How long between arrival and getting off the boat in Costa Maya?

[love4god]

My wife and I are on the Joy/Western Carrib in March.  We want to do a Discovery Scuba excursion on one of our stops.  I think we may do it in Costa Maya because we want to do amazing race in Cozumel and snorkeling in both Roatan and Belize.  We LOVE snorkeling but never tried scuba before.

 

The excursion says that it's a quick shuttle from the port to the place that has the Discover Scuba excursion. The ship arrives at 8am.  There are multiple booking times.  Do you think if we get in at 8am that we could make a 9:30am excursion?  Or do you think we should do the 11:30am?

 

Anyone done one of these courses?  My wife loves snorkeling but is very afraid of the water sometimes.  The first 10 minutes of snorkeling is tough but once she settles down it's her favorite thing in the world.  So we're not sure if we can handle scuba or not.  This seems like a good way to try it out without investing too much time or money, to see if she can do it.

[Panhandle Couple]

1 hour ago, love4god said:

My wife and I are on the Joy/Western Carrib in March.  We want to do a Discovery Scuba excursion on one of our stops.  I think we may do it in Costa Maya because we want to do amazing race in Cozumel and snorkeling in both Roatan and Belize.  We LOVE snorkeling but never tried scuba before.

 

The excursion says that it's a quick shuttle from the port to the place that has the Discover Scuba excursion. The ship arrives at 8am.  There are multiple booking times.  Do you think if we get in at 8am that we could make a 9:30am excursion?  Or do you think we should do the 11:30am?

 

Anyone done one of these courses?  My wife loves snorkeling but is very afraid of the water sometimes.  The first 10 minutes of snorkeling is tough but once she settles down it's her favorite thing in the world.  So we're not sure if we can handle scuba or not.  This seems like a good way to try it out without investing too much time or money, to see if she can do it.

We went to Cozumel and Costa Maya 3 weeks ago.

I don't think your time listed is the issue.  And we have never done scuba.

Cozumel has numerous dive shops, and is noted for their dive locations. Getting off the ship and to a location where the independent dive shops can pick you is quite easy and short.

 

Costa Maya is fairly remote, poor, and may not have the experienced guides needed for first time divers.  Your only way out of the port is on a tour bus if this is a ship tour.  Everyone lines up in the same area for all tours.  It is really quite a hassle.  You can wait 30 minutes before being led to the parking lot to get on your bus. Tour busses move slow due to speed bumps every 1/4 mile.  Quick is relative. 

We snorkeled there and at it was not very good.  Water was rough, it was raining off and on, and waves made water cloudy. 

I would choose Cozumel.

[cyntil8ing]

Another thing to be aware of is ship time vs island (local) time. Mexico does not spring forward to EDT in March. It stays on EST all year long. So, depending on when in March you cruise, and on if your ship changes time zones, when you think you’re arriving at 8:00am, it may be just 7:00am local time, which would leave you plenty of time to make the excursion.
 

And my own personal pet peeve about Costa Maya is that it is very difficult to find your way out of the port, by their design. Plan on staying to the left.

[candygirl27540]

It is a VERY long walk on a Very long pier to get from ship to anything.

 

[KKB]

8 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

 

 

Costa Maya is fairly remote, poor, and may not have the experienced guides needed for first time divers.  Your only way out of the port is on a tour bus if this is a ship tour.  Everyone lines up in the same area for all tours.  It is really quite a hassle.  You can wait 30 minutes before being led to the parking lot to get on your bus. Tour busses move slow due to speed bumps every 1/4 mile.  Quick is relative. 

 

This is entirely untrue.

There are cabs at the back of the port area to take you to town or resorts.

It is NOT remote at all--it is 28 miles of coastline of MX directly across from Cozumel (which would conceivably be considered more "remote" as it is an island)
It is not particularly poorer than surrounding areas.

 

Scuba excursions in the area get very good reviews so I would be inclined to believe the scuba diving is pretty good.

 

 

[KKB]

8 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

 

And my own personal pet peeve about Costa Maya is that it is very difficult to find your way out of the port, by their design. Plan on staying to the left.

 

11 minutes ago, candygirl27540 said:

It is a VERY long walk on a Very long pier to get from ship to anything.

 

It is a long pier.

I wouldn't say it is VERY difficult to get out of the port, but staying left is good advice.

[candygirl27540]

27 minutes ago, KKB said:

 

It is a long pier.

I wouldn't say it is VERY difficult to get out of the port, but staying left is good advice.

Never said it was difficult, said it was a Very long pier and walk. No shade, no where to stop and rest and unfortunately no pedicabs or trams to hop on. Makes a difference if you are older or mobility challenged.

[KKB]

42 minutes ago, candygirl27540 said:

Never said it was difficult, said it was a Very long pier and walk. No shade, no where to stop and rest and unfortunately no pedicabs or trams to hop on. Makes a difference if you are older or mobility challenged.

There were pedi cabs in April.

 

The difficult response was to the person who said it is difficult to get thru the port shops to the cabs.

Edited January 11 by KKB

[JandC_Cruising]

15 hours ago, love4god said:

We LOVE snorkeling but never tried scuba before.

If you are going to Roatan, check to see if the Discover Scuba shore excursion is offered for your cruise in that port.  We did it last year when on the Joy and it was AMAZING.  It is run by "Anthony's Key Resort" so if it is not shown on NCL as active, perhaps you can book it directly.  Roatan port is very simple on/off and small.  

 

[Panhandle Couple]

6 hours ago, KKB said:

This is entirely untrue.

There are cabs at the back of the port area to take you to town or resorts.

It is NOT remote at all--it is 28 miles of coastline of MX directly across from Cozumel (which would conceivably be considered more "remote" as it is an island)
It is not particularly poorer than surrounding areas.

 

Scuba excursions in the area get very good reviews so I would be inclined to believe the scuba diving is pretty good.

 

 

Directly across the coast from Cozumel is Playa Del Carmen.  That is where the ferries take you to from the ferry dock 1/2 mile from the NCL dock in Cozumel.  You can see the buildings at Playa Del Carmen from the ship on a sunny day.

 

Costa Maya is the name of the port facility.  Mahahual is the actual town.  It is listed as 180 miles from Playa Del Carmen, and over 3 1/2 hr drive.  It is not close to Cozumel.  

 

Per our guide on the last tour, Mahahual only had 500 people before the port was built.  It has 4,000 today.  Cozumel has over 70,000. 

 

OP was not specific if they were taking an NCL excursion or an independent one.  I assumed an NCL.  

Scuba does get good reviews at Mahahual, but Cozumel certainly has more shops and volume, which to me, means they would have more experience with true beginners.

 

[MeHeartCruising]

I would feel very comfortable booking a 9:30 excursion at Costa Maya with a ship arrival time of 8:00.  You should be able to walk off the ship by 8:30 or so and the pier walk plus the walk thru the port "village" to transportation options will take 10-15 minutes or so for most people.  Plenty of time.  Your tour may actually have a meeting point inside the village at the end of the pier.  You should ask.

 

And yes, Costa Maya is not across the water from Cozumel.  That poster is confusing Playa Del Carmen with Costa Maya.  

Edited January 11 by MeHeartCruising

[TheDawg79]

7 hours ago, KKB said:

 

 

I wouldn't say it is VERY difficult to get out of the port, but staying left is good advice.

1000% STAY TO THE LEFT!!! 😂

[TheDawg79]

7 hours ago, KKB said:

This is entirely untrue.

There are cabs at the back of the port area to take you to town or resorts.

It is NOT remote at all--it is 28 miles of coastline of MX directly across from Cozumel (which would conceivably be considered more "remote" as it is an island)
It is not particularly poorer than surrounding areas.

 

Scuba excursions in the area get very good reviews so I would be inclined to believe the scuba diving is pretty good.

 

 

Actually your post is untrue. Costa Maya is NOT across from Cozumel. That’s Playa Del Carmen that is across from Cozumel. Costa Maya is several hours by car south of both Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen.