Costa Maya?

[triplelutz]

We're booked on the Valor for 4/3/05, and Carnival has changed the Belize stop to Costa Maya. I've called 3 different times and asked why the change and nobody can tell me! Not only that, but Carnival has no information about Costa Maya on it's website. I'm so frustrated!

So my questions are -
1. Does anyone know why the change in ports?
2. Has anyone been to Costa Maya?

I'd appreciate any information you can pass along. My hubby was really looking forward to Belize and is considering cancelling because we can't seem to get any information from Carnival.

[hstrybuf]

I can't help you with the change in ports, but we were in Costa Maya last year and loved it!

There is a huge dock there, but it's long and you may have to walk to get to the tourist area. The whole thing seems to have been carved out of the jungle just for cruiseship passengers and it isn't that big. As you approach, there are beaches to the left and right of the pier. They didn't look that inviting to me. Once you get into the complex, there is a big swimming pool with a swim up bar, a couple of restaurants, shops (I think one was Diamonds or Emeralds International), vendors and a stage for performances of local dances. I believe I also saw a volleyball net and heard that you could get massages there as well. The colors are bright and I thought the whole thing was kind of cute.

To find the shore excursion on Carnival's site, you have to look under Mexico. That's where they were when we were trying to decide what to do in this port. What we ended up doing was taking a taxi to the fishing village of Mahahual just down the road. We ended up right at an uncrowded beach across from a restaurant, so we found a seat and dug our toes into the sand while drinking Dos Equis. A waiter from the restaurant came across the street and we ran a tab for food and drinks. The street BTW is sand and we walked across it barefoot to use the restrooms.

The water was warm and the view was gorgeous! You could see our ship not too far away. We ladies decided to go for a massage on the beach and it was heaven! There were vendors set up along the street as well and we found good buys on hammocks and some beautiful plates. The vendors in Costa Maya itself wanted much more! There were very few vendors who actually came on the beach selling things. Maybe two or three. And there were three gentlemen roaming around with guitars playing and singing for tips. We eventually returned to Costa Maya for a little shopping and drinks. A very enjoyable day!

It was a bit rustic and I know that a lot of the information from the Ports of Call forum may be archived or lost. There is more to do there than what we experienced so maybe someone else can give you more ideas.

[triplelutz]

Thanks for the info!

[hstrybuf]

Hmmm, just checked the Carnvial site and I see why you couldn't find any shore excursions. There are none! You might try posting a question in the Ports of Call forum to see what others did there. I know there were excursions! :confused:

[oakislander]

We visited Costa Maya on our Glory cruise in June. We did the Dune Buggy tour and it was the highlight of our cruise. Have fun.

KJ

[Island Annie]

Check out webshots.com for TONS of pictures from Costa Maya. It looks pretty nice to me. And VERY colorful!! I'm looking forward to going there myself in February.

[Stevie17]

I've been to both Costa Maya and Belize, and while I liked Costa Maya, I found Belize to be fantastic. I'd be bummed about that change......

[triplelutz]

[quote name='Stevie17']I've been to both Costa Maya and Belize, and while I liked Costa Maya, I found Belize to be fantastic. I'd be bummed about that change......[/QUOTE]


That's our concern - we booked that particular itinerary because of the Belize stop. DH just told me that he's playing in a poker tourney this weekend in Las Vegas and if he wins enough, then we'll cancel this cruise and rebook on the Liberty for the summer of 05! I'm not holding my breath or anything, but I sure would love to go for 12 days in Europe!!

Again, thanks for the honest replys...

[HOSKI]

I've done both ports and would much rather do Costa Maya then Belize. Costa has a brand new pier instead of tendering into Belize. Also since the dock area was built for cruising I bet Carnival gets a bigger cut of all sales in Costa Maya. It is really a great laid back place if you give it a chance. We did the ruins tour (booked at the pier as their is no prebooking with local tours) and did the little town 3 miles away one time. Both were nice.

[ali38]

you won't be missing anything in belize

[mininutrsp]

We went to Costa Maya on the Pride in September of 2002. We were supposed to go to Progresso but the hurricane (Isadore I believe) damaged the pier and the ship could not dock. We did the Mayan ruins tour going to Chacchoben. It was great. Not as impressive as Chichen Itza would have been but really nice. Our guide was wonderful, giving us lots of info on the bus ride there (about one hour) and info once we got there. We then had time to wander around. We heard from people who ended up on the other bus that their guide basically did nothing. We got lucky. We then hung out by the big pool for a while and wandered in some of the shops but were hasseled a lot by the vendors trying to sell us things. The ruins were weel woth the visit.

[Ms Belvedere]

Here are a few reviews of Costa Maya that I've copied and pasted from both rec.travel cruises and also from Cruise Critics. Please do not think I wrote these, I simply copied them into a file that I keep for myself about different ports. It does not give credit to the original authors as I only copied the body of the posts, my apologies to the orig reviewers for not giving credit:

Costa Maya:

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Our personal opinion on Costa Maya.
Costa Maya was build with tourist in mind.. very colorful and all new
buildings. Tourist are the reason it is being developed. They transport you,
if you desire, from the ship by trams. These leave continuously all day
long. We arrived in port at 8:00 AM but decided to have a relaxing breakfast
on ship and arrive in "town" around 9:00. This worked out well as we were
able to look around in the shops before there was a show in the outdoor
theater (that is covered). I would say this is a must see show.. very very
talented dancers,, many costume changes and very high energy level. We would
have returned for the other show later in the day but we had an afternoon
tour planned so went back on ship to eat lunch. The shopping there is a
mix...they do dicker on price (hey it is Mexico) but you will see many of
the same items in Cozumel. We bought from the least pushy vendor,,,,,,, the
one that said "come see the stuff I have,, it is the same cheap stuff the
other guys have only cheaper" LOL
What I would suggest is not to take one of the Pre-booked beach party tours
as our table mate did this and sounded disappointed. You ride on an older
non air bus for 1/2 hour and they take to you a beach. That is it! Sure
there is music but Costa Maya has a very nice beach area,, provide hammocks,
beach chairs, fresh showers and bar service right there in Costa Maya. Also
there is a beautiful pool just recently build (another one other than the
beach pool) that is in the middle of the court area, it is kidney shaped,
kinda wraps around different areas and even has a swim up bar. Very clean,,,
looked very refreshing and if your a water bunny that do not mind people
around,, make for a different choice other than the beach. Both are with in
stepping stones of each other. Since this is a newer port and just being
developed, I expect to see many changes over the next 10 years. It will be
interesting to say,,, remember when......

Chacchoben Mayan Ruins.
We prebooked a 4 hour tour off Royal Caribbean Internet site at a cost of
52.00 a person. The tour company's name escapes me at the present time but
they ran a very organized package. There were a total of 3 "gray hound type"
buses.. each bus had it's own driver and tour guide. You stayed with your
group the whole tour. The tour guide was very educated about the area and
explained the history of not only Costa Maya, the Mayian culture, Chacchoben
ruins but also commerce and where the future is taking them. Very
informative and very interesting. It was a 45 minute ride and the buses were
newer and air conditioned. We were able to observe the outlaying areas as we
traveled. Once at the Ruins,,,, we were very surprised at the amount of area
they covered. Our guide also was explained the Maya history and the ruins
throughout the time we were there. 1 hour and 45 minutes. We were able to
climb and explore at each site area. There was a great deal of walking,,, if
you have limited mobility,, you might want to reconsider this tour. IF I had
to make a guess I would say the tallest ruin was about 3 stories high, very
impressive. It is my understanding that Chacchoben is not open to the public
but only accessible by tours. Since my husband is the history buff,, I am
not able to give you a great deal of specific details of the ruins
themselves. BUT I can say,,,, for someone like ME, that does not normally
enjoy "history" stuff..... I really felt it was worth our time and money.
(also there were others on the tours that had been to other ruins,,, they
too said this was a great tour). Before traveling back to Costa Maya they
did serve refreshments,,,, your choice of Sojba (sp?) beer or Pepsi.

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We did the jungle beach break, and it was fun, the drinks are included, a
young staff that keeps the activities going, volley ball, darts, etc etc,
use of non motorized stuff is free, beach was ok, and actually the better
snorkeling was just off the right as you come down the dock, there was a
better selection of fish and water was clearer

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My buddy just came back from there and said it was beautiful. It's started
to get developed now with paved roads and such. Must be nice to see places
like this before they become commercialized.C heck here for some of your
options in Costa Maya.
[url]http://www.geocities.com/wgc41/costamaya.html[/url]
<http://www.geocities.com/wgc41/costamaya.html>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk to Mahahual is approximately 20 minutes. You can get a ride to the town from the pier. The town is actually 3 miles long. The main "commercial centre" is where you get dropped off. I f you walk a short distance away from the town you will find other bars and restaurants. The town of Mahahual is very safe for all visitors, (contrary to the information given out on some of the cruise ships).

The Dive Centres in Mahahual are BLUE HA DIVING and BUCANERO DEL CARIBE and MAYA PALMS RESORT. All Dive operators offer resort courses. Blue Ha and Maya Palms are PADI centres and can be booked through Mayahual Tours at the cruiseship pier. Bucanero del Caribe (CMAS) can also be booked at the pier. The centres try to accommodate people’s wishes but the most important thing is to get the people back to the ship. Blue Ha has all Scubapro equipment, Maya Palms has a variety of top quality equipment and Bucanero has a variety of equipment.

Mahahual Village now has: - Snorkel tours, wave runners, fishing, parasailing, and horseback riding, Scuba Diving. 2 operators with booths at the pier are Mayahual Tours (3 booths) and Let's Go Snorkelling. These tour operators organise a trip to town for 5USD per person. The return trip is 2 USD per person with the local taxis. There are a lot of beach bars and restaurants in the area. Shopping for souvenirs is also possible at more moderate prices than offered at the Pier.

Parasailing is now being offered by MAYAHUAL TOURS who have 3 booths at the cruise ship pier.
The snorkel tour operators all have locker facilities for storing personal items of guests. There are three in the town, Mayahual Tours; (20:00USD per person. 1&1/2 hour trip) they have 3 booths at the cruise ship pier selling their trips. They will arrange transport for you or you can go directly into town and they have a stand on the beach just as you come into town. The other is Let's Go Snorkelling- their prices are the same and can arrange transport into town. By the way it costs 5 USD per person for the trip to town. Once in town you return by yellow cab and this will cost 2 USD per person. (Do not ask about this idiosyncrasy in prices). The third place for snorkelling is in the centre of the town (or we should really say Village). They are next door to the Taxis. Their prices are the same. Lifejackets are on board. There are golf carts for rent at the port of Costa Maya , (15 USD per hour, 45 USD per half day and 75 USD per full day). There is also Deep-sea fishing is on offer from Mayahual Tours.

As for eating and drinking there are few places worth mentioning: -
OXTANKHA serves the best Ceviche in town -- Ceviche is raw conch, prawns and sometimes Octopus marinated in Lime Juice. It is served with tomato and onion and taco chips.
TAPAS Bar, Italian Argentinean owners. Serve good food and drinks, they have a place on the beach with tables and chairs.
Another good recommendation is PEZ QUADRO. This is about 800 yards south of the town centre. Italian run. A beautiful beach bar with swing seats serving cocktails, beer, Italian and Mexican cuisine. There are others like, CAPTAIN MONO and El Delfin. Further down about 1 mile and a half from the town centre is the Casa Del Mar Beach Café. This offers pancakes, freshly baked German Bread and all day breakfast with freshly pressed orange juice.

In Mahahual there are a few restaurants offering excellent cuisine in the day and evenings. There is the Restaurant LUNA PLATA offering Italian pasta, pizza and meat dishes, run by Italians, Dario, Edzekiel, and Luca. The next restaurant next door is TIROVINO run by Chiara and Michael. They offer Thailand dishes and pasta. In the town centre is OXTANKHA offering Mexican dishes. There is also the TEQUILA BEACH, which offers various meals. Later in the evening is Music. On Cruise ship days these places are always open.

There are tours offered by the local taxis to Chachobben, Kohunlich, Bacalar, Chetumal.

There are now 4-wheeled ATVs for rent.

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My own personal opinion is that Costa Maya was very clean, easy to get around and offered a lot in a small area. I stayed right at the beach at the port. I was one of the first off the ship and got a chair on the beach facing the ships in port.

They offered massages (reasonable prices), hammocks, swim up pools, and waiters were at your elbow when you wanted a drink. The rest rooms were clean and you could always head back to the ship when you got tired of the sun.

Next time we go I'll go into Mahahual and do some of the things mentioned above.

Ms B

[kapcruiser]

Thank you for all the information. We were planning on costa maya being our cheap day. Eat breakfast, they just go to the pool area at costa maya for a few hours and head back to the boat for lunch. After lunch we might go back to the pier and go shopping. Is there anywhere near the pier to snorkel, we bought our own gear?

[Ms Belvedere]

[quote name='kapcruiser']Thank you for all the information. Is there anywhere near the pier to snorkel, we bought our own gear?[/QUOTE]

I really can't take credit for the reviews and want to emphasize they are copied from other travelers. :) I hope the info helps in your decision. As far as snorkeling, I don't know. Hopefully someone can help with that one. I would not cancel a cruise, though, based on not going to Belize.

Ms B

[triplelutz]

Ms. Belvedere - you are just fab! After researching a bit more, I've finally convinced DH that Costa Maya won't be a disaster. It actually looks rather interesting.

[cruiseclues]

triplelutz,

We have a website which has a fair amount of info on Costa Maya (many photos, though it continue to change):

[url]http://islesea.com/costamaya[/url]

:) :cool: :D

[Knights on the Beach]

We just went to both Costa Maya and Belize on the Carnival Glory. I really liked Costa Maya; my husband wasn't quite as impressed as I was. We bypassed the tourist area right at the dock, and took a taxi to Majahual where we grabbed a table under a thatched roof and made that our base for the day. We just spent a nice relaxing beach day there and enjoyed a few Sol beers and some chips & salsa, which were pretty good. A little disappointing we couldn't seem to find Corona anywhere although we saw several signs advertising it. We took a walk down the road (which is sand) quite a ways and walked back on the beach. I saw a beautiful, quaint little town, my husband saw the trash on the ground. I saw beautiful (if a bit rugged in some places) beaches and warm blue water. My husband thought it would be a lot better if they'd clear out all the sea grass and clean up the beaches a bit. Anyway, if you ask me how my day was in Costa Maya, I'd say it was great! If you asked my husband, he would say it was not bad, but just all right. The others in our group seemed to enjoy it.

Belize, on the other hand, we both loved! We did the Shark Ray Alley tour through Carnival, and the snorkeling was some of the best (if not THE best) we've ever done. My friend snorkeled there for her first time, so now she's spoiled for life. We can't wait to go back there!

So, if you decide to go ahead and take this cruise, enjoy Costa Maya and don't worry about what you're missing. (You can't really miss it if you've never been, can you?) ;) Then, book another cruise with Belize on the itinerary! :)

[SallyMay]

Thanks for all the info. We are looking forward to exploring Costa Maya next Arpil.

[charvella]

We took a taxi to "Pez Quadro". It was the most relaxing time we had on our trip. We sat in front of their hut, which is on the ocean and relaxed. The people that run the Pez Quadro also own the Hotel & Restaurant directly across the street. We ate at their restaurant, which is Italian. You can eat inside (which reminds you of Europe, or outside. It was great and the owners were so genuine. There was only one person that came to sell us his handmade items and no one else. There were also two ladies giving massages right next to us under the shade of a big tree. If you want to relax and just watch the ocean, this is the place to be. Just tell the taxi driver "Pez Quadro, por favor"!