We were ready to hate Costa Maya.
Stop No. 2 of three on our western Caribbean cruise aboard the Disney Magic is getting a lot of negative attenton.
People grumble that there's nothing to do there.
It's rundown and ramshackle, dirty, desolate and desperate.
So naturally, we expected the worst.
This strip of Mexican coast just north of the Belize border has a port that is completely manmade - a big concrete pier attached to no particular town, natural beauty or historical touchpoint.
The port has slapped up some shops hawking Mexican tat and jewelery at the end of the pier in an effort to give it some authenticity and cachet.
But it doesn't necessarily work.
So my wife, our 10-yearold daughter and I are faced with a dilemma - believe the haters and diss the port by staying on board during our time at dock or dissect the shore excursion brochure and pick something to make the best of it.
We hit the excursions list and bypass the obvious outings to Mayan ruins and pyramids, because they involve at least two hours round-trip on a bus.
We decide on a snorkelling excursion that sounds promising - a speedboat ride to a platform in the ocean over the second-largest coral reef in the world (behind only Australia's Great Barrier).
Alas, at the last minute it's cancelled because the wind has kicked up and the snorkelling visibility would be lousy.
In a mad scramble, we book the only excursion that has space for the three of us - a dune buggy jungle and beach safari.
My daughter is amped - the brochure promises motorized fun, the exotic of the jungle and some pristine beach - but my wife rolls her eyes.
So we set off in a convoy down a potholed and pud-dled (it had recently rained and threatened more, adding to our dismay) sand road.
Our bright yellow convertible dune buggy is basic, to say the least.
The gears grind and squeal, the windshield is cracked and nothing on the dash is operational - not the speedometer, the odometer or the gas gauge.
And we do, indeed, get an eyeful of ramshackle houses and mangy dogs, but the locals all run out to the roadside and smile and wave at us as we pass.
That, combined with the motorized fun promised, puts a smile on our face too.
Before long, we reach Castillo Beach Hotel, a little inn with a charming palm-thatched open-air restaurant and beach club.
It's the promised pristine beach.
We loll and lounge, swim and collect coconuts for local Andy Haeser to machete into tropical drinks and chunks of the tastiest white coconut flesh.
Inside, only the most simple and delicious food is on offer - fresh fruit and tortilla chips with fresh-cut salsa.
We return for seconds. On the way back, we take a different road - even more potholed and puddled - past oceanfront shacks on sand littered with garbage and years of accumulated seaweed.
Again, everyone along the route gives a smile and a wave.
A stop in the fishing village of Mahahual at first seems futile.
The shops selling souvenirs are tacky, the beachfront is dirty and the promenade is broken concrete.
We buy the requisite trinkets - a shot glass for my son at university back in Canada and a cheap sundress for my daughter - and get the lowdown from our tour guide, Adrian Urbina.
"We think we live in paradise," he says.
"We've been battered by hurricanes and haven't quite rebuilt, but we like to show the divers that come here for the reef and the cruisers that come to our port a good time."
All of a sudden, we feel privileged to have experienced Urbina's Costa Maya, an authentic slice of rough and ready Mexico.
We return to the Disney Magic cruise ship glad we didn't bypass Costa Maya.
Our two other stops on the cruise - Cozumel to swim with dolphins and Grand Cayman to pet stingrays and baby sea turtles - are a blast and what you'd traditionally expect from Caribbean ports of call. But we're still talking about the gritty Costa Maya and recommending it to others - with the caveat of what to expect.
IF YOU GO
? The Disney Magic is based in Galveston, Texas, sailing the western Caribbean for the season.
? Galveston, an hour shuttle south of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico, is billed as the quickest and easiest way for Canadians to catch a Western Caribbean cruise.
? Air Canada and United Airlines offer non-stop flights to Houston from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
? A seven-night cruise on the Disney Magic starts at $840 US for a standard inside cabin based on double occupancy.
? All cabins on Disney ships are family-sized and can sleep up to five.
? For more information, go to DisneyCruise.com.
