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As destinations emerge from the crisis, a sustainability-focused recovery approach is necessary; thus, there is need to design action plans that are capable of managing the environmental impacts caused by cruise tourism and identify citical issues and priorities for sustainable tourism management in the post-COVID-19 era. This article presents a detailed overview of key issues facing cruise tourism in Mahahual – Costa Maya, the second most important port of entry/cruise destination in Mexico and areas of opportunity to cope with or manage change, both positive and negative. Areas of discussion include: local attitudes towards cruise tourism, government policies currently in place or in consideration that may impact cruise tourism, social or environmental projects that cruise companies should support in or around the host destination to foster sustainability after the pandemic. The analysis is based on desk-research, local stakeholder feedback/input, site visits and an evaluation of the destination's policies and practices against a selected number of indicators from Global Sustainable Tourism Council – GSTC's Criteria for Destinations (GSTC-D). Issues identified include: fear of rapid and uncontrolled growth of tourism before the pandemic (both cruise tourism and stay-over tourism), pollution and the loss of ecosystems/environmental degradation, disappointment due to low economic spill – lack of benefits from cruise tourism and limited public services and infrastructure (water and electricity, sewage treatment, garbage etc.). The researcher recommends regular and timely collection, recording, monitoring and public reporting of data about residents' aspirations, issues and satisfaction with destination management.