How was the Mayan Mystique cruise?

I guess everybody is home from the Dec. 10th departure. Any thoughts, reviews, especially of shore excursions would be appreciated.

In a nut shell the cruise was very mellow. The embarkation was smooth except that our luggage did not arrive in our cabin until after 6 pm and we were one of the early boarders.

The ship is beautifully decorated with a contemporary feeling to it. It is not as "heavy feeling" as the Regatta. The art work is not to my taste but that is the eye of the beholder.

It rained for the first couple of days of the cruise. In Grand Cayman it rained but did not prevent us taking the Cultural tour. There is not much to see on the island and would not recommend the ship's tour. Take a taxi to see it much more quickly. The botanical garden is not well maintained and the historic house is interesting since there is a video presentation telling of the island's history. I got a good deal on perfume from the shop directly across from the dock.

In Cozumel it rained like cats and dogs and we were unable to take our sailing trip which we booked independently (Tucan sailing). The owner promptly refunded our deposit. I felt sorry for those booked on ship's tours having to go out in the pouring rain.

Belize finally had decent weather and we enjoyed tubing through the caves. I noticed that those who booked independently had to wait for a group of 8 before they could start their trip.The lunch provided was tasty if a bit plain.

Guatemala had the best shopping and it was right on the pier! The prices were good and were not so inflated as sometimes vendors do at dock locations. At the sail away, the dock vendors and staff stood waving good bye and had their truck lights flashing. I was very touched by that.

Those who flew to Tikal enjoyed it but felt rushed.

Honduras was ok. The park tour was so-so but we did get to see different kinds of tropical birds in the wild while there. There were 2 kinds of small monkeys that would climb onto you if wanted or not!

We took the Key West city tour which was interesting but you can do this on your own for less. Just wait until the ship lets the independents off and take the tram into town and purchase it while there. For those Tervis fans there is a shop in town with lots of selection.

The ship food in any venue was great as usual. Be sure to book your dining reservations prior on line or you will end up eating at 9 pm in the specialty restaurants.

We noticed that there were fewer dessert selections in all dining areas. Also, the tea time selections were bland and not so interesting.

The repeaters reception was wonderful and they served tasty canapes and appetizers. Wine and champagne were readily available but you could ask for whatever drink you wanted.

For those interested in the liquor packages, we sat with a couple who had the lunch and dinner package only and the waiter kept pouring while they ate and we felt that they were getting their money's worth. They too were satisfied. I tried one of the white wines on the package and it was quite tasty.

We went to every show and enjoyed them all. The singer and dance troop was fantastic and the shows were very high energy. The troop had an Ukrainian ballroom champion couple who were fantastic. I spotted them right away with their crisp movements.

I went to the gym at at least 6 times on our 10 day cruise and was pleasantly surprised at the number of people up and working off some of their calories(6ish am). As usual, the shower areas in the spa had better toiletries than the cabins (we were in a concierge cabin).

The only real negative was on the first day. The ship routed everyone up to the Terrace Cafe and I could not believe how territorial some of the passengers were! As I left a counter, a woman moved into my place and a man from my other side rudely stated he was there first! Did he really think there would be no more cake for him?

The disembarkation was smooth and our luggage was easy to find.

As stated before on this forum, book your own air(O put us on a red eye flight and worst on a flight with a transfer in Atlanta),research your own excursions and don't use their transfers in Miami.

We landed in Miami and went to the Miami Airport Hotel in the terminal and ate leisurely decent breakfast and then went down and had our photo taken with Santa Claus(free)!The breakfast and taxi to the port was less than their bus transfer! Those who purchased the transfer were told upon arriving at luggage to come back at x hour and they would be transferred to the port(no city tour to eat up the hours from 6ish until 11 am)!

While we did enjoy the concierge early boarding and early specialty restaurant reservations we are not certain if it was really worth it for us.

We did book another O cruise for February 2014 to South America.

I always argue (usually futilely) that flying to Tikal on a cruise is an expensive and wasted effort. We were fortunate to stay there for 3 nights on a land trip (just outside the ruins in a modest motel) and so had the wonderful opportunity to visit the grounds when they weren't invaded by other tourists. Obviously you cannot do that when you are on a cruise!

But the time to get there from the port, even when you are flying to Tikal, makes it impossible to really see the grounds sufficiently.

But as I often say when making a similar argument regarding any visit that takes a few hours to get there from the port: if you think this will be your only chance to see the place, it's worth it -- even if you don't see that much. At least you are seeing something.

Funny story about our time in Tikal: my husband and our traveling companion went over to take an early evening swim. Howard was reading a book as he was approaching the pool, and wouldn't you know he just walked in at the deep end! Made everyone's day who saw him do it!

Mura

Did the Tikal excursion on a Regent Cruise (so same destination dept) and thought it was great....though I will admit the walk up the hill in 95 degrees and high humidity was not my favorite part. Especially as I saw some others (not from our ship) getting a ride up the hill to each major site! ask about that ride, you will get to see more and enjoy your visit without being too exhausted to make the final climb to the top of the final temple stairs. The walk up to the major sites in the heat is not for many Older passengers...we had 4 that needed emergency assistance and received a ride down the hill.

Both DH and I think this was the hi-light of our Holiday Cruise L.A. To Miami but I am upset that we could have had assistance up the hill (jungle path) and I might have had the energy remaining to climb what I think was 400 stairs to the top of the highest temple (can't think of what else to call it).

This excursion is not for the faint of heart....we flew in 4 or 5 small planes carrying about 10 passengers, saw at least one volcano that was huffing and puffing (it actually went off I believe in the next 3 or 4 weeks).

Anyway that was our experience, though it was on a Regent sailing aboard the Mariner, so I would imagine Oceana would have nearly identical arrangements.

Actually, we are not planning on going to Tikal - there is a land trip from Odysseys Unlimited that spends two nights there. We will probably do that in a year or two. We are going to the Lamaii ruins in Belize (our only Oceania tour) and have arranged private tours to the ruins in Costa Maya and Guatemala. We have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman numerous times, so will just walk around there. Any other thoughts from people who were on this cruise will be appreciated.

Regarding Tikal, but off topic really ...

Howard's eyes really got big when a young woman was climbing a pyramid clad in her miniskirt ... everything was pretty much visible ...

Just a warning to wear pants when climbing a pyramid ... especially with those steep steps!

Mura

Actually, we are not planning on going to Tikal - there is a land trip from Odysseys Unlimited that spends two nights there. We will probably do that in a year or two. We are going to the Lamaii ruins in Belize (our only Oceania tour) and have arranged private tours to the ruins in Costa Maya and Guatemala. We have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman numerous times, so will just walk around there. Any other thoughts from people who were on this cruise will be appreciated.

Did Lamanai a couple of years ago on a Regent cruise (excursions included). We've seen almost all of the Mayan ruins except Tikal and Chichen Itza, and thought Lamanai was the best preserved and most interesting. Highly recommended. Get the Tee-shirt -- they are designed by a local, are very attractive and reasonable. The sales shack is near the landing; ask to be sure it's the local artist.

We also did the Kuhumlich (close enough, to lazy to look up the exact spelling) ruins from Costa Maya - again, a worthwhile trip. In Belize, we visited the Q'ecchi (same comment about spelling) Indigenous School on the Rio Dolce. Fascinating.

Because it was our 5th trip to the Western Caribbean, and all the ports at least twice (Cayman Islands and Cozumel 4 times), and because we had done all the excursions we wanted to do, we also had a very relaxed voyage. We forgot to bring any liquor aboard in Miami, so stepped off the ship in Georgetown to get a couple of duty free bottles; the store delivers to the ship, and did not believe the ship would then delver it to our room. :eek: All the other ships confiscate it...

In the other ports, we walked around until our pedometers registered at least 2 miles, then were back on the ship in time for lunch. Afternoons by the pool or watching a movie on the DVD or taking a nap; the rest of the time gabbing with new and old friends.

I didn't even bother making any specialty dinner reservations until the second day on board; I had no trouble getting agreeable times and tables, although a couple were later than we like (8 PM instead of 6:30). We also had a dinner with a group at a reserved section of the terrace arranged by Jan, dined in Privee with friends we met on Regent, dined with Natalie, the Social Hostess (a dear friend from previous cruises).

We gabbed so much we missed half of the shows (a first for us, as we usually make all of them), but especially enjoyed the clarinetist, and another evening with his Mezzo Soprano wife, who I'm sure Mura would enjoy. The comedic magician was incredible and fun. We only got to see one show with the production show Jean Ann Ryan Singers and Dancers, which was a little strange, because it was the same show we had seen twice before on Riviera, but with a different cast. It was hard to decide which was better -- we ended up just enjoying it and not worrying about the differences. Do NOT miss the Andrew Lloyd Weber show, even if you don't appreciate the music.

Great cruise on a beautiful ship. Fabulous food, exceptional service.

Cruise director was terrific.

We did Mayan Mystique last year in Feb. We enjoyed it quite a bit, as some of the ports were quite off the beaten track for cruising and we like going where others don't get to go. We did not go to Honduras. I enjoyed Costa Maya much more than I thought I would - did the ship's excursion to the ruins (but did not climb up to the top of the pyramid as some people did!) and then I took a short cab ride down to the little beach town to walk around. It was hot and sunny in each port - no rain. I used Happy Fish in Guatemala (and Freddy, the guide, was at the dock as the ship departed), but if you book with him, be advised that the trip across the bay can be a little fast and bumpy and that Livingston might not be to everyone's liking (a bit rough and tumble). I believe Oceania used buses to go on a similar excursion rather than boats - perhaps thinking that not everyone would like a rough ride.

Back from this cruise, it was really great we had an amazing time, embarkation was easy and debarkation was easier, there was no line at customs and a shuttle to the car rental place was waiting outside.

The food was the best I have ever had. Land or sea

The spa was really nice, and the gym was great filled with new equipment. The ports of call were great and even though it rained in cozumel we did take a taxi to nachi cocom beach and had an enjoyable day with unlimited food and drinks and also enjoyed massages there too.

We did the ships cave tubing tour in Belize, it was really nice, I was nervous but it was very safe and the food we got after was excellent.

My favorite ports were Guatemala where we did the go with gus livingston tour which I highly recommend. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Just a great experience. Roatan was amazing too, we took a taxi to Infinity bay spa and beach resort and had an unbelievable day

In Roatan the taxi driver stays with you until you are ready to leave, it was about a 30 minute drive from the ship to the beach

and he just hung out for the day until we were ready to go.

Kinda like having our own private driver

We went to beach resorts in Grand Cayman Royal Palms and Pez Quadro in Costa Maya

Key west was cool we did Ernest Hemingway house tour and ate at the 6 toed cat which was soooo good.

We also did the Culinary class on the last sea day for the desserts

It was really amazing me and my husband had the best time cooking together and we made the recipes on Christmas for our families

We were probably some of the youngest couple's on board (31,32) there weren't any children that I saw. I did get a bunch of "your to young to be on this cruise" when people saw us, but we loved the line and are not looking for a party ship. And all the ports were new for me so it was a great itinerary. I got to speak with some people who have traveled a lot and I love to hear their stories.

I way way overpacked...I am used to Celebrity cruises and next time I will bring 1/4 of the amount of stuff.

First timers on Oceania. Previous Princess, NCL, etc. Three years retired and LOVING the freedom. We are NOT as into cruises as many members of this forum. I cannot imagine more than one a year. We just have too many OTHER things to do. But, we WILL ABSOLUTELY consider Oceania again. Top-notch.

RE this cruise, best yet. Have already recommended O to others. We enjoyed Grand Cayman - did the Sting Ray city, went snorkeling and had a great time. Water was SO NICE and warm! In Roatan we ALSO did the Iguana farm (yawn) and then did another snorkel trip - WONDERFUL. We, too, loved the cave tubing. We were just four of us, plus two guides (independent booking) and we had NO wait at all. We were just in Key West a year ago, so no big deal. We did visit Mel Fisher's museum. A nice "down" day.

We booked shore excursions mostly thru Shore Excursioneers and they were great, and about 1/2 the cost of O. Agree on NOT taking the offered airport transfer - someting like $69 Per Person - a cab is a flat $25 (zone fare). Food was wonderful. They, O, SHOULD be able to provide it in bulk CHEAPER than cabs - not $140 per couple vs $25. We DID let them book the flights. Non-Stop from SFO to MIA. Return was MIA to Atlanta to SFO - with LOOOOOONG layover in Atlanta. That was ok - I am retired, and we just chilled in the airport, had a bite to eat and played a game or two of cards.

Met lots of nice folks (Hi to Joe and Lonnie from Austin, Tx!).

Shows were good. Enjoyed the DJ.

We ESPECIALLY liked: None of those pesky photographers dogging you every time to leave the ship (tho it WOULD have been nice to have ONE opportunity for folks who are on, say, a special anniversary or similar). Their policy on soft drinks. We do not abstain from alcohol, but we ARE light drinkers only and so used more soft drinks than not. Nice to NOT get "nickel and dime'd" to death. Staff were universally great. Minor disappointments? When they decorated - the carpets, for being a NEW ship, are already showing bad soiling. Probably should have chosen a different color (DW's comment. I didn't notice. Sorry.) Also mildly disappointed when tendering - those of us on independent tours ARE treated like a red-headed step child (due apologies to any red heads). I UNDERSTAND that it is a business decision on O's part. Those booking thru O get preferential treatment. That is the way it goes. BUT, the tour operators WILL wait for O customers. Independent operators may not wait for us. (n.b. - we caught all our tours just fine - it is more of a preception than a REAL issue). We were pleasantly surprised that there are no upcharges for the 4 special restaurants. Nice touch. ALSO loved it that it is not really "kid friendly". Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our g'kids. BUT it is nice to NOT have little ones underfoot. Nice. (Oh gawd... am I becomming a grumpy old fart????). Also, LOVED the fact that they hosted a church service on Sunday. For those of us who attend church on a regular basis, it was nice.

Overall, on a 1-10, O **has** to get at least a 9.5

If i think of other comments, will add them.

...The art work is not to my taste but that is the eye of the beholder...

One thing I almost hesitate to add because of the controversy it will evoke, but....art auctions are back. At least, on this cruise.

Hold on, wait a second before you scream...it wasn't really bad. First of all, it's NOT Park West. I didn't attend, so never got the official name of the auction outfit, but as I heard it briefly on the Cruise Director's morning show, it's World something or something World.

I first noticed the difference because there was a lot of new art on the walls that wasn't on Riviera when we were aboard last May. It was different, it wasn't as classy as the art (much of it Cuban) that was selected by Mr. Del Rio, and I was having a hard time understanding why it had been changed. Much of the original art was still there, but enough was different to cause a bit of a mental upheaval. I finally figured out that the new art was part of the auction inventory when saw a "sold" sign on one of the pieces.

There were no "galleries" of art taking up floor space and none that I noticed obnoxiously in view. There was very little emphasis on the auctions and no announcements I heard. I just looked at my collection of the daily Currents newsletter, and I see there was a total of 3 auctions, held in Martinis in the afternoon, but I wasn't aware of them in any other way.

Bottom line -- they did try auctions on this cruise, and I suspect they'll continue through the Caribbean season. Whether they continue past that will likely depend on the revenue produced. The reason why the art auctions were discontinued a few years ago is because the revenue no longer offset the costs -- the auctioneers stay in revenue-producing cabins (as do the boutique sales people and other contractors).

If they remain as unobtrusive as they were on this cruise I would have no objection, except that the art that was replaced by the auction pieces was way more cool.

One thing I almost hesitate to add because of the controversy it will evoke, but....art auctions are back. At least, on this cruise.

 

Say it ain't so :eek:

No matter what they are called it is a slippery slope ...next it will be photographers :D

Lyn

Hi Benita:

Last year, Michael and I did the Lamani tour in Belize. It was our only tour on that cruise.

It was an excellent tour! The ruins were amazing! We enjoyed the boat rides as well. The only negative was that lunch was not served until near 3 P.M. I would advise bringing a snack on the tour. Lunch was served after the boat rides. Perhapss Oceania has changed the timing of lunch since last year.

Rhea

My wife and I found a "swinging" bar in Cozumel on a Regatta cruise earlier this month. About a quarter mile from the port on the main road, we spotted a narrow bar on an NFL Sunday afternoon that had football on the TV monitors. That was enough to lure us inside and then we discovered that all the bar seats were actually swings dangling from thick yellow ropes from the high ceiling.

It was an experience just climbing on the swings--I can tell you it was a lot easier when I was 60 years younger! And then, after a few Coronas, it was another trick just staying on. The bartender told me they had only opened a week earlier. I asked if anyone had falled off their swings and he told me it had already happened twice.

Alcohol and swings--who could have imagined that accidents would occur?

I wonder if any such place could even get a license in the US? And liability insurance might also be prohibitive, I assume.

Bottom line -- they did try auctions on this cruise, and I suspect they'll continue through the Caribbean season. Whether they continue past that will likely depend on the revenue produced. The reason why the art auctions were discontinued a few years ago is because the revenue no longer offset the costs -- the auctioneers stay in revenue-producing cabins (as do the boutique sales people and other contractors).

Do you think O will introduce the art auctions to the others ships and itineraries outside of the Caribbean? I am with Lyn on this one - an art auction is an art auction by any name. It's just one of those things people like about O - no art auctions, photographers, dress up etc.

Regarding Tikal, but off topic really ...

 

Howard's eyes really got big when a young woman was climbing a pyramid clad in her miniskirt ... everything was pretty much visible ...

 

Just a warning to wear pants when climbing a pyramid ... especially with those steep steps!

 

Mura

Mura,

This revealing posting has cost you a cruise without lamb chops and eggs benedict!:)

Your friend,

Ron

The CEO of World Art Auctions (Mark Bronson) is also CEO of Art on Royal.

Yes...that Royal, as in Royal Caribbean. Ugh.

The best way to ensure that the "art" auctions don't last on Oceania is to boycott them altogether.

Mura,

This revealing posting has cost you a cruise without lamb chops and eggs benedict!:)

Your friend,

Ron

Er. Um. Well, HE was the one who was looking! I modestly averted my eyes ...

:D

Mura

Say it ain't so :eek:

 

No matter what they are called it is a slippery slope ...next it will be photographers :D

 

Lyn

I would take photographers over art auctions any day. Crystal has photographers but no one pushes you to buy the photos and I find it fun to look at them during the time they are displayed.

BTW, this is the first I heard of priorities on getting on the tenders. I find that a little troubling.

Even though we suffered a bit in getting onto a tender on Marina at Sorrento, I think it may be a bit much to say there are real priorities favoring ship's tours. Normally when we need to tender (and usually we are private, whether with a tour or on our own) we haven't found that to be a problem.

In Sorrento, I had asked Destinations when we should be there in order to get a tender on shore to meet a guide at 8:30 and I was misled. Shortly after we arrived a tender was called that included private guests, but then we had another half hour to wait for our tender -- and many ship's tours were called in that interim. Even so, I'm inclined to think that was due to misinformation, not necessarily deliberately making private tours wait.

However, it is true that the smaller "R" ships have an advantage here.

Mura

***BTW, this is the first I heard of priorities on getting on the tenders. I find that a little troubling***

But understandable. I mean, if you are paying DOUBLE for a shore excursion, it must come with SOME perqs! There was oine gentleman... don't recall WHICH time it was, who was VERY VERY upset with Staff. SCREAMING "If I don't get off on the first tender, I'll lose my prepaid excursion" and so forth. PRETTY upset.

As I posted, it is ironic because the shore operator WILL ABSOLUTELY wait for an "O" group, but an independent operator may or may not wait for an independent passenger. AND the ship ABSOLUTELY WILL wait for a sponsored tour to return (if running late) before departure. So there ARE some perqs to the extra! lol

NOTE - It is ONLY an issue on tender days. Otherwise, there is just a single queue.

I think it may be a bit much to say there are real priorities favoring ship's tours.Mura

Maura - ABSOLUTELY a prefence. I sat in the Rivera Lounge and listened while Tour 1, 2 & 3 got first tender.

Tour 4, THEN independent tender ticket RED, then tour 5 etc. were on tender #2

I asked and was told "we try to squeeze independent excursioneers in as available" [Emphasis mine].

No guarantees.

And, again, an understandable BUSINESS decision. I just disagree.

Question for you, Happily ...

I'm not discounting your experience!

When was your cruise? Mine was a little over a year ago, and things may have changed.

Again, it is my experience (again MY experience) that this is more of a problem on the bigger ships. Which is one reason why many prefer the smaller ships ... I'm torn on that issue myself. On our Marina cruise, we only had one tender port and while we were delayed, it wasn't a huge problem. If we'd had several tender ports where the same thing happened, I would have been bothered MUCH more.

Mura

I have found that this system is used by O both on the Regatta and Rivera. I don't see why people should get upset about it. O gives preference for boarding the ship at the start of the cruise and disembarkation of the ship,preference for making dining reservations and spa appointments based on concierge and executive levels.

Why not give preference to those purchasing O's excursions?

We never have had a problem getting off in time for an independent excursion.