lifes-a-beach

19 hours ago, RADGIRL80 said:

Hi, 

 

We are a group of 8 (4 adults and 4 kids-12, 12, 12, and 15) coming to costa Maya in a couple of weeks. I’ve been trying to find a good snorkel boat tour in costa Maya and can’t find anything. I tried contacting gypseadivers based on prior recommendations, and haven’t heard back. We are also fine going to a good beach club and going on a snorkel boat from there. I know Jamie’s has one, but we aren’t interested in all inclusive. I would appreciate any recommendations! Thanks! 

For some reason I didn't have good luck with the gypseadivers website either.  Try Catherine Giroux at coralnegro8@hotmail.com .  She was very responsive to me and was there when we arrived. 

We went with these folks in March.

http://gypseadivers.com/

Good service.  Water was pretty rough but they made the best of it.  We have our own gear so I can't comment on that. 

This is our go to parking facility.  It’s slightly elevated so if it were to flood my truck would be high and dry.  Reasonable pricing and excellent service.  We have used them 5 times already this year and the drivers are very friendly.  And if you’ve ever been on a shuttle when they drive too fast or unsafe you’ll appreciate these guys.  When they drop you off he will tell you the number of the parking spot they occupy and will be there shortly when you get off.  I recall our first cruise after the restart, they called me about 9:30 AM to ask if we were still coming.  We were half way to Galveston and he said we were their only client that trip that had not cancelled.  He thanked me and said he would be waiting when we got there, and so he was.   We haven’t been disappointed.

Please convey my thanks to your husband for his service and tell him to wear whatever he wants.  He’s earned it.

My wife and daughter were in Cozumel yesterday and went to Paradise Beach.  For reference, we have visited there dozens of times over about 20 or so years.  When they arrived they were told that it was sold out.  There were 5 ships in port.  Last night on the ship they spoke with a couple that had made the AI reservation.  They said it was an absolute madhouse and far more crowded than they had ever seen.  Disappointing that they appear to be moving toward the AI business model.  We'll try them again but may need to make other plans as we don't drink alcohol or eat that much, even though when we were there in April our F&B bill was more than the AI fee. 

I gotta make the drive tomorrow.  Are they done removing all the barriers?

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I was on an NCL cruise, but took the excursion that took the smaller passenger ferry type boat all the way through the canal to the Pacific Ocean.  I don't recommend this tour if you are the type of person that needs things to run like clockwork or someone that cannot stand idle time.  It is not for you.  There are many factors involved in determining how fast the ferry will make its pass through the canal.  The ferry is at the mercy of the timing of other ships in the canal.  Each lock must be filled up with multiple ships before it can be filled/emptied.  They don't just do one boat at a time.  There is an entire process of lining up these vessels.  Some (all?) of them need to be secured to the sides.  As discussed above, there is significant waiting time at multiple times through the trip -- 20-30-45 minutes each time.  It happens.  Be prepared for it.  This will be a very long day.  You will likely be exhausted and can't wait to get back to the ship before it is over.  Our excursion was 2 or 3 hours longer than was advertised.  I forget exactly.  We got back to the ship well after dark and well after dinnertime.  Most, if not all, of that delay was while on the ferry boat.  We had no issues with the bus or getting access to anything.  I saw no incompetence anywhere.  Just unlucky timing.

 

It will also very likely be hot and muggy with a good chance of some rain.  You should expect to be perspiring.  You're in a tropical rainforest location.

 

All that said... I loved this excursion and highly recommend it for anyone that is agreeable to these conditions and wants to see the canal up close.  It's a great opportunity for photos and videos.  It's an experience of a lifetime.  I will do it again if I ever do another Canal cruise.

 

But if you aren't up to the task, don't go.  For the last 2-3 hours on the ferry, there were multiple people who were doing nothing but loudly complaining and whining about how horrible it was.  And they were going to fight for a refund, etc.   They stopped watching anything going by them or around them hours before the excursion ended and just sat in their seats complaining and fanning themselves.

This.  Exactly.  Did it several years ago just like this.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  Definitely not for someone who is sensitive to heat or impatient.  But bucket list stuff for me.

Send them a bill for your time.  As the saying goes, time is money.  They won’t pay it but they’ll always owe you.  

We live on Lake Conroe and leave at 8:30 to head down the morning of.  Never had a problem. There are some hotels along I-45 in Conroe. Avoid Shenandoah and the Woodlands. The closer you get to Houston the more crime you will encounter. 

If it’s not kids, it’s drunk adults. Our dinner last night on Adventure was spent listening to a table for 4 next to us with drunk profanity and barroom loud voices. There’s trash on other cruise lines though.  Most of the time it’s bearable but not always. 

My son and his girlfriend went Friday with Native Choice. They reported that their guide, Erik, was amazing and the trip was definitely worth it. 

1 hour ago, dog said:

 

life’s a beach-  we’re you at the Escape Beach Club that Princess cruises offer as an excursion?

No, but also note that you quoted a 3 year old post.  Much had changed.  Our experience at Blue Kay is January was not good.  The beach has eroded and efforts to control the sargassum were not very effective.  We are aboard Adventure now and went to Crazy Lobster for the first time on Friday.  It is a very big place and we were able to find loungers to suit us.  The food was pretty good and reasonably priced.  They have a net placed out in the water to help control the sargassum but the fenced area isn’t very big, giving it kind of a swimming pool effect.  No wave action.  Kayakers literally paddled around in a circle.  To be fair though, all of the beach clubs either use the nets or are completely covered in sargassum.  It’s still light years better than staying at the port though.  You don’t need an excursion unless you want to go to the ruins, in which case you should contact Native Choice.  Just get in a cab and tell them to drop you off at Krazy Lobster.  Walk down the malecon and decide for yourself.  Plenty to choose from.

We have had lobster on two 5-nights on Adventure this year.  I recall in the past no lobster but it appears they may have changed that.  Or maybe they had a bunch to get rid of.  I did my part.  Stopped at 6 both times.

That reminds me of how the CDC had to tell people to wash their hands as a COVID prevention measure.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

That's good news.  My son and his girlfriend are using Native Choice when we're there in April. 

We have a couple of those curly combination bicycle cables that we use to secure our beach bags to the chairs.  That way nobody can pick them up and it would take too long to unzip one to go through the contents. 

On 3/30/2022 at 12:04 PM, c-leg5 said:

Strange how a lot of European back packers manage to find it. There are several new (small) hotels being built - I was surprised given the economy.

 

Not sure what maps you are looking at - you can do a virtual walk around the area on Google.

I too find this European presence interesting.  A few years ago we were at Blue Kay and I was having trouble conversing with the waiter in Spanish.  My Spanish is not awful but not very good either.  A tall, blond headed guy came over and asked if he could help.  He spoke quite fluent Spanish and I also noticed his accent was German.  I speak much better German than Spanish so we had a brief exchange in German.  After lunch we were walking back to the beach and I commented to my wife that we were in the middle of nowhere-Mexico and I had just conversed in 3 languages. 

Yes there is a pharmacy in the port area.  I have not been there but one of my travel companions last week did visit seeking some kind of medication which they didn't have. 

Edit:  Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the info on Almaplena.  Their website says transportation is included.  How does that work?  You mentioned a taxi ride, is there a specific transport or do we just get in a cab and Almaplena pays for it?  We don’t drink alcohol so the all inclusive, while not cost prohibitive, I assume would only include whatever food they serve and whatever non-alcoholic drinks they have.  Do you know if they do anything besides soda and water?  What were the food choices?  The website mentions beef and shrimp tacos, guacamole and nachos.  Is that it?  Thanks for the info.

While on the where-to-go subject, last week we went to Blue Key.  We have been there a dozen or more times in the past and have always loved it.  Unfortunately, it has changed and no longer suits our needs.  The wooden lounge chairs have never been great but with a cushion we could manage.  The cushions are now thin and ineffective.  When we walked onto the beach the employee told me it was $10 per chair which I knew we had never paid.  I told him we would just move on and he quickly said if we were going to be eating or drinking there was no charge.  We have always enjoyed the food there and would go across the malecon and sit under the shade next to the bar to eat.  The bar was closed “today, but will be open tomorrow “.  It was Friday so that made no sense.  So when it was time to eat we sat at a wooden table under the palm trees on the most uncomfortable, stiff wooden chairs ever.  We ordered the shrimp ceviche and, while it was pretty good, it was nothing like what we had consistently gotten before.  Also ordered guacamole and I don’t remember how much it was but the serving was quite small, again, nothing like our past experiences.  The service was pretty good as it has always been and the restrooms were reasonably clean.  As for the beach, it has been necessary for them to put a row of large rocks along the water, presumably to stop erosion, but it also looked like this was their attempt to keep the sargassum off the beach.  And there was lots of sargassum.  There was an area with no rocks but smooth sand bags where you could get into the water but it was certainly not visually appealing and anyone with mobility issues would need to be careful.  
 

I’m sorry to report that Blue Key was not to our liking.  Hopefully the future will bring better things for them.

Just off Adventure and had the Chops + 1.  What this really comes down to is whether you will enjoy the main dining room the other three nights.  For us it was fine.  Not amazing food but pretty good.  And one night was lobster which I love.  We’ve done the UDP before when we had a bunch of onboard credit and it was good.  Personally, there were entrees on both Chops and Giovanni’s menus that I would have tried but for us it just wouldn’t be worth the extra cost.  As mentioned above, I would just use the OBC toward gratuities and save my money for another trip.  

Just returned Monday from Adventure in 9690.  It was our first time in the corner, aft balcony. First, there is no cover at all.  There is a steel brace that one could bump one’s head on if tall enough.  Second, it seems a little smaller but full disclosure we never book balconies and only booked this one because it was cheap and we got it during double points.  Third, when we left Cozumel it was pouring rain and we had 25-30 MPH head winds.  It was a very rough ride until about 4AM when things calmed down.  We’ve been in back and front cabins on several cruises and it’s very much different than the middle of the ship.  If you’re sensitive to movement you should pass.  The room itself was fine.  The beds suck, at least to us, but we take blow up cushions no matter the room or even cruise line.  The room steward, Alex, was very attentive and the cabin was always clean and neat when we returned.  

The shuttle was not running today while we were on the pier.  We left shortly after they allowed disembarkation which was at 1:00 PM.  No shuttle.  We returned about 4:30 PM and no shuttle.  I did see the shuttle there but it wasn’t running while we were walking off and back on.  

“Covid ships” weren’t for just those with Covid who had to isolate.  They were for crew who were exposed and had to quarantine for 7 days.  There continues to be much confusion between isolation and quarantine.  They used those ships to rotate crew that were not sick but had to quarantine because of exposure with those who were not sick and has completed the quarantine period.   I don’t know what they do with those who are infected and must isolate for a longer period of time.  Some might even have to be sent to medical facilities ashore.  

And I don’t mean to pick on you harry.  I just don’t think it’s any of my business how the crew, or the company they work for, try to ensure that there is continuity of service.  My choice is to tip more generously, knowing the crew has been affected for a long time.  

2 hours ago, harry0 said:

I would like to have crew unmasked and let the chips fall where they may. I cruised a few weeks ago-I followed masks mandates and still got covid. I had cold symptoms for 5 days and was back to normal. I also would like to see the crew  be allowed to go to shore again. Its the right thing to do.

And I’m sure you are willing to pay their salaries if/when they have to quarantine or isolate.  See, that’s the difference here.  These men and women have been without work for a long time.  Most of us did not face that reality.  I know I didn’t.  We can argue all day about whether masks are effective or not.  These workers can’t.  I think quarantine is still 7 days and isolation 14, maybe even longer.  That’s real money to them.