Costa Maya | Cozumel
Welcome to Mexico, a country we have had on our list for decades to visit and our final destination from our 110 days with Oceania, cruising from Miami to Miami whilst circumnavigating South America.
Mexico is country No.69 as we continue to travel around the world slowly. Since we decided to travel endlessly six years ago, we have ticked off 49 countries in the past six years.
Costa Maya, Mexico
Costa Maya was our first sample of Mexico, and we planned the day by researching all the beach clubs that provided great food, service and cocktails, in addition to the sandy white beach and turquoise waters that we all know Mexico is well known for. We were booked for a lazy day at Malecón 21 Beach Club soaking up the sun and relishing we were in Mexico.
As you disembark from the ship, you enter a very well-designed shopping complex with a pool and sun beds for all the cruisers who don’t want to venture out and can have fun in the sun for the day. They don’t make it easy to escape, but after you stroll past the endless shops trying to engage you in conversation, you set your sights on the taxis; it was refreshing; they were a fixed cost of USD4 each. Thank you, Mexico!
After ten minutes, we were perched up on our sun beds for the day, surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise waters and simply pristine white sand; we were impressed. The ever-attentive service from the team was exceptional, and they kept us hydrated and nourished all day. We enjoyed the relaxation; after a few hours of sun, we needed to escape to the restaurant with divine views of the beach to give our fair Aussie skin a break!
Ladies and gents were transversing the beach throughout the day, selling merchandise, from cigars to hammocks to bowls and trinkets; you could easily set up a house with one visit to the beach. They were all charming, and there was no pressure to buy as they walked by.
Overall, our experience was excellent. The peaceful nature of the beach club, the chilled-out tunes, and the quality of drinks and food were top-notch, all served in glass with paper straws by the waterside. The team were also a delight; they have a selection of packages for cruisers that you booked on their website. Our package was USD30 each for sun beds and wifi, and this charge is credited back to you on your spending during the day, so there is no additional cost.
It was nearing departure time, so we took our sun-kissed bodies and shared a cab with some fellow passengers who had also spent the day at Malecón 21, who were lovely and had been on the ship since Buenos Aires; it’s wild how you can be in the same space for nearly two months and not meet!
To embark the ship, you must walk through the cruise complex to return to the ship and be enticed by last-minute duty-free purchases. We were also surprised by the actual real flamingos on display, which we missed during the morning; we quickly captured some beautiful pics and then scampered back to our home.
Mexico, you are now in our sights for an extended travel stay in the future.
Fun facts:
Costa Maya is a beautiful 45km coastline made up of the destinations of Chetumal, Bacalar and Mahahual, located southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula between the Riviera Maya and Belize, north of Chetumal and approximately 4 hours from Cancun.
The region has natural beauty, turquoise waters, fine white sand, palm trees and bright sun. It is a true paradise of calm, relaxation, adventure, and fun, where you can also feel the warmth and hospitality of its people in each of its corners.
Costa Maya is one of the priority places to develop tourism in Quintana Roo; essential efforts are made to maintain 60% of the territory for nature reserves. The Mayan Reef is also located in this beautiful paradise for snorkelling and diving fans, and the coastline has an endless number of virgin beaches and coral reefs of incomparable beauty, internal lagoons and cenotes in the middle of the jungle. Costa Maya also connects archaeological sites for all those history lovers.
Cozumel, Mexico
The final destination of our 110-day voyage around South America was the island of Cozumel, where we captured the essence and vividness of the colours of Mexico.
Cozumel is located just off the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is directly across the water from Playa Del Carmen and about an hour and a half from Cancun.
It is also located on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef and is an incredible spot for turquoise Caribbean waters, white sand beaches, and world-class diving and snorkelling.
As we arrived by ship, we were docked in San Miguel, designed for cruisers who love to shop, so we just went for a walk and tried to avoid the midday sun.
Once defeated, we returned to the ship with a local 20-year-old Mezcal to sample; after a full day in the sun in Costa Maya, we needed to hibernate.
We enjoyed the friendly people, and if we had more time, we would have hunted down a local restaurant to devour some Mexican food, but most along the beach were touristy, and we didn’t want to be disappointed. We will save the culinary journey of Mexico for the next trip.
A beautiful ending to this magnificent cruise; who would have thought 110 days was not enough?
We spent our final nights as Miami came into sights, enjoying time with our favourite crew members, who had now become dear friends and feeling grateful for an incredible 110 days of delicious food, meeting lots of new friends and having the opportunity to visit all the great destinations. Overall, we explored three continents, 17 countries and 51 destinations—a few bucket list destinations: Amazon, Panama Canal and Antarctica (coming soon).
We will miss everyone onboard Oceania and can’t wait for future cruises! Thank you!