New Poll For 8/28/04 Cruisers re: Costa Maya

[invaderzim]

Just curious -- after getting the chance to go there, how many of you now think DCL should add Costa Maya as a permanent port?

 

[MaryTKD]

Costa Maya seems like the cruise ship amenities have been taken from the ship and put on the shore, not unlike Castaway Cay. The small town nearby is mostly aimed at the tourists. There appears to be no native culture readily accessible, and although there is shopping available, it is limited compared to other stops that have a city.

Cozumel offers a historical perspective, access to the Park with dolphins and snorkeling, shopping in a town with residential streets and neighborhoods.

Key West also has its own share of history, including Hemingway's house, and I am sad to have missed this stop.

Mary

 

[MoranClan]

I have to say...

Costa Maya was a Pleasant surprise...

We werent going to get off the ship at first, but after we saw the water we did...

I AM GLAD WE DID

It was beautiful...Nice shops..Great Pool Area..Nice restaurant and Bar..

We were the only ship and it was nice..2 or more ships would be to crowded...

Nothing from Disney was taken off the Boat...

The people from the Stires were not pushy at all...The Pool was free...Beer was a really good price...

yes..We really liked it..

I have a few pictures if anyone is interested..

Bobby

 

[pattiteach]

Hi Bobby! Our whole family Loved Costa Maya it was great! Perfect for families, but just as Bobby said, if there was more than one cruise ship, it would be crowded.

 

[gdulaney]

Andy & I liked Costa Maya too...what about a 1/2 day at Costa Maya (unless we're adding excursions to Belize)...then sail up to Cozumel, be there early and leave there a little earlier to sail to Castaway Cay?

Ginny

ps...love Key West!!!!!!!

 

[markºoº]

Costa Maya was nice but I can't see adding it as a regular stop. With the number of repeat cruisers DCL gets, I think Costa Maya would get boring really fast for repeat cruisers.

The village is small. Excursions appeared to be fairly limited to snorkeling or visiting ruins. As someone else stated, there really is no "local" culture like Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Nothing exits outside of the little tourist village.


The Mexican government is dumping several hunder million dollars into the Costa Maya area trying to develop it into another Playa del Carmen or Cancun. It looks to me like they have a long way to go.

 

[DARWIN91]

I thought it was great and I loved just getting off the ship and being right there. The water was awesome once you were able to get past the rocky part. I was wondering why we did not have access to the other side which looked like it had a sandy beach

 

[invaderzim]

There was plenty outside of the stores and village. We took the hour bus trip to the ruins and saw a good deal of their island. The buses were luxurious and the tour guide very informative. He pointed different homes and farms and even the school. The ruins were in the jungles and they were magnificant. We spent about two hours there and got a great tour.

 

[Kahoutek22]

Costa Maya was wonderful.
It was an artificial Mexican village.
We chose to just spend the day there. The kids loved shopping for inexpensive stone chess sets and silver bangles. Shopping was more accessible than Cozumel and no more expensive for low end. High end selections (at Diamonds International, etc, was not up to snuff of the other ports, but they "opened" the stores just for us.
The pool was LOVELY and large. The adjacent beach has sharp rocks and signs said not for swimming although many did swim.
The Mexican dance show was surprisingly nice (Ballet Folklorico) with dances from Aztec human sacrifice ritual to modern dances for the various regions of Mexico. Beautiful costumes and talented dancers.
We had a great day there without any excursion.
I was told that the jungle ruin trip was not recommended for kids given the duration of the bus ride both ways. Also insect bite warnings on the navigator for the ruins.
Hope this helps.

 

[invaderzim]

Kahoutek22

Hi - To respond to your comment about the ruins tour at Costa Maya -- we took the tour a couple of weeks ago and there were a lot of kids on the bus. The bus ride is in a luxurious air-conditioned bus and the tour guide narrates the whole way. It is an hour each way, and then you get about 2-hours at the site. There are very clean restrooms and several vendors in a covered marketplace. At the ruins, you walk down jungle paths, so there is a lot of shade. This excursion was the highlight of our whole cruise.

 

[Wavegirl]

It looks like a really nice port and there are some nice excursions offered but most are water based. We were looking on http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com and they look nice, nice boats and beaches.

I love Cayman but if we can't go there for a while because of Ivan damage, this looks like the next best thing and since you were there last week its a good bet for the port they will visit.

Belize doesn't have as much to offer families with younger kids.

 

[Kahoutek22]

Invaderzim, thanks for the update.
Next time, if given the opportunity to return to Costa Maya, I will do the ruins. Joel the excursion boss talked me out of it given DD is7 and DS is 6.
For those going to Costa Maya soon, I have NO REGRETS though spending the day just at the port. We had a BALL. Sounds like you can't go wrong no matter what.

 

[maryray]

thanks for the info on the next several cruises skipping cayman. Although we know how beautiful it is there and we are disappointed not to go, you really cannot complain when you realize the death and destruction from hurricane Ivan. On the positive side we spent a lot of money on adune buggy excursion in cozumel so now we can save our money on the cayman excursions. Is it worth it to book an excursion on costa maya or just hang out at the village? Thanks,Mary

 

[cindy21494]

I was just wondering if anyone knows the age limit for the excursion to the ruins on Costa Maya? Our DD is 4, and that is the only excursion we are really interested in.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cindy

 

[invaderzim]

cindy21494

I'll check my shore excursion sheet tonight when I get home from our Disney Cruise last month to see if it states an age limit and let you know.

Cathy