Kayleigh Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 Hey everyone! My husband and I are going on a 5 day Western Caribbean in November on Adventure and I am wondering, for those who have been to Costa Maya and Cozumel, which excursions were your favorite? I've heard that the ruins are better in one place than the other...yes/no? Also, are the beaches and shops all within walking distance from the ship or should we look into getting a taxi? 86 days and counting! I can't wait! We haven't been on a cruise since January of 2020! We were supposed to be on Oasis last September but Rona had other plans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS2766 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 We will be there in 55 days. We love the beach, so we are doing the all inclusive Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel. There definitely is a lot to do in Cozumel. As for Costa Maya? Not sure as we have never been there. I think we will just "wing it" for that port. @Mattlike a place called Maya Chan (sp?) I think that is also a pay as you go beach place. Looks like the port is HUGE, so there may be plenty to do there as well. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 Just there to both ports last week sailing Western Caribbean itinerary on Celebrity Equinox. Right now you can't tour independently at either port. Only way to leave the ship in Cozumel was with a ship's excursion. Costa Maya has a large shopping area adjacent to the pier. You can go there but not outside .... not much outside anyway. Quintana Roo is in condition red based on viral prevalence. Nothing will reopen in these two ports until that changes. Recommend you follow Mexico's public health web site for updates. Don't book private tours until the COVID status changes. Ship's tours are reasonably priced and a safe way to tour either port. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 I've been to both. The Mayan ruins are better at Costa Maya. Both Costa Maya and Cozumel have shopping areas at the pier that are pretty nice. As mentioned before, Cozumel is an older port and has many more excursions. Most people enjoy some flavor of beach day there. I'm not a beach person, so I usually stay on the ship. That said, I enjoyed the Atlantis submarine while I was there. I was disappointed by the "Mayan Ruins, Island Tour and Beach" tour when I was there last month. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Kayleigh said: Also, are the beaches and shops all within walking distance from the ship or should we look into getting a taxi? Taxi needed. There's not-so-great beaches near the port in Cozumel, but I would not recommend them. A 10 minute taxi ride is well worth it. In Costa Maya, you need to take a taxi to get to the beach. Both ports have a large shopping area attached to where the ship docks. Shopping is better in downtown Cozumel. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof4crazytocruise Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 16 minutes ago, JeffB said: Right now you can't tour independently at either port This is the first I have heard that you can't go independently from the port. Was that a Celebrity thing? Or a port restriction? 1 hour ago, Kayleigh said: Hey everyone! My husband and I are going on a 5 day Western Caribbean in November on Adventure and I am wondering, for those who have been to Costa Maya and Cozumel, which excursions were your favorite? I've heard that the ruins are better in one place than the other...yes/no? Also, are the beaches and shops all within walking distance from the ship or should we look into getting a taxi? 86 days and counting! I can't wait! We haven't been on a cruise since January of 2020! We were supposed to be on Oasis last September but Rona had other plans! There are plenty of shops in the port - but in Cozumel, a short taxi ride into San Miguel will get you more shops and restuarants. There is a town square and lots of shops in a pretty touristy area. For a nice beach you should plan on a taxi ride. Same for Costa Maya. The port area at Costa Maya is pretty great, but a short taxi ride will get you to a decent beach. The taxis will all take US dollars and have set price fees. Do your research ahead of time what that should be. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 I would recommend the Myan ruins in Costa Maya if you have never done it. The beach in both places are very nice. Kayleigh and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayleigh Posted August 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 Thank you all so much for your feedback! Looks like this will be tonight's dinner discussion haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS2766 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 hour ago, JeffB said: Just there to both ports last week sailing Western Caribbean itinerary on Celebrity Equinox. Right now you can't tour independently at either port. Only way to leave the ship in Cozumel was with a ship's excursion. I would also like to know if this is a Celebrity thing or if this is recent change from Mexico? We are planning to do Mr Sanchos, but now want to make sure we can do whatever we want in these 2 ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK2793 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 The best ruins to see are Chacchoben in Costa Maya and they’re only 1 hour from the port. ChessE4 and Kayleigh 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 hour ago, CJS2766 said: I would also like to know if this is a Celebrity thing or if this is recent change from Mexico? We are planning to do Mr Sanchos, but now want to make sure we can do whatever we want in these 2 ports. The port restrictions for Cozumel and Costa Maya were last minute changes. When we got to our cabin aboard Equinox, there was a letter on the bed with the port restrictions limiting entry to cruise ship sponsored tours only. To my knowledge, this is a Mexican Public Health Department outcome. Quintana Roo had been yellow coded up until April when it moved to orange in May and then Red sometime in June. That restricted the ports of Cozumel and Costa Maya. My take is that Celebrity waited until the last minute hoping for those restrictions to be dropped. Didn't happen. I've posted elsewhere that itineraries and port openings and closings are changing almost on a weekly basis. All Caribbean ports have some type of COVID protocol in place, e.g., restricted shore excursions, masking indoors and outdoors. Most of them require vaccination to enter even for ship's tours. You're advised to carry your vax card and at Nassau, ships' security checked your vax card before letting you off the ship for your ship's sponsored tours. Under 12s and unvaxed have to go on ship's tours. If vaccinated, adults can go on their own in some ports. Caribbean governments and the Mexican government are being very tough on travelers. The reason for that is that in Mexico, vax rates are low and viral prevalence is high. In the Caribbean, vax rates are also low but viral prevalence is low too and these governments want to keep it that way. That is because their health care systems would be easily overwhelmed with a surge of new cases. All I can tell you is be prepared for changes to your itineraries based on the COVID situation in each port. you may be visiting. Celebrity has done a great job keeping guests informed but at times, last minute changes happen. We had one of those at St. Lucia. We were expecting only tours from the ship but at the last minute everyone could explore on their own. The link below will take you to itinerary changes on Celebrity ships. You can explore these or, if RCL's web site has a similar section, look for that. https://www.celebritycruises.com/travel-alert/itinerary-modifications teddy and Kayleigh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS2766 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 Thank you @JeffBWe cruise in October, specifically on the 16th and hopefully by then, protocols will change in our favor. Makes things difficult as I was about to book excursions on my own (private) but now I am hesitant to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 I think you could still book tours but make sure the agency you're booking with has a cancelation policy you can live with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 In Costa Maya, we really enjoyed Chacchoben (take insect repellant), and we've also just hung out at the local village. Kayleigh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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