Costa Maya, the small touristy region between Cancún and Belize, it appears, did not escape the ire of Hurricane Dean. News has surfaced that Costa Maya's cruise port was badly damaged by the storm. Cesar Lizarraga, Costa Maya's director of sales and marketing, says that about 50 percent of the port's infrastructure, including the cruise ship pier, was impacted. Further, Lizarraga says, early estimates indicate that the port could be out of service for six to eight months, with clean-up costs reaching into the millions.

Costa Maya has become one of the most visited ports in the western Caribbean, and a disaster, such as the one encountered by Hurricane Dean, is hard for both Costa Maya and the cruise lines to swallow.

Tim Gallagher, vice president of public relations for Carnival Corp., tells Travel Agent the company is still assessing the damage in Costa Maya, but a contingency plan for ships that call at the port is being worked on and will be announced shortly.

The good news is that ports along Jamaica's north coast, as well as Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Calica, all came through Hurricane Dean unscathed. — DE