any info about Almaplena Beach Resort?

[mitsugirly]

Yes, they do have free wi-fi in the terrace and restaurant area, and also on the beach. :)

I confirm you the water is turquoise blue and no sea grass! Snorkeling is awesome, I've seen plenty of fish and corals.

I definitely will come back!

 

I definitely think I'm booking this place. It looks wonderful. :D

[mitsugirly]

One last question...some have mentioned the food and drinks were plentiful, but when you go to their website, why does it not mention that food and drinks are included in the price? Or am I just missing it? It states the taxi ride is included, but that's all I can find. Is the food and drinks really included? Is this both soda and alcohol drinks?

[mitsugirly]

I just thought of one other thing...

 

Do they have you pay a deposit or is the paypal request for payment in full?

[lkncruzers]

Food and drinks were definitely included. There were several lunch options and even my picky kids were happy. Payment was in full. If you have any doubts don't hesitate to email Monica the owner. I was worried about taxi ride and she wrote right back. Everything went smoothly and it was an awesome day. Check out the trip advisor website for more reviews. I would love to go back there again.

[mitsugirly]

Food and drinks were definitely included. There were several lunch options and even my picky kids were happy. Payment was in full. If you have any doubts don't hesitate to email Monica the owner. I was worried about taxi ride and she wrote right back. Everything went smoothly and it was an awesome day. Check out the trip advisor website for more reviews. I would love to go back there again.

 

Thanks for the info. I wonder why it doesn't state this on their website? I just thought it was kind of weird.

 

I did email her, but I haven't received a response yet, which is why I was posting. (Although I know this place is new and not many have been there yet).

 

I also wonder why if you book the AI directly with them, they ask for full payment. Then they state that you would only get your money back if the ship doesn't dock, otherwise you forfeit all of your money. For us, that means that we would lose $148 if for some reason we would have to cancel our cruise. :eek:

 

If we book with the other website (using excursions.bz) they only require you to put down an $8 deposit for adults and $2 for children. They only refund in case of the cruise not docking as well. Which means we would only be out $18 if we had to cancel for some reason. The balance is paid in full when we arrive in Costa Maya.

 

Although this seems like a "no-brainer" on who to book with, what are your thoughts on why it's like this? Should I actually book with the .bz for safety reasons. (Although we've never had to cancel a cruise yet, you just never know what could happen).

[lexanna02]

I'm wondering the same thing, Mitsugirly. We have several couples going with us who can't afford to loose that much money! I'm seriously considering Maya Chan again!

[mitsugirly]

I'm wondering the same thing, Mitsugirly. We have several couples going with us who can't afford to loose that much money! I'm seriously considering Maya Chan again!

 

Someone did mention somewhere on this forum about using Shore Excursioneer . com to book as well. I can not seem to locate anyone that has used that company for Almaphena yet, however I did do a search on just their name in all of the port forums and they came up regularly with great reviews and service using all of the ports. So, I do think I feel comfortable using them at this point. I've even chatted with them live online. So, I will probably be booking with them shortly. I just have a few more questions for them and then I'll book. :)

[lexanna02]

Thanks, girl! I'll await your next post to decide! It's the first cruise for most of those in my group, so I want to make this their best vacation ever!

[melodyesch]

I booked this resort for our vacation in December. I wanted to make sure that we got a spot because my husband and I like a less crowded beach. But I would like to hear other reviews as well.

 

I didn't worry about paying up front for the day. If we have to cancel our cruise for some reason our trip insurance will pay for it.

[lexanna02]

Hey melodyesch! What great news! I hadn't even considered that my trip insurance will pay non-refundable payments! Thanks! Almaplena it is!

[CruisingFamily2005]

Just got back from Almaplena Beach Resort. We were there this past Thursday.

 

It was nearing the end of some showers when we got there, but cleared up in 1-1.5 hours and was beautiful. The waves remained fairly rough through the day. Likely as a consequence, there was quite a bit of sea grass loose and washed up. There was someone actively keeping their immediate beach area clear.

 

According to our hostess, Monica, we were the only party booked that day and we had as much beach as we could see to ourselves. No one selling anything, no water vehicles running by the beach. If the sea were calmer we may have tried the snorkeling, although to be honest we can float but not quite swim.

 

Food was good, my family had chicken & zucchini flour tortillas and shrimp & curry tortillas. All drinks included, sodas, water, mixed. fruit drinks. Lunch was lively with our hosts chatting with us comfortably.

 

One hiccup we experienced was the taxi service:

They initially tried charging us for the trip until we showed an e-mail printout stating it was already paid for.

We were told the hosts would contact the taxi company for the return trip, but with a half hour travel time from the nearest tourist pick up/drop off it was more practical to arrange a pickup time.

 

Overall, it was a beautiful, peaceful place. I don't mind coming back. I just wished Carnival did not shorten our time.

 

Photos:

Just as we arrived

 

Just prior to lunch

 

After the weather cleared

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for coming back and letting us know your experience.

 

Can you tell me who you booked with? Was it the resort themselves or with the online company? Did you have to pay in full when you booked?

 

When you were dropped off, did you tell the driver that brought you to be back at a certain time to pick you back up? Is that what you are saying? Did they come at the time you told them?

 

Also, you pictures are not showing up.

 

Thanks for any help. :)

[CruisingFamily2005]

Odd. let me just attach them and not try anything funny with the links like above.

Same order as before.

[CruisingFamily2005]

Thanks for coming back and letting us know your experience.

 

Can you tell me who you booked with? Was it the resort themselves or with the online company? Did you have to pay in full when you booked?

 

When you were dropped off, did you tell the driver that brought you to be back at a certain time to pick you back up? Is that what you are saying? Did they come at the time you told them?

 

Also, you pictures are not showing up.

 

Thanks for any help. :)

 

We booked with the resort and paid through paypal account in full.

You have to walked all the way out to Hard Rock Cafe which is about 3-5 minutes. Make sure you show them your on line confirmation that round trip is included, otherwise they will charge you. Tell the taxi driver that brought you the time of pick up and they are reliable.Just give yourself time to get back, it's about 20-30 minutes ride.

[lexanna02]

Hey CruisingFamily! Thanks for the information and pictures! We are struggling a bit with deciding to book directly with Almaplena or through shoreexcursioneerdotcom. We have some in our group who won't have the money to pay the whole amount upfront until closer to cruise time, but we don't want them to miss out on this marvelous place! Again, many thanks for taking the time to share your review & pics of Almaplena!

[mitsugirly]

Hey CruisingFamily! Thanks for the information and pictures! We are struggling a bit with deciding to book directly with Almaplena or through shoreexcursioneerdotcom. We have some in our group who won't have the money to pay the whole amount upfront until closer to cruise time, but we don't want them to miss out on this marvelous place! Again, many thanks for taking the time to share your review & pics of Almaplena!

 

I know what you mean. I'm trying to decide too. I think I'm going to contact the place online using chat tomorrow and throw a few questions at them to satisfy myself before booking. I just don't understand why they would require such a small deposit, but the other place requires payment in full. :eek: The resort did write me back today saying that they do indeed require payment in full and if we was to cancel for anything other than the ship missing the port, we would lose ALL of the money. :mad: To me, starting out...that is not good customer service. I have never ran across another AI or operation that wouldn't offer a full refund back if you had to cancel prior to going on the cruise. They want people like us here on cc to come back and tell everyone the great experience they had (even if they didn't get to use the facility). :cool:

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I contacted shoreexcursioneer (in live chat) and they confirmed that you only have to make the deposit (which is only $18) for us...definitely a big advantage of loosing this amount if anything came up than paying the amount in full. When you arrive, you will pay the remaining amount. Since they have contracts with the resort, this is just the way that it works out to be for them, making this a bigger advantage with less to lose for us. I think it's definitely worth a shot. So we will be booking with them. :)

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I have officially booked this place using excursioneer. Filled out their info sheet, which took me to paypal (you can use a regular credit card there also if you'd like).

 

Immediately they emailed me a copy of my payment to them.

 

It said that within 24 hours I would receive my "e-ticket", which is our ticket to get in (along with transportation) and will have all the details on it. Well, they emailed that within 5 minutes!!!

 

Just a few things to note on their e-ticket:

 

BALANCE PAYMENT OPTIONS: Balance needs to be paid upon arrival at the all inclusive resort in cash, no credit cards accepted.

 

MEETING INSTRUCTIONS: Round trip Taxi transportation is included (from Costa Maya Port to Almaplena Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion and back. At your arrival please exit the Costa Maya Port, keep walking straight about 3 min. and you'll see on your right side the Hard Rock Cafe, in front there are taxis and vans transportation, they know that your ride to Almaplena Resort Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion is included. Please do not go to different

transportation site (inside or outside the Port) because we don't have agreement with the others taxis and in this case you will need to cover the taxi fare. The taxi ride will take about 20 min.

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY.....

 

CANCELLATION POLICY: For the Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion, we issue full refund if: - Cancelled with minimum 2 days advance notice. - Your ship gets into port late and you cannot make it in time to the meeting location. - Your ship misses the port. - Weather conditions or equipment failure prevents the operator of delivering the excursion. - A medical problem prevents you from save participation in the excursion. Cancellations that do not comply with the above may not be subject to refund.

 

So this is good news!!! :D

 

So there you have it. I will report back once I do this excursion with full details. :)

[Loucat]

I contacted Almaplena directly and they want payment in full of $236.00 for four. I will look at excursioneer as I never heard of them.

The menu in this place is only a variety of tacos. Having been to Maya Chan, their menu has more variety.

[beachseeker]

Ok, I have officially booked this place using excursioneer. Filled out their info sheet, which took me to paypal (you can use a regular credit card there also if you'd like).

 

Immediately they emailed me a copy of my payment to them.

 

It said that within 24 hours I would receive my "e-ticket", which is our ticket to get in (along with transportation) and will have all the details on it. Well, they emailed that within 5 minutes!!!

 

Just a few things to note on their e-ticket:

 

BALANCE PAYMENT OPTIONS: Balance needs to be paid upon arrival at the all inclusive resort in cash, no credit cards accepted.

 

MEETING INSTRUCTIONS: Round trip Taxi transportation is included (from Costa Maya Port to Almaplena Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion and back. At your arrival please exit the Costa Maya Port, keep walking straight about 3 min. and you'll see on your right side the Hard Rock Cafe, in front there are taxis and vans transportation, they know that your ride to Almaplena Resort Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion is included. Please do not go to different

transportation site (inside or outside the Port) because we don't have agreement with the others taxis and in this case you will need to cover the taxi fare. The taxi ride will take about 20 min.

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY.....

 

CANCELLATION POLICY: For the Costa Maya Secluded All Inclusive Beach Escape Excursion, we issue full refund if: - Cancelled with minimum 2 days advance notice. - Your ship gets into port late and you cannot make it in time to the meeting location. - Your ship misses the port. - Weather conditions or equipment failure prevents the operator of delivering the excursion. - A medical problem prevents you from save participation in the excursion. Cancellations that do not comply with the above may not be subject to refund.

 

So this is good news!!! :D

 

So there you have it. I will report back once I do this excursion with full details. :)

 

Mitsugirly,

 

How do you know the shore excursion is for Almaplena Beach Resort? I did not see the resort mentioned by name in the description. There are two AI's and I'm assuming it is the one furtherest from the port. We too want to reserve a spot at Almaplena but with an aging dad, sometimes your plans have to change. I'm hesitant to pay in full this far out.

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly,

 

How do you know the shore excursion is for Almaplena Beach Resort? I did not see the resort mentioned by name in the description. There are two AI's and I'm assuming it is the one furtherest from the port. We too want to reserve a spot at Almaplena but with an aging dad, sometimes your plans have to change. I'm hesitant to pay in full this far out.

 

Because I ask them if it was and they said yes and also, if you look at the pictures on their site, they are the exact same pictures on Almaplena's site too. ;)

[beachseeker]

Because I ask them if it was and they said yes and also, if you look at the pictures on their site, they are the exact same pictures on Almaplena's site too. ;)

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I could tell from the pictures that it was Almaplena but somewhat concerned that the actual resort was not mentioned by name in the description. Didn 't want a situation where I thought I was booking Almaplena but taken to a different location when we arrive in port. Hard to understand why Almaplena will work with this company but have such strict rules about cancellations.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for the quick reply. I could tell from the pictures that it was Almaplena but somewhat concerned that the actual resort was not mentioned by name in the description. Didn 't want a situation where I thought I was booking Almaplena but taken to a different location when we arrive in port. Hard to understand why Almaplena will work with this company but have such strict rules about cancellations.

 

I know what you meant. That's why I had to verify with them before I would book.

 

I was also concerned about why Almaplena made us pay in full and they didn't and they explained to me that they have contracts with Almaplena and that is how they (the online company) worked and could do it that way.

 

After tons of research on the online company, I know that a lot of people use them for various ports in the Caribbean and after researching both on here and online, I found that most were very happy with their service (well, I think I actually only read 1 bad thing and while I don't remember what it was, I think it was something that was totally not their fault and it didn't concern me).

 

So all of this made me feel comfortable. I guess the main thing is that if something was to go wrong, we would only be out $18 total for the day. A lot better than a payment in full that's for sure. :D

[lexanna02]

We booked Almaplena through shore excursioneer yesterday. I'll let you all know how it turns out. However, we don't sail until November....lol! If anyone goes before us, please let us know about your experience!

[mitsugirly]

We booked Almaplena through shore excursioneer yesterday. I'll let you all know how it turns out. However, we don't sail until November....lol! If anyone goes before us, please let us know about your experience!

 

Yes, please come back and share. We don't go until December.