Costa Maya being dropped from New Orleans itinerary

[Va. Plumber]

If this is happening, I am not surprised. I wondered about this when I posted a Star review in Feb 2013.

 

The owner of Nohoch Kay told me that the number of cruise ship visits had dropped significantly from the previous year. We thoroughly enjoyed Nohoch Kay but noticed a huge difference in the level of development outside the immediate port area and other destinations.

 

The cruise ships giveth and the cruise ships taketh away.

[Laszlo]

Loved Costa Maya……can't wait to go back to Maya Chan on the Sun out of Tampa!!!

[newmexicoNita]

You're absolutely right ... my mistake. We had Coxen Hole, Honduras (Roatan) on our itinerary and it's THAT PORT that was removed and they replaced it with Banana Coast (Tujillo), Honduras.

 

Apologies for the confusion. Anyway, it would be nice to be notified by NCL when there is an itinerary change. If they did so prior to final payment ... it may have an impact on whether or not one wants to make a cruise choice change.

 

Thanks for correcting me on this. Happy cruising .......

 

We have been on 2 other lines that did itinerary changes and we were not notified. We found out both times by reading the websites, but no notification. I think someone did mention NCL did notify some when they changed the Roatan stop. I could be wrong.

 

Gordonchick: I too am over Cozumel. I don't have any idea how many times we have been there: maybe 10 and the natives are not the friendliest, plus there is only so many things to do in any port. I think we have done them all!!!

Edited March 4, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[Norwegian Cruise Line]

We are so sorry for the confusion, but we are not dropping Costa Maya from our itinerary this season. We will notify the ship that the itinerary has not changed. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope to see you on board for a cruise in the very near future.

[russianmom]

We are so sorry for the confusion, but we are not dropping Costa Maya from our itinerary this season. We will notify the ship that the itinerary has not changed. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope to see you on board for a cruise in the very near future.

 

AWESOME thank you for responding. I LOVE Maya Chan!

[zounds]

Gee, OP, I thought this was old news, as I had researched itineraries prior to our Dec. cruise on the Jewel. When aboard I asked the CC about next season and was told Costa Maya was dropped from NOLA. That and the lack of Great Outdoors and forward Obser. Lounge on the Dawn was a deal breaker, so we'll be cruising out of Tampa next Jan. Pity, since we love NOLA. steve

[clackey]

Costa Maya isn't one of my favorite ports, but for those who enjoy it's a shame.

 

Never was a big fan of CM especially after our last cruise, but many people love it. Our best trip there was when Chac Chi was open. That's right. We are members of the "Hole in the Fence Gang". I miss that place but the town of Mahahaul not so much..

[zounds]

Oh yeah, and NCL; when you "notify the ship", which ship are you referring to? Thanks.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

The Banana Coast is a new port on the mainland of Honduras near Trujillo.

NCL is developing a private island off the coast of Belize but the name escapes me at the moment. I don't think it is to be ready til 2016 or so.

 

We have a wonderful little spa in Roatan where we get great massages, can spend the day by their lovely tropical pool, walk the beach and just hang out in paradise. We certainly love Roatan and would miss it a bunch!

Edited March 4, 2014 by MagnoliaBlossom

[rvsullivan]

As someone said early on in this post, probably a typo. Now NCL has responded and stated Costa Maya is still on the Dawn's cruises this winter.

All is well!!!:D

[dasmonkey]

Gee, OP, I thought this was old news, as I had researched itineraries prior to our Dec. cruise on the Jewel. When aboard I asked the CC about next season and was told Costa Maya was dropped from NOLA. That and the lack of Great Outdoors and forward Obser. Lounge on the Dawn was a deal breaker, so we'll be cruising out of Tampa next Jan. Pity, since we love NOLA. steve

 

I searched the forum via Google prior to posting and saw no mention of it.

It seemed like a pertinent topic to those of us that routinely cruise out of NOLA.

 

I was on the week of Thanksgiving and "Natalie" was the CC then and made no mention of it. So it sounds like it went missing in December then.

 

Seems odd then that it took several months for them to correct a "typo" since "Romeo" the current CC on the Jewel said customers had been e-mailing NCL complaining about the dropping of Costa Maya for "several weeks".

 

I never look at that paper schedule on board but he actually brought up the topic and pointed it out to me on his office wall last week.

 

Glad to see that it appears to be safe for now. I will certainly miss the Great Outdoors as well but I can drive a couple of hours to NOLA or drive 14 to Tampa so I will just deal with it. I love the Sun so hopefully it makes it to NOLA at some point.

[VideoTech]

Having done the Western itineraries so many times, I'd say Costa Maya isn't one of our favorites either, but I know there are those who like it.

 

Personally, I'd hate to see Roatan dropped from the NCL Western itineraries. It's my favorite among their stops in that area.

 

As for the "why": Cruise lines are constantly tinkering with itineraries, always looking, of course, to maximize profits. There are many reasons why a port may be dropped or changed, such as docking fees being raised, docking dates not available, desire to take passengers to a new completely-owned facility (island) and on and on.

 

There's also intense competition among the cruise ports themselves to land a regularly scheduled ship, so one port may under-bid another and cause a change.

 

Or the cruise line may feel that they need a new port to "freshen" their appeal.

 

Bottom line, we'll never know the answer, but it will always happen.

[VideoTech]

We are so sorry for the confusion, but we are not dropping Costa Maya from our itinerary this season. We will notify the ship that the itinerary has not changed. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope to see you on board for a cruise in the very near future.

 

And there you go. Proving once again that NCL seems to have a hard time with internal communications and keeping their website strait.

 

Well, at least the Costa Maya fans are happy!

[kcwingwalker]

And there you go. Proving once again that NCL seems to have a hard time with internal communications and keeping their website strait.

 

Well, at least the Costa Maya fans are happy!

 

NCL is not perfect, but I do appreciate their response.

[Immebsmom]

I would believe them more if my cruise on 1/5/2015 had excursions listed for Costa Maya like they do for every other port, including New Orleans!!!

[chill6x6]

Really glad Costa Maya hasn't been dropped….one of my favorite ports! VERY laid back…..

[dasmonkey]

We are so sorry for the confusion, but we are not dropping Costa Maya from our itinerary this season. We will notify the ship that the itinerary has not changed. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope to see you on board for a cruise in the very near future.

 

I would believe them more if my cruise on 1/5/2015 had excursions listed for Costa Maya like they do for every other port, including New Orleans!!!

 

Well the quote does say "this" season.

[rvsullivan]

And my cruise is about 8 months out and as usual most of the shore excursions are not posted yet.

 

As to the website, it appears to have always shown Costa Maya as staying on as a port, the only one that has had an error was one of the cruise consultants lists?

[Beaver1975]

Well the quote does say "this" season.

 

Is it that tough to admit that you might have conveyed wrong information?:confused:

Edited March 5, 2014 by Beaver1975

[PCLMassachusetts]

Oh yeah, and NCL; when you "notify the ship", which ship are you referring to? Thanks.

 

Perhaps the one that the OP mentioned that they got the information from in the initial post. Jewel.

Edited March 8, 2014 by PCLMassachusetts

[debshomespun]

I have been to Costa Maya at least 3 or 4 times. I really like it. We usually to to the beach in Majahual. They have a beautiful walkway along the beach, vendors, beach massages, many little places to eat. We love going there. Hopefully, NCL will keep Costa Maya on their cruises!

[mbisson]

If we wind up not going, no complaints from me. It's just one more day of relaxing on the ship, without having to get up early and get the kids and wife moving for breakfast and rushing off to get to an excursion.

 

I feel that way about some ports...but I just sleep in and have a nearly empty ship for the day :)