means the pictures are kind of blurry.



I got another delicious milkshake.



I sat out on deck for quite some time and chit chatted with some people. I had seen a lady with her husband and 2 older ladies (Husbands Mom and Aunt) and we got to talking and she was just super nice and I really enjoyed talking with her. I believe it was her first cruise and she had recently had weight loss surgery. She looked great and she was doing an amazing job of not over indulging. I don’t know if I could’ve been as good as her.
They had done the ruins tour and they made it sound pretty interesting as well. I think if I ever make it back to Costa Maya that will be the thing I do.

It was getting time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner.

I showered and primped and decided to put on the new earings that Mom had bought me.





We then headed down to the dining room. I think we were in the Coral tonight…..but I could be totally wrong on that.



They had mints for you when you left and we always grabbed a couple…I even brought some home for Claire.



I ordered the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer.



And a caeser salad. I used to not like Caeser salads but lately I was really getting a taste for them and this one was really good.



I went with the fish for the main course. I don’t remember what kind it was but it was really tasty and I was glad I ventured out of my comfort zone and gave it a try.



I don’t remember what Mom got…looks like maybe chicken?



Dessert was delicious!!!!!!



We rolled out once again. We didn’t seem to have any issues with cleaning our plates or restraining ourselves from eating.

I guess we went wandering again.





I have absolutely no clue why I came through here but I guess I thought something good was on the screen….and my picture is lousy….so we’ll never know.





It was a Non-smoking night in the casino tonight so we headed in there and played the slots for a bit before heading off to the show.

The show was at 8:30 and we headed there a little early and sat in the same area we had the night before. It was the Comedian Miguel Washington again tonight and he was pretty good once again.

 

[dizneeat]

Just wanted to say that I am finally all caught up again.

I really love all your photos, it is so interesting to see "some other" ship apart from a DCL one.

 

[jenseib]

Just wanted to say that I am finally all caught up again.

I really love all your photos, it is so interesting to see "some other" ship apart from a DCL one.

Ok...I will do another update then.

 

[jenseib]

After the show we headed out to the Piazza and Duo Push was performing again. I just loved them before and had to watch again. I took a bit of video tonight as well.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnF47--13-w



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyoUI3vlung

And this was the act the 2 of them did each time they performed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fTNY1f-ezo

These guys are just amazing. Please watch the videos…or at least the last one if you get a chance.

I think after they were done Mom decided to call it a night.

Somewhere along the lines I must’ve went back to the room to change clothes as I have this picture.



There was a dance party going on up on deck tonight. I met the DJ at one point in the elevator and chatted with him a bit. He was a super nice guy.

The DJ played part of the party and then he went to Skywalkers to play and the band took over after.



It was pretty sparse. They don’t do deck parties like Disney does….but the music was good and I enjoyed people watching.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBq4lZuIdW8&index=1&list=UUcOSgzeLXRmx3uo7s6FNMCg

Remember our room location? Its right under that dance party deck. This was the only night that there was an issue with noise. It was thumping to the beat in our room but I think the party only went to 11.
After watching for a bit I moved on.





I found an open door and when something is open you MUST take a peek and a picture if possible too.



I went back up top after my exploring and watched the dance party some more.



This little guy was so cute…he would dance hard then stop and take a break.











I walked around a bit and then I think I headed back to the room and went online for a short bit to check emails and such and then turned that off and got ready for bed.

We had another fun day ahead of us.

 

[canyoncam]

I am finally getting some time to catch up!

I agree with you on Costa Maya. Not a destination to make you choose a cruise. You actually had a decent day there though.

Loving your pictures as always. That champagne ring toss is something I should tell my sister to be on the lookout for on her cruise. She likes mimosas!!! Finally found out what ship they are on. The Grand which looks older and smaller than the Caribbean but still nice. She got balconies since it is Alaska and that is the draw, not the ship.

Heading over to catch up on your other TR

 

[littlenellbell]

Brandon and I went to Costa Maya on a cruise about 11 years ago. We were supposed to go to Grand Cayman, but we were rerouted due to hurricane damage. They said Costa Maya was a brand new exciting Port. We found it to be a half finished dump out in the middle of no where. From your pictures it looks like they've built it up a bit since then. We ended up taking a bus with some friends we met to this hole in the wall bar with beach access. It ended up being fun, but not somewhere I'd specifically go.
It looks like you and your Mom are having a nice relaxing trip!

 

[Beth D]

I have two words for why folks like Mexico ports like Costa Maya -----

CHEAP BOOZE!

Stuff is super cheap in Mexico. We are beach/pool people, so if there is good beach area, maybe with some snorkeling, we'd be good to go with some loungers and some drinks…

It looks as if you are enjoying it though…

 

[jenseib]

I am finally getting some time to catch up!

I agree with you on Costa Maya. Not a destination to make you choose a cruise. You actually had a decent day there though.

Loving your pictures as always. That champagne ring toss is something I should tell my sister to be on the lookout for on her cruise. She likes mimosas!!! Finally found out what ship they are on. The Grand which looks older and smaller than the Caribbean but still nice. She got balconies since it is Alaska and that is the draw, not the ship.

Heading over to catch up on your other TR

I have heard a lot of people like the Grand so you should be good. And you are right...you are there for the scenery for sure!

Brandon and I went to Costa Maya on a cruise about 11 years ago. We were supposed to go to Grand Cayman, but we were rerouted due to hurricane damage. They said Costa Maya was a brand new exciting Port. We found it to be a half finished dump out in the middle of no where. From your pictures it looks like they've built it up a bit since then. We ended up taking a bus with some friends we met to this hole in the wall bar with beach access. It ended up being fun, but not somewhere I'd specifically go.
It looks like you and your Mom are having a nice relaxing trip!

They definetly lied didn't they?

I have two words for why folks like Mexico ports like Costa Maya -----

CHEAP BOOZE!

Stuff is super cheap in Mexico. We are beach/pool people, so if there is good beach area, maybe with some snorkeling, we'd be good to go with some loungers and some drinks…

It looks as if you are enjoying it though…

I don't even care about the cheap booze. The bad thing about that port plaza is there is no ocean access at all. But there are hotels not too far away you can taxi to and they have day packages.

 

[jenseib]

Oct. 2, Thursday, Day 6

Rise and shine! I got up early again today and got some comfy clothes on and headed up to the top to see if we were pulling into port yet. Cozumel here we come!



Yes we were!



I sat around and chatted with some people and would take pictures every so often. It looked like it would be another beautiful day.





I believe the pier we were docking at is the one I docked at many many years ago on a NCL cruise. But that actual dock was destroyed in a hurricane and this was the new one built in it’s place.



I also was in Cozumel in 2012 but with Disney we docked much further down in a different location.

I think this is such a pretty shot.



Little did I know…but I would be boarding that boat later this morning.



I have no clue when I took this next picture. It’s one of my cell phone pictures and it is before I got off the ship, so I must’ve just took it looking out on the other side of the ship??? Who knows. LOL.



Mom and I got dressed then. We were going to X-Caret today. This was on the mainland and we would boat over there. It is a sort of ecopark with different activities such as swimming through caves, animals, snorkeling, a beach and some ruins too. The description given by Princess really wasn’t good but I have a friend who has gone here and she really enjoyed it with her family.
We put our swimsuits on and cover ups and headed off the ship to our meeting area.





It was going to be another very hot day.

Hi there!











This girl didn’t look all that excited.



These guys seemed in better spirits.









Most of the shops were still closed or just starting to open. We found a guy who told us to go to the blue boat I had seen earlier. He said we would just board and not have to wait around. We still had plenty of time and I was able to pick up wifi so we took our time in the area while I checked some emails on my phone.



I believe this Fat Tuesday was basically kind of a shack at the end of the pier when I came here many years ago.

 

[PizzieDuster]

I can't wait for more!

Ssshhh, when I can't sleep I channel surf and get stuck watching The Love Boat because I miss cruising so much Then Julie got fired and then don't get me started with the Captain's daughter. Jumped the shark.

 

[jenseib]

I can't wait for more!

Ssshhh, when I can't sleep I channel surf and get stuck watching The Love Boat because I miss cruising so much Then Julie got fired and then don't get me started with the Captain's daughter. Jumped the shark.

Now I liked Vicki....but I couldn't stand Julies sister (I think that is who she was supposed to be) when she took over.
My sister and I always wished we were Vicki and could live on a ship.

 

[jenseib]

As we hung around the port area we stopped for some fun pictures.









I checked some more emails and then we headed to our transportation to the mainland.



As we walked up to the boat, several couples were walking back and told us not to bother as they weren’t letting people board. We said we had been told to go ahead and board and they said they had been too, but were denied when they got there. We decided to still give it a try anyways.





We got the ship and they were telling the people in front of us they had the wrong boat and theirs would be arriving soon. The people argued with them a bit. One of the people there saw our tickets and let us right on and of course that made the other family mad. I guess what it came down to was there was supposed to be more than one boat there to take people on excursions but they weren’t there yet, but the people on the land side of things was telling everyone to go board the boat.

We found a seat and just relaxed.



They had a bar and were already offering people snacks and drinks…at a cost of course. Sorry…MUCH too early for me to drink. LOL.



A look through the window at our ship.



It took a while to get us all boarded and ready to go but finally we did set sail. I think the ride was about 30 minutes to the mainland. They played a video that showed things about all the “X” properties in the area. Many many years ago I went to one call Xpu-ha and it was such a neat place. It was fairly new when I went there and now when I search it I don’t find much info. It seems to be connected to a Palace resort…which at the time I went wasn’t even built yet, though construction had started. That place was not shown on the video but 3 or 4 others were. It was impossible to hear the video and they did have words across the screen…in Spanish. LOL. But then it replayed and it was all in English.
We just chilled and enjoyed the ride over.







As we got closer to the shore, people started lining up for the bathroom. I guess one was out of commission so the 2 that were open were busy. I was surprised how many people had to go within the first 10 minutes, but the line never went down and Mom ended up getting in it too.
I of course had to now go as we approached land but figured I would go once we got off the boat.



We docked and everyone got off the boat and found the tours we were to go on.



As we gathered I took a few pictures.





Someone asked if we could use the restrooms…Yes…..Nope. We had to wait and were promised it wouldn’t be long. Ugh. You know when you have to go and they tell you no you suddenly have to go twice as bad! LOL!!!

I had to take a picture of this drug store sign.



I always crack up that they have Viagra signs all over the place in Cozumel. I had told Skip if my Mom hadn’t been with me I would’ve bought him a bottle. LOL…. His comeback was if I wasn’t with my Mom she would’ve bought one for my dad…..ewwwww!



We then walked over to the bus we would be taking.





I thought the buses there all looked like bugs.

 

[podsnel]

I have so much to catch up on! I am really interested to hear about this cruise- going back to read.....and lol on your Dad's viagra...EWWWWW.....

 

[podsnel]

I typed a whole reply the other day and lost it on my ipad- hate that! I will try to remember what I wanted to say-

Really enjoying seeing your Princess cruise. I think the cabin looks spacious! I'm a little confused by the toiletries, though- I thought they were a Premium cruise line and would include toiletries for everyone? Or do they, and your were just nicer?

Made a note to avoid cruises to Costa Maya, lol- I have never been. I do remember seeing that pool in someone else's report tho.

REALLY enjoyed the Duo Push Vid- I would have watched them as often as possible, too.

We are cruising on Celebrity later this year- Southern Caribbean in November. The one thing that concerns me is the nitely entertainment, with the bar being set SO HIGH by DCL- and Pods and I really enjoy that evening entertainment. So it is interesting to hear your take on what was offered by another line.

I know I had more to comment on, but I can't remember- sorry Jen! Looking forward to the rest of your day in Cozumel!

 

[jenseib]

I have so much to catch up on! I am really interested to hear about this cruise- going back to read.....and lol on your Dad's viagra...EWWWWW.....

Yeah...not something I want to think about.

I typed a whole reply the other day and lost it on my ipad- hate that! I will try to remember what I wanted to say-

Been there done that myself.

Really enjoying seeing your Princess cruise. I think the cabin looks spacious! I'm a little confused by the toiletries, though- I thought they were a Premium cruise line and would include toiletries for everyone? Or do they, and your were just nicer?


We really did have a good inside cabin. I am so happy I chose that one. Carnival bought Princess a bit ago and I heard the toiletries have gone down hill since then, but those who are elite are supposed to get better ones. I know from now on to bring my own shampoo as theirs was awful.

Made a note to avoid cruises to Costa Maya, lol- I have never been. I do remember seeing that pool in someone else's report tho.

It's just kind of a boring port. I was looking up some short cruises to do possibly in March and of course they are stopping at Costa Maya....I just rather not go if I have to stop there at this point. I have so many options I am looking at and really I can't plan anything till skip says what he wants to do.

REALLY enjoyed the Duo Push Vid- I would have watched them as often as possible, too.

There were so awesome.

We are cruising on Celebrity later this year- Southern Caribbean in November. The one thing that concerns me is the nitely entertainment, with the bar being set SO HIGH by DCL- and Pods and I really enjoy that evening entertainment. So it is interesting to hear your take on what was offered by another line.

I hear good things about Celebrity, so I hope their entertainment is good. I have enjoyed entertainment on NCL before...I just think we got some really bad singers this time. If they had been good these shows would've been fabulous.

I know I had more to comment on, but I can't remember- sorry Jen! Looking forward to the rest of your day in Cozumel!

I am so behind at getting this written up and my other one too. I need a few more hours each day...alone with no one to bother me or call me or ask for a snack.

 

[jenseib]

We all got seated on the bus and our guide told us what we would be doing today. I believe his name was Miguel and I think his assistant was Julio…I could have them mixed up but I am going with that!



Now I had thought that we were basically getting dropped off there and had the day to ourselves and would meet up at a certain time to go back. I was wrong. We were going to be led on a tour around some of the areas and then we would do the cave swim and then after that we had time to eat lunch on our own and explore a bit and then we could meet up at a designated place to tour some more, or we could continue on our own and meet at the front at another designated time to board the bus.
We were told once we arrived that we were to change into our swimsuits if we didn’t have them on already.
It was kind of funny as they asked if everyone spoke English and the majority said yes, but there was a family with 2 boys that did not acknowledge him. So Julio starts asking if they spoke Spanish and again they have blank faces. They tried to convey to them they needed to know what language they spoke so they were sure they understood everything….Where are you from? New Zealand……so you speak English….oh yes we do. UGH! We were to find out later that this family pretty much were in their own little world.
Miguel told us that the place was big….he called it a Disney World of Mexico…..but I beg to differ on that point….but there was just no way to do it all in one day.

Soon we were pulling into X-Caret.







We were shown where the bathrooms were …YAY!!!...and we all got changed or did whatever needed to be done and met back up.



And it started raining. Luckily the rain was like Florida rain where it rained for a few minutes and then it was done.



Time to head inside.



Once we entered, Miguel showed us a map and where we would be going and the meet up locations. Then we moved on. We toured some ruins…..though he said some were recreations.

This guy was sunbathing.



This is an arena where competitions were held. He explained the game a bit and said the winner was then sacrificed to the Gods. Not sure I would be trying my best to win. Though with dumb luck this would be the competition I would win.











And then we moved on. We kept moving pretty fast the whole time so I did try to snap pictures here and there but many are not great.



















We stopped here for a bit of an explanation….and I honestly don’t remember what it was anymore.

 

[jenseib]

We kept moving and Miguel would point things out here and there.



I wanted to add…..remember the New Zealand family from the bus?...I am going to refer to them as the NZ family from now on…..well their 2 sons just kept climbing on everything. I would say they were preteen age probably…old enough to know better. I know they were told at least once to stop climbing but the Mom just smiled….it reminded me of one of those “boys will be boys” looks. Now I know no one has a perfect angel for a child, but if my kid was told to stop climbing…he would’ve got an extra scolding from me too, especially because I would’ve been saying all along, get down from there this instant.

On to our walk.



There were a lot of neat things we walked by but just didn’t have time to stop for.

















As you can see this area was very tropical.



These reminded me of the Chihuly display I went to see last year in Columbus.



A look up.







We were now headed into the butterfly area.







It’s single file through there and we kept moving so I tried to snap pictures when I could.

 

[jenseib]

Continuing through the butterfly area.

















And then we moved on to an area that is supposed to be like a re-creation of a Mayan village.









We then stopped for a treat…a corn tortilla with some guacamole.



I am not a fan of corn tortillas and I didn’t care for it at all and the guac was extremely runny and in my opinion, not so good. Not like the way I like it at least. It dripped out of the tortilla and was a big mess. It seemed like most of us on the tour were not impressed with it.

I think this ashtray was near where we ate our tortillas and I thought the turtle was cute.



We moved on and saw a bunch of parrots. I know they probably have a technical name, but I call all colorful birds parrots so just bear with me when I call all these birds parrots for the rest of the report. LOL. They had them all over the park and I must say…I do love a tropical, colorful bird.



It was now time to get ready for our cave swim. We were going to put things in a locked duffle bag and it would be transported to the other end of the swim. Miguel told those of us with nice cameras that he would just hold on to those because they would more than likely get damaged in the duffle.



This was our duffle.



We also got life jackets. I picked a large I believe, but I should’ve went a size smaller as about half way through the swim I noticed it kept riding up and it really rubbed my armpit area raw.



And here is Miguel with MY camera strapped around him.





Here are some people getting ready for the swim….I think they were at a different entrance than we went to.