Advice now that our port arrival time has changed to 12:00 (well, the app says 12:00 and the website says 1:00)

[jimandami]

Hi all!  BF and I are cruising on the Prima at the end of February and I'm looking for advice.  We booked Maya Chan (I have been there before, he has not) but now I'm rethinking because we were originally in port from 8-5, and now it's 12-8 (so all aboard would be 6:00 PM).  I just wonder if it's worth it by the time we get off the ship, walk to transport, drive, etc...and then turn around and leave at what 4:30?  Should we just do the Krazy Lobster?

[mitsugirly]

You are basically in port for the same amount of time. I would reach out to Mark/David/Jane and see if they are open during those port hours and tell them your situation. A lot of places are open during the hours that the cruise ships are in port and if there's changes, they usually adjust. It's worth a shot. 🙂 

[jimandami]

I will do that, thank you!

[c-leg5]

We have been several times.

Last time we were in port 12-6. I have several observations but personally would not go again with those hours.
 

By the time you have walked through the port to meeting point, wait for arranged transport and travelled it is best part of an hour before you arrive. IF there happens to be another ship docking at that time (check port hours) they will halt disembarkation temporarily which can also cause a delay getting off which has happened to us.

 

Not sure if your posted hours are local times? Costa Maya is on EST year round so when we travel from Galveston at that time our ship time is an hour behind local time. This is important because sunset is about 6.30 local time so it is dark when we were returning. Makes the afternoon short and you will recall the route is dark and bumpy.

Although lunch was provided as usual it was basically 2pm biological clock by the time we ate and personally I didn’t really want to eat much at that time. YMMV.

 

Finally because the visit was so short we tried to take the last recommended taxi back when they came round to sign up, probably 4.30pm. I understand that was our decision. Transport had always been very reliable previously when we have visited so we felt comfortable choosing this. However as luck would have it this time taxi was 20 minutes late arriving which left us much too close for comfort returning to the ship. Although not quite as far as the meeting point it is still a long walk from taxi drop off back to the ship, fortunately we are relatively mobile. 

If it was a first visit I would probably go for the experience on the understanding it will be short however since we have been before I would only go with reasonable port hours now. Some people will say they always go to Maya Chan no matter how short the visit is. 

 

[GlitterFemme]

I'm not sure I understand why all-aboard would be 6pm when departure is at 8pm? Is that common for Costa Maya? I'm used to planning for all-aboard 30-60 minutes before departure; I'll be there in December and will definitely need to plan around an earlier arrival back at the ship if this is the case.

[c-leg5]

5 minutes ago, GlitterFemme said:

I'm not sure I understand why all-aboard would be 6pm when departure is at 8pm? Is that common for Costa Maya? I'm used to planning for all-aboard 30-60 minutes before departure; I'll be there in December and will definitely need to plan around an earlier arrival back at the ship if this is the case.

No it is not common.
 

Perhaps the OP @jimandamiwas considering dining arrangements, or the fact it will be dark and they didn’t want to be at the beach any longer?

 

I think it was a self-imposed all-aboard as opposed to something official, but I could be mistaken.

 

There are several small hotels in Mahahual and evening dining for divers and residents but not a lot to do in the evening.

[GlitterFemme]

2 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

No it is not common.
 

Perhaps the OP @jimandamiwas considering dining arrangements, or the fact it will be dark and they didn’t want to be at the beach any longer?

 

I think it was a self-imposed all-aboard as opposed to something official, but I could be mistaken.

 

There are several small hotels in Mahahual and evening dining for divers and residents but not a lot to do in the evening.

 

Thank you! I like to arrive at the ship well before all-aboard, but well before 5pm would still have been a different proposition than well before 6:30.

[jimandami]

Yes, I was simply referring to the time we would likely head back because it would be getting dark.

[jimandami]

On 1/15/2024 at 11:45 AM, c-leg5 said:

We have been several times.

Last time we were in port 12-6. I have several observations but personally would not go again with those hours.
 

By the time you have walked through the port to meeting point, wait for arranged transport and travelled it is best part of an hour before you arrive. IF there happens to be another ship docking at that time (check port hours) they will halt disembarkation temporarily which can also cause a delay getting off which has happened to us.

 

Not sure if your posted hours are local times? Costa Maya is on EST year round so when we travel from Galveston at that time our ship time is an hour behind local time. This is important because sunset is about 6.30 local time so it is dark when we were returning. Makes the afternoon short and you will recall the route is dark and bumpy.

Although lunch was provided as usual it was basically 2pm biological clock by the time we ate and personally I didn’t really want to eat much at that time. YMMV.

 

Finally because the visit was so short we tried to take the last recommended taxi back when they came round to sign up, probably 4.30pm. I understand that was our decision. Transport had always been very reliable previously when we have visited so we felt comfortable choosing this. However as luck would have it this time taxi was 20 minutes late arriving which left us much too close for comfort returning to the ship. Although not quite as far as the meeting point it is still a long walk from taxi drop off back to the ship, fortunately we are relatively mobile. 

If it was a first visit I would probably go for the experience on the understanding it will be short however since we have been before I would only go with reasonable port hours now. Some people will say they always go to Maya Chan no matter how short the visit is. 

 

Thank you so much!

[GlitterFemme]

19 hours ago, jimandami said:

Yes, I was simply referring to the time we would likely head back because it would be getting dark.

Well, it won't be even close to getting dark by 4:30, so maybe you have more time than you thought! I hope you have a great time.