By 36 Comments on Finally!

Yes. Finally! Cruise lines are FINALLY allowing guests to disembark in Costa Maya WITHOUT being on a “ship sponsored” excursion. Guests are FINALLY allowed to take a taxi to a location other than the port approved “beach break”. The little pueblo of Mahahual is FINALLY coming back to life and is cheerfully anticipating a new, although very brief, cruise season. I would like to add that the storm season is FINALLY over, but that won’t happen until the end of November. Although we haven’t sustained a direct hit from all the hurricanes and storms, the area has had to deal with rain, wind, thunder, and lightening with increasing frequency. Just minor doses of salt to rub into our already festering Covid wounds. But….FINALLY!!
Opening day for Maya Chan Beach will be Tuesday, September 7, 2021. I’m sure it’s going to be a date celebrated for many years to come. We’re certain it will be a day filled with unexpected “challenges” as there are so many pieces to the MCB puzzle that operate beyond our control. The port itself may attempt a last-effort push to keep all cruise passengers within their confines. We know for a fact that they will make it difficult for guests to get to the exit without being forced to walk through the entire port area, exposing all the shops and restaurants to those American dollars. We are expecting “challenges” with the taxi syndicate because, well, it’s Mexico. And the weather? Well that last storm which stuck in the area for two days this weekend, has moved on and clean up is underway. We are scheduled for nothing but sunshine for the rest of the week.
For anybody hoping to attend a third-party shore excursion, we recommend bringing a written confirmation of your reservation. This is more of a precaution than requirement. And, as Mark always says, “act like you know what you are doing”. Don’t let anybody see that you’re lost, which I believe is the goal of the port. People who have been to the area before know that there are exits all along the shop-side of the main walkway, but often these are closed. Some shops have back doors so guests can walk through that store and exit in the back, close to the port exit. People on ship-sponsored excursions gather to the right at the end of the pier, then walk around the buildings to their waiting busses. Of course, Mark and I have never “gone with the flow” but then just kept on walking out the gate. Just saying.
Also remember, Mexico is way behind the US when it comes to Covid restrictions. There is still a mask mandate in place and I have heard stories of people being fined for not wearing one. It’s easy enough to do and will only add an extra layer of security for everybody entering this area. I’m pretty sure that a cruiser’s experience will be close to the same as the one Mark and I witnessed a few weeks ago: literally everybody will tell you they are vaccinated. And they may be. But Covid testing in Mexico costs anywhere from $30-$50US, which is more than a lot of the locals make in a day. This translates into any breakthrough cases going unreported. Like most places in the world, locals will tell you whatever they think you want to hear. On a public beach it is difficult to know who is unvaccinated or who is sick, and I promise nobody will offer this information to you. If your excursion takes you to a private or “controlled” area, with lots of outdoor space between guests, you can increase your confidence level drastically. Again, just saying.
Having said all this…..FINALLY! Cruises and shore excursions may not return to pre-covid normal for a long time, but that’s ok. At least we have the opportunity to cruise and select our own adventures on shore once again. We FINALLY get to see all our Maya Chan family. We are so excited to welcome everybody and share time and stories. We even had two dolphin playing off our beach this morning, telling us that life is slowly returning to normal. FINALLY!

36 Replies to “Finally!”

  1. I’m so happy for you. I’ve been waiting since April 2020 to visit you. Hopefully I will see you in December 2021. So excited!!!!

    1. Thank you Cindy! We are very excited to be opening as well. We’re having a dry-run today so hopefully everything will be smooth tomorrow! See you soon on the beach! -Jane

  2. Ahoy Maya Chan family
    Thanks for todays Maya Chan Life email (9/6/21) preparing us for our future pirates visit on 9/24/21 via the MSC Divina. We are now required to provide a negative RT-PCR, a negative NAAT, or a negative antigen test within two days of the sailing, along with our vaccination card before boarding the ship. Most of the other cruise lines are asking for a negative test within the two days sail dates here in Florida.

    I just looked at your webcam, and it is not coming up to view your beautiful beaches.
    Hopefully, it will be working in the future. We would love to see your first returning clients to Maya Chan Beach Resort….

    We wish you and the family a healthy and safe return opening for the cruising clients.

    Ciao
    Dorothy

    1. Ahoy Dorothy! We are working on the web cam. Systems say it is up and running but we are having trouble bringing it up on the computers. Rest assured, we are on it! Sounds like the cruise lines are being double cautious these days. Not a bad thing as long as we can get back to cruising! See you soon on the beach! -Jane

  3. Thank you, Jane for the info. I hope 9/7 will be celebrated as a 7/4!
    I look forward to seeing all of you on our Thanksgiving cruise.
    Let me know if I can bring you anything from Miami! I’d be happy to oblige!
    See you soon!
    And always, you and the family stay safe.

    1. Thank you, Kandyce. It is always so nice to hear from you. With all the “time off”, we are good with American-made products for now. Burt I’m sure it won’t be far off until we are longing for “treats again”! Gracias! -Jane

  5. So glad to hear this! Just sent an email this weekend but it didn’t go through. Hope to see you again in November! Cruising on Carnival Marci Gras and will be there (hopefully) November 16. It will be great to be back.

    1. Gracias Terri! The Mardi Gras will be visiting us a lot this year. We still have availability on 11/16, but now that we are open to does seem to be filling fast. Which is good news! Looking forward to seeing you soon on the beach! -Jane

  6. So glad you are reopening! We are so looking forward to our visit on 12/8 when we are on Celebrity Edge. I can taste the delicious guacamole and margaritas as I type this! 90 days till be board the ship and 92 till we step back on to the beach at Maya Chan!

    1. Hola Gail – We are very happy to be opening….FINALLY! It’s been a long time and we are a little nervous for tomorrow, but, fingers crossed, everything will be fine. Thank you and see you soon on the beach! -Jane

  7. We will be there on October 5 on the Carnival Mardi Gras! We can’t wait to spend the day relaxing in paradise, It has been a long time since our last cruise. Stay safe and we will see you soon.

    1. Hola Diane! Very good to hear from you! It somehow feels like cruising is a whole new experience these days. Lots of anxiety, but we will be here with smiles on! -Jane

  8. So happy to read this good news! We plan to see y’all again on September 28 off Celebrity Summit. Last visit to Maya Chan was February 2018, I believe. Looking forward to our return visit!

    1. Hola Brenda and Rick – wow! 2018 seems like it was so long ago! So hard to believe we all lost 18 months to Covid. With masks, vaccinations, and a little luck, we will now be open for a good long time. Have a great cruise and see you soon on the beach! -Jane

  9. So very happy for you and that you can finally return to some sense of normality. We just missed your grand re-opening as our cruise stopped in Maya Chan 2 weeks ago. We had a good time but really missed our visit to Maya Chan. Time for us to research another cruise which visits Cista Maya, so we can return to our favorite place in the Caribbean…Maya Chan Beach!

    1. Hola Larry – Happy to hear you had a good time in Costa Maya. Sorry we missed you. We’ll be waiting next time around! -Jane

    1. Hola Melissa – We are located outside the port gates on the right side of the road. We will have a sign and a representative wearing a Mayan Chan uniform. Your name will be on the list for your included transportation to Maya Chan! See you on the beach! – Jane

  11. We will be in Allure of the seas Oct 27. Do you have room for 3 of us and if so what are your Covid protocols? I really hope to see you. It’s been a very long time!

    1. Hola Leslie – we still have space on 10/27. If you shoot us over a request I will get you all set up. Protocols at MCB haven’t changed a whole lot as we have always maintained lots of space between guests and we did enlarge our restaurant area. At the buffet you will be served rather than serve-yourself, but the food is still the same. Our staff, although vaccinated, will still be wearing masks and there are hand sanitizing stations in several locations. Mexico still has a mask mandate, so guests will be required to wear a mask once they leave the ship. However, once at MCB they won’t be required, only optional. Gracias and hope to see you in October! -Jane

  12. Woo Hoo! We are scheduled to visit on 11/2 while on Celebrity Edge. Policies are changing and on their web site today, they say only Celebrity-sponsored excursion. Hope that changes so we can make visit #7. I have been hounding Mark moving our deposit three or four times 😂😂.

    Hope to see you and the Maya Chan family on 11/2!

    1. Hola Michael! We do have you arriving on 11/2 so no worries there. Our first Celebrity ship won’t be until the end of the month, so we will see what happens then. We were able to disembark the Edge a few weeks ago, but the directions from both the ship and the taxi’s were sketchy. We will wait and see what happens! The Chan Fam will be waiting for you! -Jane

      1. Ugh! I just got notification from Celebrity today that they are not stopping at Costa Maya on the September 18, October 2, and October 30, 2021 sailings. I guess I’ll be moving the deposit yet again to our 3/27/22 Edge cruise.

        1. We just heard about this. Wondering why they canceled CM while they are allowing third party excursions in Cozumel? So much of this just doesn’t make sense. I did move your reservation over to 3/27/22 sailing of the Edge. I believe that puts you in CM on the 3/30/22. Still a party of 4? Gracias! -Jane

          2. You are the best! Thank you for moving the reservation! There will only be 2 of us that trip, can’t wait t see the Chan-fam!,

  13. Woo Hoo! We are scheduled to visit on 11/2 while on Celebrity Edge. Policies are changing and on their web site today, they say only Celebrity-sponsored excursion. Hope that changes so we can make visit #7. I have been hounding Mark moving our deposit three or four times 😂😂.

    Hope to see you and the Maya Chan family on 11/2!

  14. So excited I’m thinking of booking a cruise just to see y’all! We were on the last Harmony sailing that stopped in Costa Maya before shut down & I’ve used those pictures as my zoom background since then. If the cruise is in port 12-7pm would it still be worth it to visit Maya Chan?

    1. Hola Rebecca, Yes, it’s been a while since we have seen the Harmony. Most shore excursions are 3-4 hours long, so you will still have 4-5 hours to hang out. Hope to see you soon on the beach! -Jane

  15. Yayyy!! I am so happy for y’all! We are visiting Costa May October 19th! Our planned excursion through Carnival cancelled and you know what!? I’m so glad it did! I remembered Maya Chan from watching Parodeejay Vlogs and is exactly what we are looking for! We are definitely coming for a visit!!

    1. Awesome, Tasha! We haven’t seen Jay in a while and miss him! Looking forward to your visit. -Jane

  16. What a great blog! So after much consideration and after reading great reviews on Cruisecritic.com, we are coming to you on Adventure of the Seas! So, so excited! Heard you were the best in Costa Maya, although we’ve been to other places, we decided your place sounded perfect to us! See you in November!

    1. Hola Charlotte, Thank you for giving us a try! Hope we can meet your expectations. See you on 11/28! – Jane

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