Continuity mistake: In "Broke 'N' YoYo", when Cody has just sat down to talk to Zack after collecting loads of towels, in the first shot the towels are on the chair in front of him. In the next shot, when Cody leaves to practice, the towels have vanished. And in the next shot, when Bailey and Zack are talking, the towels are back again.
Revealing mistake: In the final scene where Cody is in the finals for A Yo-Yo competition, Zack's towel gun (which he uses to get towels to people) malfunctions and sends towels flying. Look closely and you'll see that the number of towels in the gun is not decreasing. It's obvious that the flying towels are fake.
Chosen answer: One: Zack doesn't meet Maya until after the movie. Two: There are 2 possibilities. The first one, the steps might worn off after they got to the ship. and the second answer, London said she talks to animals since she ate them, it never worn off.
Zack definitely met Maya before the movie takes place, SPOILER in the final episode when they break up Zack says they've been together for 3 months, and not only does the movie take place during spring break which is less than 3 months from normal graduation, but also their graduation date gets moved up since the ship got sold.
The movie is set between the last two episodes; they had already met.