Cruising the Mariner this January, need help with activities off ship

S

stdntnrs2005

Bar Steward
So the last time i was on this same itenirary was 2005 with the Vision of the Seas. THe port of calls are Cabo san lucas, MAzatlan and Puerto Vallarta... The last time, i booked excursions via RCL because it was just me and my husband, but this time, since the MAriner is around, my whole family ( about 15 people ) is going on this cruise. Can anyone suggest to me any off ship activities/ideas that is affordable and is not through RCL because RCL excrusions are jsut too expensive to book for this many people.

Thanks.
Lyn
 
Cruizer

Cruizer

Staff Captain
Try this site. I got it through this forum. I've only booked one shore excursion through this site. That was in the Caribbean and everything worked out just like it should have.
 
BruinSteve

BruinSteve

Environmental Compliance Officer
stdntnrs2005 said:
So the last time i was on this same itenirary was 2005 with the Vision of the Seas. THe port of calls are Cabo san lucas, MAzatlan and Puerto Vallarta... The last time, i booked excursions via RCL because it was just me and my husband, but this time, since the MAriner is around, my whole family ( about 15 people ) is going on this cruise. Can anyone suggest to me any off ship activities/ideas that is affordable and is not through RCL because RCL excrusions are jsut too expensive to book for this many people.

Thanks.
Lyn
Click to expand...

Which sailing are you on?
We're on the January 3...

We'll probably do our excursions through Royal Caribbean...The cost isn't that big a deal to me and I'm accustomed to really expensive shoreexcursions on Europe cruises, so these always seem really reasonable to me...

That said...

Cabo San Lucas, you don't necessarily need an excursion...You can walk into town if you want...You can hire boats right by the tender pier that will taxi you outto Los Arcos, Lovers Beach or wherever...

Mazatlan...try contacting Mazatlan Frank:

http://www.mazatlan-frank.com/

He's a fairly well respected and highly recommended local guide...

Another popular activity is to just spend the day at Stone Island and many local providers can arrange this for you...

Puerto Vallarta...The best local purveyor of tours is Vallarta Adventures:

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/

But, when a large ship like the Mariner is in port, they sometimes commit all of their capacity to the cruise line...You may try contacting them anyway...Actually, they also have a branch in Cabo called "Cabo Adventures"...I have taken a few of their tours in both ports--they are very good...OTOH, you may or may not save much contacting them separately, but maybe worth a try...

Johann and Sandra are also local tour providers who can arrange tours for you in any port:

http://www.puertovallartatours.net/

Have fun...
 
S

stdntnrs2005

Bar Steward
thanks for the tips/ideas. :D i think i have a pretty clear picture of what to do now for this trip. :D were actually sailing on January 31... so you will be ahead of me. :D have fun!
 
C

CRUZINQUEEN

Massage Therapist
I was just in Cabo on the Radiance and I highly reccomend this group. If I was in Cabo in January with a large group like yours, I would probably make a deal to rent the entire Catamaran for the group. We did a smaller one with a group of 4,and loved it. Good luck !

http://cabosanlucastours.net/LaPrincesa-Whale-Watching.htm
 
S

stdntnrs2005

Bar Steward
thanks cruizinqueen :D will be sure to check that out. I was also on the radiance last october and we actually just paid one of the many men waiting at the docks for a coastal tours. :D we paid $8 per person compared to the $26 that RCL excursion was charging. :D that was a pretty awesome deal for us. ( there were 5 of us at that tym ) Renting a catamaran sounds real interesting but wont it be cold on January 31?
 
C

CRUZINQUEEN

Massage Therapist
Cold is relative always in Cabo...
We usually have very good luck in October but our day in 2009 was rainy, we went in February 2007 stayed in San Jose del Cabo (which I like WAY better then Cabo San Lucas BTW) I loved it, but my friend said she was cold. We laid out in the sun and in October it was so hot we had to lay in the pool on rafts. This is hardly roughing it I know. As usual wear layers, and in the heat of the day you will remove some. The ship stop is so short, you get the best of the day anyway. Glad you liked the website, I cannot say enough how professional they were, returned e-mails promptly, equipped the boat with food as we wished. My Mother HATES cold water and they gladly stocked room temp just for her. Anyone gets big points when they cater to the Queen Mum.
 
cmcbroom

cmcbroom

New Member
We will be on the 01/31 sailing as well. Do you have any teens in your group? My daughter (13) and son (12) are hoping for other teens onboard.
Cheryl
 
BruinSteve

BruinSteve

Environmental Compliance Officer
Top