c-leg5

Not sure where you have read negative reviews of Chankanaab? I haven’t seen that many. I would consider the Cabana Beach area if you like Chankanaab and want a quieter area, or another beach. Paradise Beach has good facilities (at a price now they have gone predominantly AI) which is fine if you will avail of them but not my idea of quiet. The website has a good view of the beach to show you what is available or YouTube reviews to give you an idea of what to expect.

With Disney you will probably dock in town. With kids that age you should probably check out websites for Chankanaab or Paradise Beach or a driver for the day to customize a day if you want a mix of more cultural things like small ruins ( nothing like Tulum), chocolate factory, stingless bees, one of the Mayan cultural sites - (there are several now), snorkeling and/or beach time, local lunch.

My suggestion If you leave stuff hanging is to encase several hangers in lightweight clothes hanger case with new cabin number ticket, to prevent individual items being exposed, or able to slip off. How they could get lost moving a few cabins during the time we were at turnaround on an enclosed ship is beyond me. IF, they fell off in the corridor you would expect loose items would be collected in a central area that could be searched when items are reported missing. All I can say is I wasted far more time than I wanted to that week describing the articles (3 dress items) over and over to numerous levels of authority that seemed unable to communicate between themselves. in the end I was compensated but would still to this day would have preferred to have had the items.

I have only done one B2B where we had to move. They moved my hanging stuff and “lost” 3 items of clothing so I am in the camp of “stay in the same cabin” or “move the stuff myself”. I know lots of people say it goes smoothly and no problems but not my experience and not one I want to repeat.

I am sorry to hear that and sounds very different to our numerous experiences there. I presume from your timeline this was pre-Covid which seems very out of character. We have never done AI at Malecon21. We went several times from their early days shortly after opening until cruising halted. Initially it was PAYG and then we took the minimum package to use a lounger which required a minimum purchase but credited towards food and drink. We never had a problem ordering food or drinks. We always had excellent service and enjoyed the menu which was limited but different from the typical beach club offerings. We enjoyed the quieter location and quieter live music. We only went ever as a couple but one time did join some local ex-pats and members of crew that we knew from the ship and didn’t have a problem sitting together. When cruising resumed we were glad they had survived shut down with business from local expats and land vacationers but they obviously were understaffed and unprepared for coping with the influx of cruisers. We only stopped by on our first return to Costa Maya while doing a scouting trip to see how the town was doing. Again we did PAYG, which is still possible if you sit in the lounge area and don’t require a sun lounger. We were disappointed in the service on that occasion and haven’t had chance to return again. Hence my original statement that Malecon21 was our favorite. To be fair our return was very early on after cruising resumed when many places had closed down or were struggling. Other times we revisited Maya Chan and tried Krazy Lobster a couple of times for short visits mainly by default as they have taken over so much of the frontage now and are one of the few truly PAYG locations. Prices are reasonable and honest (which isn’t the case everywhere on the malecon). It was fine for a short stay, drink and a snack, it just lacks the ambiance that we personally prefer for a longer more relaxing visit with a lounger. Lots of people enjoy KL so as you say it can’t hurt to try it. Overall we are very disappointed in general with Mahahual since cruising resumed and would be quite happy just to spend a couple of hours at the port and return to the ship now - something we would never have done pre-Covid.

Unless you go to one of the out of town locations like Maya Chan, Almaplena, or Hayhu the other beach clubs are all along the same long bay in the town of Mahahual, so no choice of beach just various locations along one beach. All will have vendors to some degree but the ends tend to be quieter. There are many beach clubs there but unfortunately (for us too) many require AI or at least a limited package price with various options. Our favorite was Malecon21 which has several options on their website but for truly PAYG most people go to Krazy Lobster. It is a large club which doesn’t require pre-booking.

What is an e-card? From a TA?

Cabana beach is at the far end of Chankanaab. Look at a park map and you will see the locations. The lunch is at the restaurant by the pool. Unless you got a good sale price (we booked it once for that reason and it includes taxi fare) on the excursion i wouldn’t buy both. You need to do the math - you are paying twice for entrance. It is quite simple to go to Chankanaab independently. Cabana Beach prices have increased significantly since cruising resumed. You can always go into the park to pick which location you eat at if you don’t want to buy from the Cabana location. I am not sure if Cabana pass entitles you to use the pool if that is important - you have to be careful what is included in its limited park access - it is a discounted pass but has reduced amenities. The cruise ship excursion is limited to one plate from the buffet. It is adequate but nothing special. Some people complain. Unless ye excursion price is good I would just go independently and pick my own food and drink or book through Cabana and arrange your own taxi. If I remember correctly the pass is 2 - 3 drinks?(ETA I see it is unlimited from a limited menu.) Several recent reviews on this forum through the search engine.

No, they will get the status but earn the points for the sailing and cabin they sailed in.

I think Maya Chan closes from June so you probably have the choice of either. my decision would be largely based on port time. Maya Chan requires you to walk through the whole port area and a short distance outside the port to reach their transport. Then there is a 25 minute ride each way to the location. It is a quieter out of town location with no vendors and more relaxing but sargassum can be an issue so best to ask for photos on day of visit if this is a concern. Mexican buffet lunch and excellent service and individually assigned private palapa area per group. I haven’t been to Yaya but it is along the main malecon where there are multiple beach bars of various standards and different ambience from loud to quieter depending on preference. Most have gone to an AI model or at least package charge which usually includes lounger and a credit towards food and drink.some are PAYG. Malecon is a 5- 10 minute ride from port but be prepared to be approached by many (non-aggressive) vendors which while harmless can become annoying if you are trying to read or listen to earpods. We had decided to try Yaya a couple of years ago but they increased the price on us when we were trying to book and wouldn’t honor original quote so we never went. Let us know how it goes if you choose there as there aren’t many reviews.

Jaimie has taken over one of the beach bars south of town. It is at the southern end of malecon, around where the paved highway ends between Machos bar and hotel Luna de plata.If you look at Google maps you can do a street view. There was a recent review on this board if you do a search but I haven’t seen any more. It hasn’t been operating long under Jaimie. It is more private in that it is away from the main malecon and there will be less vendors because they don’t generally walk that far. I did notice a TA report that said taxis were charging $5 pp. I don’t know if that is official. We did pay extra to Luna de Plata once several years ago. We could easily have just got out at the end of the malecon and walked but it was raining.

I understand charging for the two missing people but don’t understand why they wouldn’t bring extra loungers when they arrived. They presumably checked in, got wrist bands and knew they were already paid for within a group? I find the attitude in the restaurant very unusual - were they very full? I see no reason for it or what they would gain by it? I have never seen the restaurant super crowded although I admit we have never eaten there just passed by. I am still trying to find out if they are still affiliated to DelMar or if there was a change of management and affiliation to Allegro as was suggested last year. Not that it excuses or explains their attitude just something I am curious about. I suspect not since there has been no further reports.

Ohana, part of the same group in town. I don’t drink tequila so not aware if the tequila places around International have it.

Yes that was our sailing but pre-time change got daylight savings. Costa Maya is on EST year round so by April you will be on local time. We don’t find the transport as efficient as it used to be so even rushing off the ship and through the port by the time we got there it was early afternoon. We tried to catch last recommended taxi back to try and make the most of the time but it was late arriving so we cut it very fine getting back on ship and really had to hustle through the port and length of pier. We enjoyed our afternoon but too much rushing and transport worries for such a short time for us. I would go again if we had a full day.