Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that the quality of the singers was not great during the show.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

What a shame that the quality of the singers was not great during the show.

Corinna

It really was amazing how bad they were.

 

[jenseib]

Continuing with more show pictures.



This is one of the outfits that I thought made this girl look pregnant.



























This gal was my favorite dancer. She was really good and I thought she was so cute.







And with that, the show was over. I think we headed back to the casino for a little bit and both of us played some. I am not a big gambler so I don’t spend very much at all in the slots, but it is fun to push that button and hope to win.

We then called it a night and headed back to the room. Well Mom called it a night. I changed into comfy clothes and headed back up top for a while. I found M up there and a little later the rest of her family came and joined us and we all chatted for a while. We had a good time chatting and a lot of it was again Disney chatter.
As much fun as it was, we all were starting to get tired so we called it a night and headed back to our rooms.

I slept really well this night now that it was a bit cooler in the room.
I really was enjoying the cruise and taking it slower each day than I normally do on vacations.

 

[Beth D]

Good updates! That guest services doesn't sound very efficient…

I'm glad you got the AC turned down. All of those chocolates look heavenly, especially the strawberries!

That really was a nice pic of you and your mom!

 

[jenseib]

Good updates! That guest services doesn't sound very efficient…

I'm glad you got the AC turned down. All of those chocolates look heavenly, especially the strawberries!

That really was a nice pic of you and your mom!

Guest services was not very good at all. Thanksfully the AC was fixed and it was at least tolerable from then on.
I did a LOT of eating on this cruise.

 

[jenseib]

Oct. 1, 2014, Wednesday Day 5
Costa Maya

As usual, I woke pretty darn early. I got dressed in some comfy shorts and head upstairs to see if we were docking.



Yep.



Now I have mentioned it before, but I will say it again. I am not a fan of Costa Maya at all. It’s not a great port at all and if I were to pick a cruise for ports alone I would avoid any stopping here. Since this cruise just worked out best time wise for me I didn’t worry about the ports we were stopping at. I did warn my Mom that this was not a fabulous port and be prepared to be disappointed.
I also swore the next time I ever did come to Costa Maya I would do an excursion to get me out of the plaza area. They do offer some ruins tours, but they are a few hours away and honestly I just wasn’t excited about sitting on a bus for 3 to 4 hours in one day. Also they were not exactly cheap and this was my 4th trip this year where I flew to a destination. For some that is no big deal, but for me that was a lot of traveling for one year and I was trying to keep it somewhat budget friendly.
So in the end we decided we would just walk around the plaza a bit and then head back to the ship.

I took pictures from the ship…I believe we were still docking at this point.
This is the nearby town.



I have never visited it myself but my friends did last time we were here and they were not impressed at all.





This is the plaza.



The pools were pretty empty.





This hot tub wasn’t even filled yet for the day.



I was trying for an artsy shot.









I think that is the sports deck but I don’t think I ever went up to check it out.



The ship had been given the all clear and people were making their way off the ship. I had to laugh how some seemed to be in such a hurry. I hope they had other plans other than just the plaza as I think they will be disappointed.



I think that person was leading the pack.



I saw one person running, which I found kind of comical.

Another shot of the port.



I walked around a bit more.



I peeked over the side again and saw the tram filling up.

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah, Costa Maya! Boring port yes, you are right at that.

But anyway, I love your pictures - beautiful as always.

 

[jenseib]

Yeah, Costa Maya! Boring port yes, you are right at that.

But anyway, I love your pictures - beautiful as always.

It really is. I am sure some people like it but it doesn't have much for me there...at least not unless you travel quite a ways.

 

[jenseib]

Some more shots from the ship.







I then decided to do some more exploring of the ship and took some pictures along the way.











I was getting hungry so I stopped for a donut.



I then headed back to the room to meet up with my Mom.
This sign was out to show people how to find the gangway.



We lazed around in the room a bit and then decided to get breakfast before heading off the ship. Our favorite couple…the one who I swear did not know each other were sitting at the table next to us and of course we listened in. LOL!!!

The guy was telling the lady how he has taken his family on Disney Cruise Line before but he wasn’t impressed with it. Right there he got a bad rating from me. LOL! ....Ok, not really, I know it’s not for everyone, but the things that didn’t impress him were kind of dumb.

Anyways, we ordered our breakfast and I got Steak and eggs today.





I laughed about the tomato. I once read a TR from a Diser who had sailed RCCL and she said she had a grilled tomato with every meal. It must be a European thing? I don’t know, but I do know around these parts, a grilled tomato for breakfast is just odd.

After breakfast we stopped off to use the bathroom and I took a picture, which turned into a selfie.



We gathered our things and got ready to head off the ship.



It was quiet in the atrium today.



Mom wondered why people were already coming back and I reminded her that the port just isn’t that great.



They were sprucing up the ship when we got off.





I thought this was a neat picture.



Good thing to note.



It was already extremely hot! We decided to walk instead of the tram though so I could turn around and take pictures of the ship.



Here comes the tram.



Over this way is the dolphin swim area. I must say I feel bad for the dolphins…it’s not that great…but I did notice it had improved since the last time I was here 2 years ago.

 

[franandaj]

With the Holidays and everything I got way behind.

The champagne pouring thing seemed to be quite a big deal for not so much excitement. Just go ahead and serve the champagne already!

The picture of you and your Mom is really cute!

Dinner sounds like it was really good. Now I want some Fettucine Alfredo. It's a shame that the singers were so pathetically bad.

I've heard that Costa Maya is quite a boring port unless you are planning on visiting the ruins. When I traveled in Europe a grilled tomato was something that was included in the "American Breakfasts" that I ordered.

 

[jenseib]

With the Holidays and everything I got way behind.

The champagne pouring thing seemed to be quite a big deal for not so much excitement. Just go ahead and serve the champagne already!

The picture of you and your Mom is really cute!

Dinner sounds like it was really good. Now I want some Fettucine Alfredo. It's a shame that the singers were so pathetically bad.

I've heard that Costa Maya is quite a boring port unless you are planning on visiting the ruins. When I traveled in Europe a grilled tomato was something that was included in the "American Breakfasts" that I ordered.

I am behind all the time...so no worries there. I have been trying to get caught up over the past few days but i guess i should also get caught back up with work too.

I have had some others on another board tell me I shouldn't judge Costa Maya so hard, but I really can't see much of anything else that would be better there unless I did a ruins tour.
That's funny about the tomato.

 

[jenseib]

I continued to snap pictures along the way.





The plaza entrance.



Once you enter there are a ton of little shops. In true Mexico fashion they start to hound you to buy their junk.



I personally can’t stand the constant hounding. If I say no, then don’t ask me 10 more times. I don’t know why they think this is a good business practice unless they think we will buy just to shut them up. It has the opposite effect on me and I will walk by instead of buying. I steel myself when walking through there.
Mom found that I was good with that and before she would buy anything she would ask me what I thought and most times I got her price down a bit.





I have no clue why this was there but it made for a good picture.





We went in a few stores and browsed around. I ended up buying a couple of magnets and a maraca for Claire. Mom bought a top and some things for Claire and my nieces. I think she bought a dress as well. We looked in the jewelry places as well but she couldn’t stand the people following her every move.



The plaza has a pool that anyone can use. It didn’t seem very busy today but when I had come here on a Disney cruise it was a big attraction for many families.









We went out to the beachy area and I took a few pictures of the ship and area. Now this beach area does not actually have access to the water and you cannot swim here.



The area in the foreground is the dolphin swim area. I just have to say it really is not that nice at all.



There were some dolphins swimming and at least they looked sort of happy, but I don’t speak dolphin, so I couldn’t ask.



This is Senor Frogs.





I heard someone griping about the prices there. They just had 1 drink each (I think 4 at the table) and with the tip it was quite high. But I have been to Senor Frogs at different locations before and I knew the prices were pretty high already, so I didn’t take too much out of their complaints. It’s a tourist spot and they know they are popular so if you want to eat or drink there you will pay the price to do so.

Loungers set up in the beach area.





We parked our rears on 2 loungers and I took a few pictures and then I looked to see if I could get wifi on my phone.



Lo and behold there was free guest wifi. Not the greatest but it worked enough for me. I had sent my MIL an email the day before and she responded so I sent another one too her and said hello to Claire (whom she was helping watch).



I checked emails and messaged some friends on facebook.

This seaweed type stuff was all over the place.

 

[dizneeat]

Ah, Senor Frog's! Brings back memories of a nice drink, but we kind of fled the area because of the constant bullying us into buying shots. It was pretty loud too.

Oh, that pool was FULL of people when we were there in August. It looks pretty so empty.

All those loungers were occupied as well, you were pretty lucky to just walk up and get one.

 

[superme80]

I love your report. DH and I are planning a Princess cruise for our 10th Anniversary in a few years. I wanted to try and go earlier but darned if Disneyland is turning 60. Priorities! You are to young to be a grandma! Congrats on the grandbaby!

 

[jenseib]

I love your report. DH and I are planning a Princess cruise for our 10th Anniversary in a few years. I wanted to try and go earlier but darned if Disneyland is turning 60. Priorities! You are to young to be a grandma! Congrats on the grandbaby!

Oh that will be really nice...and fun.
That darn DL!!!!
Had a visit from Miss Gracie this morning..but she was grumpy today. Paige said she was up most of the night....just smiling away.

Ah, Senor Frog's! Brings back memories of a nice drink, but we kind of fled the area because of the constant bullying us into buying shots. It was pretty loud too.

Oh, that pool was FULL of people when we were there in August. It looks pretty so empty.

All those loungers were occupied as well, you were pretty lucky to just walk up and get one.

I hate when places push you into drinking or shots. I know some people like to drink, but not all us tourist are here to get wild and crazy and stinking drunk.

The ship wasn't full and I think that was part of it...and it was so hot this day too.

 

[mickeystoontown]

It's too bad the show wasn't better than it turned out to be. You'd never know that it was a flop by looking at your pictures though.

I am with you on the constant hounding to get me to buy things. If I said that I didn't want it, I don't want it gosh dang it!

 

[jenseib]

It was a really hot day. Extremely hot. We just relaxed and talked a bit. A bird flew overhead.



There was an older couple who sat at some chairs nearby and a waiter came to take drink orders. They told the guy that they would be sitting there all day and to keep them coming. LOL!

Mom couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to sit in a hot lounger all day drinking here. Like I said, we’re not beach type people, and not big drinkers either for the most part, so for us it wasn’t fun, but I know for many that is pure relaxation.

After I finished up with emails and took care of any important things that needed to be done….like posting a few pictures to facebook…..we decided to head off. It was just too hot for us.




Outside the plaza they had some entertainment.



I took some pictures with both my phone and my camera and tried to post the phone pics to facebook and found out that as soon as you walked outside the plaza the wifi was gone, so after taking a few I went back inside and loaded them to facebook as quick as I could.







We then headed back to the ship.



















Once back on the ship we went back to the room to cool off a bit and then searched for lunch.

We went to Horizon Court and got a few things. I ran into JJ there and we talked a few minutes about our time on shore. It sounds like they found some good deals. And to be fair, the few things we bought were good deals as well.
I didn’t think the choices were that great today and I picked up a few things to try.



The pink thing was disgusting and the cake was just OK. We both only picked at our food and ate bits of this and that.



I decided that instead of trying to eat more here I would just go find a burger and Mom decided that sounded good too. So we headed out on deck and ordered burgers and fries.



The fries were fabulous, my burger was a little cold, but ok. Mom’s was fresher and fabulous. I should’ve just gone and got another one but I didn’t.

We had some plans for the afternoon. Malificent was playing in the theatre. Mom and I both have seen the movie before, but we both really liked it so we decided we would love to see it again.
We headed to the theatre a little early and found some seats. Not many people were in there, which was fine with us. I noticed that the seats all had a little pull out table so I took a picture of that.



The showed Princess cruise options on the screen while we waited.



See what I mean…the place is practically empty.



They movie started and we enjoyed it once again. It was nice and cool in there as well. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

 

[jenseib]

It's too bad the show wasn't better than it turned out to be. You'd never know that it was a flop by looking at your pictures though.

I am with you on the constant hounding to get me to buy things. If I said that I didn't want it, I don't want it gosh dang it!

It was just the singing really. If they could carry a tune it would be fabulous really.
I hate being bugged about buying something. If I need it I will let you know!

 

[franandaj]

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!

 

[JKSWonder]

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.