SDPadreFan

Nancy is correct. You should make 1 right turn after you exit the cruise ship control area and the first couple of docks have the big catamarans. Don't forget to have $2 each to enter the dock area for SunRider. It's not part of the tour cost and is collected seperately by the Marina Authority.

Always happy to help. We love cruising the Mexican Riviera and we also have a timeshare in Cabo that we spend a week or two at every year. Been there every year since 2002 (even the COVID years). Our timeshare is on the Pacific Ocean side just south of lighthouse mountain. When we are there in Oct/Nov timeframe, we sit on our balcony in the morning enjoying our coffee and watching the cruise ships sail by. It's a tough job.

OK, so now the map link I sent shows Breathless and RIU and not ME Cabo. ME Cabo is close to "The Office" that is shown on the map link.

Not recommendations per se, but some information. Breathless Cabo San Lucas I'm pretty sure does. ME Cabo on Medano Beach "might" offer day passes. RIU Palace does offer day passes but the cab ride there and back would be pricy. And no ocean swimming at RIU Palace (just the pool). You could probably walk to either ME Cabo or Breathless but the road to Breathless had a lot of construction activity on it this past November. I would contact the resorts directly do find out about day passes. https://goo.gl/maps/A28Asz3JqCy3JFvq9 Hard to show all 3 resorts on this map but the RIU is all the way in the upper right hand corner.

Agree that Cabo is best for whale watching (my opinion). Not really crazy about the dolphin encounters because we're talking Mexico here. Another option for PV would be the Las Caletas excursion. A little pricy but absolutely outstanding. YouTube has videos. Mazatlan would be good for a beach day at Stone Island (not a true island). Not great, but certainly serviceable. No excursion required for this one.

I agree with Bruce that snorkeling at the 3 cruise ports is not the best. It really can't compete with Hawaii or the Caribbean. So it's OK, but just OK. BUT - if you ever do a land tour to the Los Cabos region, there is a WORLD CLASS dive and snorkel spot called CABO PULMO. Generally speaking, you are looking at an overnight trip to experience everything Cabo Pulmo can offer.

Return trip water taxis FROM Medano Beach. Just know that to do this, you do have to haul yourself out of the water and into the boat. There is no ladder. There will normally be a couple of locals hanging out nearby to assist you. But remember they are simply working for tips and they need to feed their family too.

There will always be a couple of water taxis hanging out at Lovers Beach. Important to know. There are NO FACILITIES at Lovers Beach. It's really just a small beach that a few people will hang out at.

Getting to the dock is pretty easy. From the tender pier you would just walk along the marina boardwalk till you got to the correct dock. There may be a small additional fee to enter that particular dock area. It's just a small additional fee the marina charges each user/guest to help maintain the marina and the docks. As far as getting a reply from SunRider, it's possible they have a contract with the cruise company. Perhaps try EcoCat and see what they say. They may not offer lunch but they will have full size bathrooms. Can always grab lunch at one of several great marina restaurants. Our favs are Solomons Landing and Tiki Bar but Captain Tony's is also supposed to be great.

Like Bruce said and I can completely agree. I wouldn't book a whale watch tour in April. Jan/Feb is really the best.

Old Town Mazatlan is a wonderful place to wander around. The "Blue Line" walk to/from the cruise ship terminal is very easy and totally safe. Or a cab from the port is also easy and not terribly expensive. If you go - be sure to check out the one of a kind feature at the top of the 26 stained glass windows in the Catedral Basílica de la Inmaculada Concepción. No other Cathedral in the world has this feature. Also worth checking out is the very unique Nidart Gallery (9am-3pm, closed Sundays) just a 1/2 block south of the impressive historic Angela Peralta Theater (Teatro Ángela Peralta). Other great places include the central market Pino Suarez Mazatlan Market (make sure to wander all the way to the back to see everything). There are also several nice public squares that are nice to wander around (including Plazuela Machado, Plaza República and Plazuela Hidalgo).

Just a couple steps past the Tiki Bar. May have to try them sometime. We go to the Tiki Bar for the food more than anything else. Me - for the fish & chips and our best friend always has the sashimi. My wife just gets a burger. Glad you found a good place.

Went ahead and added the Prepaid Gratuities to our 12 day Baltic Sea this July. Saved $36 on the 2 of us and we will just add that to the extra we always give to the MDR wait staff and our cabin steward.

YouTube is your friend. Do a search for "Las Caletas Beach Hideaway" or try this link. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=las+caletas+beach+hideaway+puerto+vallarta It's important to understand exactly what is included because the activity (pricing & inclusions) can vary based upon if it's a shore tour (staying at a resort) or a cruise ship tour.

From the tender pier to Cabo Wabo, figure 15 minutes of none stop walking. Obviously longer if you stop along the way to look at stuff. https://goo.gl/maps/hRAaDwvuueA42azWA

If you started out around the beach bars on Medano Beach (The Office, Mango Deck, The Sand Bar) then figure about 20-25 min. Map link. https://goo.gl/maps/2XNYD6r4meiQeVRj7

End of March it can get kind of iffy for whale watching in Cabo. There may still be a few around, but not like the numbers in Jan/Feb. For PV, an excursion out to Las Caletas can be fun. They have both a daytime excursion (snorkel, beach break, etc.) as well as the night-time Rhythms of the Night which even the 7 year old would probably enjoy. It is pricey, but definitely worth it. You can find videos of it on YouTube. The most boring time of the excursion will be the 1 hour boat ride out to Las Caletas. On the ride back, the boat crew puts on a pretty entertaining show. Light sweater or jacket for the return boat ride as it will cool down after the sun sets. Also sturdy shoes are a good idea (sneakers work). There is some trail hiking to get from and to the boat out at Las Caletas. Flip flops would be tough at night.

We did a beach break at the Las Hadas Resort back in 2009 when we were on the Carnival Spirit. It was a nice day sitting by the pool (our choice). Las Hadas is where they filmed the movie "10" with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore in 1979 (guess I just dated myself). Map link. https://goo.gl/maps/ETXJ9FAYgfWWuc1n7

Tiki Bar is right on the marina walk and it has great food. My favorite is the fish & chips but the sushi & sashimi are excellent as well. Other great options for the non fish types. There are other great restaurants along the marina walk. Solomon's Landing being our go to spot (but not sure about TV's). Captain Tony's is also supposed to be excellent but haven't ever tried it because Solomon's Landing and Tiki Bar are so good. Map link. https://goo.gl/maps/PWJZkYR8XrzMdcmi9

Important to know that Lovers Beach in Cabo has NO FACILITIES (nothing, nada).

Absolutely do the "Rhythms of the Night" excursion in Puerto Vallarta. What a fabulous experience. A one hour boat ride (large boat) with open bar out to a small beach. Then a small hike (sturdy shoes a good idea) on a candle lit trail to the dinner area. Dinner is great and wine, etc is included. Then another small hike on more candle lit trails to the show amphitheater. Simply OUTSTANDING SHOW. Then a hike downhill (remember sturdy shoes, not flip flops are a good idea) to the boat. Open bar again on the 1 hour ride back and the boat crew will also put on a great show. A little pricey, but it's something we would do again and again. A light jacket/windbreaker/hoodie will be handy on the ride back because it cools down (out on the water) after the sun sets in the winter. One other mention. If memory serves - seating at the show is bench seating so there might not be a seat back (memory fuzzy on that one). Videos of excursion on YouTube.

I respectfully disagree. In our case, we just don't feel the need to consume liquids every waking minute of the day. Coffee - I generally only drink coffee in the morning and I can have it with or without alcohol (I like it either way). Soda - it's fine for lunch or in the afternoon but I'm also fine with the free iced tea or lemonade provided. Having a soda (or 6) really doesn't improve my cruise experience. Water is free up on the Lido Deck. So that leaves us with dinner and afterwards, and for that - we are perfectly fine with a glass or two of wine for dinner and a couple of drinks at the comedy club or main showroom. So OUR reality is that on sea days, we are perfectly happy with 4-6 alcohol drinks per day. In-port days we will generally consume even less (on board). So for US - we are just not CHEERS people. It's not because we don't drink alcohol, it's because our lifestyle doesn't revolve around the constant daily consumption of alcohol. At home - we might have 3-4 drinks A WEEK (wine, etc.). On some vacations (like our annual timeshare week in Cabo San Lucas) our consumption does increase because we pay for an all-inclusive plan that covers all food and drink. That particular plan generally cost's us between $75-$90 per day (as owners) and it includes all food as well as most top shelf alcohol. The food is not buffet style either. Our timeshare resort has 8 different restaurants to choose from (including 1 buffet style). A little about me. In my 24 years in the Navy, I held many different jobs. One of them was as a Drug & Alcohol Advisor/Counselor which I did for 4 years in the late 80's. In that capacity - I was also an educator on Drug and Alcohol Abuse for both junior enlisted all the way up to mid level officers (05 and below). So I know a little bit more than the average person about alcohol and other drugs and what they slowly (or quickly) do to the body. The side benefit of that knowledge is that I know how to drink without doing something stupid or even worse killing myself (or someone else). But to each their own. Every adult has the right to determine their own lifestyle and level of alcohol consumption. We are perfectly happy with our choices as I'm sure you are happy with yours, and that is the way it should be.

We did the CHEERS package on a 10 day Alaska cruise in June and then skipped it on a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise in Nov/Dec. What we learned is that we are generally not CHEERS people. While it was nice to have no surprise cruise bill at the end, what I/we didn't like was having to continually think about having a drink in order to maximize the CHEERS value (forced consumption). On our 7 day, we still had drinks when we wanted them but found it was much more enjoyable to not have to do a daily drink count. I will mention that we did take advantage of Carnival's 2 bottles of wine allowance (per couple) in our carry-on bags for the 7 day cruise. So we had a glass of wine for dinner each night for 4 of our nights without any added cost and paid for a glass the other nights. Because our daughter is one of San Diego's Top Wedding Planners, we rarely have to actually buy any wine for ourselves. We were fine with the Lido/MDR coffee for a week and I can easily survive for a week or two with just iced tea or lemonade for lunch and during the day. After dinner, we would have a couple of cocktails at the comedy club or stage productions. We have CHEERS paid for (pre price hikes) for next years 12 day Baltic Sea cruise but I will probably just cancel it and spend that money on excursions instead.

Agree - I think we carried forward about @ $1900 in credit from Mardi Gras that we put on our Hawaii cruise. But I though it was a 50% FCC on the base fare that Carnival gave us back then. But I could be wrong.

We had that same cruise booked. Even had a sweet hump balcony 9366 (if memory serves). Took the FCC and put it on a Miracle Hawaii cruise with an even better cabin. Then that got cancelled by COVID as did our B2B we had scheduled on the Magic in a Spa Balcony. At that point, we had lost 29 days due to COVID. But we took all the original credits (from Mardi Gras) and booked a 10 day Alaska (with @ $1200 in OBC) in a bowling alley balcony on Miracle, PLUS a 7 day on Panorama in a Spa Balcony, PLUS our upcoming 12 day Baltic Sea cruise next July on Pride in an extended balcony. All told, after losing the Mardi Gras 16 day - we had 29 days then canceled due to COVID. So we re-booked another 29 days. The new cruises had ($1200 OBC, $600 OBC, and $600 OBC) AND our Carnival PVP got us @ $3500 credited back to our credit card even after accounting for the new cruises. So we were initially disappointed at losing Mardi Gras (and then Hawaii and the B2B) - but we managed to make some pretty nice lemonade from those lemons.