Just the Two of Us -- Liberty Sept 9, 2018

COCONUT´S is on top of a hill overlooking the sea. It’s a rowdier place full of personality and things to see. We ate some shrimp here that was excellent. The drink was a tequila based one and it was fine, but I am not a big tequila person, so I sipped at it but didn’t really drink it. Instead I ordered off the drink menu and hit the jackpot! One of the best drinks I had anywhere on the cruise, a Banana Mama.

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It’s not real. One of the staff makes them for tips.

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The Third Stop...

Stop number three is kind of up in the air right now and I can’t even remember the name of the bar. The place they have gone to for years is in disrepair so in the last few weeks they have been looking for an alternative stop. The place we went was ok, it did have a view of a natural bridge rock formation out over the sea that was easy to walk to and really cool. The drink was a tequila and lemonade kind of thing that just wasn’t for me. I guess the issue is it doesn’t have the personality of the other three stops. It wasn’t terrible but clearly would be rated the least interesting stop on the Hop.

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And finally, we came to RASTA´S. A reggae Bob Marley bar that’s a family affair. Lots of turtle nests here and tons of personality. The owner, his son and other family members are still working the bar and making it a friendly place. We had excellent coconut shrimp and the drink is the Iguana which is very good.

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We then headed back to the populated side of the island passing by all the beach clubs on our way back to the cruise terminals. Everyone gets a T-Shirt and lots of memories. We had many Fo-Hos (former hoppers) on our trip and we made friends with one couple who told us the inside scoop about the different places we visited and were just so much fun to hang with all day.

Be advised that you need to bring money. We purchased food twice and one drink each at all the stops. Then my wife of course needed a Bar Hop hat. We also got t-shirts at Rasta’s because – Bob Marley in a Mexican bar. So, we did spend quite a bit of money on this excursion, but it was well worth it. The communication pre-trip was very good and the organization on the Hop was excellent. We usually have a big group traveling with us so next time we hit Cozumel we are bringing a crowd on the Bar Hop! I’m glad I didn’t let the “Bar Hop” name deter me from researching and then going on this tour.

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There are plenty of activities to do if you choose. Kayaks and paddle boards are plentiful, and the staff will assist you and help you get going. We enjoyed just relaxing and talking to the owner, the staff and some of the other guests. There is a box for a group tip which is also very nice since so many different staff helped us that day.

 

 

 

 

We usually travel with a group, but this visit was, just the two of us. You can bet that when we return to Costa Maya with a crew, we will be coming back to Maya Chan. They know exactly the kinds of things that tourists want: good communication and directions, English speaking staff, private and not overcrowded beach, wifi, great food and drinks, attentive but never pushy staff, seamless transportation to and from the port and a very reasonable price. I really don’t know how you could beat this combination.

 

 

 

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I’ve always wanted to try this resort! Sounds like they did a great job, but it saddens me that staff feels “responsible” for weather and condition of the beach. That’s way outside of their control! It’s like penalizing a guide for not seeing a bear in AK. Really not their fault, and visitors have to expect storms and nature happen the way they happen.

I was surprised you guys did the bar hop. But I can see how this would b a great way to explore part of Cozumel that’s quieter, and meet some people other than other tourists!

Great pictures btw!

Sooo, should I look for your new watchband on Harmony? :')

I passed on the watch. Lol. Looking for something a little more expensive!

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We then headed back to the populated side of the island passing by all the beach clubs on our way back to the cruise terminals. Everyone gets a T-Shirt and lots of memories. We had many Fo-Hos (former hoppers) on our trip and we made friends with one couple who told us the inside scoop about the different places we visited and were just so much fun to hang with all day.

 

 

Be advised that you need to bring money. We purchased food twice and one drink each at all the stops. Then my wife of course needed a Bar Hop hat. We also got t-shirts at Rasta’s because – Bob Marley in a Mexican bar. So, we did spend quite a bit of money on this excursion, but it was well worth it. The communication pre-trip was very good and the organization on the Hop was excellent. We usually have a big group traveling with us so next time we hit Cozumel we are bringing a crowd on the Bar Hop! I’m glad I didn’t let the “Bar Hop” name deter me from researching and then going on this tour.

 

 

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Yes, i have often wondered how many people pass on this tour because of the name. Glad you enjoyed!

Was the third stop The Liquor Box/Bar Miami - difficult to tell without a view from the road? I am glad they are looking for alternatives to Playa Bonita. It was good in its day but a change is long overdue IMO.

After some more looking, googling and searching I believe the bar is Cala. It is located at El Mirador. So Cala seems to be the name.

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After some more looking, googling and searching I believe the bar is Cala. It is located at El Mirador. So Cala seems to be the name.

 

 

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Ah thanks! Its been a while since we stopped at El Mirador and i only remember a few vendors, no bar. I can understand why Tom may think it is a good option though with photo ops.

I think Liquor Box is further down nearer to Rasta’s. There are a few long standing bars on that side and then others that come and go and change their name!

Can you book this tour through the ship?

Every aspect of our experience a Maya Chan was first rate. They have an informative website and answer promptly for pre-visit information. They provided an email with extensive information about seagrass in the Caribbean well in advance of our visit. This kind of communication is hard to come by and much appreciated by people like me who plan vacation activities months if not years in advance.

When we arrived, the resort had experienced some very heavy weather, causing serious erosion to their beach and forcing them to close for a couple of days. We were the first group back post storm. When we got to the pick-up site we were given information about the conditions of the beach and the presence of seagrass. We were shown pictures of the beach and the water clarity and given the option of a refund if we wanted to forgo the day at the resort. We decided to stick with the plan and head to Maya Chan.

The trip to the resort was a bit bumpy but I grew up driving on gravel roads, so it wasn’t a big deal. We passed lots of areas where the seagrass was piled high on the beach and smelled pretty bad. I was a bit concerned that our day would not be that great as we drove farther down the beach.

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I believe that Maya Chan only books independently. I made my arrangements from their website. Totally worth it. You do have to walk out of the secured port area to get to the pickup point. Getting out of the port area is a bit of a maze to navigate. The area just outside the port is nice and there weren’t hordes of vendors or taxis trying to sell you stuff. The walk to the pick up is very short.

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Do You Like Texans?

When you are sailing from Galveston this is a question you must ask yourself. Because, at least 70% of your fellow passengers will be Texans. And if they aren’t from the Lone Star State they will be from pretty close by. We had a good number of Oklahomans and various other midwestern states and some from Louisiana. But the Texas crowd dominates so just understand that.

One guy who didn’t understand that was trying to get chosen as a Love and Marriage contestant. He proudly said he was from Oklahoma and then gave the upside-down hook ‘em horns sign mocking the University of Texas. He was lustily booed and surprise surprise, got almost no cheers when it came time to choose a winner to participate in the game. He was an idiot.

This was an extremely polite and friendly crowd. I never had an incident onboard of crowding or line cutting or rude behavior in any way. Other than one very drunk couple in Cozumel stumbling their way back to the ship we witnessed nothing bad at all. So I’d be happy to cruise with Texans again, they are fun folks.

This may be the only ship with a resident country band though. And they were a popular draw where ever they played. We had two-stepping on the promenade and if you’ve every wanted to hear a country version of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” then this is your chance.

This was our muster drill. I’m glad everyone was polite. Some of us could have probably smelled a little better. It was a bit hot.

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Almost forgot, don’t mess with Texas! They fly the flag while docked in Galveston.

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Entertainment

We skipped the headliner on Monday because we had seen El Gaucho before. And we wanted to do different things on this trip. We wandered into the Schooner bar and caught Bill Forrest playing Billy Joel songs for an enthusiastic crowd. Bill was really funny and involved the audience in the performance. He offered insight into the songs he was playing and had witty banter all evening long. His shtick was kind of a subversive jab at the powers that be running the ship. When a crowd of people would walk through the bar area headed elsewhere he’d say something like, “Oh it must be time for the big bean bag toss finals on the promenade!” He did a different featured artist each night, Billy Joel, Elton John, The Beach Boys and the Eagles. If you are on Liberty don’t miss a chance to sit down in the Schooner for at least one of Bill’s sets. Well worth your time.

But one interesting thing did happen with the piano man. He kept alluding to a show he was trying to arrange for later in the week where he would be playing with the ship orchestra as his backing band. Mentioned it numerous times and said it wasn’t on the schedule yet but look for it. When “later in the week” arrived, it was a new performer to RCCL making his first Headliner appearance (at least on Liberty), a Billy Joel impersonator being backed by…the ship’s orchestra. Hmmmmm. Interesting.

The Billy Joel impersonator was good so if he shows up on one of your sailings he’s worth going to see. He did make a rookie cruise headliner mistake in his first performance that was kind of funny. He thought he’d play his set, bring up the house lights, have the CD come on stage and then call him back for an encore. Well, experienced cruisers will know how that went over! As soon as the lights started coming up half the crowd immediately started bolting for the exits and dinner. The CD hastily tried to stem the tide, but it was too late and by the time faux Billy made it back to the piano (he never even really got off the stage) a large chunk of his audience was long gone. He didn’t make that mistake in his second show.

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We saw the ice show “Encore” and it was fine. It’s supposedly about theater around the world. Started off with Phantom of the Opera. A little Cats mixed was mixed in for popularity. Then we jumped back to the 1800s and did Carmen music. If that wasn’t obscure enough for most of the audience, we headed off to Russia for some tunes and then Japanese Kabuki theater. Finally, we head back to the USA and Vegas with a bit of Elvis and then the Hollywood Bowl for classic rock. It really didn’t make much sense but hey, at least at the end was songs you actually recognized. The skaters are always good on RCCL and they have to work in a pretty small space. I did see more falls in this show than I’d seen before but again, small space and on a moving ship.

We also saw “Saturday Night Fever.” I guess I never saw the actual movie. Just all the videos and clips of the dancing. Well, the problem is that most of the songs you know come early in the show. Then there are several story lines going on and none of them really get fleshed out very well in the stage production. I get it, shortened show, focus on the musical numbers and the dancing means that there is a lot of fill in the blanks on the storyline. Characters who seem to have little interaction are suddenly thrown into intense situations and are fighting other people and committing suicide. I had no idea any of that was in the movie. Then the story ends rather abruptly, and on a downer note with a song I’ve never heard before. That’s when the cast comes back out full force for a long ending and musical rewind of all the hit songs you are now going to hear again. It’s not terrible but it’s not the best show on the ship for sure. The featured dance couple (not the main characters) are fantastic and they really steal the show with the contest dance performance.

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The best show on board is the Cirque du Soleil-styled “In the Air.” If you enjoy Cirque shows, then this is a very enjoyable production. The aerialists are top notch and their section of the show is the best but other parts of the show are very good as well. The featured dancers make a return to the stage and put on another great dance performance. If you only go to one show on Liberty this is the one.

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Liberty has the 70s Party and after seeing “Saturday Night Fever” how much more disco do you need on one cruise? I’m more than ready for the70s party to retire. But Liberty has an 80s party! CD Mark and Activities Director Enzo put it together themselves and its fun! Symphony also has an 80s party and they have a giant PacMan. No PacMan for Liberty but the 80s Party was a good time and a nice change of pace from the same old disco songs.

There were also some bartender shows on the Promenade where they flipped bottles all over the place while they made drinks. Worth watching for sure.

Quest was good, and our team won. One of the couples from the Love and Marriage game were our team leaders and the older couple were on our team as well. They were leading the charge for our Quest team and we basically kicked everyone else’s tails. There were a number of people that left before the game even started apparently already offended by the announcement that you would likely see some body parts during the game.

CD Mark did a great job with Love and Marriage. We had three couples who were all very funny and talkative. No stage fright in this crowd at all. Mark was a good as the host and was a good cruise director overall. His morning show with Enzo was a riot. But Enzo is leaving the Liberty at the end of September and he’s not sure where he will be next.

Enzo!

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Interesting that you liked the Schooner Bar guy - other reviews have not been very kind. The consensus seems to be he talks too much and needs to play the music! Thanks for your opinion.

Saturday Night Fever was an R rated movie. And yeah I saw it when I was 16 on a date and was mortified! :eek: Turning it into a stage musical is not the greatest creative choice. But oh man, that music just defined the late 70s.

Thanks for the kind words for Texans. There is a different vibe on Galveston cruises than Florida departures. Not saying better - just different. It's a little more laid back, you're going to see a lot more jeans and hear a lot of ya'll's. Passenger demographics are definitely Tx, Ok, NM, AZ and the Midwest. Not too many "yankees" ;)! We might be a little loud at times but I have noticed the rudeness and complaining is a lot less noticeable. We can't wait to get back to Liberty!

Interesting that you liked the Schooner Bar guy - other reviews have not been very kind. The consensus seems to be he talks too much and needs to play the music! Thanks for your opinion.

True, he is a talker. But I found him to be funny and a nice change of pace. He really works hard to involve the audience. But I can certainly see how he might put some people off with the chatter and the rearranging of the songs at times to elicit a laugh.

Thanks for the info on Maya Chan. I checked out the reviews at TripAdvisor and they are spectacular. We've been on 3 cruises, all with Carnival, and we've never done a non-cruise line sponsored excursion. We've never had much luck finding beaches on our own that weren't packed to the gills with no shot of getting a beach chair or umbrella. We're booked for LOS sailing date 1/20/19 and I'm looking forward to the trip to Maya Chan. Going to make our reservations soon.

Thanks for the info on Maya Chan. I checked out the reviews at TripAdvisor and they are spectacular. We've been on 3 cruises, all with Carnival, and we've never done a non-cruise line sponsored excursion. We've never had much luck finding beaches on our own that weren't packed to the gills with no shot of getting a beach chair or umbrella. We're booked for LOS sailing date 1/20/19 and I'm looking forward to the trip to Maya Chan. Going to make our reservations soon.

You won’t be disappointed. Make your reservations soon because they do sell out!

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Thanks for the kind words for Texans. There is a different vibe on Galveston cruises than Florida departures. Not saying better - just different. It's a little more laid back, you're going to see a lot more jeans and hear a lot of ya'll's. Passenger demographics are definitely Tx, Ok, NM, AZ and the Midwest. Not too many "yankees" ;)! We might be a little loud at times but I have noticed the rudeness and complaining is a lot less noticeable. We can't wait to get back to Liberty!

With the possibility of a new Royal port in Galveston and the rumored placing of an Oasis Class ship there I’d be strongly considering Texas sailings in the future.

Cozumel and Costa Maya already can handle the big ships. Not sure about Roatan.

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... Not sure about Roatan.

 

I'd be surprised if Roatan can handle Oasis class as I cannot recall one ever calling there.

A few words about the port at Costa Maya

Yes, this is a self contained “manufactured” experience. So those seeking authentic experiences (or at least as authentic as a cruise vacation gets) will likely need to go beyond the walls.

However, those that like the security of the port area and don’t want to spend money on excursions will find plenty to do. There are a multitude of shops. Eating and drinking are plentiful. There’s a large pool with a bar. There are areas for sunbathing. And it appeared that there was some kind of swimming with live fish thing going on.

You can easily spend your day here and have plenty of fun.

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