Strike in costa maya

[Birdnutty]

Just to let everyone know... we are currently on the celebrity reflection and docked in costa maya today. The NCL Dawn and RCCL Symphony of the Seas were here too. ALL tours were cancelled. The tour operators were on strike, but they didn’t tell us until we got on shore and showed up for the excursion. What we didn’t know and wish we did was that the regular taxi drivers were available outside the gates and would take you to any beach club on the Malecon. So if you have an excursion make sure the strike is not still on 

It apparently was a last minute surprise, and there was a lot of misinformation floating about. As a result, they were  very cagey about it, and it was obvious they wanted us off the ship to shop or whatever. Nobody came out and said it. Celebrity will refund the excursion.  Just want everyone to know there are still other options. 

[Birdnutty]

Actually, we’re still hearing different stories. Just want everyone to be aware that things could be a little screwy.  

[Qaylu]

On Norwegian Escape, we skipped Costa Maya today (Feb 19), heading straight to Cozumel for an overnight stop. Apparently the entrance to Costa Maya is still blockaded.

[crewsweeper]

We managed to get out of Port before they shut the gates. Getting back was simple. But we were let out at the gate. 

Port area was crowded as we walked back. 

[jkgourmet]

From the official FB page of Costa Maya - dated Feb 18

Costa Maya reports that this morning members of the Mahahual Taxi Union confronted the port staff, blocking entrances and exits of the port, an issue that affected the operation of the day and the thousands of tourists who arrived at the destination.
The conflict began when the taxi drivers questioned two employees of the port who conducted surveys on the activities and preferences of visitors, ensuring that this action was a work of sale.
This situation resulted in taxi drivers opening access, pushing and assaulting security personnel and the legal department of the Costa Maya, who tried to reconcile the situation in a respectful and controlled manner.
Oscar Hernández, the port director, went to the area to ask union members to remain calm and respect the terms and agreements, in which both groups are benefited by the economic spill.
Union leaders and drivers block exits, for which the tours could not operate regularly, affecting more than 11 thousand tourists from three cruises on February 18.
Costa Maya is working to solve the situation as soon as possible and not affect visitors or destination.

[c-leg5]

3 hours ago, jkgourmet said:

From the official FB page of Costa Maya - dated Feb 18

Costa Maya reports that this morning members of the Mahahual Taxi Union confronted the port staff, blocking entrances and exits of the port, an issue that affected the operation of the day and the thousands of tourists who arrived at the destination.
The conflict began when the taxi drivers questioned two employees of the port who conducted surveys on the activities and preferences of visitors, ensuring that this action was a work of sale.
This situation resulted in taxi drivers opening access, pushing and assaulting security personnel and the legal department of the Costa Maya, who tried to reconcile the situation in a respectful and controlled manner.
Oscar Hernández, the port director, went to the area to ask union members to remain calm and respect the terms and agreements, in which both groups are benefited by the economic spill.
Union leaders and drivers block exits, for which the tours could not operate regularly, affecting more than 11 thousand tourists from three cruises on February 18.
Costa Maya is working to solve the situation as soon as possible and not affect visitors or destination.

Thanks for the update.

[jkgourmet]

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Thanks for the update.

Yeah well, we're supposed to stop there tomorrow.  MSC Meraviglia.  It's 9:30pm and we've heard nothing amiss.  

[myyear16]

We are on Harmony of the Seas and stopped at Costa Maya today.  They cancelled the ship excursions but did announce that you could leave the port area and take the taxis wherever you wanted.  Our cruise director also went out to the port to ensure there were no issues and people could get taxis.  We stayed in the port but others went to the village.   The shuttle running up and down the pier was operating.  

[jkgourmet]

GREAT to hear about the shuttle!  But MANY folks on this ship (MSC Meraviglia) will be unhappy if excursions are cancelled.  One more 'issue' among several other 'issue's.

[jkgourmet]

On the MSC Meraviglia which arrived at Costa Maya at 8am today.  At 9:30am they made an announcement that due to the strike, the downtown area has no electric power.  Everyone should plan their day accordingly.  

 

I find it nearly impossible to believe that they weren't aware of this earlier.  I'll be curious how other ships handled this.

 

Doesn't really matter to us as we hadn't planned on getting off.  But I cannot I imagine there are plenty of peeved passengers on what has already been a cruise with several technical glitches.

Edited February 20, 2020 by jkgourmet

[lovestocruisesue]

Wondering if there is an updated status on this strike. My son and some friends will be cruising with a stop here in mid March and have booked an excursion through the ship. 

[dopey1200]

1 hour ago, lovestocruisesue said:

Wondering if there is an updated status on this strike. My son and some friends will be cruising with a stop here in mid March and have booked an excursion through the ship. 

I'm hoping for an update too - I'll be there next week!

[Georgia_Peaches]

20 hours ago, dopey1200 said:

I'm hoping for an update too - I'll be there next week!

We are supposed to be there March 4th.  So I am hoping for an update as well.  A google search yields nothing except links back to CC.

[dopey1200]

39 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

We are supposed to be there March 4th.  So I am hoping for an update as well.  A google search yields nothing except links back to CC.

March 4th for us too. We're on the Celebrity Edge. There are 3 other ships in port that day. We're not doing an excursion booked thru Celebrity, we're going to YaYa Beach. YaYa does refund our money if we can't get there. 

[crewsweeper]

25 minutes ago, dopey1200 said:

March 4th for us too. We're on the Celebrity Edge. There are 3 other ships in port that day. We're not doing an excursion booked thru Celebrity, we're going to YaYa Beach. YaYa does refund our money if we can't get there. 

If you dock, looks like you might be able to take a tram out of port, or at least walk out to the taxis.  Either way you'll get to YaYas.  Which BTW, based on my observations last week, was one of the nicer looking beach places along the middle malecon.  Wasn't crammed  or had other clubs encroaching or covered by vendor stalls on the beach side.

So enjoy.

[RickT]

I’m booked at Maya Chan resort on March 10th and e-mailed them for an update.  Their reply was that the strike was basically a 50 minute misunderstanding between a couple security guards and a few taxi drivers.  They said the whole issue was blown out of proportion and hasn’t been an issue since.

 

Given cruise ships are still stopping at Costa Maya I tend to agree... they would steer clear of the port if there were further labour unrest.

[Georgia_Peaches]

12 minutes ago, RickT said:

I’m booked at Maya Chan resort on March 10th and e-mailed them for an update.  Their reply was that the strike was basically a 50 minute misunderstanding between a couple security guards and a few taxi drivers.  They said the whole issue was blown out of proportion and hasn’t been an issue since.

 

Given cruise ships are still stopping at Costa Maya I tend to agree... they would steer clear of the port if there were further labour unrest.

Thanks for the update. Hope this holds true for our cruise next week. Someone reported that Escape skipped the port last week. 

[dopey1200]

On 2/25/2020 at 10:47 AM, crewsweeper said:

If you dock, looks like you might be able to take a tram out of port, or at least walk out to the taxis.  Either way you'll get to YaYas.  Which BTW, based on my observations last week, was one of the nicer looking beach places along the middle malecon.  Wasn't crammed  or had other clubs encroaching or covered by vendor stalls on the beach side.

So enjoy.

Yea! I'm excited to hear it looks nice. I like that they only have so many sun beds and I was able to choose which one I wanted when I made the reservation. 

[rasta]

I see that Enchatment skipped this port today, I wonder if it was some type of weather issue or some lingering "strike" issues.

[RickT]

using Marinetraffic.com I see there are three ships currently docked in Costa Maya

[rasta]

Interesting.  This is the link to the "port missed thread"  

 

[crewsweeper]

Per a post on the RCCL board based on a post on FB, The Enchantment missed Costa Maya due to another ship (Carnival ?) being in its berth. It was a surprise to even the captain.  His decision to head on to Cozumel.  Nothing to do with a strike or CoVid-19.

[DEBCAT65]

1 hour ago, rasta said:

I see that Enchatment skipped this port today, I wonder if it was some type of weather issue or some lingering "strike" issues.

I am on the ship.  We saw the port, we were there.  I am on Enchantment.  We were turned away.  Staff saying someone is in our spot, so we are heading to Cozumel for an overnight.  Looks like we are due in at 7 as there are several ships in the port of Cozumel today.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, DEBCAT65 said:

I am on the ship.  We saw the port, we were there.  I am on Enchantment.  We were turned away.  Staff saying someone is in our spot, so we are heading to Cozumel for an overnight.  Looks like we are due in at 7 as there are several ships in the port of Cozumel today.  

You'd think they'd have reserved parking for cruise ships.  Sorry you missed the port but glad it wasn't due to illness.

[DEBCAT65]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

You'd think they'd have reserved parking for cruise ships.  Sorry you missed the port but glad it wasn't due to illness.

Someone posted that it is Carnival Freedom.  They were supposed to be at sea today and tomorrow.