“The idea is to accommodate four vessels, and two of them Oasis class,” said Robert Shamosh, chief marketing officer at Costa Maya. A new pier project and expansion will be ready in part for the 2017-2018 season, and fully online by 2018-2019, when traffic should go from 900,000 passengers to over a million.

Xcabal, said to be the largest Mayan archaeological site, will open later this year and is just over an hour’s bus ride from the port. The site will be open exclusively to organized shore excursions from cruise ships for about two years.

There are investments coming online inside the port area too – new shops and attractions.

In January, bookings were starting to roll in for 2020 and summer call numbers are starting to inch up.

“The idea is to grow the infrastructure for the capacity; 15,000 to 18,000 passengers per day,” Shamosh said.

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