canadjineh

Hi momofknt:  I have Celiac disease and we travel a lot.  We haven't been to PV since just before Covid, but wherever we travel I take a Celiac travel translation card with me.  You can get them here:  https://www.celiactravel.com/cards/   They've saved me in Cuba, Mexico (in restaurants & grocery stores), and China.  Don't forget that sometimes corn tortillas may have a tiny bit of wheat flour in the dough to make them a bit lighter and easier to handle.  Definitely ask the cook/server about their tortillas.  When in doubt plain rice with the beautiful meats and veg is the safest bet.  Watch out for the mole's - some have bread crumbs to thicken - definitely ask first.  Our favorite thing to eat is a meal in a  molcajete (oven heated stone bowl filled with veggie pieces including nopal, strips of chicken or beef, and a hot melted cheese in the bottom.)   Have fun!

We've done Mex Riv with Holland America on the Oosterdam (just under 2000 passengers) and had no sea waves/chop issues in early March.  But it leaves from San Diego, so that could be a factor as it's much further down the coast.

Friends of ours use the DiDi app in Mazatlan - like Uber but takes MX cash only.  Cheaper.  I had it downloaded but didn't use it as we just took the buses everywhere for 13 pesos each.  Same cost all the way from one end of town to the other ie we were by the Marina in the North end just past the Golden Zone, closer to the airport and we went all the way to El Faro and Observatorio in the south end by the port on one fare.  No transfers though as all the buses are privately owned and run by their drivers who pay the union to get their routes.  Sabalo-Centro bus route will take you from the Port area thru the center of town to the Cathedral and bandshell and historical centre then join the Malecon frontage road all the way thru the golden zone and on up to the northern marina.  This route has all new, modern, air con, long distance style buses.  Easy to use - flag the bus down anywhere along the road or sit at a bus stop, your choice.

If you get the chance to go with your son AND the grandkids in Mazatlan go to the Observatorio directly across from the El Faro lighthouse climb, at the cruise port and commercial port end of town.  It is an original military observatory with amazing views in all directions  - wonderful history, and also a tropical bird (toucan, parakeet, macaw, flamingo) aviary you can go inside and interact with the birds who are rehabilitated although they cannot be released back to the wild.  It's not a bird trick show, although there are a couple tame enough to get close and can be fed a treat or will sit on your head or shoulder.  Also lots of iguanas that you go above on skybridge walkways.  You can find out about tequila traditionally made, and more info about the site with a good grassy park area to run around in and a small bar for a drink as you overlook the port and town side.  Lots of things young grandkids would like with the military history 10 minute film about the place for the adults.  You ride up/down in a funicular (price included in entrance) or if you are strong of lung & leg you can walk up through the tropical gardens.  We really enjoyed it.  Just got back home yesterday.

We totally agree with the above two posters, Ashland gives you two easy and popular spots to get to.  We are in Mazatlan right now for a couple weeks, a visit on a HAL ship just before covid-19 (March 2019) convinced us to come for a proper visit asap.  It's a beautiful historical city and well worth a bit of a wander in the Centro and Mercado districts if you get the chance.

Hi OP. We are staying in Mazatlan right now for 2 weeks and we feel completely safe coming here.  I wouldn't necessarily rent a vehicle on my own and go out to the countryside or to Culiacan right now, but we walk all over town on our own, grocery shop, and take the busses regularly without issue. It's as safe as any other city of 1/2 million. You'll have a nice time on your tours.  Just fyi, Canada gov't website says "Sinoloa as a state should be a no go for non-essential travel EXCEPT Mazatlan."  There's a ton of older folks from all over who are staying for the winter and doing fine.  

Hi TravelMamaBear23:  Here's the reviews site for UnCruise Adventures on the CruiseCritic boards.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/un-cruise-adventures-cruises/cl/

On 4/8/2019 at 9:16 PM, sydneyship0902 said:

I bought a model of RMS Titanic from the below company and very happy with the quality.

You may contact them to see if they have the one you are after. I think they do ship worldwide

 

https://www.seacraftgallery.com.au/product-category/cruise-ships/

WOW!  I just looked at their site.  Gorgeous work and amazing craftsmanship.

You might have to sacrifice a bit at either focus....you won't have as much room or as many menu/restaurant choices on a smaller expedition sized ship, or you won't have as exciting or in-depth 'shore' excursions on a larger, cushier ship.  You may just have to decide which is a bit more important to you.  A couple of small expedition type ships you could look at on these boards are American Queen Voyages:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2841780-all-ocean-victory-alaska-2022-cruises/

For a very small expedition ship you could try UnCruise Adventures (75-85 passengers.)  

Something you might want to look at before booking is the CruiseMapper website to check which ships are in each port on which days....you probably don't want to be in port at the same time as 4 x 4000 passenger ships.  The site also links with info on each ship in port and their cruise costs etc.  https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports-in-alaska-22

When Hubby & I were on our Alaska Cruise with HAL Westerdam in early Sept/22 the only 'shore' excursion we did with the ship was the Hubbard Glacier Small Boat adventure as we figured we'd likely never get out there at the face on a regular self-booked trip to Alaska.  We did a bit of research first on each port and looked at hiking trails, special community events, etc. and ended up going on an epic day hike in Tongass National Forest on our own - we took the local buses (cheap especially for seniors, lol) and just asked some of the friendlier locals where they'd go on a day off for an 'adventure.'  We were prepared though, with sturdy hiking boots and heavy duty rain gear.  We like HAL Vista Class ships as they only have 1700-2000 on board - 'big' ship amenities and smaller-ship port availabilities.  They also have great music with BB King's Blues Club, and Lincoln Center Stage.  They also have great chefs who I give free reign to design meals for me since I have Celiac Disease.  I've never been disappointed by their meals and in fact have had several in the MDR that are actually off the Pinnacle Dining Room Menu (with no upcharge.)  

Hi beachys:  We were on a cruise to West Coast Mexico in early March 2020 (just before COVID closed everything down) and really enjoyed a tour (private for the two of us, but cheaper per person if you have a small group or a family) of Las Labradas Petroglyphs.  Here's more info from Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Labradas_(Sinaloa)

We went with Mazatlan Tours by Johann & Sandra - not cheap but our guides were a scientist and a student researcher and they were very informative.  The little museum was very interesting and the homemade lunch with a local family was enjoyable too.  The tour site is:  https://www.mazatlantours.org/las-labradas-petroglyphs.htm

They picked us up right at the cruise port.  I'm not certain it would be safe right now as you are travelling quite a ways out of town on fairly deserted highway to get to the park and Sinaloa is in an uproar due to cartel violence as of Thu Jan 5/2023.  Please check with them for further info on whether they are even running this tour at the moment.

If your bank is a member of the Global ATM Alliance (44,000 cash machines in over 40 countries) you can use your debit card to withdraw in pesos with no surcharge or access fees.  I deal with Scotiabank in Canada and there are a ton of Scotiabanks in Latin America and the Caribbean which makes it cheap, safe, and easy to get local currencies plus I can also use the other Global Alliance banks for free ATM access. 

BTW:

• Bank of America in the U.S. is affiliated with Scotiabank in Mexico.
• HSBC in the U.S. is affiliated with HSBC Mexico.
• Santander, in the U.S., is affiliated with Santander Mexico.

Hubby and I enjoyed a tour to San Sebastian del Oeste and the traditional tequila farm & distillery with a pleasant wander around the town, although it was very quiet and nothing exceptional - we took some interesting photos of buildings and the miners' statue.  We had a pleasant little lunch at the cantina in town, decent traditional Mexican food.  We weren't on a cruise on that trip, but got several 'free' tours etc. plus a great buffet breakfast (Mex & American) for going to a timeshare presentation in PV (which is an easy way for us to get a bunch of tours as we are not even tempted by timeshares and always warn the presenters ahead of time, lol.)   I would go to San Sebastian again, as it was a pleasant diversion from the beach and the tequila was quite good.  Not sure what sort of price the cruise may be charging for the shore excursion so you will have to weigh out what it's worth to you.

On 10/5/2022 at 3:41 AM, sofietucker said:

Ours was too. In BB King's, they had: contest for best orange outfit; several officers (wearing no orange) and CD were there (orange dress--though CD didn't participate except to dance and watch);. The band hosted: they asked "Why do we wear orange? That's right: HAL is Dutch!" and no further discussion or explanation (like why the Dutch wear orange...). No Dutch songs (we have those egg timers from KLM that pay an array of Dutch folk tunes, etc.).No Dutch snacks--I asked if they were having bitterballen and the server had never heard of it. They did serve dessert--but again, no vlaai (apple pie).

 

On the Prinsendam's final voyage, our Orange party was not announced as orange, just a big Dutch-ish  deck party with the officers. They served a bunch of Dutch snacks and beer. And that's when we also learned that the new, invisible CD was promoted from beverage manager, lol. No one wore orange...

 

I guess it's just HAL's version of White NIght--and up to each ship to do its own thing.

Too bad the Prinsendam's final voyage wasn't a 'proper' Orange Party.  Lots of crew members and officers and cruise director all had orange on and were dancing with other staff and cruisers and we did have Dutch snacks although no apple pie.  Even the band members all had something orange on, ties, hair do-dads, scarves, etc.  It was a good time on the Westerdam.

On 9/11/2022 at 12:25 PM, sofietucker said:

And so what night of the cruise was that?

Our Orange Party was on Wed night, night 4 of our 1 week cruise.

Just back to Seattle today, Orange party had lots of energy and dancing and I'm glad we took our orange Roots & Blues Security t shirts and my orange capris. Too short tho, but at least it segued right into BB Kings band show. I'll just have to remember orange stuff for all HAL trips in case.

I just phoned the HAL 1-800 number today as our cruise is in a week and I remember an Orange night at BB King's on the Oosterdam in early March 2020.  The gal on the other end of the phone had to look up some info on our Westerdam Alaska Cruise but said that there is going to be an Orange Party.  I had to explain it to her first though, as she didn't seem to be aware of it and we've received no official email information on it yet.  Ah well, we'll have enough room to bring our orange Roots & Blues Festival T-Shirts from this year and I have a pair of BRIGHT orange capris to wear too.  Anybody else have an Orange Party onboard lately?

Crossing my fingers that all goes well with repairs as we are on the Sept 4 sailing.  Just paid for cruise yesteday and the flights to/from Seattle today (gotta get me the insurance now, lol.)  

Thanks, CupKayke!  Great photos and journal.  Hubby and I are seriously thinking about the Westerdam Alaska cruise leaving on Sept 4th.  We can get a good deal.  BUT, finding a good flight back home to South Central BC means we have to spend another overnight in Seattle and fly back on Monday.  Maybe that's a good idea anyhow - seeing the issues in SEATAC on the 'day of debarcation.'   I have to hurry and decide before the sale is gone.  We've been through Alaska, Yukon, and North-West Territories on an 8 week driving, camping,  and canoeing adventure in the 90's (when we had the type of jobs we could take larger blocks of time off from.)  Haven't been to the coastline of Alaska though, except for canoeing in the bay in Skagway so I'd be looking forward to the Hubbard Glacier the most.

Last cruise we were on was early March 2020.... Oosterdam Mexico Pacific Coast.  Got back to San Diego on March 14 just in time for everything to be shut down by Covid.  SAN was absolutely EMPTY, it was eerie actually. No one on the ship got sick tho, the staff were constantly cleaning and sanitizing everything and all the passengers were asked to sanitize practically everytime we came to a doorway/entryway.  I liked the HAL 'walk for a cause.'  I'd do it again on the next cruise.

Hi dalmoradie:  We haven't done this trail personally, but you might want to read more on this website before you plan it out.  quote:  "only recommended for very experienced adventurers."  Lots of personal trail ratings and experiences on the site may give you a better idea about the Canyon hike.  

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/mexico/baja-california/canon-el-salto  380m elevation gain, 7.9 km.

Maybe you want the 'easy' trail that just goes to the waterfall?  84m elevation gain, 3.4 km.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/mexico/baja-california/cascada-el-salto

Hope your trip goes well, stay safe!

Hi @sueandkent, I live in BC and I used to work in the banking industry. Something many haven't thought about is the double exchange you are paying to get USD and then exchanging that for MXN products & services.  A traveller is always better off buying the currency of the country they will visit from their bank at home unless you have a dedicated USD account that you can just add to during a favorable exchange period, or put surplus USD back in without exchange when you return from your trip.  We keep a Euro account in our Canadian bank as well as a USD account and they sure come in handy when you can add to them anytime the exchange is favourable, and have easy funds ready when heading off on a trip. 

Ten un buen viaje!

I have Celiac Disease, so I get ya'.  We haven't been to Ensenada, but have been to many other places in Mexico.  Your best bet is to download or print out a helpful little sheet from the Celiactravel website:  https://www.celiactravel.com/cards/  That's if you aren't totally fluent in Spanish 🙂

Make sure the corn tortillas used are strictly corn and not with a bit of added flour as is often done in places visitors frequent.  Also important is that they have a separate press, or at least can clean it before your tortilla is pressed out, and that the griddle that it's heated on has been cleaned before your food goes on it.  

I've used their cards with good success and had no problems, although at times I have had to change what I planned to eat - sometimes just having rice and beans on a plate along with a taco filling (carne asada, al pastor, or shredded chicken.)

Hopefully more people will chime in with specific Ensenada places, but remember that recipe  ingredients and their availability may change quickly, always check before ordering. 

Cheers, and have fun!

You could always go to an ATM at a bank.  That's what we do when we need more local cash in Mexico.  Depending on your bank, you might have even have reciprocal agreements with other international banks (ours does, besides also having their own branches in foreign countries around the world.)  This means there would be no international transaction fees for your withdrawal of local cash, just the exchange rate.  Also, it's safer than using some dodgy stand alone cash machine out on the streets.

Other choice is at the airport, if you have to fly to get to your cruise departure port.  Airport is more expensive, though.  

Interesting topic....all this talk about bids....where/how do you bid?

And is this only applicable for NCL?

Thanks, crew!

Here's a suggestion for a great company that does tours that they tailor to cruise ship passengers' available time:  We've used them in Mazatlan for an amazing private tour of Las Labradas Petroglyph site, and they have very good reviews for their other tours as well.

https://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Cruise-Corner.htm

Have fun in October!

Your best bet would be in PV, as the state of Jalisco is the birthplace of Mariachi.  One possibility is a little restaurant called Casa Tradicional. You can email them to ask ahead of time.  info@casatraditional.com  (I haven't used this email address, so I'm not sure if the 'anglicized' spelling of the restaurant name is correct, or if the 't' should be a 'c' like the Mexican name of the place.)

Their address is:

Puerto Vallarta
Hidalgo 335
Col. Centro
48300 Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Opening:
Monday - Sunday: 12pm - 11pm

Phone: 322 222 1812