TessOR Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 I have a client looking for a catamaran sail out of Costa Maya for some snorkeling, sightseeing, etc. I am not finding that type of tour - has anyone taken one there? They were initially interested in the dolphin experience, but it looks like that habitat is undergoing maintenance of some sort. Any ideas for something cool to do there? This is an active family group - so they are not interested in the ruins or beach break type of activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Unfortunately, there isn't a lot more to do in Costa Maya. Boat snorkeling is all that comes to mind. There was a water park, but it closed during covid and has not reopened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRon2 Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 we were looking to do an ATV adventure at Costa Maya, but we see the maximum age is only 70 [quite angry about this we are]. We did an ATV excursion in Cozumel and it was a blast. 70 year olds are not all decrepid. We do 50+ laps at the Y pool 4 days a week plus gym equipment and I ride close to 100 miles a week on my road bike. But RCL no allows me to snorkel or ATV, ah well. Yes there is a beach snorkel there [but again, no 70 year olds allowed] but you said they weren't interested in the beach [and there's the seaweed problem they have there anyway]. Sorry for the age thing; but not right. Neesa, foxrunner and TessOR 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 8 hours ago, LinRon2 said: we were looking to do an ATV adventure at Costa Maya, but we see the maximum age is only 70 [quite angry about this we are]. We did an ATV excursion in Cozumel and it was a blast. 70 year olds are not all decrepid. We do 50+ laps at the Y pool 4 days a week plus gym equipment and I ride close to 100 miles a week on my road bike. But RCL no allows me to snorkel or ATV, ah well. Yes there is a beach snorkel there [but again, no 70 year olds allowed] but you said they weren't interested in the beach [and there's the seaweed problem they have there anyway]. Sorry for the age thing; but not right. I second your complaint about age restrictions. I have even seen 65 as the limit. A work-around is to take a beach excursion with my own gear and snorkel off the beach. I was going to do that at Maya Key in Feb until Royal cancelled our ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 17 hours ago, TessOR said: I have a client looking for a catamaran sail out of Costa Maya for some snorkeling, sightseeing, etc. I am not finding that type of tour - has anyone taken one there? They were initially interested in the dolphin experience, but it looks like that habitat is undergoing maintenance of some sort. Any ideas for something cool to do there? This is an active family group - so they are not interested in the ruins or beach break type of activities. When are they going? I see the Dolphin Experience available in my cruise planner for my Dec. 12 trip. I don't see any mention of maintenance at dolphindiscovery.com for Costa Maya (that is the group that does this). My wife and I did the dolphin experience in Costa Maya last September and loved it. Added bonus was that it is in the terminal and close to the ship. TessOR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessOR Posted November 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 3 hours ago, DoomSlayer said: When are they going? I see the Dolphin Experience available in my cruise planner for my Dec. 12 trip. I don't see any mention of maintenance at dolphindiscovery.com for Costa Maya (that is the group that does this). My wife and I did the dolphin experience in Costa Maya last September and loved it. Added bonus was that it is in the terminal and close to the ship. They are going in March. I pulled up a December cruise and saw it as well. Perhaps they just are not populating the app yet for next year. The dolphin discovery website for Costa Maya said "habitat maintenance". https://www.dolphindiscovery.com/costa-maya/ I'll reach out to them directly and see if I can get a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 2 hours ago, TessOR said: They are going in March. I pulled up a December cruise and saw it as well. Perhaps they just are not populating the app yet for next year. The dolphin discovery website for Costa Maya said "habitat maintenance". https://www.dolphindiscovery.com/costa-maya/ I'll reach out to them directly and see if I can get a response. I think the "Habitat Maintenance" you see is something lost in translation to English. It is only a header of a section where you can call them. I did just now check my March 11 cruise planner and my May 14 cruise planner and only see a total of 5 excursions listed for Costa Maya with Royal for each date. I think you are correct in assuming it may be too early for them to show up right now. If you call them, I bet they can answer the question on booking and let you book directly with them. The person I worked with there and bought my photo package from was Berna -- nice guy and spoke good English. This is probably one of the few excursions I would say is safe to book outside of the Cruise Line because there is little danger of missing the boat because it is right by the pier. Just make sure you understand the refund policy if the ship gets diverted or has a port schedule change for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorCruiser Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 Ok so to piggyback this topic. It appears of late that Maya Chan closes down for a few months in the heart of the summer. This is not ideal for those of us who will be there at that time and wanted to book it. Question, has it always done this or is a by-product of Covid ? Also is jaimes at blue reef the next best option for an all inclusive if Maya Chan is closed when I’m there ? Any other all inclusive suggestions in Costa Maya ? Thanks ahead of time . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdauterive Posted November 28, 2022 Report Share Posted November 28, 2022 On 11/24/2022 at 12:18 PM, GatorCruiser said: Ok so to piggyback this topic. It appears of late that Maya Chan closes down for a few months in the heart of the summer. This is not ideal for those of us who will be there at that time and wanted to book it. Question, has it always done this or is a by-product of Covid ? Also is jaimes at blue reef the next best option for an all inclusive if Maya Chan is closed when I’m there ? Any other all inclusive suggestions in Costa Maya ? Thanks ahead of time . I really enjoyed Almaplena pre-covid when Maya Chan was full. It didn't have as many options for drinks or active activities, but I really liked the more secluded location with less people and the long stretch of undeveloped beach to walk along. I haven't been back since covid but plan to some time in the future. It's about the same amount of travel time as Maya Chan since it takes the "highway" instead of the beach road. Although it does look like their price has increased quite a bit the past few years, it used to be identical to Maya Chan but now shows as $96/person GatorCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted December 4, 2022 Report Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 11/24/2022 at 12:18 PM, GatorCruiser said: Also is jaimes at blue reef the next best option for an all inclusive if Maya Chan is closed when I’m there ? Any other all inclusive suggestions in Costa Maya ? Thanks ahead of time . For us, Jaime's at Blue Reef supplanted Maya Chan as a favorite destination at Costa Maya. It is the first all-inclusive I have been to that I plan on returning the next time. The staff is amazing, truly, and I really like the facility and proximity to the beach and other amenities, especially about a half dozen scuba shops within a 2-3 minute walk. Digby and Rodrigo took GREAT care of us! Despite my dislike of the port area, it is worth navigating to get to a cab to the beach where it is. WAAAYTOOO and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan79 Posted December 4, 2022 Report Share Posted December 4, 2022 2 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said: For us, Jaime's at Blue Reef supplanted Maya Chan as a favorite destination at Costa Maya. What made it supplant Maya Chan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted December 4, 2022 Report Share Posted December 4, 2022 26 minutes ago, Ryan79 said: What made it supplant Maya Chan? The food is just as good, and the service provided by Rodrigo, Digby, and the others, believe it or not, is better imo...they show a lot of joy in what they do and have so much humor and appreciation, that it's hard to put words to it. They also manage the number of people coming from the cruise ships, so despite the more urban environment which was a concern going in at first, it's no big deal. I also like the proximity to other amenities in Mahahual, the rooftop pool and Pepe, Siri and Cata at the dive shop. I believe the reef is closer to shore at that spot, too. They accepted my reservation without a deposit but I don't think that will be a permanent practice. It is much closer to the cruise port being in the middle of Mahahual (only a few doors down from the Krazy Lobster). I had a tamarind margarita that blew my socks off after my dive. If there is one drawback, the beach is busy with people trying to sell stuff, but they aren't pushy. They just move on. Selfishly, I hope the word does not spread too quickly, because this resort is an uncut diamond in the rough. WAAAYTOOO, Neesa, wordell1 and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessOR Posted January 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 We are now looking for a snorkel / beach option. Three months out and still nothing on the RCL app. Any recommendations for a snorkel tour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG Teacher Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 20 hours ago, TessOR said: We are now looking for a snorkel / beach option. Three months out and still nothing on the RCL app. Any recommendations for a snorkel tour? I don't have a suggestion, but just wanted to say that my Cruise Planner suddenly has eight new excursions for Costa Maya that coincidentally appeared the day after the New Year's sale ended. Granted, there'll be 15 more sales between now and August, but still. In any event, you may want to check again today, you may have some fresh choices available. TessOR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac66 Posted January 9, 2023 Report Share Posted January 9, 2023 I'm not seeing any snorkeling/beach tours offered through RCI but we initially booked the RCI "Beach Break with Open Bar" $54/person for Costa Maya on our early Feb cruise. We figured we could just snorkel off the beach. Ended up canceling it and booked with Jamie's at the Blue Reef with included open food and drink for $3/person more. Plus it has a dive shop (Pepi Dive) in the same building that I can dive with and the others in my party can snorkel with (+$) out on the reef. TessOR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 9, 2023 Report Share Posted January 9, 2023 21 hours ago, mac66 said: I'm not seeing any snorkeling/beach tours offered through RCI but we initially booked the RCI "Beach Break with Open Bar" $54/person for Costa Maya on our early Feb cruise. We figured we could just snorkel off the beach. Ended up canceling it and booked with Jamie's at the Blue Reef with included open food and drink for $3/person more. Plus it has a dive shop (Pepi Dive) in the same building that I can dive with and the others in my party can snorkel with (+$) out on the reef. There are unaffiliated guys who take snorkelers out right at Jaime's - their boats are over to the right side when looking at the water. They were a little less expensive than the dive shops (cash only) for a quick trip (we just made the decision to go out on the spur of the moment). If you want to use a dive shop, Gypsea Divers shop is also right there and gets great reviews. TessOR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJsMrs Posted January 9, 2023 Report Share Posted January 9, 2023 On 1/3/2023 at 4:12 PM, TessOR said: We are now looking for a snorkel / beach option. Three months out and still nothing on the RCL app. Any recommendations for a snorkel tour? Would they consider something up at Bacalar? Some sailing options up there - boat tours with swimming and fun in the water and Cenotes to explore might be an option for them. TessOR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 10, 2023 Report Share Posted January 10, 2023 5 hours ago, jbrinkm said: There are unaffiliated guys who take snorkelers out right at Jaime's - their boats are over to the right side when looking at the water. They were a little less expensive than the dive shops (cash only) for a quick trip (we just made the decision to go out on the spur of the moment). If you want to use a dive shop, Gypsea Divers shop is also right there and gets great reviews. Clarification - the guys at Jaime's were cash only, not the dive shops. I placed my parentheses in the wrong spot... I have no idea if the dive shops are cash only or accept other forms of payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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