Bittersweet Symphony - 3/9/19 Review

[CanadaCathi]

Day 4 – Costa Maya

Sunrise – 8a

Arrival into port – 7a

Temp – 81 but WINDY

Excursion – Maya Chan Beach

Money Spent - $29 (tips), $25 laundry

 

We arrived REALLY early into Costa Maya. So early that it was still early when we headed to the Windjammer for banana pancakes. I woke up 2 minutes prior to my 7a alarm, either due to the ship stopping or the lighthouse flashing. I can’t remember the all ashore time but I believe it was around 7:40a/6:40a, a few minutes later than expected. I was a little confused by the wording of Maya Chan’s confirmation email and what time to meet, so just went ahead and head to the location when we disembarked, which ended up being an hour too early. But HOLY CRAP, that’s a bit of a walk. People had warned me in other reviews, and they were right. I needed that hour just to stop sweating, because it was already muggy. The directions provided were great, but that port is even worse than Cozumel if that’s possible. And there’s nothing useful – I couldn’t even find the duty free. The guide who met us told us it was windy and that there was seaweed, and we signed something that said we didn’t care, and we piled in the van.

 

We road to the resort with @ValerieJo and another couple (hi Val!). The van didn’t have A/C, but the windows were down and it was a breezy day, so it wasn’t terrible. Yes, it was a very bumpy ride, but interesting. We were warmly greeted by David and given the tour, then shown our spots for the day. Rum Punch, chips and guac/pico followed; all were delicious. I had a LOT of Rum Punch. The seaweed for real was not as bad as it was on the coastline when we left Miami; there were a bunch of guys raking and carting it away the whole time. Jellybean and I did walk a little ways down the beach to explore, and caught a whiff of the odor that some other visitors had mentioned – I would NOT have wanted to be sitting near that. We were almost directly in front of the bar area, and it was a perfect spot for us. We did not have hammocks but we had two comfy chairs and a beach bed, which Jelly took a little nap on. There was a guy helping people with kayaks and beach chairs, and he was awesome; he anchored some floaty chairs out in the water, and that was where I stayed pretty much the entire time. It was hands down the best moment of the entire trip – warm sun, cold drink, cool water, happy kid, delicious food. The water wasn’t super deep and was very murky, but refreshing. The drink service was terrific.  Lunch was AMAZING. Jelly and I both absolutely adore Mexican food, the authentic stuff (extra diced onions and cilantro for me), and I had two extremely generous helpings of everything. I also had several margaritas to wash everything down, and they were great as well; not the crappy-tasting cheap stuff you find other places, you know what I’m talking about. I got a little buzzed during lunch and ended up talking my head off to a very nice couple there while Jelly had her siesta.  She was very happy to encounter the beach doggos, and wasn’t bothered by the seaweed/water in the slightest. The resort provides a TON of stuff for guests; water shoes, toys, massages… I got a half hour massage for $25, the area wasn’t very private but it was incredibly relaxing. Note for nursing/pumping mothers; there are chairs in the ladies room near the pool, and there’s an electrical outlet in there. As is standard in similar places, you aren’t allowed to flush toilet paper, so if you’re freaked out by throwing it in the garbage can – get over it before going.

When it was time to go they provided prompt service back to port – someone walked around asking what time you wanted to leave, and then notified us when it was time. We left around 1:30p local/2:30p ship time with a van full of very nice ladies. All aboard was 5:30p, and we didn’t spend any more time than we had to navigating the maze back through that stupid port.

 

Back in the room it was my favorite day – LAUNDRY DAY! It was the standard $25 to fill a bag, and we crammed in quite a bit of stuff. I decided that my disgustingly dirty fleece (the one that had been spilled all over on the incoming trip) would take up too much space, and that I would be fine to wear it for a few hours on the way home. FORESHADOWING – This was a bad decision. We got the laundry back the next day, which was way faster than expected (on one cruise we didn’t get it back until the day before arriving in port, and I was freaking out!). We were short one pair of Jellybean’s underpants, but I really didn’t care enough to bother about it, I’ve never had issues before.

 

I checked our folio balances on the room TV and all the gratuities had been added, but they were all over the place; like, 5 on one day and 1 on another. The math all added up though, so I was ok. This was the day that I admittedly got really sunburned, from all my time (mostly drunk) out in the water. After dinner I felt awful; I took an anti-nausea pill and a Xanax and crashed around 8:30p. We missed Hiro, wahhhh! They were showing Green Book in the Royal Theater, which I also would’ve liked to have seen. When I woke up, we were already in Cozumel!

[Paulette3028]

4 minutes ago, CanadaCathi said:

Day 4 – Costa Maya

Sunrise – 8a

Arrival into port – 7a

Temp – 81 but WINDY

Excursion – Maya Chan Beach

Money Spent - $29 (tips), $25 laundry

 

We arrived REALLY early into Costa Maya. So early that it was still early when we headed to the Windjammer for banana pancakes. I woke up 2 minutes prior to my 7a alarm, either due to the ship stopping or the lighthouse flashing. I can’t remember the all ashore time but I believe it was around 7:40a/6:40a, a few minutes later than expected. I was a little confused by the wording of Maya Chan’s confirmation email and what time to meet, so just went ahead and head to the location when we disembarked, which ended up being an hour too early. But HOLY CRAP, that’s a bit of a walk. People had warned me in other reviews, and they were right. I needed that hour just to stop sweating, because it was already muggy. The directions provided were great, but that port is even worse than Cozumel if that’s possible. And there’s nothing useful – I couldn’t even find the duty free. The guide who met us told us it was windy and that there was seaweed, and we signed something that said we didn’t care, and we piled in the van.

 

We road to the resort with @ValerieJo and another couple (hi Val!). The van didn’t have A/C, but the windows were down and it was a breezy day, so it wasn’t terrible. Yes, it was a very bumpy ride, but interesting. We were warmly greeted by David and given the tour, then shown our spots for the day. Rum Punch, chips and guac/pico followed; all were delicious. I had a LOT of Rum Punch. The seaweed for real was not as bad as it was on the coastline when we left Miami; there were a bunch of guys raking and carting it away the whole time. Jellybean and I did walk a little ways down the beach to explore, and caught a whiff of the odor that some other visitors had mentioned – I would NOT have wanted to be sitting near that. We were almost directly in front of the bar area, and it was a perfect spot for us. We did not have hammocks but we had two comfy chairs and a beach bed, which Jelly took a little nap on. There was a guy helping people with kayaks and beach chairs, and he was awesome; he anchored some floaty chairs out in the water, and that was where I stayed pretty much the entire time. It was hands down the best moment of the entire trip – warm sun, cold drink, cool water, happy kid, delicious food. The water wasn’t super deep and was very murky, but refreshing. The drink service was terrific.  Lunch was AMAZING. Jelly and I both absolutely adore Mexican food, the authentic stuff (extra diced onions and cilantro for me), and I had two extremely generous helpings of everything. I also had several margaritas to wash everything down, and they were great as well; not the crappy-tasting cheap stuff you find other places, you know what I’m talking about. I got a little buzzed during lunch and ended up talking my head off to a very nice couple there while Jelly had her siesta.  She was very happy to encounter the beach doggos, and wasn’t bothered by the seaweed/water in the slightest. The resort provides a TON of stuff for guests; water shoes, toys, massages… I got a half hour massage for $25, the area wasn’t very private but it was incredibly relaxing. Note for nursing/pumping mothers; there are chairs in the ladies room near the pool, and there’s an electrical outlet in there. As is standard in similar places, you aren’t allowed to flush toilet paper, so if you’re freaked out by throwing it in the garbage can – get over it before going.

When it was time to go they provided prompt service back to port – someone walked around asking what time you wanted to leave, and then notified us when it was time. We left around 1:30p local/2:30p ship time with a van full of very nice ladies. All aboard was 5:30p, and we didn’t spend any more time than we had to navigating the maze back through that stupid port.

 

Back in the room it was my favorite day – LAUNDRY DAY! It was the standard $25 to fill a bag, and we crammed in quite a bit of stuff. I decided that my disgustingly dirty fleece (the one that had been spilled all over on the incoming trip) would take up too much space, and that I would be fine to wear it for a few hours on the way home. FORESHADOWING – This was a bad decision. We got the laundry back the next day, which was way faster than expected (on one cruise we didn’t get it back until the day before arriving in port, and I was freaking out!). We were short one pair of Jellybean’s underpants, but I really didn’t care enough to bother about it, I’ve never had issues before.

 

I checked our folio balances on the room TV and all the gratuities had been added, but they were all over the place; like, 5 on one day and 1 on another. The math all added up though, so I was ok. This was the day that I admittedly got really sunburned, from all my time (mostly drunk) out in the water. After dinner I felt awful; I took an anti-nausea pill and a Xanax and crashed around 8:30p. We missed Hiro, wahhhh! They were showing Green Book in the Royal Theater, which I also would’ve liked to have seen. When I woke up, we were already in Cozumel!

 

 

We also went to Maya Chan when we were in Costa Maya and had a lovely day....would I do it again -- NO....not because we did not have a good day....but the trip to get there and the trip back to the ship....was not a pleasant one....disorganized going and very tiring coming back.  But people should do it once, because when you are at Maya Chan you do have a GREAT time.

 

[ValerieJo]

14 minutes ago, CanadaCathi said:

 

We road to the resort with @ValerieJo and another couple (hi Val!).

 

Great review Cathi!  (Hi Cathi and J) 

 

We loved Maya Chan and thought the service, drinks and food were amazing!   We had no issues at all with the transportation going or coming back to the ship.   We enjoyed it so much that we booked it again for our December cruise as soon as we got home.

[CanadaCathi]

Ugh, I took too long to edit in all the pics and comments and stuff, so just pretend I didn't just lose all that. 

[FantasyGoddess]

We have been to Maya Chan 3 times and will visit again if our cruise stops in Costa Maya.   We LOVE it so much and think the care taken by the staff is awesome.  If you don't like unpaved roads and less than OCD organization, I suggest not going to Mexico.

[sandebeach]

Glad you liked Maya Chan! It is a great place, but agree with you, quite a walk through and then out the port to get to the pick up spot. 

[phabric]

Is there anything  (stores) at the Costa Maya port?  We want to just walk around the port.

[sandebeach]

1 minute ago, phabric said:

Is there anything  (stores) at the Costa Maya port?  We want to just walk around the port.

Yes, lots of them!

[phabric]

Thanks

[dreadpirate3]

Enjoying your review. We will be on Symphony in May, and loved Maya Chan. It was our favorite shore day ever!

[Paulette3028]

1 hour ago, phabric said:

Is there anything  (stores) at the Costa Maya port?  We want to just walk around the port.

Lovely place to spend the day, right at the port.

 

[zooma]

On 3/29/2019 at 1:23 PM, CanadaCathi said:

NOTE: We like to travel with our own towels. Yes, they take up valuable suitcase space, but similar to door magnets, we can find our chairs instantly in a sea of blue, lesser quality towels.

 

 

Enjoying your review -- thank you! Interesting idea re the towels, but curious what you do about washing them during the cruise. You did not send those to laundry, right?

[CanadaCathi]

Just now, zooma said:

 

Enjoying your review -- thank you! Interesting idea re the towels, but curious what you do about washing them during the cruise. You did not send those to laundry, right?

 

Thanks! Oh, god no! I think other people wash their towels a LOT more than I wash my towels. You'd be horrified if I admitted how infrequently I wash the bath towels in my house. Our beach towels actually stay pretty clean; knock on wood I've never spilled a drink or ketchup or anything else I like to usually spill while traveling; at the most they need a good shake if we take them off-ship, to get rid of any lingering sand. They'd take up wayyyyyy too much space in that little laundry bag. To dry them I either illegally clip them to the patio chairs outside (securely clipped!!), or I hang them somewhere in the cabin or bathroom. 

[CanadaCathi]

2 hours ago, sandebeach said:

Glad you liked Maya Chan! It is a great place, but agree with you, quite a walk through and then out the port to get to the pick up spot. 

 

One review I read suggested getting a taxi once out of port, and I scoffed at the time - but then later was like, woah, that is TEMPTING. It's really probably only a few city blocks, but it feels like 235 miles, I swear.

[blueridgemama]

59 minutes ago, CanadaCathi said:

 

Thanks! Oh, god no! I think other people wash their towels a LOT more than I wash my towels. You'd be horrified if I admitted how infrequently I wash the bath towels in my house. Our beach towels actually stay pretty clean; knock on wood I've never spilled a drink or ketchup or anything else I like to usually spill while traveling; at the most they need a good shake if we take them off-ship, to get rid of any lingering sand. They'd take up wayyyyyy too much space in that little laundry bag. To dry them I either illegally clip them to the patio chairs outside (securely clipped!!), or I hang them somewhere in the cabin or bathroom. 

 

If you want a great beach towel that travels well look into Tesalate Australian Beach Towels. They are lightweight, pack into a small pouch, dry quickly and best of all sand does not cling or stick to them. We took them on our last vacation to Bermuda and loved them.

Edited April 8, 2019 by blueridgemama

[jimbri]

Great review and photos!

[breezy_carol]

On 4/5/2019 at 3:20 PM, CanadaCathi said:

 

 

 

 

I am enjoying your review and all of the pictures but this has to be my favorite.

[CanadaCathi]

Day 5 – Cozumel

Temp – 81 degrees and windy, overcast

Excursion – El Cozumeleno Resort Beach Break

Money Spent - $40 taxis, $15 tips, $12 in-room movie rental, $80 excursion ($55 adult, $25 child)

 

We were a little late with de-embarkation this morning; it was closer to 7:50a than 7:30a. We took our time; Jelly had some leftover dessert for breakfast, and I grabbed Park Café (I was still a little woozy and not up to WJ). I had never been to PC for breakfast, and was surprised to find they had oatmeal, bagels, and almond croissants. No fresh juice, alas.

 

 

We left the ship around 8:30a to discover that the taxi queue was MUCH better than the last time we were in port; there was no wait at all. Hmmm, maybe because we got off the ship a little later? The last time we had to walk up the street a few blocks to a nearby hotel and catch a cab from those waiting there.

This was our third time visiting El Cozumeleno Resort, and I was unhappy to find a number of changes in store for us. First of all, the guy working the front desk gave me a really hard time about being there early (9a ship time, 8a local time), and made us wait an hour in the lobby before he would check us in and give us our armbands. I have never had an issue with this before. I had booked through Island Marketing, which I’ve used before and really like; it’s actually a little cheaper than booking directly through the resort, and much easier. Note that the hotel would only give me pesos for change, and the taxi driver wanted US dollar bills and hassled me a bit. Grr!

 

 

So, we sat and waited an hour, and by the time we got outside all the chairs had been taken. Luckily a nice guy from Pickering saw my Canada t-shirt and gave us one of theirs. Shade, yes!

 

 

The beach area had changed quite a bit in two years; the shore coral was almost entirely gone, either from weather or tourists. This meant there were nowhere near as many fish to see, or as many varieties. There were still some interesting critters hanging out around the lava rock (there was a little crab, and lots of spiny urchins).

 

The drinks weren’t as good this trip either; they’re using some sort of drink mix with a really artificial-tasting sweetener. Even Jelly noticed it in her kiddie cocktails. Our second breakfast was pretty good, but we got there at the tail end. First lunch was blah. Second lunch was good. Our server, Gabriela, was great. We were back in port around 3p, and I didn’t feel like fighting the crowds for tequila or vanilla, so we were back on the ship by 3:30p. All aboard was 5:30p.

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to the room and I promptly fell asleep. We went to the MDR at 6:30p instead of our 6p MTD reservation time and it was the only time we had to wait for a table, about 15 minutes. I started with the beet and orange salad, which had sounded good but was lacking dressing (a nice light poppy seed would’ve been perfect). We shared the coconut shrimp, which was delicious. Jelly had chicken fingers and I had the turkey dinner entrée and didn’t like it. There were two desserts that I could eat that sounded good – the banana bread pudding and pavlova. DELICIOUS. I remembered liking their little baby pavlovas on previous ships.

 

We had a reservation for ‘Flight’ but missed it; it was PJ night at the kid’s club, and Jelly was planning to go, but we both decided to stay in the room and rent ‘Crimes of Grindewald’ since we hadn’t seen it yet, and it was Jelly’s turn to be sunburned and sore. I heard later that ‘Hiro’ had to be rescheduled due to wind that night.

Edited April 9, 2019 by CanadaCathi

[CanadaCathi]

20 hours ago, breezy_carol said:

I am enjoying your review and all of the pictures but this has to be my favorite.

 

Sooooo sweet, right? Moments like that make all the money and planning and stress and travel and...  worthwhile.

 

But seriously, as IF girlfriend held a sloth at 10 years old?! I was lucky if I caught a frog in the creek when I was 10, that's about as much exotic wildlife as I got to see. Sheesh.

[lazydayz]

Great review.  But still waiting for the bittersweet! 

[Cel_cruise]

Enjoying this! Boarding on Saturday!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[reganr622]

Enjoying your review!!! 

[lindalo5032]

Where do you get the banana pancakes?   Windjammer? 

[CanadaCathi]

On 4/9/2019 at 6:33 PM, lazydayz said:

Great review.  But still waiting for the bittersweet! 

 

It's coming...

[CanadaCathi]

37 minutes ago, lindalo5032 said:

Where do you get the banana pancakes?   Windjammer? 

 

Yep! They did different varieties of pancakes different days - plain one day, chocolate chip another etc. I perked them up a little bit with a fresh banana I grabbed off the breakfast bar and sliced over top, they were DELICIOUS. And a nice change when you're eating basically the same stuff every day.