JG1209 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Dont shoot the messenger LOL I do not know the details behind this -- someone posted this on FB so I thought I would pass it on. RCIDreamer96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Thanks for posting this. Such a shame. Costa Maya had been pretty immune from this kind of "unrest" in the past. It's a shame to see that it is creeping ever southward. CM has always been very safe and very tourist-friendly. It would be total shame if it becomes like some of the other locations in Mexico with drug and cartel influence. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I saw this posted in a few places...with video and pics...sad to see this happening...would be disappointing to say the least if this happened while cruising to this port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I recently booked 2 cruises JUST b/c they were going to CM. Not the end of the world, but will be disappointed if we cannot get off the ship there. RCIDreamer96 and Ogilthorpe 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIDreamer96 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 12 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I recently booked 2 cruises JUST b/c they were going to CM. Not the end of the world, but will be disappointed if we cannot get off the ship there. @WAAAYTOOO I have never been on a cruise where RC has cancelled a stop- what happens during these cruises? Is any portion refunded? I have a stop in CM upcoming....very curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrznTxn Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Noticed that there were more taxi cabs operating in CM than I had seen before. Hope this gets resolved soon. Have a cruise stopping there in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 39 minutes ago, RCIDreamer96 said: @WAAAYTOOO I have never been on a cruise where RC has cancelled a stop- what happens during these cruises? Is any portion refunded? I have a stop in CM upcoming....very curious Not much, if anything, is refunded. They will refund port fees for the missed port and of course, any excursions that you had booked through Royal would be fully refunded. The only time you will likely see any of your cruise fare refunded is if the cruise itself is actually cut short due to weather or other extenuating circumstances. We went through this recently on Anthem when the ship was stuck in Bayonne for 3 days waiting for health test results. Most likely, if they cancel CM, they would simply add another sea day or maybe extend the stay in Cozumel. They actually have a lot of choices in that area of the Caribbean/Gulf. I wouldn't look for much of a rebate on price though. Ogilthorpe, RCIDreamer96 and Biff215 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelslovestocruise Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 On harmony right now and we are at Costa maya. Almost all of the royal Caribbean booked excursions were cancelled. We didn’t have one planned anyways as this was our walk around the port for a couple of hours then get back on the ship early stop. Everyone we saw was happy to have us there. We were the only ship in port today. Lots of people in the port area but it is a very nicely done up port. Also lots of people booked their own excursions and were fine. There were also excursions you could book in the port area with no issues. I saw people getting into cabs and there were no problems there either. Other than it being crazy humid it was a great day! KristiZ, SpeedNoodles, WAAAYTOOO and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 minute ago, Kelslovestocruise said: On harmony right now and we are at Costa maya. Almost all of the royal Caribbean booked excursions were cancelled. We didn’t have one planned anyways as this was our walk around the port for a couple of hours then get back on the ship early stop. Everyone we saw was happy to have us there. We were the only ship in port today. Lots of people in the port area but it is a very nicely done up port. Also lots of people booked their own excursions and were fine. There were also excursions you could book in the port area with no issues. I saw people getting into cabs and there were no problems there either. Other than it being crazy humid it was a great day! Thanks so much. Great news. Maybe it was a flash in the pan, and is done. Baked Alaska and Ogilthorpe 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacruiser99 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 36 minutes ago, Kelslovestocruise said: On harmony right now and we are at Costa maya. Almost all of the royal Caribbean booked excursions were cancelled. We didn’t have one planned anyways as this was our walk around the port for a couple of hours then get back on the ship early stop. Everyone we saw was happy to have us there. We were the only ship in port today. Lots of people in the port area but it is a very nicely done up port. Also lots of people booked their own excursions and were fine. There were also excursions you could book in the port area with no issues. I saw people getting into cabs and there were no problems there either. Other than it being crazy humid it was a great day! Were the transfers to Mahahual affected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelslovestocruise Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Nope they announced that one while on the cruise you had to walk 3 minutes further but they were still there. Flacruiser99 and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinSC Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Bah.....business as usual in Latin America. Ive seen much, much, MUCH worse. Watched people burn down a Popeyes Chicken in Tegucigalpa, Honduras after the coup in 2009.....ill gladly take some disgruntled taxi drivers. Im sure theyll get this resolved quickly. Too much money involved. WAAAYTOOO, Ogilthorpe and DDaley 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacruiser99 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 @SteveinSC Yes it seems they are shooting themselves in the foot. Baked Alaska and SteveinSC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinSC Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, Flacruiser99 said: @SteveinSC Yes it seems they are shooting themselves in the foot. Our finances are the greatest rival of our morals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I have always enjoyed Costa Maya (and Mahahual even more), but the owners of the port complex do have a history of playing hardball. You must walk the convoluted path completely thru the complex in order to get "outside" (they want you to stay in the port). There are a couple shortcuts ive learned over time but its still more difficult than it should be. You must walk outside their fence in order to get a taxi, as they want you to use their shuttles. They do allow the taxis to come in to drop people back off, but they can't let someone get in. They extended their concrete fence all the way to the water. On the southside this was to keep people from simply walking to town (relatively short, straight shot). This means a long walk thru the streets of "new town". On the northside it was to prevent people from heading to the little beachbar that used to be there, Chach Chi. you can still see the remains of it. nice little place, good food/drinks/service. 10 -15 years ago there was a whole section on CruiseCritic devoted to letting people know where the latest hole in the fence was to a path thru the brush to get there. Taxi drivers, if caught by port owners taking people there, were blackballed from business with the port. It is what it is, just another day south of the border. I still get out as fast as possible, grab a taxi to town, and hit one of my favorite places depending on which is less crowded if multiple ships in port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacew Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 22 minutes ago, PRC said: I have always enjoyed Costa Maya (and Mahahual even more), but the owners of the port complex do have a history of playing hardball. You must walk the convoluted path completely thru the complex in order to get "outside" (they want you to stay in the port). There are a couple shortcuts ive learned over time but its still more difficult than it should be. You must walk outside their fence in order to get a taxi, as they want you to use their shuttles. They do allow the taxis to come in to drop people back off, but they can't let someone get in. They extended their concrete fence all the way to the water. On the southside this was to keep people from simply walking to town (relatively short, straight shot). This means a long walk thru the streets of "new town". On the northside it was to prevent people from heading to the little beachbar that used to be there, Chach Chi. you can still see the remains of it. nice little place, good food/drinks/service. 10 -15 years ago there was a whole section on CruiseCritic devoted to letting people know where the latest hole in the fence was to a path thru the brush to get there. Taxi drivers, if caught by port owners taking people there, were blackballed from business with the port. It is what it is, just another day south of the border. I still get out as fast as possible, grab a taxi to town, and hit one of my favorite places depending on which is less crowded if multiple ships in port. We are about to go there. Is there anything you can tell us to help get to a taxi smoothly. We are going to Krazy Lobster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Best i can offer is to follow the green path in the attached map. If that exit is blocked (it frequently is), then continue along the red path. Walk out the gate and there will be tons of taxis waiting. plenty waiting to return also. The Lobster is a great place. You'll enjoy it! Baked Alaska and KristiZ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacew Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 8 minutes ago, PRC said: Best i can offer is to follow the green path in the attached map. If that exit is blocked (it frequently is), then continue along the red path. Walk out the gate and there will be tons of taxis waiting. plenty waiting to return also. The Lobster is a great place. You'll enjoy it! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrifty99 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 4 hours ago, RCIDreamer96 said: @WAAAYTOOO I have never been on a cruise where RC has cancelled a stop- what happens during these cruises? Is any portion refunded? I have a stop in CM upcoming....very curious We had a port cancelled in the Caribbean last year and I was surprised at how small the refund was to our account. It was less than $8 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 All that is refunded is the port fees...the price per head that that particular port charges the ship to dock and land passengers. it's normally not too big, Alaska and Europe are higher than most all Caribbean ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 thank you for alerting us to the Costa Maya news. We are headed there next week (Thursday I think) but have no excursions planned. Hopefully all will be settled down by then but I will report back if there is any news to report. Krazy Lobster?!! Might have to check that out. How far from the port? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 The Krazy Lobster is a great place. Just take the shuttle over and walk down the beach. They’ll find you a nice table, lounger or hammock. $1 Coronas ! Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mk Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 It's correct about what happened on the 18th, the main affection was for the shore excursions, you know, the ones offered by the ships, passengers were even in the buses at the gate waiting for departure and couldn't because of the blockade. On the 19th, Costa Maya had 3 cruises scheduled, Celebrity Reflection, Norwegian Escape and Harmony OTS, all together had nearly 50 tours to the ruins, beach, water park etc. and every single one got cancelled as a precaution. Only Harmony confirmed that it would dock but didn't sell any of the shore excursions. Today, the 20th apparently things go back to normal, there is a total of 35-40 official tours scheduled and people was just called to work. For today we have Empress OTS, Rhapsody OTS and MSC Meraviglia. Even if the situation eased, we as locals had an affection. If you don't come out of the port complex, a lot of locals work there and rely on commission or tips. If you go to town, you're also helping, If you get on any of the shore excursions from the ship, you'll also be helping locals because everyone from waiters, to tour guides and staff at locations is also local. So when a shore excursion from the ship is cancelled, that means that some people won't see any income for the day. I'll update this depending on what happens later today. Biff215, Baked Alaska, brianmorris and 5 others 5 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mk Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Today things are back to normal today, Shore excursions departed right on schedule, passengers have been returning to the port safely from their tours and stays at local beach clubs. Biff215, SteveinSC, teddy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saytheb Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Wow!! This is crazy.. we were there on Symphony docked there on the 18th and everything seemed fine. Guess we lucked out! SteveinSC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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