bubblegummermom

We were at Maya Chan in '16 and it was great, no issues with anything and we drank a few Margaritas. They were sold out for our cruise date this time so we scrambled and found the review about Jamie's and read several reviews that were glowing and we booked it for this cruise. Looking forward to a great experience like the reviewer had. Read the reviews to make your choice, you can learn a lot from social media and when a vendor tells you to read his reviews you know he has nothing to hide.

Thanks....we booked already and are excited for our upcoming cruise.

bubblegummermom, Thank you for your detailed review of Jaime's Blue Reef.

 

Having known Jaime for many years, from his Playa days to NoHoch Kay, I can back it up that he and the staff he surrounds himself with make service to guest a first priority. Like your friend in PV, he would go, and has gone, out of his way to accommodate a guest's request if at all possible.

 

DW and SIL are heading to Blue Reef in April for the first time. Unfortunately, I'll be home dog sitting. :( But looking forward to being there in 2020.

Crewsweeper...the review is not mine, but does sound fabulous :cool:. I've already contacted this establishment yesterday but have not yet heard back. Hopefully I will hear back today so I can plan accordingly. I saw another poster who commented on another establishment (not one of the places talked about here, something like barefoot beach club) where her husband got so ill from the alcohol served. It was his last drink and he took one sip and said it was different tasting and diff color then all the rest. I'm not a big drinker and I don't want to sound naive...but I would hate for something like this to ruin a great cruise. Is that something that I should be worried about here or maya chan? Thanks. Nancy

So we have been back for a few weeks and I thought it was time to post my thoughts on Jaimies-

 

We had attempted to book MayaChan for a beach day but since we had a group of 15 they were unable to accomidate our group, They had recomended jaimie's to us as an alternative choice.

 

I read the reviews on trip advisor and honestly took them with a grain of salt, all were glowing and to be frank its not often that 100% positive reviews are all truthful.

 

I made contact through the contact us page on thier website and had a response from Jaimie himself within about two hours, I informed Jaimie of the dates, the group size, and the fact that we were traveling with two celiac children.

 

So pricing at the time we made the reservation was 45.00 per adult, 25.00 per teenager and kids were free, I do not know the age cutoff between teen and child(sorry)

 

I believe it is now $47.50 per adult

 

We paid a deposit of $100 for the entire group and then waited for the cruise to arrive. A few weeks out from departure i sent a brief email confirming all of the details(especially the celieac info) and was again resonded to qiuckly by Jaimie.

 

 

DAY OF ARRIVAL-

 

The port of Costa Maya Is not that easy to get out of, follow the shops around behind the pool and you will see a small alley to get out,

 

PROTIP

alot of the stores on the backside of the pool have door at the very back of the store as well as the door facing the pool, as you are walking look through the stores and as soon as you see one with a open door at the back you can cut through and save a fair amount of walking since you have to walk back past those same stores again on the other side to get to taxis or shuttle.

 

 

GETTING TO JAIMIES

We took the trolly, we had several children and they wanted to ride it, It was three dollars per person and was neat to take it a little slower and see what was going on in the area, which is mostly construction and empty lots.

 

Take the trolly to the last stop(#3) and tell the driver you are there for Jaimies, they will alert the staff who will come and greet you and escort you to your home for the day.

 

THE STAFF

 

Jaimie and Norma Introduced themselves and showed us our area, there was a very large cooler filled with ice cold beers and bottles of water we could help ourselves to as well as place orders with Norma and her assistants for any cocktails we wanted.

 

You were told if you needed ANYTHING to just ask and it felt like they meant it.

 

Bit of a tangent here but bear with me-

 

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies

 

Tangent over/

 

FOOD AND DRINK

 

Like i said above, beer and water were self serve(although the staff would gladly get you that as well).

 

The coctails were speedy and strong. I was drinking Bacardi Anejo which is a little uncommon in a all inclusive bar.

 

THE FOOD

 

The menu was explained as smaller portions because "we want you to try everything"

 

The ceviche was to extremly good ( i ordered at least three orders of it),

 

The onion rings were incredible,(as in some of the best i have ever had) just the right thickness to the onions so as to not be overpowering and the perfect amount of breading. Unfotunatly i was too full of ceviche to eat as many as i would have liked:D

 

The burger was far and away the best of week, very tasty, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

 

Others in the group had the fish tacos and i didnt see anything left on the plates so i assume they were as good as everything else.

 

One small thing here-

 

I mentioned in the beginning that we had two children with celiac disease traveling with us, The children are so sensitive that the parents travel with a fairly expensive gluten tester to verify food if they feel unsure about its status, often the cost of the test materials is more then the cost of the meal.

 

The kids ordered some chicken breasts and we were very happy to find that they passed the tester and the kids were able to eat like everybody else instead of out of thier little meal kit they brought along just in case.

(aways do your own research if you are sensitive as well, cross contaminiation could happen at any time)

 

 

BEACH AND AREA

 

The beach in Mahaul is very interesting. the waves break about 200-300 yards out and the water is very shallow all the way out to the break, you can walk out about 200 yards and only be in 4 feet of water. there are boat channels cut through and little islands peppered all over the place.

 

Overall the area is very pretty and you can see your ship from the water, there are several types of fish and sea life in the water. the water and beach were mostly clear of sea grass but this may change day to day.

 

There were a few vendors that would visit but Jaimie and staff would attempt to keep the worst of it away, they also made to sure to inform us if any venders were particulary shady( known fake or scams)

 

I did do a 1 hour beach massage for i believe $40. It was fine but still a beach massage.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I cant tell you that Jaimies is better then Maya Chan since i have never visited Maya Chan,

 

but I can not imagine how Maya Chan could be better then Jaimies, the friendly and personal service left you feeling like you were with family, there were many, many hugs exchanged as we said good byes, Jaimie made sure my "to go" cocktail was refilled at least three times as we settled the bill and said goodbyes. The staff arranged for our taxis to return to the port and made sure we were told the correct fare before we got into the cab.

 

 

My Sisiter was on a cruise a few weeks after we returned that included Costa Maya, We suggested she visit Jaimies with her crew, they had the same experiance we did with the serivice and food. so we know it was not a one off, She also agreed to the feeling that Jaimie was much like out friend in Puerto Vallarta in terms of attitude towards customer service.

 

All of the adults agreed that this was the best day of the trip, (the kids preferered the day they held sloths)

 

We as a group have a cruise booked next year on symphony of the seas that includes another day in Costa Maya, the final determining factor for that itinerary was the fact that we could go back to Jaimies.

 

 

 

PICTURES

 

View of the beach from Jaimies bar

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View down the beach

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View of the beach from the lounger

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Waves Break 200+ Yards out

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Beach vegetation

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Cruise Port from Beach

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Another view of the beach break

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Jaimies From the water

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Yes it is worth it. Very cost effective and you see what you want and don't have to be bogged down by others. We did it a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it

Just booked today...excited to get this trip moving along! 119 days to go. 😎

Thank you!

There are always plenty of them. They line up on Decatur Street in front of Jackson Square

https://www.neworleanscarriages.com

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This will be our first cruise to Roatan. Looking to use Bodden Tours for the Best of Roatan tour which seems to be a private tour and totally customizable. We are looking mostly to spend time at West Bay beach, but also have a tour of roatan and try some local food. I have been in contact with Victor and he seems very accommodating in answering all my questions and the price seems reasonable. Looking forward to using this tour guide on our upcoming trip. Any input on what to see while on this tour would be greatly appreciated. I do not wish to stop at the monkeys. Thanks.

If i book a tour through the cruiseline, is that amount all inclusive so would include admission? Thanks

West Bay Beach has a heap of resorts offering day passes. I believe Tabyana, the cruise only section of West Bay Beach and Bananarama both have lockers. I am unsure of the other West Bay options.

Thanks. I'm thinking about using Bodden Tours to do a sightseeing tour with a stop at West Bay beach. Looks like a great deal and beach looks fantastic! Can't wait.

Nancy.

If you are sailing on NCL, big ship or small you will always find other solo cruisers. NCL is the best when it comes to bringing solos together. They have hosted meets every single day at around 6.

I have done many solo cruises on Carnival and NCL, Carnival is terrible when it comes to solo cruises. Their solo meets are not hosted, so you will not find anyone during the solo meet.

Where are the hosted meetings held on NCL? I'll be travelling with my daughter 22y/o. Is there a forum here on Cruise Critic to find out info? Thanks.

Yes. They had a fire. Animals taken, its future in question. From my understanding its been closed. ( I'm not certain if thats temporary, I assume so ). WBB is lovely.

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Thanks.

If I taxi to either place, are there lockers to store our belongings while at the beach? I thought I read that Little french cay had a fire, so if anyone can confirm that would be great and help in decision making.

If I taxi to either place (little french cay or west bay beach), are there lockers to store our belongings while at the beach? I thought I read that Little french cay had a fire, so if anyone can confirm that would be great and help in decision making.

If I purchase through cruisline and I have to visit the infirmary on ship, do they bill to my cruise account and I have to pay upfront for services, then submit to insurance?

Thanks.

Is it recommended to reserve ahead for the carriage rides or just go that day and take a chance?

Thanks

Nancy

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Definitely recommend working with TIS.

 

But CALL them, and also discuss just what types of coverage you need, so they can help you find the best/most economical policy for your specific needs.

 

GC

I haven't purchased travel insurance before, So they will help me answer any questions i may have even if I go with the NCL trip insurance? Thanks for the help.

Nancy :)

Could be in 70s could be in the 40s normally somewhere in the 50's - 60's during the day

Definitely understand that!! Will hope for the better temp but still be warmer clothes. Thanks for the response. Have a great evening!

If I recall, I booked through the Wyndam website . Check and see which has the better pricing . I'm usually willing to pay a little more if no deposit and free cancellation is available at booking .

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Arriving New Orleans at Julia St. Terminal and after collecting luggage and clearing immigration will need a taxi.

 

There are two ships arriving that morning. The narrow street looks, well, narrow! Is taxi stand right there when you get outside or farther away? With two ships, will traffic be so bad we should consider walking out the Julia Street pedestrian walkway and finding a taxi elsewhere?

 

And will a taxi be unwilling to take us for a short ride (0.3) mile to a hotel in the French Quarter?

Nancy

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Hello,

 

1. Do the hotels in the NOLA convention center area offer free shuttle from the airport (MSY) to their hotel? We are leaning toward staying at Hampton Inn Convention Center.

 

2. If we wanted a taxi from the hotel to port in the morning, what is the approx cost or would it be a flat rate? We know many hotels offer a shuttle to port but with multi stops at multi ships, (always have sailed from FL) and packed in the van like sardines, we prefer a taxi. Not sure if this would be the case in NOLA with hotel shuttle to port.

 

3. After the cruise, we will use a taxi back to the airport (MSY) what is the approx cost or would this be a flat rate?

 

Thanks in Advance

When I researched I found the uber or lyft was somewhat cheaper.

Nancy

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Trying to plan for a couple of days pre cruise in January and wanted to find out what the weather/temp is like thanks in advance

Nancy

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So i can pack accordingly, what is the weather like in January?

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We traveled for years without travel insurance never thought twice about it. Two years ago we went on a 50th anniversary cruise for my in laws and they bought insurance for everyone. The cruise goal was everyone goes or cancel and plan another time. Mid cruise a health crises occurred. Norwegian was amazing and the insurance paid very well. Significant medical care on ship, emergency surgery in Cozumel, three people stayed there for a week, flight changes etc. approximately 20,000 dollars of expense all paid for. We will never cruise again without insurance.

 

 

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Cancel for any reason is standard on both NCL policies. One gives you 75% and the other 90% of the cruise price on a future cruise. Its not a refund of money but allows you to rebook any cruise you want with NCL.

Some don't like that but if I spent that much on a cruise and had to cancel, I probably would want to rebook the cruise at a later date. Reviews are mixed. The NCL plan offers bare bones medical coverage but that is not why I take the travel insurance in the first place. I am not taking a flight and not overly concerned about lost bags because my clothes are not that expensive LOL.

 

I notice people scare others with dire medical emergencies. This can happen at any time at any place. My health is good and I have good medical insurance. My job requires yearly intensive physicals. I don't plan on jumping off any ships and don't think I am going to fall off one either.

 

No matter who you talk to, they will promote one company or the other and devalue the other one. For my needs (different than others), the NCL plan is perfect for me. One thing that I wonder about is if you are the one that is sick and has the medical excuse and get reimbursed. What about the others in your party. Are they also able to cancel because only you are sick. I don't like the fine print on many of these. There are also countless blogs how travel insurance is the biggest rip off ever.

My next NCL cruise is Haven 2 bedroom on Encore. VERY expensive. I would be crazy not to get insurance in case one of us cant make it and we need to cancel....even if its for something trivial.

This is one area there is not going to be any consensus because everyone's needs are different.

I am flying in to New Orleans a couple days bef cruise early jan🙏🏻😆. We purchased our airline tickets and bought the trip insurance for that which was $40 ($20pp) cover all flight except the $40 for ins. I guess my question really is that this is mostly to cover medical in case like people speak of god forbid. It’s already so confusing to read all the jargon and I guess for $99pp it’s peace of mind. So NCL plan should fine in those case since we are a guarantee interior. 😎. THanks for the input I do appreciate it