Mexico Rivera Shore Excursions for First Cruise

[yoshie71]

Hi Everyone,

n March will be my first cruise ever to Mexico, any suggestions on book shore excursions for Mexico? Is it neccessary booking with Royal Carribean or should I do it independently through some one else? Also, any suggestions on what to do in Puerto Villarta, Matzalan, or Cabo.

Happy Cruising!!!!!!

 

[mom4kbd]

I'm going on the same cruise in April and asked about shore excursions for Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan too...hopefully we will get great ideas. I have been to Cabo and parasailed using SkyKing and they were wonderful!! The platform was huge and the price was very reasonable. I think we paid 20 or 25.00 per person. You can even pull them up online and look at the boats, etc. Very reputable company. We also had a "driver" take us on a little boat ride to El Arco which didn't cost us more than 20.00 either and he took us to see the seals, the arch and lover's beach. Then we just walked around, had lunch and did some shopping. Have a great time!!

 

[yoshie71]

Did you book it through the cruise line or indepently? Also, do you cruise insurance? Still undecided whether or not I should get cruise insurance. Thanks

 

[familygal]

Hi Yoshie71,

we will on that cruise March 15. I have been told that you can book independently, however we felt better booking through Royal Caribbean. We did it last year as well. It will be a little more expensive than just getting off the ship and finding a taxi driver to take you somewhere but, I liked the feeling that the Ship would know our whereabouts.

Insurance we always buy with our trips...better safe than sorry is my motto!

I just booked our excursions for Cabo San Lucas we did the Baja Jeep Safari
In Mazatlan we booked Las moras Ranch and horseback riding
In Puerto Vallarta we booked the All inclusive resort getaway.

Hope this helps!
Familygal

 

[mom4kbd]

i booked when we got to shore. The Sky King (Cabo Rey) was just to the right when you get off the tender. I booked my cruise through my agent and she automatically added insurance since we had seven going. She encouraged it. I went on two other cruised without having insurance without a problem. Your call.
By the way, you will love Cabo!

 

[yoshie71]

Some one suggested that I do the Jungle Canopy in PV. But I guess booking through the royal carribean is safer.

Thanks

 

[mom4kbd]

The one important thing to remember when venturing off a distance is if you book through the ship and the excursion returns late, the ship MUST wait for you. If you book on your own such as the Jungle canopy, and they return late, the ship may not be there!! I plan on booking through the ship for longer excursions.

 

[psychocruiser]

If you have kids, the Pirate Ship is a good excursion in PV. You are served breakfast (so-so), and late lunch/dinner (very good). We saw some whales not far off the stern. They have some swashbuckling theater on board, and a 2 hour beach break where they serve beer, and have banana boat rides. All in all, not a bad trip. Mazatlan is an industrial center. I would suggest taking an open aired taxi to the El Cid (DO NOT ENGAGE THE TIME SHARE HAWKS AS YOU GET TO THE CAB STAGING AREA--THEY ARE VERY AGGRESSIVE; even the EL Cid, folks) Just pass through the timeshare area, and line up for a cab to El Cid. Last year it was aboout $12 to the El Cid and $15 back. They are very cruise friendly and you will have access to all of their facilities, including their pools, restaurants, and beach which is roped off. The beach vendors do not cross the rope lines. Once you go out of the roped area, the vendors tend to be aggressive, but a polite, but firm, "no thank you" worked for us (Don't Be Ugly Americans!) . Plus, it's near the golden zone for shopping. There is parasailing there, although I was not convinced the cables were inspected regularly...

One word of caution: although Cabo, Mazatlan, and PV are fairly insulated, Mexico is experiencing horrible violence, murders, and kidnappings, all spurred by the warring drug cartels. One of the cartels goals is to disrupt the country's economy (translation: tourists), so the government will falter. In November, there were 17 or 18 separate murders in Tijuana, a couple of which were tourists. A year or so ago, (sorry, this is disturbing........), 4 human heads were rolled into a popular restaurant frequented primarily by tourists. If I were going to Mexico, anywhere in Mexico, I'd be inclined to stay pretty close to the port and not go anywhere more than a couple miles away from the port. Would I take a jungle trip or desert trip? No.

 

[Cruizer]

The one important thing to remember when venturing off a distance is if you book through the ship and the excursion returns late, the ship MUST wait for you. If you book on your own such as the Jungle canopy, and they return late, the ship may not be there!! I plan on booking through the ship for longer excursions.

If a ship excursion is late, the ship will wait for you. However, if the captain has to choose between waiting and safety, the ship will leave early if necessary. It is very rare that a captain has to make this choice. Usually it just means waiting a short time for a late ship sponsored tour. However, if the weather turns bad, and the captain decides that staying in port could be hazardous, the ship will leave.

 

[bOB]

To expound on Cruizers statement, if the ship would have to leave for whatever reason, if you are on a ships booked tour, it will be the cruise lines responsibility to get you to the next port, if you booked the tour on your on you are just that, on your own, in the case of Mexican Riviera, have a nice flight home, BUT that is an extreme exception, not the norm. That said, as a first time cruiser not being sure of your footing, not a bad idea to pay a few bucks more and call it insurance if you wish, but book the ships tours. I have been cruising for 20 years and still use the rule of thumb that if I am going farther than I can walk back, or know that there is a guarantee of dependable transportation I take a ship tour.
For PTOV you can walk to town or back, a long one but you can do it, any of the tours that go into the mountains or jungle areas, do the ship tour, they have some rough back country down there, city tours or Nueve Vallarta areas not much of a problem. Mazatlan, you can't walk there from here, but if you are going into town (gold zone) or Senior Froggys, taxi's abound you can always get back but if you are taking a back country tour, go with the ship. Cabo, it is either town or a cruise down to the tip, go with the ship. Just my thoughts but after as many cruises, that is the way I still do the Mex Riv. Like Cruizer, been there a lot. Someone mentioned the Pirate Ship, with kids probably a doer for PTOV unless you like the back country, cuz there is not much to see in town, of course you could always do the Walmart walking tour. In Mazatlan, it is a working port, nothing within walking distance so unless you go into the hills on a tour, take a cab to gold zone (town), Cabo has a new Dolphin Experience right on the Mole (walking area around the harbor) that is nice plus you can actually keep yourself busy in town. Most ships are only in Cabo, till early afternoon giving you only a few hours, so my opinion in Cabo is ship tours are the only way to go, call it a safety belt, I would hate to be at lands end at 1:00 on a non ship tour of some kind, ships usually sail from Cabo at 2. Do the math
Get your feet wet then think about trekking on your own.