LIVE from the Magic - in Costa Maya?

[MickeyB426]

Well, as most of you know, the 3/29 cruisers have basically had to take our long-made plans and chuck them.

We're basically cruising day-to day lol.

Here's the updated itinerary:

Sunday - supposed to be at KW, was spent at sea

Monday - supposed to be at sea, went to Cozumel, most excursions cancelled

Tuesday - supposed to be Grand Cayman, we're south of Cozumel at a place called Costa Maya

Wednesday - supposed to be in Cozumel, we'll be at sea.

Thursday - supposed to be at sea, we're tentatively headed for Key West.

Friday - Castaway Cay

Costa Maya is also a first for DCL, but don't bet on it becoming a permanent stop.

Looking out the window at Costa Maya, it doesn't look like much. At the end of a long pier is a colorful public resort-type area with a stage, a salt-water pool, and some (not a lot) of shopping. There seems to be little else, mostly uninhabited, save for a few houses and bungalows scattered about the coast.

They have 6 excursions put together - mostly things like beach & snorkel, visiting ruins, and some jungle jeep tours. I think I'll spend the day on the boat after I tour the pier.

Despite all of this, we're all having a GREAT time, they're really going all out to make this enjoyable despite the high winds and waves. We hear the weather is going to be better from here on in.

I'll be on tonight if you have any questions!

 

[rmbreset]

Costa Maya, wow you are almost in Belize !, it is suppose to be a nice place if you are looking for unspoiled natural beauty , lots of ruins, ship wrecks to dive and wildlife in the surronding jungle.

 

[din]

Did I miss something over the last few days????

What is causing the change in Magic's schedule and ports of call??

Weather, testing a new route??

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by MickeyB426
Well, as most of you know, the 3/29 cruisers have basically had to take our long-made plans and chuck them.

We're basically cruising day-to day lol.

Here's the updated itinerary:

Sunday - supposed to be at KW, was spent at sea

Monday - supposed to be at sea, went to Cozumel, most excursions cancelled

Tuesday - supposed to be Grand Cayman, we're south of Cozumel at a place called Costa Maya

Wednesday - supposed to be in Cozumel, we'll be at sea.

Thursday - supposed to be at sea, we're tentatively headed for Key West.

Friday - Castaway Cay

Costa Maya is also a first for DCL, but don't bet on it becoming a permanent stop.

Looking out the window at Costa Maya, it doesn't look like much. At the end of a long pier is a colorful public resort-type area with a stage, a salt-water pool, and some (not a lot) of shopping. There seems to be little else, mostly uninhabited, save for a few houses and bungalows scattered about the coast.

They have 6 excursions put together - mostly things like beach & snorkel, visiting ruins, and some jungle jeep tours. I think I'll spend the day on the boat after I tour the pier.

Despite all of this, we're all having a GREAT time, they're really going all out to make this enjoyable despite the high winds and waves. We hear the weather is going to be better from here on in.

I'll be on tonight if you have any questions!

WOW!!! I guess you really need to be flexible with your plans when cruising!!!

 

[PAGirl]

What happens to your excursion payment (if made outside DCL) when they have to alter their route?

Hope you are enjoying yourself!! Still sounds like fun!!

 

[mmouse37]

PA Girl....it all depends on the vendor. I know Capt. Marvins in Grand Cayman will refund your money if the ship cannot make it to port that day. I think it is totally up to the individual vendors what their refund policies are.

Mike.....like your attitude..sometimes you HAVE TO GO WITH THE FLOW, LITERALLY!!! Costa Maya...sounds very interesting. You're on a history making cruise!!!!

I am always up for an adventure!!!!

MJ

 

[Makaroni5]

MickeyB426 - Just want to share an experience. We went on the Norway and along came hurricane Roxanne. We had 30 ft. waves and we absolutely had a ball. The crew and captain were great and we had to keep turning around to get away from the path of the hurricane. We never got to one of our designated ports and ended up in the only place that would allow us to dock there, Jamaica, which we had already been to on previous cruises and vacations 3 times.
It was there that we opted for the excursion of renting a private yacht. We had the greatest time sitting on the front of the yacht with drinks in hand, soaking up the tropical sunshine and breeze. It was wonderful and none of us will ever forget it. It was one of our best times in 9 cruises. So things do work out even when they look dimmest.
Keep the faith, have a terrific time in spite of the wind, and hope you find an experience like we did. Let us know how it all turns out.
ENJOY!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

We're also having a great time! Just not quite as we had planned! There's no really good beach within sight of the ship - but it is cold and rainy today anyway.

We had some exciting 20 ft. plus swells on Sunday night. We opted not to have dinner in the restaurant and instead stayed in our cabin. None of us were really sea sick but weren't feeling too great.

We did go on our tour to Tulum yesterday and had about an hour to shop in Cozumel. Actually we hurried back to the ship and found out they had decided not to leave port until around 11 p.m. But we didn't go back. I'm having a hard time keeping my DS who is 6 our of the clubs - he LOVES it!

 

[jlawall]

hEY! tHX for sharing your trip with us! WE ARE DESPARATE!! Let us know how the new itinerary is? Are you still going to CC?

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by MickeyB426
Well, as most of you know, the 3/29 cruisers have basically had to take our long-made plans and chuck them.

Despite all of this, we're all having a GREAT time, they're really going all out to make this enjoyable despite the high winds and waves. We hear the weather is going to be better from here on in.

I must have missed something....what's going on? Certainly not a hurricane this time of year.....Why the change in schedule?

 

[mmouse37]

Gale force winds in Key West on Sunday kept the Magic from docking so they headed straight to Cozumel and had to readjust the itinerary. I don't think they were able to dock at Grand Cayman either.

Sort of mystery cruise!!!!

MJ

 

[WDWLVR]

We're set to cruise in 5 weeks and if this happened to us I'd be disappointed in missing Grand Cayman (really want to see the stingrays and turtles). Having said that I love the fact that a cruise can be flexible and change ports to stay out of the worst weather. When I looked at the web cam of Key West on Sunday it looked nasty.

A mystery cruise can be a lot of fun if you are willing to stay flexible and go with the flow. It would just give me another reason to book a Western again.

 

[ecmommy]

We're now on our way to Key West. The waves are MUCH better this time around.

Evidently it was a big deal for Costa Maya to have DCL dock there. There was a presentation on shore, with the Captain receiving a plaque (a CM told me this) and some Costa Mayan officials came on board for lunch and dinner.

As nice and quaint as it was, I don't see DCL making this a permanent port of call. Not enough to do, and it's too small. However, I can see it being a handy backup like it was this week.

The good thing is, we'll be docking at KW at 7:30AM rather than 12 noon, so we have more time to get the things we want done and get back on the ship. We'll be leaving earlier, however, (around 5PM).

The most amusing part is that we've gotten so many Navigators this week it's hard to keep up. On some days they're issuing the regular one, the "adjusted" one, and then making changes over the loudspeaker. It's TRULY a "mystery cruise".

There have been extra bingo games, thus making it probable that the jackpot at the end will top $7000. Cool.

Since we were in Mexico for two nights, they switched up the meals as well. Tropicalifragilistic-etc. (Mexican night) was moved up from Wednesday to Tuesday, switching with International night, which is now tonight (Wednesday).

Since I didn't want to eat Mexican, I had to switch my Palo's ressie, and it was everything people said it was - magnificent.

On the downer side, I'm bummed we missed Cozumel's excursions (dolphin swim) and Grand Cayman entirely (turtles and stingrays). All DCL excursions were refunded automatically.

 

[Buschfan]

Costa Maya is a great place! We docked there last year on the Zenith. Huge saltwater pool that is free. Free Mexican culture show. Cheap Mexican beers! Beach was a little rocky though.

 

[@GoofyNut]

Our Mystery Cruise ended up in San Juan and St Thomas last year.

? ... Are they still serving you at the buffet and the drink station or can you help yourself? For a while when that dumb sickness was going around, they had to serve you. Wondering if that has stopped.

Have a great rest of the Cruise...........

God Bless our Troops!

 

[rae519]

HI Goofynut!!!!

Yes, our Magic-al Mystery Cruise was exciting and heck we did have a ball (but I think that's because of the Discruisears gang!)

I'd give up my excursions for another Mystery Cruise!!!!!

Rae

 

[jlawall]

Hey, as long as there is a tropical beach in view....who cares where it is! Have a great trip and GIVE US A TRIP REPORT!!!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I just had to post to say that the weather in Castaway Cay was absolutely beautiful. Could not have asked for better. I was a little bummed that we missed Grand Cayman but we had a great time!

Our highlight in Costa Maya was hearing about the 15 foot great white shark that was cruising arround the pier! I had to restrain my DS 12 from going out to look for it!

The crew, IMHO did a wonderful job coming up with activities with the schedule changing on a sometimes hourly basis. Oh and the bingo jackpot was over $7300 - a ship record.

 

[ppiew]

We absolutely LOVED Costa Maya! Would trade it in instead of Cozumel anytime! There were Mayan dancers/greeters in costume at the end of the pier to welcome us and a tram to take us off the lengthy pier. We took a tour to the ruins and it was extraordinary! It was a lengthy bus ride (over an hour) and there was a lot of visible road construction. It think they must be planning on developing the coastline. Busses were very nice - new and clean. They even served soda and beer after the walk around the ruins. The neat thing about the ruins was the ability to see a restored pyramid plus some recent excavations and a lot still covered by jungle growth. You could walk/climb anywhere - it was sort of a 'before', 'during' and 'after' type of restoration. The guide was very informative and well educated and showed a deep love of his Mayan ancestry.
Yes, the port itself was small as was the beach - smaller than 1 cove at Castaway Cay. But there were two swimming pools, two large restaurant/bar open air surrounding them and a horseshoe shaped shopping area with all the usual Caribbean shops ie. Diamonds International, Tanzanite Int'l, Mexican stuff, T shirts and souvenirs. They would bargain and haggle about price etc. quite fun! There was also a long (about a mile). and wide trail along the shore to a very small fishing village (population 200) and there were restaurants/bars at the village. Bonus was 4 tiny puppies at a house along the way! We also liked the diverse excursions offered. The trail did have a considerable amount of debris that had washed up, but two men were constantly picking it up. Golf carts were available for rental and various watercraft but the sea was uncooperative to attempt any of that!

That is the 'nuts and bolts' of Costa Maya. Now what made it special for us. We had no expectations, no excursions planned, we just went with what was available with the weather being what it was. Turned out to be fun, relaxing, and informative. We could also take the entire family on the excursion - no age restrictions. All in all it was truly a cruise highlight for us and I wouldn't hesitate to go there again sometime.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Originally posted by BriarfoxinWA
Our highlight in Costa Maya was hearing about the 15 foot great white shark that was cruising arround the pier! I had to restrain my DS 12 from going out to look for it!

Ohh....I missed that! Thank Goodness! I might not have ever gotten in the water again!

We liked Costa Maya as well, but I had a hard time with the forcfullness of the people who were selling local stuff. I've never experienced that, so it made me a bit uncomfortable. I did get Katie a cute little dress from one of them though!

Kathy