We woke up again to rain in Costa Maya. This was an early stop, I think that we were in port by 7 am. We would have slept later, but ships doors tend to bang shut, so we were awake. No use wasting a cruise day anyway.
Breakfast
We were only going to be in port until 1:30 pm, so we decided to go and get some breakfast and head out to the Port of Costa Maya early before it go too hot. Honestly, since I’m trying to avoid sugar on this cruise as much as possible, there is not a lot to choose from for breakfast. I’ve basically had eggs, toast, sausage or bacon, and potatoes every day. I’d love it if they had raisin bran, but it’s mostly sugary cereal if that’s what you want. Then I had a little OJ and some coffee. It was towel animal day and the rain calmed down so we went to check them out. Once a cruise, at least on Carnival, the crew makes tons of towel animals and puts them all over the deck chairs and pool area.
To the port
At Costa Maya the ship docks right at the pier, but it’s a very long pier. There were three ships in port so it was very crowded. Masks are required indoors and outdoors there, but there is really no social distancing. That doesn’t bother me, but it may bother some. The port of Costa Maya is a very good port if you don’t want to go on an excursion. There is no beach, but there is a huge pool. There is a dolphin encounter that costs extra. Also, there are plenty of shops, including a small straw market.
The entire area is quite scenic and colorful. You still get all the shop keepers trying to get you into their stores, but it’s not as bad as Cozumel. Some of the shops have their prices marked in pesos for some reason. Maybe it’s to let you think it’s a good deal when you find out the price in US dollars. You may want to install an app that converts pesos to US.
Like our Belize day, the rain stopped just in time for us to go out and enjoy the morning. But unlike Belize, it was extremely hot and humid at the port. Having to wear a mask outdoors was somewhat uncomfortable. You can buy alcoholic drinks and soft drinks at the port. There were also fruit drinks and coconut water for sale. There are a couple of pharmacies in port, and a restaurant.
There is a large souvenir shop that I normally shop at for some small trinkets for the family. There’s a Christmas ornament shop that has some beautiful hand painted ornaments. If you walk towards where the taxi stand is, you’ll find a small straw market with some local vendors. It’s easier to bargain with these shop keepers.
Back to the ship
It is really quite a long walk down the pier to the ship. Last time we were here they had small trams to give you a ride back, but I didn’t see any this time. On the way back I had a nice surprise. We’ve been watching cruise vloggers “Parodeejay” for quite a while. Mostly we’ve been living vicariously through their cruises because they’ve been on quite a few cruises since cruising opened back up. I looked up and saw someone who looked a lot like Dee. Then behind her was Jay with his camera in hand. What are the odds that on our first cruise out since the pandemic I meet my favorite vloggers who were sailing on a completely different ship? I couldn’t help myself, I said Hi like we were old friends. I feel like I know them since we watch them all the time. They probably thought I was crazy but they were extremely nice to us. If you don’t follow Parodeejay on YouTube, you don’t know what you’re missing. They are such a fun couple.
Lunch at Cucina del Capitano
I decided to eat at Cucina del Capitano. He doesn’t like Italian, but he was going to find something in the Lido Buffet below and bring it up. Lunch is included, but it costs extra to eat dinner there. What you do is take a menu card from the hostess, mark exactly what you want on your pasta and your table number on it, then give it to a waiter. You have a choice of different pastas, different, sauces, and toppings. You can also get a salad and bread.
I got some Farfalle pasta along with marinara sauce. Toppings were zucchini, peppers, and chicken. I also got a small chef salad. Honestly, I wasn’t all that impressed with my pasta, and didn’t finish it. I probably wouldn’t go back. And a couple across from us were fussing because their order wasn’t right. It is a nice venue though, and plenty of tables. We ended up going downstairs to the buffet for dessert. I’m so glad that there is always a sugar free dessert for lunch.
Seeing more of the Ship
Five days and I still haven’t seen all of the ship. Just so much to do and see, plus I have to write my blog. After that I went back to the room to work on my blog for awhile. I hear that there were pier runners again. That means that a few people managed to miss the time that they were supposed to be back at the ship. Luckily the ship did wait for them, because they don’t always do that. I could see out my balcony to the bridge and the captain looking out impatiently.
Elegant Night Number 2
It was the second elegant night of the cruise so we dressed up a bit and went to our dining room. It’s so sad knowing that we won’t have many other meals there. We’ve loved our waiters and they’ve taken care of us well. I had Clam Chowder and also a crab cake, and both were delicious. Then I had the Filet Mignon and for dessert, Sugar Free Key Lime parfait. And everything was delicious! After that we walked around a bit then went to the evening show in the theater. It was piano music and singing, with lots of Billy Joel and Elton John songs. And they were really good. And then we got some formal photos taken. The nice thing about ship photos is that you can get a ton taken if you want and then only buy what you like, or none if you don’t like them. They have photographers all over the place and lots of backgrounds to choose from. Then we just relaxed and got ready for our last sea day. Saddest day of a cruise.
The Quiet Cruiser 