Maya Chan or Jamie’s Blue Reef - help me decide!

[cruisegal40]

19 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

@cruisegal40 I don't think you HAVE to make a reservation, but they do limit capacity to only about 35 people. So it's possible that you could be turned away if you don't have a reservation. It was very easy to make a reservation. Jamie was very responsive by email and I just paid a small deposit (I think I paid $12 per person) to hold our spot! 

thanks for this. I did make reservations. Was very quick and easy. 

[GetToLivin]

Can anyone speak to the beach/water at these spots? Cruise docks here in January so it looks like seaweed shouldn't be a problem, but a lot of the pics on TripAdvisor seem to show murky water, just trying to set expectations!

Edited August 15, 2022 by GetToLivin
typo

[bguppies]

1 hour ago, GetToLivin said:

Can anyone speak to the beach/water at these spots? Cruise docks here in January so it looks like seaweed shouldn't be a problem, but a lot of the pics on TripAdvisor seem to show murky water, just trying to set expectations!

Yeah the water here is nowhere near as beautiful as Grand Cayman,  the Bahamas, Roatan or other Caribbean islands.

The water is murkier than Cozumel, but the same sea weed problems. (just much worse than Cozumel)

 

Similar to swimming off a Jersey Shore beach, than Florida or the Caribbean.

[c-leg5]

49 minutes ago, bguppies said:

Yeah the water here is nowhere near as beautiful as Grand Cayman,  the Bahamas, Roatan or other Caribbean islands.

The water is murkier than Cozumel, but the same sea weed problems. (just much worse than Cozumel)

 

Similar to swimming off a Jersey Shore beach, than Florida or the Caribbean.

Sea weed at beach clubs in Cozumel is when there is a storm otherwise it is on the east side.

Murky water in Cozumel is often due to stirring up the sand quite clear in the rocky areas.

 

2 hours ago, GetToLivin said:

Can anyone speak to the beach/water at these spots? Cruise docks here in January so it looks like seaweed shouldn't be a problem, but a lot of the pics on TripAdvisor seem to show murky water, just trying to set expectations!

January is probably one of the better months to visit Costa Maya with less chance of sargassum but you are always likely to experIence seagrass. Some areas of the malecon are probably better in that respect but I haven’t been to Jaimie’s specifically.

[mkmom514]

On 6/6/2022 at 2:33 PM, FSUDAVE said:

I was just there....Never has and never will have a pool according to the owners.  (David is a former Californiaian BTW) Perhaps your thinking somewhere else.  

 

We were there last October and swam in the pool.

[mkmom514]

Went to Maya Chan last October and wouldn't go back. The water was so dirty it took two washings to get the smell and stains out of our clothes. 

[c-leg5]

On 8/15/2022 at 3:07 PM, bguppies said:

Yeah the water here is nowhere near as beautiful as Grand Cayman,  the Bahamas, Roatan or other Caribbean islands.

The water is murkier than Cozumel, but the same sea weed problems. (just much worse than Cozumel)

 

Similar to swimming off a Jersey Shore beach, than Florida or the Caribbean.

I am really not sure which Caribbean islands you are referring to but sargassum is a problem, predominantly on most east coast areas of the islands and mainlands like Mexico, and, depending on currents and weather patterns sometimes west coasts. 
 

 

2022 has been a particularly bad year again. Look at some google images for Caymans, St Martin, Barbados, to name a few, and see the piles of sargassum which has been a major problem.

Edited October 6, 2022 by c-leg5

[cruisegal40]

Well  I wanted to report back. We went to Jaime's.  It was very good with limited folks there.  The food and service were phenomenal.  The bathroom not so much.  Everything was nice and organized by the staff. I would go again.

[GetToLivin]

How was the actual beach / water? We're going in Dec/Jan and so far it looks like it's hit and miss (I've been lurking here and on Travel Advisor). Some photos show nice beaches / clear water, others show a very murky ocean.

[c-leg5]

30 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

How was the actual beach / water? We're going in Dec/Jan and so far it looks like it's hit and miss (I've been lurking here and on Travel Advisor). Some photos show nice beaches / clear water, others show a very murky ocean.

Recent activity will have no bearing on Dec/Jan.

 

One suggestion would be to monitor webcam at 40Canones for the malecon and Maya Chan webcam if it is back up and running when they reopen.

Edited October 13, 2022 by c-leg5

[crewsweeper]

29 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

How was the actual beach / water? We're going in Dec/Jan and so far it looks like it's hit and miss (I've been lurking here and on Travel Advisor). Some photos show nice beaches / clear water, others show a very murky ocean.

That time of the year is generally freer of sargassum, but over the past few years it's been a year round issue given the currents.  The water is "murkier" in general as the bottom is sand/silt. until out past the breakwater.

[GetToLivin]

21 hours ago, cruisegal40 said:

Well  I wanted to report back. We went to Jaime's.  It was very good with limited folks there.  The food and service were phenomenal.  The bathroom not so much.  Everything was nice and organized by the staff. I would go again.

I did email them today and they mentioned day passes are "50 dollars and includes everything you can eat and drink, as well as the facilities of the beach club" -- was that your experience as well?

[c-leg5]

10 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

I did email them today and they mentioned day passes are "50 dollars and includes everything you can eat and drink, as well as the facilities of the beach club" -- was that your experience as well?

Blue Reef? Website says $57 - is there a promotion? Most places in Costa Maya seem to be increasing prices.

[cruisegal40]

3 hours ago, GetToLivin said:

I did email them today and they mentioned day passes are "50 dollars and includes everything you can eat and drink, as well as the facilities of the beach club" -- was that your experience as well?

You need to have a reservation.  When you received your confirmation, print it out to bring with you. They will ask for it. Yes. We ate and drank (I did, hubs did not).  We did tip at the end.  They will also flag down a taxi for you for the ride back. The staff was amazing. I need to do a testimonial on them on TA.

[c-leg5]

12 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

You need to have a reservation.  When you received your confirmation, print it out to bring with you. They will ask for it. Yes. We ate and drank (I did, hubs did not).  We did tip at the end.  They will also flag down a taxi for you for the ride back. The staff was amazing. I need to do a testimonial on them on TA.

So did you do PAYG even with a reservation? I thought they were only doing that on a space available basis?

[cruisegal40]

20 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

So did you do PAYG even with a reservation? I thought they were only doing that on a space available basis?

Just one flat rate for everything.  We had Digby and she was great.  

[crewsweeper]

1 hour ago, cruisegal40 said:

Just one flat rate for everything.  We had Digby and she was great.  

Digby can get you a large paloma with mezcal, LOL.  Won't need another drink all day.   But she will take care of anything you need.  

[jean87510]

17 hours ago, cruisegal40 said:

Just one flat rate for everything.  We had Digby and she was great.  

She is the best.  If I didn't want to try Hayhu on the 26th, we were heading back.  I told her she's famous and she was just thrilled.  

[c-leg5]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

She is the best.  If I didn't want to try Hayhu on the 26th, we were heading back.  I told her she's famous and she was just thrilled.  

Interested to hear your review of Hayhu especially transport arrangements. There haven’t been many reviews especially since shut down and it would be good to know how it is now.

[crewsweeper]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

She is the best.  If I didn't want to try Hayhu on the 26th, we were heading back.  I told her she's famous and she was just thrilled.  

I'd be interested in hearing about your experience at Hayhu.  As it's further down the coast, curious as to the beach conditions.  I know it's relatively shallow near shore, but as we drove down to Chetumal a few years ago, the water along the route was so blue. Unfortunately there was nothing there.

[jean87510]

8 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

I'd be interested in hearing about your experience at Hayhu.  As it's further down the coast, curious as to the beach conditions.  I know it's relatively shallow near shore, but as we drove down to Chetumal a few years ago, the water along the route was so blue. Unfortunately there was nothing there.

I'd be happy to report back.  I'll be there on the 26th.  I'm not exactly a fan of Maya Chan ocean reports although have never been there so I wanted to try this place.

[cruisegal40]

15 hours ago, jean87510 said:

I'd be happy to report back.  I'll be there on the 26th.  I'm not exactly a fan of Maya Chan ocean reports although have never been there so I wanted to try this place.

We've been many times to MC. Will be very curious to see what folks say about it. Yes, agreed. Digby is the best.