any info about Almaplena Beach Resort?

[beachseeker]

I wrote Almaplena and asked about excursioneer. I said I would prefer to book with them directly and save them money but I have a 90 year old dad, plus you can't predict what is going to happen in the next 6 months. My 65 year old sister fell and broke her leg at the hip and will be out of commission for awhile. I have real concerns about paying now with no cancellation.

 

Here is the reply that I received:

 

We are not working anymore with Excursioneer agency.

 

Payment:

We require payment in full.

 

Cancellation Policy:

We apply 100% refund if your ship does not dock in Costa Maya for whatever reason.

100% refund if you decide to cancel your trip. We only require that you notify us with a minimum of 7 days advance notice before arrival date to cancel reservation without penalty.

All refunds are subject to paypal fees or bank charges.

 

This is great news and we are booking our New Year's Day visit to Almaplena!

[lexanna02]

I wrote Almaplena and asked about excursioneer. I said I would prefer to book with them directly and save them money but I have a 90 year old dad, plus you can't predict what is going to happen in the next 6 months. My 65 year old sister fell and broke her leg at the hip and will be out of commission for awhile. I have real concerns about paying now with no cancellation.

 

Here is the reply that I received:

 

We are not working anymore with Excursioneer agency.

 

Payment:

We require payment in full.

 

Cancellation Policy:

We apply 100% refund if your ship does not dock in Costa Maya for whatever reason.

100% refund if you decide to cancel your trip. We only require that you notify us with a minimum of 7 days advance notice before arrival date to cancel reservation without penalty.

All refunds are subject to paypal fees or bank charges.

 

This is great news and we are booking our New Year's Day visit to Almaplena!

 

Oh no! I booked 8 people for Almaplena through shore excursioneer earlier this week! I wonder what I should do now???? I'm tryin gtheir chat now, but can't get anyone on there. Any suggestions?

[mitsugirly]

Oh no! I booked 8 people for Almaplena through shore excursioneer earlier this week! I wonder what I should do now???? I'm tryin gtheir chat now, but can't get anyone on there. Any suggestions?

 

It looks like I'll have to contact them too and see what they say.

[mitsugirly]

I do have to say that I find it strange that excursioneer still has it listed on their site if they are no longer in contract with Almaplena. :confused:

[lexanna02]

I do have to say that I find it strange that excursioneer still has it listed on their site if they are no longer in contract with Almaplena. :confused:

 

I know! I checked to see if it was still on there, too! Hmmmm....Maya Chan may be looking better! At least you only have to pay a deposit to reserve and the balance maybe a few weeks before sailing.

[mitsugirly]

Ok, it's 11:37pm and I was able to get a live agent. Here is my conversation with them:

 

Chat session started at 11:22:24 PM

Please be patient while you are being connected with an operator ...

You are now chatting with Martina

Martina: Good evening

Customer: Hello. I have a question about this excursion in Costa Maya to Almaplena

Customer: Are you guys still doing this excursion?

Martina: yes, may I ask why you have the doubt_

Martina: ?

Customer: Because a fellow cruiser called them to book and ask them why they require the deposit in full instead of the $8 deposit per person like excursioneer does and Almaplena told them "We are not working anymore with Excursioneer agency. "

Martina: I completely understand and I am seeing a note from our manager about this incident.....we are in talks with them to make sure we continue their sales, they had some challenges as they are a new company but all goes forward as planned

Customer: I have booked with excursioneer, but this worries me when they are telling other potential customers that they are not working with you guys. I do not want to get there and find out that we are not allowed in because we are booked with someone they are no longer dealing with.

Martina: we guarantee your booking 100%, no worries at all

Customer: If your manager has a note saying that excursioneer is "in talks with them" then that is negotiating with them and is not actually 100% unless they agree.

Martina: we have talked with them about this as they charge in full and we only charge a deposit and they are adjusting their strategy, they are new and will be able to adjust to the market needs

Martina: they agreed to respect all bookings until futher notice

Customer: Any idea when you guys will know for sure?

Martina: we know for sure right now, however we are in talks of possibly change the price or the booking conditions, that is all

Customer: Does this include future bookings? I have talked a lot of people in to using you guys for their booking.

Martina: all our future bookings are confirmed and valid

Martina: if conditions for deposits or prices change, we will update the website and this will not affect any current bookings at all

Customer: ok, I will let others know. Thank you for your time.

Martina: you are most welcome Kim, any questions you have, just let us know

Customer: Ok thank you.

Martina: thank you for your preference

 

 

Please keep me posted on anyone else who may get a response. :)

[lexanna02]

Wow...I've chatted with them several times and always get Martina! She must never sleep....lol! I'm still feeling a bit uneasy about the situation, so I emailed Monica at Almaplena. I'll let you know when I get a reply. I'm with you though, I sure don't want to get there and not actually have a reservation, especially since I'm coordinating for a group of my friends! Thanks so much for keeping us updated!

[beachseeker]

I am sure Almaplena will honor any reservations already booked with Excursioneer.

[mitsugirly]

I am sure Almaplena will honor any reservations already booked with Excursioneer.

 

That's what I'm thinking too. With them being a new company, it probably definitely helps with their business and sales to have a contract with any other excursion company to bring in sales to a place that most have not heard of yet or experienced to get enough good reviews.

 

Also, I'm pretty sure since they have this available cruise package, they are also depending on the cruise industry (as most do) to boost not only their sales, but to get their name out there to people like us here on cc. The last thing most companies with visiting cruise ships want is for anyone to have a bad experience and come back ranting about it with the vivid details...therefore deterring others from coming there.

 

So far, I'm not too worried yet. However, I will continue to keep everyone posted if I hear anything differently and I do plan on continuing to keep in touch with excursioneer over the next several months to get any status update changes. :)

[mitsugirly]

Wow...I've chatted with them several times and always get Martina! She must never sleep....lol!

 

Now that you mentioned it, I looked back at my previous convo when inquiring about this AI and I also spoke with Martina this time. I wonder if this is a generic name being used or if she really doesn't sleep. :eek: :D

[lexanna02]

I emailed Monica at Almaplena, and heard back from her right away! GREAT customer service! She confirmed our reservations and said that while they have suspended their partnership with Excursioneer, they will honor all the reservations that have already been made. Whew....sounds like we dodged a bullet here! Thanks Monica!

[blue water dude]

Excursioner is one of those companies that seems to get links to their site posted frequently by the same people. They take turns asking and answering each others questions with links to their site. I always left click on the poster’s name and check their history when I see an Excursioner link posted. Almost always find lots of postings with links to their site or something bad about another company or business. They sometimes work with good companies like Almaplena but there seems to be something weird about their operation. It is the same at every port too??? That is not what these boards are for!

[lexanna02]

Excursioner is one of those companies that seems to get links to their site posted frequently by the same people. They take turns asking and answering each others questions with links to their site. I always left click on the poster’s name and check their history when I see an Excursioner link posted. Almost always find lots of postings with links to their site or something bad about another company or business. They sometimes work with good companies like Almaplena but there seems to be something weird about their operation. It is the same at every port too??? That is not what these boards are for!

 

I totally agree with you, blue! I looked at that too, so I've been a little hesitant to use them, but contacted Almaplena before booking to make sure they really were partnered with them. We used excursioneer because of the availability of only paying a deposit up front, which worked better for many in our group. Of course, the much more customer friendly cancellation policy with excursioneer helped. However, now that Almaplena has changed their own policy, I wouldn't mind booking with them directly! It looks like an amazing place, and I'm willing to jump through a few hoops to get there.....lol!

[beachseeker]

Excursioner is one of those companies that seems to get links to their site posted frequently by the same people. They take turns asking and answering each others questions with links to their site. I always left click on the poster’s name and check their history when I see an Excursioner link posted. Almost always find lots of postings with links to their site or something bad about another company or business. They sometimes work with good companies like Almaplena but there seems to be something weird about their operation. It is the same at every port too??? That is not what these boards are for!

 

Didn't know anything about this company but the huge gap between their deposit and cancellation policy and Almaplena's is what spurred me to email Almaplena. I said I would prefer to book directly with them and skip the middle man, but life happens and no refund was a bit tough. I'm sure some prefer paying the deposit and not paying in full and I undersand that. However, on some cruise lines your credit card is charged as soon as you book a shore excursion. We are sailing NCL this time and don't remember their policy. Paying in full was worth it to guarantee to be one of the twenty as long as I can get a refund if life happens and our plans have to change. Monica from Almaplena was very open to my concerns and I'm very pleased they changed their policy. I believe this will be a very good business decision for them.

[lexanna02]

Yep, Monica is fantastic! They seem to be working really hard to keep their customers satisfied, and I really appreciate great customer service! I, too, prefer to pay up front, but have some in my group that just can't do that right now. I'm just praising God that He's working it all out for us! :)

 

beachseeker, when will you be there? We are sailing in November.

[beachseeker]

 

beachseeker, when will you be there? We are sailing in November.

 

We are sailing out of New Orleans on the Star on Dec 30th. We really enjoy New Year's Eve on a cruise. We were booked on the Crown out of Galveston but they dropped Costa Maya and added a sea day. So, we dropped Princess and switched to NCL. We were able to book a suite for the same price as a mini suite on the Crown and still go to 4 ports, including Costa Maya. A case where life happens!

[justlovecruisin]

I just got home from my cruise and this was what we did in Costa Maya. It was beyound my expectations. Monica and her husband were great hosts. The food was great, the drinks kept coming. Had a 30 min massage on the beach. For 25 it was well worth it. We did not get to snorkle as the water was rough but it didn't matter. It was peaceful and so relaxing. If I were to go back to this port I would do it for sure. Just wish we could have stayed a bit longer.

[justlovecruisin]

Didn't know anything about this company but the huge gap between their deposit and cancellation policy and Almaplena's is what spurred me to email Almaplena. I said I would prefer to book directly with them and skip the middle man, but life happens and no refund was a bit tough. I'm sure some prefer paying the deposit and not paying in full and I undersand that. However, on some cruise lines your credit card is charged as soon as you book a shore excursion. We are sailing NCL this time and don't remember their policy. Paying in full was worth it to guarantee to be one of the twenty as long as I can get a refund if life happens and our plans have to change. Monica from Almaplena was very open to my concerns and I'm very pleased they changed their policy. I believe this will be a very good business decision for them.

They are now independent so you pay them directly.

[lexanna02]

I just got home from my cruise and this was what we did in Costa Maya. It was beyound my expectations. Monica and her husband were great hosts. The food was great, the drinks kept coming. Had a 30 min massage on the beach. For 25 it was well worth it. We did not get to snorkle as the water was rough but it didn't matter. It was peaceful and so relaxing. If I were to go back to this port I would do it for sure. Just wish we could have stayed a bit longer.

 

That is awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience with us! Was the water as clear and pretty as the pictures? Was the sea grass an issue? I can't wait to go lay up on the beach and relax!

[Mooder]

I am also chatting with Martina right now. I have a feeling it is a different person but they all use the same name. She is reacting like this is news to her that there is any question of the relationship with the resort. :confused: She is checking and will get back to me.

[Mooder]

I am also chatting with Martina right now. I have a feeling it is a different person but they all use the same name. She is reacting like this is news to her that there is any question of the relationship with the resort. :confused: She is checking and will get back to me.

 

Well, this "Martina" had no idea what I was talking about but said she would check cruisecritic and with her manager. But that wasn't going to happen during our brief chat. She told me I could decide to book with them or directly with the resort. Despite her assurances that the relationship with the resort is good, this seems very odd to me.

[lexanna02]

Well, this "Martina" had no idea what I was talking about but said she would check cruisecritic and with her manager. But that wasn't going to happen during our brief chat. She told me I could decide to book with them or directly with the resort. Despite her assurances that the relationship with the resort is good, this seems very odd to me.

 

We booked through shore excursioneer before Almaplena said they were no longer working with them, so I confirmed with Monica at Almaplena and she said that our reservations are good to go. If anyone else in my group chooses to go there, I'm directing them to Almaplena, just to be sure. I sure wish they offered an option to just pay a deposit when booking though!

[mitsugirly]

Yep, Monica is fantastic! They seem to be working really hard to keep their customers satisfied, and I really appreciate great customer service! I, too, prefer to pay up front, but have some in my group that just can't do that right now. I'm just praising God that He's working it all out for us! :)

 

beachseeker, when will you be there? We are sailing in November.

 

I just got home from my cruise and this was what we did in Costa Maya. It was beyound my expectations. Monica and her husband were great hosts. The food was great, the drinks kept coming. Had a 30 min massage on the beach. For 25 it was well worth it. We did not get to snorkle as the water was rough but it didn't matter. It was peaceful and so relaxing. If I were to go back to this port I would do it for sure. Just wish we could have stayed a bit longer.

 

Thanks for the update/review. Do you mind sharing how/who you booked with? Was it directly with the resort or using excursioneer?

 

We booked through shore excursioneer before Almaplena said they were no longer working with them, so I confirmed with Monica at Almaplena and she said that our reservations are good to go. If anyone else in my group chooses to go there, I'm directing them to Almaplena, just to be sure. I sure wish they offered an option to just pay a deposit when booking though!

 

So then you have kept your reservation you booked with excursioneer right? I'm giving it a little bit of time to see if any other reports come in and then I also plan on checking back with "Martina" to see what type of story I get the next time around. :p

[rrobynec]

If I were to go back to this port I would do it for sure. Just wish we could have stayed a bit longer.

 

 

Why couldn't you stay longer?:confused:

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[Loucat]

We looked closely at all of the resorts. This one seems to need time to work out relationships with agents. I get concerned when too many "Martinas" come into the discussion.

I like the idea of clear water, but after looking at every picture we could find, there is very little shade; I contacted them and I was told I could go into the restaurant for shade:confused: There is also a steep drop off on the beach from erosion. We chose another resort but will keep our eye on this one for a future visit.