Costa Maya - definitely worth getting off the ship!

[Sally Forth]

We were in Costa Maya on Dec 24th on the Norwegian Spirit. It was a bit drizzly, so we didn't leave the port area, but it was a great stop and I highly recommend it. The big pool and beach area with chairs are a wonderful idea. It's all free, and although the water at the beach is a bit rough, the lounge chairs and restaurants make it worth just vegging out at the port. Oh, and the bathrooms are all marble tiled and spotless and also free.

 

We didn't find the vendors at all pushy. Their prices aren't great, but they were willing to go down to a 1/3 of their initial price and we found what we wanted.

 

Viv

[padresfans]

Disagree a bit. We were surprised by the pool and beach area. If you don't want to spend money for an excursion the pool and beach are great. We went on excursion to Mayan ruins and were happy. Long bus ride but there isn't much else to see in this land. At least we got to view a little bit of the culture.

 

Sally, you must have been to different shops than I. At times I felt physically accosted. These guys were as pushy as I've ever had and I live 20 miles from Tijuana. The quality and type of merchandise was no different than anything I've ever found in in Tijuana, except maybe the jewelry.

My recommendation -- save your money for Guatemala and Belize.

 

Of the four ports, this is the one I would have no desire for a return trip, although the excursion was well worth it.

[nolaAlive]

Small world. I was on that cruise. Costa Maya is one of my favorite ports. The vendors were not pushy at all. They understood No.

 

I even stopped and talked and joked with some and still no pushing.

 

For my pics from the Spirit cruise and a ton of them from Costa Maya, see here:

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/NCLSprit08/index.htm

 

Once Chac-Chi is rebuilt, CM will be perfect!

[Islandbuoy]

your pictures seem to show a port not yet ready for the real world after the hurricane--isit as bad as it looks?

[Sally Forth]

Disagree a bit. We were surprised by the pool and beach area. If you don't want to spend money for an excursion the pool and beach are great. We went on excursion to Mayan ruins and were happy. Long bus ride but there isn't much else to see in this land. At least we got to view a little bit of the culture.

 

Sally, you must have been to different shops than I. At times I felt physically accosted. These guys were as pushy as I've ever had and I live 20 miles from Tijuana. The quality and type of merchandise was no different than anything I've ever found in in Tijuana, except maybe the jewelry.

My recommendation -- save your money for Guatemala and Belize.

 

Of the four ports, this is the one I would have no desire for a return trip, although the excursion was well worth it.

 

There was a thread on here a while ago about tourism officials warning the vendors about their techniques. I wonder if your experience was before that warning and ours was after. As I said, the prices weren't great, but one of my sons needed sunglasses and he was happy with the price he got.

 

Viv