Costa Maya officials say the port will accept its first arrival on October 31, Holland America’s Westerdam. The port "took the opportunity to expand the pier, which now has space for Genesis and F3 ships, the biggest that are out there," port spokeswoman Paula Gonzalez told Cruise Industry News. In addition to expanded capacity, the port will now offer a shore excursion called BioMaya, a three-part extravaganza that starts with a “soul cleansing” ritual performed by area Mayans, takes visitors on a tour of the colorful Bacalar lagoon and then on a jungle trek. Costa Maya was damaged by Hurricane Dean in August 2007 and has not been able to accept ship calls since. Thus, cruise traffic to Mexican Ports on the Gulf side was down for the first half of 2008, while passenger numbers increased on the Pacific coast.