Disney Wonder Hosts First-Call Ceremony in Costa Maya

Disney Cruise Line Captain Thord Haugen and his shipboard officers will host local port officials and community leaders aboard the 2,700-passenger Disney Wonder for a plaque exchange ceremony in celebration of the inaugural call on Costa Maya, in accordance with maritime tradition.

Although other Disney ships have visited Costa Maya previously, it is a port of call for the first time for the Disney Wonder, as the ship repositions to its new regional homeport in Miami.

While in port, families can explore Costa Maya’s most famous landmark, the ruins at Chacchoben.  Constructed by the Mayans around 350 A.D., the site includes awe-inspiring stone temples and pyramids and is still undergoing excavation. Banco Chinchorro, the largest natural reef in Mexico and the second largest in the world, is home to a vast array of underwater wildlife and holds great appeal for snorkelers and divers.

After the Disney Wonder departs Costa Maya, the ship will sail to Miami to begin a new series of itineraries. This is the first time a Disney ship will have a regional homeport in Southern Florida, allowing families from this area to take advantage of departing from a port close to their own backyard.

The Disney Wonder’s first sailing from Miami will be a 7-night Eastern Caribbean Christmas holiday cruise on December 23, followed by a 6-night Western Caribbean New Year’s cruise departing December 30. In 2013, guests may sail 4-night Bahamian and 5-night Western Caribbean itineraries onboard the Disney Wonder until the end of April, when the ship returns to the West Coast and resumes Alaskan sailings from Vancouver.

Source: Travel and Tour World