Can you wing it or do you need to make reservations in Mahahual?

[CDJcruiser]

My husband and I will be in Costa Maya in June. Our ship (Celebrity Equinox) will be one of 5 ships in port that day. We want to explore Mahahual and then find a beach club/restaurant to hang out at for a couple of hours. Will we be able to play this by ear or will we need to make a reservation at a place like Yaya, Pez Quadro, or Tropicante? We will be going to Nachi Cocom while in Cozumel so wanted to take some time to explore in a new port for us as opposed to booking an all inclusive. With 5 ships in port in Costa Maya, will Mahahual seem super crowded? I appreciate your advice and feedback!

[crewsweeper]

Most beach clubs are walk on. But don't get off at first stop. Go toward middle. If on the tram, and someone is getting out for Tropicante, follow them. If taking a taxi, tell the driver you want to go to Blue Kay. Separate entrance and tram doesn't stop there.

 

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[lifes-a-beach]

Costa Maya is one of our favorite beach stops. That said, exploring will consist of walking down the malacon looking at beach stop after beach stop. In other words, no way am I going to use up my beach time walking around. We usually go to Blue Key and get busy chilling. There’s a little restaurant right there with decent food. The water is awesome. The help is pretty good. Prices are reasonable. Those last four points could be made about several beach clubs though. Have fun!

[MandyMommyof2]

I too wondered the same thing. I decided this morning to email Steve at Tropicana and heard back from him within a few hours. We plan to eat our lunch there and explore the area. I'm sure you will have a blast whatever you decide to do.

[Ocean Cat]

As you are walking along The Malecon or when you are at Tropicante or Blue Key are there places to shop near by? Do beach vendors walk by? I didn't find the option of both beach and shopping at the same time in Cozumel and was disappointed.

[tallyho8]

Only 3 ships can visit Costa Maya at one time. There is no way that 5 ships will be there.

Most days there is only 1 and sometimes 2. It is very rare for 3 ships to be there at once but I believe 3 will be there on July 5, 2019.

[JT1962]

Only 3 ships can visit Costa Maya at one time. There is no way that 5 ships will be there.

 

Most days there is only 1 and sometimes 2. It is very rare for 3 ships to be there at once but I believe 3 will be there on July 5, 2019.

 

 

They are expanding the docks at Costa Maya to handle more and larger ships. They will be able to handle 3 Oasis Class Ships plus one smaller ship at one time, so it is possible that there could be 5 ships there in 2019.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/18318-costa-maya-aiming-for-oasis-class.html

 

 

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[c-leg5]

If this is June 16 sailing, i see ONE ship listed in Costa Maya, FIVE in Cozumel (not unusual) and three in Grand Cayman.

 

Always subject to change but much nearer the norm.

[JT1962]

If this is June 16 sailing, i see ONE ship listed in Costa Maya, FIVE in Cozumel (not unusual) and three in Grand Cayman.

 

Always subject to change but much nearer the norm.

 

 

According to Crew Center, there are 5 ships, including the Equinox, in Costa Maya on June 21. Cruise TT is only showing 2 ships and doesn’t have the Equinox listed on that date. I don’t know which would be more accurate.

 

 

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[c-leg5]

According to Crew Center, there are 5 ships, including the Equinox, in Costa Maya on June 21. Cruise TT is only showing 2 ships and doesn’t have the Equinox listed on that date. I don’t know which would be more accurate.

 

 

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I apologize and stand corrected!

 

I checked my original source for Liberty and it shows three ships, not including Equinox so something is amiss. I checked several other sites and got listings of any combination from 1-5 so not sure what is going on.

 

I don’t know how they would all dock would think some one would have to tender.

[JT1962]

I apologize and stand corrected!

 

 

 

I checked my original source for Liberty and it shows three ships, not including Equinox so something is amiss. I checked several other sites and got listings of any combination from 1-5 so not sure what is going on.

 

 

 

I don’t know how they would all dock would think some one would have to tender.

 

 

There seems to be no consistency between the sites that report which ships are in Port. Cruise TT seems to be the most accurate from my experience, but not always.

 

They are expanding the docks to accept larger and more ships. I’m not sure where they are in that project. Some ships may also come early (7-1) with another ship at the same berth in the afternoon.

 

They say they can handle 18,000+ passengers after the expansion. To the OPs Original question, if I wanted a specific tour or beach club, I would definitely book ahead with that many potential passengers in port.

 

 

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[c-leg5]

There seems to be no consistency between the sites that report which ships are in Port. Cruise TT seems to be the most accurate from my experience, but not always.

 

They are expanding the docks to accept larger and more ships. I’m not sure where they are in that project. Some ships may also come early (7-1) with another ship at the same berth in the afternoon.

 

They say they can handle 18,000+ passengers after the expansion. To the OPs Original question, if I wanted a specific tour or beach club, I would definitely book ahead with that many potential passengers in port.

 

 

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I agree those are not small ships. Hope OP comes back to let us know what happened in reality.

[tallyho8]

The MSC Opera will be in Italy on June 21, 2018, not in Costa Maya. I doubt that the Armonia will be in Costa Maya but for some reason I can not find their schedule.

 

Even when 3 ships are scheduled in Costa Maya at once, if the water is just a little rough, the ship that has the inside dock will cancel and have a sea day.

 

I know of no dock they could use to tender people in at Costa Maya.

[CDJcruiser]

Update....there was only one cruise ship in port on this day (Celebrity Equinox). The seas were very rough at the dock, and you really felt the ship move while it was docked. I had heard that other cruise ships skipped the port stop, but I do not know this as a fact.

 

We ultimately booked an excursion to Bacalar through the cruise line. It was awesome! The only down side was the 90 minute bus ride each way. The lagoon in Bacalar is fresh water and the water is stunning.

 

There were a lot of warnings about the seaweed at the beach in Mahahual. The shore excursions desk at Celebrity even offered refunds if you got to the beach and it was not to your liking. They did a good job preparing passengers about what to expect at the beach. Since we had OBC to use, we decided to spend our day doing something that did not involve the beach. We spent our time in Cozumel at Nachi Cocom and in Cayman at Calico Jack’s instead!