COSTA MAYA or WESTERN both 7 day cruises?

[chatty]

I found a 7 day Disney Western cruise in 06 for $200.00 more than the 2006 7 day Disney Costa Maya Cruise. I was curious which do you think would be more interesting or more Beauty. I have Never Cruised nor has Hubby. We are in our 50's so we are clueless. Both of these cruises are in Sept. 06, and both are a cat.6 balcony. The Western Cruise is roughly $200.00 more which is no problem. We just don't know which way to go.
$2,600.00 for the Maya and $2,800.00 Western? Thank You
Chatty

 

[dzneprincess]

Chatth the Costa Maya cruises are stopping on Disneys private island Castaway Cay, twice. This is my favorite part of the the cruise, and I am actually book on the 05/27/06 cruise and the Sept 16th cruise of which you speak.

 

[Disney Fans]

Hey,
I think either one will be great. We are going on the 5/27/06 Costa Maya because its a little different and the date is a good time for us also.
You will have fun no matter which one you want to go on.

 

[xoxoangel]

Chatty,
I just returned from the 7 day western, while onboard I rebooked the Costa Maya cruise. The difference for me is the extra day at C.C. I love a day at the beach and their island is beautiful I wanted 2 day's this time. If you like to see the inhabited islands the western is the best way to go because you see 3 different ports and C.C. Have fun which ever one you choose

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I'm curious about Costa Maya too. Our server at Palo's was telling us that the Magic docked there for a while after the hurricanes, that the island is beautiful but fairly new to tourism, and that there really isn't much to it. She said that there isn't alot to do there yet (as far as excursions go) and that it still mainly consists of dirt roads. She said it has lots of potential though and will probably be a fabulous destination in about 4-5 years, as tourism picks up and brings more money to the island. However on the flip side, the fact that it isn't too commercial or crowded yet is also a bit appealing. I would love to visit it someday.

 

[jazstar87]

We're thinking of the costa maya cruise in july. I was looking a up information on costa maya and they only say that costa maya is a coast. Not a perticullar town. unless im not looking hard enough.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I guess I didn't listen to my server well enough! I just assumed it was an island! I'm a dork.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Here's the official website for the port of Costa Maya, Mexico: http://www.puertocostamaya.com/

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Wow, the website makes it sound much more exciting than the information we got! The beaches look beautiful!

 

[WDWLVR]

Another 5/27 cruiser who is doing Costa Maya. We booked it for three reasons:

• Costa Maya being a new port for us
• Getting to do Castaway Cay twice
• Lots of friends from our 12/18 cruise - and making new friends from the new group

 

[Karel]

I went to Costa Maya as part as the hurricane blown 10 night cruise. The ship docked out an outside mall that I heard was specifically built for cruise ships. It was fun for awhile but you see a lot of the same stuff sold over and over again. Still, it was fun to look around and find the hidden treasures. We found a man who paints tiles with his finger - beach scenes, tropical scenes. We thought it was neat and bought a bunch of those for presents. Lots of silver.

They also have a restuarant and bar, big pool, and a small beach with chairs and umbrellas. A bunch of us braved the climb over sharp rocks and swam and snorkled but I heard later that there was a sign not to do that. I also heard that there are shows but we missed them.

It is totally different than approaching GC or Coz because the land is totally green, not filled with neon lights, cars and buildings. I would have like to leave the mall area but since it was an unexpected stop,there was no time to plan and see what else there might be to do. There was a place to hire tours and taxis. Disney did run excursions and some people did venture out to the fishing village.

I would go again. It was nice because the ship was literally right there and there was a trolley that drove people up and down the dock. The water was incredible.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I enjoyed Costa Maya when I went there in October. It is exactly like Karel explained and I ventured off to the fishing village and went horseback riding. The village is small and depressing due to the poverty, but Tequilla Beach located in the fishing village has a beautiful beach that was much better then the beach that was at the "mall" and did not have any rocks on the shore. We went snorkeling also at Tequilla Beach and saw a lot of fish once we swam away from the beach. Most people were extremely nice (some very pushy) at the fishing village but it is a straw market where you can barter.

I cannot say enough, if you go to Costa Maya bring bug spray. My legs got eaten alive there and I was stuck with huge red welts on my legs for the rest of the trip.

One thing that may sway you is that if you go to Costa Maya, you cannot donate blood for a year.

Personally, I would go for Costa Maya so I can go to CC twice!!!

 

[chatty]

I Love you guys!! Thank You for all this info. It's sounding Wonderful minus the Bug part. Thanks Again
Chatty

 

[dzneprincess]

Chatty if you decide on the Sept 16 06 special, please join us on our thread with your fellow cruisers!http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=692593

 

[two-foxes]

I would do the regular Western. I, although others did like it, really disliked Costa Maya....so much so we cancelled one of the double dip cruises with the BEST group of Disers around (Cruistoberfesters ) We hit that port after Grand Cayman was destroyed by the hurricanes on our western last September. Although the immediate port area was nice, one step off just was not very nice at all. To say they are not ready for tourism was an understatement. Although our excursion went okay, I couldn't see what else there would be to do there other than a set excursion. I have no desire to go there again. We booked a double dip that goes to Grand Cayman (we've never visited there) and Cozumel.

 

[luvsTink]

Has anyone gone to the ruins? That is what I am interested in and I am wondering how kids will do going to the ruins.

Isn't there another (not Costa Maya) 7 day doing a double-dip?...November of 2005 I believe

Anne

 

[8 Ears]

Yes, DH and myself are greatly interested in the ruins. Please tell us more about them.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We'll be on the 5/27/06 2x castaway cay also! We can't wait for costa maya - I am going to begin researching it soonl. By the way, my dd (9) was wondering if anyone wants to be a penpal and meet up on the ship? We did that our last cruise and it worked out great.

 

[dzneprincess]

LOVETHATMOUSE, we have a whole thread on the cruise meets board for the May 27th 2006 cruisers! We would love to see you over there, and we are also setting up penpals for the kids
here is a link http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=653643 dont let the length of the thread throw you off, just come on in and start posting