Emerald Princess...WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!

[Woody bailey]

We're on the Dec.7th Emerald run so I've been watching this weeks sailing with interest and concern. First wind delays their departure by a day and all sources say the communication was horrible. Now the bridge cam has then heading to Mahahual, Costa Maya Mexico. No posts yet as to why and I can't even find Costa Maya as regular stop for Princess. Anyone have knowledge on this one?

[likeadisguise]

A reply from the Princess Facebook said that due to the late departure they cancelled Roatan and substituted Costa Maya.

[Mekamax]

It is not a regular stop but they are schedule to go there on the Jan 18th (I think that is the one) cruise. Would like to go back to Costa Maya. Nice port and haven't been in years. :) Didn't know they were delayed. Interesting as we picked our friend up from the Houston port on Sunday as he was on the 5 day. He said he had a great time and the food was real good. There were long lines boarding but that was to be expected since it was the first time the ship was in Houston.

[Dudleydog73]

Thats what happened to us on our Thanksgiving cruise out of Bayport last year. Roatan is the furthest port to get to and can only be reached if everything goes perfectly leaving the port on day 1.

 

For us Costa Maya was substituted and we had very little notice to scope out excursions before we arrived so we opted to just walk around the very pushy market outside the port area before getting fed up and getting back on the ship.

 

We also missed Belize due to high winds not allowing us to get into the the channel for that port so I hope this cruise does not have that issue as well.

[Mekamax]

I just talked to hubby and he reminded me we had VERY high winds Sunday night - it was howling and you could hear it in the house.

 

In Belize any ship would have a hard time as it is 26 miles of channels to get into Belize. Hope all goes well for the rest of the cruise and they get to Belize.

 

I would be bummed too but have to go with the flow. Am wondering if they do formal night on Monday even though they didn't leave till then. Assuming yes???

[Woody bailey]

does anyone have any fun ideas on what to do in Costa Maya should our 12/7 cruise suffer a similar detour?

[cherylandtk]

does anyone have any fun ideas on what to do in Costa Maya should our 12/7 cruise suffer a similar detour?

Costa Maya reminds me a lot of the Grand Turk stop; purpose built port shops, small town nearby, loads of beach area for relaxing. You can find something active on the ship tours as well as Mayan ruins nearby. But if you just want a lazy day take a taxi into town ($3) rent a beach chair for the day, eat some food, drink a few beers, get a massage, wander the souvenir shops, buy some Mexican vanilla. All that might cost you $50. Lots more discussion of the various activities over on the ports forum, too.

Edited November 18, 2014 by cherylandtk

[Dudleydog73]

does anyone have any fun ideas on what to do in Costa Maya should our 12/7 cruise suffer a similar detour?

 

Depends what you are interested in. We found out after the fact that we were VERY close to multiple Mayan ruins (I guess thats why they call the place the Mayan Coast) so there is that. There is also a town not far past the cruise terminal if you exit the obnoxious market area of the port that has some restaurants and places to get some cold beverages and a beach to hang out on for awhile.

 

None of this was evident from the ship so I would suggest doing a quick google of Costa Maya excursions and see what pops up. There were VERY limited options from the shore excursion desk when this happened to us, but they may have gotten more of a Plan B in place since our cruise was the first to get diverted from Houston that I know of.

[Disneycruisers]

If you end up going to Costa Maya grab a $3 cab ride and head to the Tropicanti ...check trip adviser for reviews...great place and is owned by an American from Texas.

[Older Sister]

I second the recommendation to catch a cheap cab at the pier and head into town to Tropicante! You'll need to email them and make a reservation (no cost). I spent a lovely day there in September . . . clean beach, nice chairs with umbrellas, incredibly low-priced drinks and really tasty food. Highly recommended! (I'd go back there in a heartbeat.)

 

http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html

 

 

Allyn

[Working 2 Cruise]

It's always a gamble with an itinerary when sailing... it can be disappointing but it does happen on a regular basis and there's always a good reason for the changes. I hope you enjoy Costa Maya!

[caribill]

Go to Princess web site and look at the learn about Princess shore excursion section to see what Princess offers for there.

 

You may not want to take a Princess excursion, but this will tell you the possibilities.

[Woody bailey]

Thanks for the great input all! Beers & Beach sounds great to me. Actually, as winter sets in... ANY PLACE sunny and warm sounds great.. :)

[gkacky]

We were on the Thanksgiving cruise out of Houston last year. When Costa Maya was substituted for Roatan and Belize, we opted for an all inclusive beach (which would not have been a normal choice for us). It was a nice relaxing day that our kids and grandkids enjoyed.

 

 

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[coloradocruisers101]

Hi All! Just off the Emerald yesterday, no Roatan and no Costa Maya. Could not make either port. We did make it to Belize where they cancelled all excursions due to weather. Very interesting trip, that's for sure...

[GradUT]

Very interesting trip, that's for sure...

 

That sounds like a real understatement! I hope you enjoyed the cruise anyway. I hope that we have better luck with the ports than you had on our Emerald cruise next month.

[satxdiver]

We are on the ship 3/1/15 and have already been notified that we will be calling on Costa Maya instead of Roatan. The 2015/2016 season, the Caribbean Princess out of Houston will be visiting Costa Maya many times instead of Roatan on several sailings. We have been there before and it is a manufactured port by Carnival but the town is only a few miles away and a good destination with cheap food and drinks. The nearby Mayan ruins are not to be missed. We are happy to be going back to that port this coming cruise.

[caribill]

We are on the ship 3/1/15 and have already been notified that we will be calling on Costa Maya instead of Roatan. The 2015/2016 season, the Caribbean Princess out of Houston will be visiting Costa Maya many times instead of Roatan on several sailings. We have been there before and it is a manufactured port by Carnival but the town is only a few miles away and a good destination with cheap food and drinks. The nearby Mayan ruins are not to be missed. We are happy to be going back to that port this coming cruise.

 

The Roatan port is also a "manufactured" port by Carnival. However, there are some very interesting places on the island.

[coloradocruisers101]

Thanks GRASUT! We had a great cruise and a lot of fun with another couple from Utah that we invited it was their first cruise and they had a blast. Again, there was plenty to do, a few sun days, food was good, not great but never went hungry. And met quite a few new friends that we exchanged info for later cruises. I will say it again. We just made lemonade out of a few lemons.

Take Care!

[lrodsangel]

Hi All! Just off the Emerald yesterday, no Roatan and no Costa Maya. Could not make either port. We did make it to Belize where they cancelled all excursions due to weather. Very interesting trip, that's for sure...

We were also on the Emerald. Weather was sure the pits - nothing like watching the movies in the rain! How about that last night! How did you fair in your cabin when the ship started listing in the storm. I wish I had grabbed my camera and videoed! We had things flying off the cabinets. I have never been scared on a cruise but that scared me! Hubby laughed because after the first time - when I was finally able to fall asleep - I slept in my clothes the rest of the night!

[OCruisers]

We were also on the Emerald. Weather was sure the pits - nothing like watching the movies in the rain! How about that last night! How did you fair in your cabin when the ship started listing in the storm. I wish I had grabbed my camera and videoed! We had things flying off the cabinets. I have never been scared on a cruise but that scared me! Hubby laughed because after the first time - when I was finally able to fall asleep - I slept in my clothes the rest of the night!

 

:( Certainly seems it was a really BAD storm!

[lrodsangel]

:( Certainly seems it was a really BAD storm!

 

We have been in 22 ft seas and high winds before - but I've never been through a storm like we had Saturday night on the way into the Houston port. I know some of the port holes on the starboard side had to be under water as hard as we were listing! We had our balcony door open to hear the water and went to bed about 10:30. Wind roaring woke us up at 12:26am and then the ship listed HARD - throwing everything off our wet bar into the wall and all over the floor. I jumped up - had a hard time getting to the living room and fell into the wall - got the mess all cleaned up and managed to get the balcony doors shut. I laid back down and a few minutes later the ship listed even harder to the starboard side - this time throwing everything off the wet bar, the vanity and bathroom cabinet! It seemed like it stayed over like that for a good 5 minutes! Walking in the cabin was almost impossible. I felt really bad for the Captain because there was no doubt he had a hard time fighting the high wind and blowing rains that night!

[cracra cruiser]

We didn't make it to Costa Maya either! Mother nature really through a wrench into the cruise last week. Am Platinum on Princess now - so am looking forward to leaving from Florida next time!