Why No Excursion Options Listed for Costa Maya in Feb '23?

[JustPlainAli]

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I swear I've tried to find the answer myself and I've failed.

 

I recently booked my third cruise, the 5 Night Western Caribbean on Adventure of the Seas, and while I see options for shore excursions on the day of our Cozumel stop, there is nothing listed for the Costa Maya stop.  I also just noticed that the ship does not dock until noon that day. Is that why there are no options for excursions?

 

I have only ever experienced cruise stops arriving around 7am, so I'm curious now about what my options are on a stop that doesn't arrive until noon! Does this mean Chacchoben will not be possible? If not, than what options exist for the stop? The itinerary does not appear to indicate what time I need to be BACK at the port, either. I'm used to a 5pm departure, so 5 hours in Costa Maya sounds like a rip off.  Help me come to terms with this?

 

Thanks in advance for any answers and/or pointers you have time to give!  

[klfrodo]

Maybe the cruise line is in contract negotiations with the port and/or excursion vendors for the port.

[c-leg5]

32 minutes ago, JustPlainAli said:

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by c-leg5

[lifes-a-beach]

Welcome to the forum.  Those port times are common for a Costa Maya 5 day trip.  We are on one right now.  All aboard is at 6:30 for the 7:00 departure.  
 

I don’t know why the RC system isn’t showing excursions but there’s no need to use the cruise line for such.  If you want to go to the ruins, look at Native Choice.  Smaller group and they do a great job.  Other options include catching a cab to the malecon and find a place for some lunch.  We went to Krazy Lobster Friday and really enjoyed it.  
 

Be sure to check out the Costa Maya and Cozumel threads here under Caribbean.  Lots of good information there.

[JustPlainAli]

1 minute ago, lifes-a-beach said:

Welcome to the forum.  Those port times are common for a Costa Maya 5 day trip.  We are on one right now.  All aboard is at 6:30 for the 7:00 departure.  
 

I don’t know why the RC system isn’t showing excursions but there’s no need to use the cruise line for such.  If you want to go to the ruins, look at Native Choice.  Smaller group and they do a great job.  Other options include catching a cab to the malecon and find a place for some lunch.  We went to Krazy Lobster Friday and really enjoyed it.  
 

Be sure to check out the Costa Maya and Cozumel threads here under Caribbean.  Lots of good information there.

 Thank you for this! I had been reading about Native Choice, but I was unsure (read: nervous) about booking anything with them because I didn't see anything about their departure and return times, and did not know what time the ship was departing.

 

Krazy Lobster is on my list as a possibility, as is Maya Chan (who are not currently taking reservations yet, it appears).

 

Thanks for the tip on other threads!

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, JustPlainAli said:

 Thank you for this! I had been reading about Native Choice, but I was unsure (read: nervous) about booking anything with them because I didn't see anything about their departure and return times, and did not know what time the ship was departing.

 

Krazy Lobster is on my list as a possibility, as is Maya Chan (who are not currently taking reservations yet, it appears).

 

Thanks for the tip on other threads!

I love Native Choice. 
 

I love Maya Chan. 
 

can’t go wrong with either of these. 

[lifes-a-beach]

My adult son and his girlfriend went with Native Choice a couple of months ago and spoke highly of the service and interaction.  The guide was highly educated in Mayan studies and all went smoothly.  

[JustPlainAli]

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

I love Native Choice. 
 

I love Maya Chan. 
 

can’t go wrong with either of these. 

 Except I was dumb and didn't take note of the dock time when I booked and now the day is half gone and I'm over here like Veruca Salt yelling "BUT I WANT TO DO IT ALLLLLLL!" Haha!

[c-leg5]

My first reply went in CC black hole!

As stated these are the regular times for this itinerary. We have done it several times this year and have several more booked.Excursions are showing for November but not January yet.If you go into the app you can see what is offered for different dates to get an idea but you won’t be able to book. There are two for Chacchoben (4 hours) and one for Kohunlich (6 and 1/2 which makes no sense). I agree Native Choice has been recommended for many years.

 

Ship generally stays on Galveston time which will be CST at that time (but is up to Captain) and local Yucatan time is EST YEAR ROUND. Do not let your cell phone automatically change time zones or carry an ordinary watch.

 

More ideas and suggestions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

 

Maya Chan should reopen in October, I believe. I am surprised they aren’t taking bookings for February.
 

Beach bars in Costa Maya are struggling to get their act together since cruising resumed in my opinion. I am sure the economy has hit them hard but several have become very greedy and several have closed down. Krazy Lobster has expanded over many vacant lots and we have visited there several times recently. It seems to be an honest business with reasonable prices but is bigger and more crowded than I personally prefer so I am still searching for a new “go-to” place,

 

[JustPlainAli]

8 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

My first reply went in CC black hole!

As stated these are the regular times for this itinerary. We have done it several times this year and have several more booked.Excursions are showing for November but not January yet.If you go into the app you can see what is offered for different dates to get an idea but you won’t be able to book. There are two for Chacchoben (4 hours) and one for Kohunlich (6 and 1/2 which makes no sense). I agree Native Choice has been recommended for many years.

 

Ship generally stays on Galveston time which will be CST at that time (but is up to Captain) and local Yucatan time is EST YEAR ROUND. Do not let your cell phone automatically change time zones or carry an ordinary watch.

 

More ideas and suggestions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

 

Maya Chan should reopen in October, I believe. I am surprised they aren’t taking bookings for February.
 

Beach bars in Costa Maya are struggling to get their act together since cruising resumed in my opinion. I am sure the economy has hit them hard but several have become very greedy and several have closed down. Krazy Lobster has expanded over many vacant lots and we have visited there several times recently. It seems to be an honest business with reasonable prices but is bigger and more crowded than I personally prefer so I am still searching for a new “go-to” place,

 

OMG, I love you!

 

So let me make sure I’m following you correctly. You said the ship will *probably* stay on Central Time. If I accidentally allow my ADHD to usurp my plans and my phone *does* switch to Costa Maya time, that just means that when my phone says 6:30pm, it’s actually only 5:30on on the boat? I can handle that, because it’s to my advantage of not missing the boat. If it’s the other way around, then I’m scared. Lol 

 

As for Maya Chan, to be fair, I didn’t *try* to make a reservation.  I merely read the banner at the top of their webpage that indicated they’re closed til October and made an assumption. Probably not the wisest choice on my part. 
 

As for Krazy Lobster, I am kind of torn. I’ve read about a dozen reviews and they run the gamut. Although I did read one review from a person who rented a golf cart and drove them self to Krazy Lobster and some other places and that sounds like my cup of tea. (Move over! Coming through!)

 

Thank you for the link. I’m diving in now! 

 

[AlohaLivin]

There are also no excursions at all showing for our January 14 cruise. We have been concerned that we would not dock there at all.
 

Another vote for Native Choice - although it was a good bit of a hike from where our ship ported, we had a tour with them that included visiting the ruins and a lunch with a Mayan family. It was one of the best excursions we ever had (the tour guide was a teacher, it was wonderful!).

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, JustPlainAli said:

OMG, I love you!

 

So let me make sure I’m following you correctly. You said the ship will *probably* stay on Central Time. If I accidentally allow my ADHD to usurp my plans and my phone *does* switch to Costa Maya time, that just means that when my phone says 6:30pm, it’s actually only 5:30on on the boat? I can handle that, because it’s to my advantage of not missing the boat. If it’s the other way around, then I’m scared. Lol 

 

As for Maya Chan, to be fair, I didn’t *try* to make a reservation.  I merely read the banner at the top of their webpage that indicated they’re closed til October and made an assumption. Probably not the wisest choice on my part. 
 

As for Krazy Lobster, I am kind of torn. I’ve read about a dozen reviews and they run the gamut. Although I did read one review from a person who rented a golf cart and drove them self to Krazy Lobster and some other places and that sounds like my cup of tea. (Move over! Coming through!)

 

Thank you for the link. I’m diving in now! 

 

Yes, there will be a card on your bed and the cruise compass will tell you to stay on ship time. I think we have only ever had one Captain on Royal change ship time out of Galveston. 
 

i think the banner just states when Maya Chan is reopening and the first date you can book, not that that is when they will begin taking new bookings. It is a secluded, quiet place but don’t take the last taxi back that they offer - we were the closest we have ever been to missing the ship earlier this year as the return taxi was late. It is a good 20 minute drive out to Maya Chan and then a long walk from the port gates to the ship. Transport to and from Maya Chan has been well organized previously but they have started waiting to fill up vans going resulting in arriving later than necessary. Our ship was also late docking so we took the last taxi back to maximize our time there. It  would have been fine if it had arrived on time but I would not cut it that close again..

 

[JustPlainAli]

59 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

There are also no excursions at all showing for our January 14 cruise. We have been concerned that we would not dock there at all.
 

Another vote for Native Choice - although it was a good bit of a hike from where our ship ported, we had a tour with them that included visiting the ruins and a lunch with a Mayan family. It was one of the best excursions we ever had (the tour guide was a teacher, it was wonderful!).

It is a little disconcerting, but I can’t imagine why they would make that call NOW?

 

And you were able to do both the things you mentioned with the short 12-7 dock schedule? 

Edited September 11, 2022 by JustPlainAli

[JustPlainAli]

5 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Yes, there will be a card on your bed and the cruise compass will tell you to stay on ship time. I think we have only ever had one Captain on Royal change ship time out of Galveston. 
 

i think the banner just states when Maya Chan is reopening and the first date you can book, not that that is when they will begin taking new bookings. It is a secluded, quiet place but don’t take the last taxi back that they offer - we were the closest we have ever been to missing the ship earlier this year as the return taxi was late. It is a good 20 minute drive out to Maya Chan and then a long walk from the port gates to the ship. Transport to and from Maya Chan has been well organized previously but they have started waiting to fill up vans going resulting in arriving later than necessary. Our ship was also late docking so we took the last taxi back to maximize our time there. It  would have been fine if it had arrived on time but I would not cut it that close again..

 

I’m somewhat of a worrywart, so I’d probably insist on leaving an hour for a twenty minute trek. lol But good advice, nonetheless! 

 

I think I’ve decided as far as beach stops go, I like the sound of Krazy Lobster a bit more. This is a girls’ trip so we’re looking for a bit more of a lively vibe. 
 

Now I just need to figure out if it’s possible to get a trip to the ruins AND a couple hours of beach time in. 

Edited September 11, 2022 by JustPlainAli

[c-leg5]

50 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

There are also no excursions at all showing for our January 14 cruise. We have been concerned that we would not dock there at all.
 

Another vote for Native Choice - although it was a good bit of a hike from where our ship ported, we had a tour with them that included visiting the ruins and a lunch with a Mayan family. It was one of the best excursions we ever had (the tour guide was a teacher, it was wonderful!).

We are also on that sailing but as I said above you can see what is likely offered from the November/December sailings on the App.

 

Not sure what you would need to book through the ship in Costa Maya other than perhaps Bacalar Lagoon and Kohunlich.

[AlohaLivin]

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

We are also on that sailing but as I said above you can see what is likely offered from the November/December sailings on the App.

 

Not sure what you would need to book through the ship in Costa Maya other than perhaps Bacalar Lagoon and Kohunlich.

All the other ports have full listings for our cruises in December and January except for this one point so in response to the OP I noted we were seeing the same as they were seeing. There are probably lots of people that want to book something through the cruise ship. Whether you or I would is a different matter.

[c-leg5]

4 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

All the other ports have full listings for our cruises in December and January except for this one point so in response to the OP I noted we were seeing the same as they were seeing. There are probably lots of people that want to book something through the cruise ship. Whether you or I would is a different matter.

I understand. I have a lot of partial listings for January and February and beyond that some sailings have none at all!
 

I agree the listings are very random and it isn’t even possible to get into the shore excursions brochure all the time.
 

That is why I have taken to looking at other sailings because I at least have somewhere to start my research in new ports.

[AlohaLivin]

46 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

I understand. I have a lot of partial listings for January and February and beyond that some sailings have none at all!
 

I agree the listings are very random and it isn’t even possible to get into the shore excursions brochure all the time.
 

That is why I have taken to looking at other sailings because I at least have somewhere to start my research in new ports.

My real concern is that RCC: will skip the port (the key west port for our late Nov sailing also shows no excursions and it is likely it will probably be switched out for Cococay bc of the pending local laws in Key West precluding most cruise ships from visiting). In a brief search I don’t see any particular problem going on with the port, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.  We shall see!

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[80sGal]

3 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

We are also on that sailing but as I said above you can see what is likely offered from the November/December sailings on the App.

 

Not sure what you would need to book through the ship in Costa Maya other than perhaps Bacalar Lagoon and Kohunlich.

Okay so this question dives into new territory.  Sorry about that but your post made me curious as we are frequent Carnival cruisers but are trying out other lines in 2023 and have 2 booked with RC for the summer.  So, now to the question!  What app?  Carnivals Hub app only works on the ship so it's not useful at all before the cruise.  I made a Crown and Anchor account and it shows our sailings but that's it (except for beverage and wifi).  Is that the app, because that seems more like an online account.  I've been trying to find RC shore excursions but the website, compared to Carnival, is really bad IMO.  Is there an app that works differently with better info?  

[JustPlainAli]

10 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

My real concern is that RCC: will skip the port (the key west port for our late Nov sailing also shows no excursions and it is likely it will probably be switched out for Cococay bc of the pending local laws in Key West precluding most cruise ships from visiting). In a brief search I don’t see any particular problem going on with the port, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.  We shall see!

 

As I am clearly a relative newcomer to cruising, can you tell me if it’s even possible that a cruise would skip a second stop altogether, as opposed to merely replacing it with a different stop? 
 

I’d be fine if they wanted to stop in, say, Belize instead of Costa Maya, for whatever reason. But if they could possibly eliminate stopping anywhere altogether, I’m going to need to wrap my head around that. 

 

While I know I can book an excursion outside of RC, I hesitate to do that if there is even a possibility of the ship not stopping there!

Edited September 12, 2022 by JustPlainAli
Added comment

[livingonthebeach]

11 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

My real concern is that RCC: will skip the port (the key west port for our late Nov sailing also shows no excursions and it is likely it will probably be switched out for Cococay bc of the pending local laws in Key West precluding most cruise ships from visiting). In a brief search I don’t see any particular problem going on with the port, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.  We shall see!

 

Yes, I'm concerned about KW as well as my Grandeur on Nov 13, is not showing any excursions at all. Not that I need to book one with RCI -- have been to KW multiple times and can find things to do on my own, but I am worried that RCI will be switching that port for either Nassau or CocoCay. 

[AlohaLivin]

9 hours ago, JustPlainAli said:

As I am clearly a relative newcomer to cruising, can you tell me if it’s even possible that a cruise would skip a second stop altogether, as opposed to merely replacing it with a different stop? 
 

I’d be fine if they wanted to stop in, say, Belize instead of Costa Maya, for whatever reason. But if they could possibly eliminate stopping anywhere altogether, I’m going to need to wrap my head around that. 

 

While I know I can book an excursion outside of RC, I hesitate to do that if there is even a possibility of the ship not stopping there!

It can happen, although it hasn’t happened to us directly. The vast majority of the time (except for weather-related changes) a port is substituted for another (for example, San Juan instead of Dominican Republic). Most 3rd party excursions will refund you if you don’t visit the port, but make sure to check with any that you are considering that is their policy.

Edited September 12, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[c-leg5]

19 hours ago, 80sGal said:

Okay so this question dives into new territory.  Sorry about that but your post made me curious as we are frequent Carnival cruisers but are trying out other lines in 2023 and have 2 booked with RC for the summer.  So, now to the question!  What app?  Carnivals Hub app only works on the ship so it's not useful at all before the cruise.  I made a Crown and Anchor account and it shows our sailings but that's it (except for beverage and wifi).  Is that the app, because that seems more like an online account.  I've been trying to find RC shore excursions but the website, compared to Carnival, is really bad IMO.  Is there an app that works differently with better info?  

You will find a link go the APP, Apple or Android on the Royal Caribbean website.

 

Also if you put APP into the FAQ search you will get more information on what you can/cannot do. You can add your actual sailings but you can also select most ships and pick sailings that you are not booked on to check menus, excursions etc. You can use the app off the ship.
 

The shore excursions brochure is sometimes available to download but seems intermittent at the moment.

[c-leg5]

9 hours ago, JustPlainAli said:

As I am clearly a relative newcomer to cruising, can you tell me if it’s even possible that a cruise would skip a second stop altogether, as opposed to merely replacing it with a different stop? 
 

I’d be fine if they wanted to stop in, say, Belize instead of Costa Maya, for whatever reason. But if they could possibly eliminate stopping anywhere altogether, I’m going to need to wrap my head around that. 

 

While I know I can book an excursion outside of RC, I hesitate to do that if there is even a possibility of the ship not stopping there!

We have had 5-day sailings from Galveston to Costa Maya and Cozumel where it has been too windy to dock at Costa Maya. The Captain abandoned after a couple of attempts. We were due to go Cozumel the next day but he was able to arrange for us to arrive later that day and added an overnight stay in Cozumel.
 

Other ships have not been as fortunate and have ended up with an extra sea day.

 

There are no guarantees with cruising that you will visit all/any of the ports on your itinerary due to mechanical, medical or weather related circumstances.