We went to the MDR for breakfast and calm this morning. We were up and ready in time. The hours were normally 8-9:30 am. The ship was to be in port day at 12:30 pm. There was a line, and they asked for anyone that wanted to share. We were seated with a family with a sweet 10 year old girl and two older ladies. I'm not trying to sell them short. It sounded like my husband was having interesting conversions with them, but I was on the other side and could not hear well. I learned about Disney cruises, the little girl asked if we had been to Alaska, and then we talked about the parent's around Germany since we had gone around Germany too. It was a fun breakfast. Since I was next to a child, I figured out that I could ask for a chocolate donut too. The chocolate donuts were good. We each also got a hot chocolate with a heart on top. Later in the cruise when I got another hot chocolate, I did not get a heart.

MDR Breakfast Menu:

I ordered the Breakfast Burrito with a side of crispy bacon. The bacon was very good -- not much fat and very crispy. I did not like the breakfast burrito; it was mostly eggs, I was not a big fan of the sausage, and the potatoes were not hashbrowned like I expected. I got a second chocolate donut.

We won a Bingo certificate at the morning trivia. It turned out that you had to buy something so was not a prize at all. We did not play Bingo. We had lunch at the buffet before getting off. I started being good and having a salad first.

We got off just to walk around in the port for a little bit. First good view of the ship since the embarkation terminal always has more buildings.

The Cruise Compass (daily paper) noted that depending on when you booked your cruise that you may get a new Mexican tax charge on your onboard account. We booked pretty last minute, so we did not/already paid. I heard news stories about this and the cruise lines arguing with the Mexican government. Originally, I thought that the government proposed $42/person and that it was per port. Googling now, it looks like $10/person for all Mexican ports stops on one cruise. This increases to $15/person next July. So, maybe the cruise lines negotiated them down, or maybe I'm misremembering.

To start with some background, Costa Maya is built as a cruise port and was not an existing town. Travis with the Mayan building. This area, on the roof of the vendor buildings, seemed like it used to be a zoo or display with some animals. It is closed now. I found a peek at the ocean.

We used the port wifi and found a spot to watch the Pole Flying. The actual performance was very short; it was much longer in Mexico City. It was impressive seeing them climb to the top. Actual, I sent Travis for some ice cream thinking he would be back, and that we could eat and watch. However, he missed the whole thing. I finally went to check on him. He noted a family that came in the side door, skirted quickly in front of him, and then was slow -- requested several samples and then had credit card reading trouble. Geez. Walking the rest of the port, there are two pools, iguanas, this dolphin swim area (in front of the ships), which is closed for construction now. MSC was in port with us today.

We watched our arrival from gym, which is in a good location at the front of the ship, behind the bridge viewing room. The viewing was closed since we were about to dock. It is closed for manuevers, which is a shame, but I guess has possible legal ramifications if a manuever goes badly. From the gym, we saw MSC and an open dock that we could go straight into, but then we passed it. It turns out that we backed in, but I could not tell from the gym. We got back to the room and were already docked.

This marooned boat, spotted from the ship, was interesting looking. Travis found an almost double rainbow.

A Taste of Caribbean Dinner Menus:

What we ordered:

  • Caesar salad - good

  • Coconut Shrimp - good

  • Asian-Style Pork Boa Tacos - gotten by a table mate who said that they were very good

  • New York Strip - good

  • Jerk Seasoned Pork Chop with black bean sauce and rice - good

  • Pineapple Sunshine Cake - good

  • Chocolate ice cream and kid's menu cookies - very good. I noticed the kid's menu cookies on the menu on the app, so I started getting them with ice cream - yum!

Tonight was the ice skating show, yay (I was excited). Travis dressed in his Caribbean night shirt. The show was so good! They pre-arranged getting kids from the audience for a scene; they were prepped and seated in front (with their parents) so were one row in front of us. This seemed harder during the late show with fewer kids still up. Later in the cruise, they had a 3pm show too. The kids were given an ice train ride. At one point, the train went to the other side of the stage, and I thought they are a bit far from their parents and might get scared.

Our little bunny towel animals. On the first day, when I met the room steward, I picked 6pm for him to come. They ended their day at 7pm. Since dinner ended up not starting until 6:45pm, we had to be ready for dinner and out by 6pm.