Please help!!!

[justmeDi]

:confused: Our cruise on 9/26/04 had a scheduled stop in Grand Cayman.....RCCL has said we might go to Costa Maya instead (or perhaps Belize) I haven't been able to find a lot of information...so was hoping someone here could give me some direction. Several in our group want to snorkel...other just hang out on the beach ( a nice one with facilities, lounges, palapas/umbrellas and hopefully a restaurant and shopping), others are just not sure what they want to do or what there is to do. Any ideas would help. Is there a catamaran/snorkel tour? One of our group has a broken foot.....can walk unaided but has to be very careful, so no rough terrain or long walking involved. Can you recommend a tour operator? Sorry for all the questions but I thought someone might help! Thanks in advance, Di

[CruisingCatherine]

Di;

I am sailing on the Mariner on the 26th. We are scheduled to stop in the Caymans. Is this the cruise you are booked on? If so check out our Meet and Mingle group on the Roll Call boards!! How did you hear that Belize or Costa Maya was an option? Did RCCL let you know? I am doing research on these two ports just in case. I am figuring that the Caymans are out. I will be watching this closely.

[7nucruzers]

we are on jos 11/14/04 - i know it's very much ahead of time but I had to call rccl about another matter. I mentioned about the gc port of call and they said "as of right now (thursday 9/16/04 @ approx. 1:30 pm est) rccl has NO plans to change their itineraries for ANY sailings to GC!!!!!!!!!!!! Are they just pulling my leg and being non-commital or just stupid??? I didn't really expect her to tell me where we would be going in November but to say that there were no changes even for current sailings was unbelievable to say the least. I hope this rccl agent was just misinformed - didn't push her too much on the issue - anyone heard the same???

[justmeDi]

Di;

I am sailing on the Mariner on the 26th. We are scheduled to stop in the Caymans. Is this the cruise you are booked on? We are on The Rhapsody out of Galveston, TX. If so check out our Meet and Mingle group on the Roll Call boards!! How did you hear that Belize or Costa Maya was an option? I have several good friends that are cruise agents.....although RCCL says there are no itineray changes....how inane is that. The Rhapsody this week is porting at Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel..... my CA friends say that is their best guess at where we will go....Key West will be open unless Jeanne get them Did RCCL let you know? I am doing research on these two ports just in case. I am figuring that the Caymans are out. I will be watching this closely.

I found a neat tour in Beleize if you want info let me know and I will email you. Di

[justmeDi]

we are on jos 11/14/04 - i know it's very much ahead of time but I had to call rccl about another matter. I mentioned about the gc port of call and they said "as of right now (thursday 9/16/04 @ approx. 1:30 pm est) rccl has NO plans to change their itineraries for ANY sailings to GC!!!!!!!!!!!! Are they just pulling my leg and being non-commital or just stupid??? I didn't really expect her to tell me where we would be going in November but to say that there were no changes even for current sailings was unbelievable to say the least. I hope this rccl agent was just misinformed - didn't push her too much on the issue - anyone heard the same???

that's what they said to me at first...I asked her who I could talk to who was better informed or who didn't think I was stupid....that kinda set her back just a bit....she seems to take a breath and said there were no changes in the system because 'they' were waiting to see what TS Jeanne was going to do...I told her that Jeanne had nothing to do with the current devastation on Grand Cayman...she agreed and then said if she HAD to take a guess it would be Belize or Coasta Maya....I thanked and we both hung up wishing each other a pleasant day....:D so I am researching both ports......since I have never been to either I'd like some idea of what to expect....Di:D

[justmeDi]

If you are going to Costa Maya check out http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com great photo and some great excursions for good prices.

 

If you are going to Belize check with http://belizecruiseexcursions.com and make sure to do an excursion there as the city is not very nice but if you go out and do any excursion you will love it. We did X-Stream Cave Tubing and I highly recommend it.

thanks so much I am off to explore these sites. Again, Thank you, Di

[justmeDi]

It's a good thing to visit Costa Maya and the little town of Mahahual. There is much to do. At the pier there are cultural activities and a saltwater pool in addition to the usual shopping. About 2 miles from the pier, (you can catch a taxi, walk, take a little bus, or rent a golf cart,) you will find Mahahual that will offer many different options in terms of watersports, safe and wonderful food and beverage, relaxing on beautiful beaches near crystal blue water that you can snorkel in. It has the worlds 2nd largest barrier reef and nearby there are also scuba diving companies. There are also other beautiful beaches such as Uvero Beach that are very close and pure paradise. A good website to check out is mayanbeachgarden.com and click on Majahual and that will take you to that area. Also, there are some people living there that can answer questions at jeanbell1@prodigy.net . Of course, there are even more options such as ruins if you don't mind a little longer time on a bus. The "Monkey Farm" where they care for injured and orphaned baby animals is about a 10 min. ride from Mahahual. You can hold the baby monkeys. Enjoy!

Thank you ever so much for the information....I will check this out. Di

[bruce-r]

from our stop in Costa Maya/ Mahahual

 

Costa Maya photos

 

Here is the basic run down of the port. Costa Maya is where you dock. It is a cruise line built port. There is lots of shopping, a large saltwater pool, a couple of bars, and a restaurant. I thought it was very "touristy" and reminded me somewhat of a strip mall with t-shirt shops and "duty free" stores.

Some people like this kind of port and others, like me, prefer something less contrived. In addition to the tours offered by the cruise line, there is a tour booth at the port with essentially the same tours. I can't tell you the prices, sorry. I would bet they are pretty close to what the ship is charging for the most part. A list of some of the tours offered by some of the cruise line can be found at puertocostamaya.com The beach at the port isn't sandy at all. It is an ironshore, so if you plan to go in the water here, it is advised that you have aqua socks or something of that nature.

 

What we did, and recommend, is take a taxi to the small town (or village) of Mahahual (Ma-ha-wall) for some time at a sandy beach. The taxi was about $5 per person round trip. We spent the whole day there at the beach, but there is some shopping there and you are almost expected to bargain. There are chairs, tables, lounges, palapas all along the beach that are free to customers of the restaurants/bars that put them there. The beach itself is free regardless. In March, we saw at least 2 places where people were offering massages, $20 for 30 minutes. There were horses to rent, jet skis, banana boat rides, quads, snorkeling trips to name some of the other activities available. I don't know the prices of any of these either because we spent the day playing in the sand with our kids, and eating good, cheap food. Beers were $2 a bottle. It was probably my sons favorite day, even over swimming the the dolphins in Coz.

 

Anyway, the photos will give you a better idea what we did. If you can't find something to do, then you probably didn't get off the ship.

 

Any questions?

[karen_g]

I enjoyed your photos, Bruce. Thank you for posting them!

[bruce-r]

I enjoyed your photos, Bruce. Thank you for posting them!

 

You are quite welcome. I thought Costa Mayt, actually Mahahual, was a great stop.