Costa Maya port to close for much of next year after hurricane Dean slams Yucatan

While islands like Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Caymans, and Cozumel were spared the worst possible damage from hurricane Dean -- bad though it was, including at least nine deaths across the Caribbean -- the monster storm did slam smack into Yucatan's Costa Maya south of Cancun.

Along with destroying a number of dwellings in the area, Dean did significant damage to the cruise ship pier in the port of Costa Maya -- which may be unusable for as long as the next eight months. Other infrastructure in the region was also damaged. It's not likely that cruise ships will be able to call again in the popular port until perhaps late spring of 2008.

If you've already booked a cruise that includes Costa Maya on its itinerary, your cruise line will need to choose a substitute port of call or perhaps add a day at sea to compensate. Each line will make an individual determination on scheduling, so you'll need to contact the line or your travel agent for further information.

Amid all the destruction, most of the tourist infrastructure on Jamaica, the Caymans, Cancun/Cozumel, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Martinique did appear to weather the storm in reasonably good shape.

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