c-leg5

Ohana, part of the same group in town. I don’t drink tequila so not aware if the tequila places around International have it.

Yes that was our sailing but pre-time change got daylight savings. Costa Maya is on EST year round so by April you will be on local time. We don’t find the transport as efficient as it used to be so even rushing off the ship and through the port by the time we got there it was early afternoon. We tried to catch last recommended taxi back to try and make the most of the time but it was late arriving so we cut it very fine getting back on ship and really had to hustle through the port and length of pier. We enjoyed our afternoon but too much rushing and transport worries for such a short time for us. I would go again if we had a full day.

It depends to some extent on where you are sailing from, actual local hours in port with regards sunset/darkness, whether you are OK with eating lunch half-way through the afternoon. Some people will go regardless even for just a few hours just to relax, enjoy time away from the ship, and avoid vendors on the malecon. We have been to Maya Chan several times. We have enjoyed it but we agreed after our last visit with similar hours we wouldn’t do it again unless we had “normal” port hours. YMMV.

When are you sailing? Yaya is in town along with many other beach clubs. maya Chan is out of town and closed in the summer.

Boots on the ground are useful but historic. Webcams are live and will give an indication of that coast in general. If you were going to east coast, all bets are off. if it is really important check forecast for wind direction.

Did you check the live webcams? Both currently working. Looks clear enough at the moment but that depends on weather between now and when you visit. it was reportedly bad a couple of weeks ago on the west coast.

It is coming from Honolulu.

That’s true but the OP might have been prompted to return and say who they chose and why they did, or didn’t, go with Galveston Express which I thought might also be useful to others.

I forget who they used but I think OP @beshears has sailed.

Free AI in Vancouver for most people isn’t too bad but I see you live there so not so much appeal to you personally, unfortunately. I presume you are able to leave the ship? Do they have divers working on it? We took a 7-day trip to Nassau once to fix azipods instead of our intended itinerary. Sorry this is your first cruise, unfortunately you have to go with the flow or abandon ship!

Apologies and correction - it was YaYa that changed the price on us NOT Pitaya. I have always got those two mixed up but I have never communicated with Pitaya. Packages for Pitaya are listed on their website. Yaya and Pitaya have similar packages listed.

They were on excursions or just got back to the ship late?

I am not sure from your report, apart from seaweed, what it was you weren’t impressed with if it was safe, quiet and food OK? Was it the pool and facilities? Certainly sounds like you were overcharged by taxi but that wasn’t Nachi’s fault. Which pier were you at and what was posted on the board at the port? Sargassum on that coast is unusual but I know there were reports of storms recently.

Has it gone up again since January? Last list I saw said $80 round trip. Website says entrance is now $14.50. Have you been recently?

I am not an authority on cruising in the Med. I only use TA’s as a mode of transport from A to B. If I wanted to travel in Europe I would take a land vacation. However, my statement is totally correct regarding cruising from my example of Galveston. 7-day sailings used to alternate, eastern and western and now it is the same route week after week due to Oasis ships being unable to dock on the other route. I would be surprised if this is the only area of the world experiencing restrictions.

+1 that is what concerns me especially with some of the smaller companies. I guess you fall back on Uber and hope.

Pitaya or Blue Key? I would be interested in a review of Pitaya. We canceled our booking due to bait and switch. Disappointing as it looked interesting. Blue Key has had very mixed reviews since restart. Opinions there would be interesting too but not as appealing.

What would be the point of a table for 14? As stated two tables for 7, or 6+8, would be much more comfortable for conversation depending on group mix - age, couples, families and you can always change seats and tables from night to night. The larger the group the louder the noise - the more difficult it is for you and everyone around to hear each other.

They may well be “in an area” but choice of ports is undoubtedly smaller. Galveston already had limited 7-day options and this is now reduced even further. This in turn reduces the attraction of B2B sailings.

Indeed they do. No one said otherwise.

Recommended shuttles are discussed regularly on this forum, both private and shared shuttles. Or the cruise line shuttle. I don’t recall those two but there are several FB only companies which seem to have appeared recently. Their limited method of contact and lack of transparency regarding liability insurance and business licenses concerns me. Car seats that are age appropriate for your children are something best discussed directly with the company concerned. If your children are old enough you can use travel seats.

We generally find resort for a Day more expensive. We usually check several brokers and hotels direct. Sometimes prices. Times or inclusions differ.

I am not sure any of the hotel or beach club pools are very deep. My feeling is Allegro facilities are better for younger kids but I haven’t been recently or since Barcelo took over. With teens I would probably choose Paradise Beach unless it is a really busy period. Summer is quieter season in general although of course children’s facilities will be busier because of off school.

+1! I probably should have quoted @katmigordon.

IF you have Noro you will want to be confined to your cabin voluntarily. B2B passengers will be delayed reboarding if numbers are high enough for thorough cleansing.