WARNING: Dangerous Excursion in Cabo San Lucs (official Port Adventure by DCL)

[revel]

This is a warning to anyone traveling with Disney Cruise Lines and looking to do the "Cabo Resort Pool Getaway" port adventure. See the listing here:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/shore-excursions/cabo-san-lucas-mexico/cabo-resort-pool-getaway/

 

My family and I traveled on DCL for the October 16-23 cruise. Because we were traveling with an infant that is just 6 months old, we wanted to book excursions that were safe and secure, with quick access to emergency services, if needed. A general precaution that we didn't think much of -- just being smart and safe.

 

We booked our Port Adventure via DCL prior to traveling and arrived in Cabo San Lucas on October 20. We took an 11 AM shore tender from the ship and exited the cruise pier and met with our excursion tour guide. Obviously a native of Cabo, he asked how we were doing and seemed friendly enough and generally polite, at first.

 

This took a serious turn for the worse very quickly.

 

After assembling our very small excursion group, we boarded a bus. My family and I were seated in the first two benches on the bus. Immediately upon departing the pier, the guide began to list off rules, almost angrily. He had a very militant vibe about him. Then he began pointing at each of us and insisting on things like, "At 12:30, you will eat lunch. There is a buffet and you must go to the buffet first."

 

His tone picked up and became very aggressive. Within minutes it felt like we were on a prison transport.

 

Upon arriving at the hotel, a short drive from the pier, the driver parked and again our "guide" stood up and recanted even more rules for us. Things like, "single file getting off the bus," "you must have your port adventure cards in your right hand," "do not walk into the parking lot," "stay in the hotel lobby until I tell you otherwise," etc etc. The list just went on and on.

 

Even when everyone in our group did precisely as he said, he still snapped at a few of us. For example, one of the other travelers held their adventure ticket in his left hand. The guide snapped at him, "I said right hand!" It was nuts. It felt nothing like a vacation and it was pretty soon that we all felt this guy was dangerous and we needed to get some distance from him.

 

Once we entered the lobby, more rules, more lecturing, more weird demands. Then we were walked down to the pool, single file, he barked at a woman in our group for walking too slowly. At this point, I'm 6'4" and about 225, if he said ANYTHING to my family, I was going to rip his damn head off. We're almost matched in size however, and this guy obviously is wound tight. But we stay cool, knowing we could ditch this loser once we were finally at the pool. I breath deep, wife keeps her mouth closed, and we grin and bear the verbal abuse -- all of us do -- knowing we're close to being done with it.

 

We get to the pool area and everyone breaks off. My family and I take a few chairs under and umbrella. There's no one at the resort. It feels totally vacant like the place is a massive ghost town. Very surreal feeling. The guide is wandering around inspecting everyone's setup and finally gets to ours. "You," pointing at me, "you get into the lobby by 3:30 for departure." So I say, "You know what, look, we're here to just relax and get some good pool time in. We're going to hang here, roll back to the ship on our own. No need for the bus back. Thanks."

 

But the guy insists, "No. You need to come back with me. You are traveling with me." I look over to the only other employees nearby and I motion to the bar guys, "I'll pay them to stay longer. We'll take our own cab back. No thanks. We just want to relax." He finally scoffs at me and says, "Ok fine but you'll need to sign a waiver." Whatever, I tell him. No big deal. Now please let us enjoy.

 

About an hour goes by and he comes back again. "I ordered a cab for you at 3:30." I shake my head and I say again, "I already talked to the pool guys. They said no problem. We're going to eat, have a few drinks, hang out and play, relax, then we're going back on our own. No thanks." He insists. "I have a car already coming for you." This is where I get nervous. A car? First he said a cab. And his entire attitude, the entire time, was threatening. Now I'm thinking this guy is up to something dirty. I've got a 6 month old baby with me and we're in a foreign country. F-this, I think to myself.

 

Finally I step to the guy and I'm hard in his face, "We aren't going anywhere with you. Got a problem? I'll call the cops right now. I'll call the cruise ship and get my family the hell out of here. Now please leave us ALONE."

 

He disappears and I think it's the end of him. I'm back into vacation mood and the family is enjoying some great pool time and picture opportunities (even though the resort is very bland and the beach is closed, we're just making the best of what was an obvious rip-off of an excursion). So after a few diet cokes, I make a trip to the bathroom and as I'm coming out, the guide corners me. I quickly look past his shoulder and I see my family is ok, still in the same place, but my wife is standing up holding her hands out like what's with this guy. I get the feeling he had just been talking to her.

 

He's holding a clipboard and says to me, "I need all of your names. Your stateroom on the ship, your mobile number, and your booking agent name." I ask him what the heck does he need all of that for and he says, "Waiver. I can't let you go on your own otherwise." I don't believe a word of it. So I fill out completely fake names for all of us, a fake stateroom number, fake mobile, fake everything.

 

He looks it all over very carefully and tells me to sign the bottom of the page. Fine. Then he pulls out a customer care card that has a few questions on it with star ratings and comments.

 

He literally looks over at my family and motions to them, then taps the card and says, "You sign this, you can go. It is very important."

 

I am not exaggerating when I tell you am fearing for my family's safety at this point. It came across as a stone cold direct threat and I felt if I gave the guy anything less than 5 stars across the board, we would be in big trouble. So that's what I did. I scribble checks on the 5 stars and under comments right, "Great!" then hand him back the card. He inspects that and says fine, then walks away.

 

Weirdly, I also notice on his clipboard, he has the names of the other passengers in our tour group. Same thing, full names, state rooms, mobile numbers, a few even had birth dates. Incredibly creepy.

 

At about 3:45, I see most of the other tour depart, with one couple lingering with us, and I think finally, this madman is gone and we're ok. A short ride, even a possible walk, back to the pier and all is well. The rest of the hotel staff seem ok, although unresponsive. But I'm thinking about how there are almost no other guests there and the place is a ghost town so maybe it's time we pack up and head out too.

 

We organize our things, reset the chairs and umbrellas, then head back to the lobby and as we walk inside, there's our scary tour guide. He points outside and there's a white van with no markings at all. He says, "I called you a car. That's it. Go ahead." I tell him, "Look, if you don't mind, we're taking a cab. Ok?" He insists, even pushes my arm a few times, "No, I called the car. It's here. Take the car." I am literally looking around the otherwise empty lobby for a stick to beat this guy with if anyone else gets out of that car. My wife looks terrified.

 

"We're taking another ride. NO THANKS." He insists again. I put my wife behind me and I brush him away (as he tries to touch my arm again), "NO THANK YOU." I shout loud enough this time that someone from the hotel hears me and comes to the front desk. They look confused. I say, "We're tourists with the Disney cruise ship. Please call us a taxi." He picks up the phone and makes a call right away. Walkie-talkie style call. My wife, who knows a little spanish, nods to me to confirm it sounded legit.

 

The tour guide, looks annoyed at me. Pissed even. He goes out to the van and points at us a few times, waves his arms around, then, unbelievably, gets into the van and drives away.

 

Our marked taxi cab arrived a few moments later. We high-tailed it back to the boat.

 

Now I don't know about you, but if that doesn't sound like one hell of a freakish excursion with danger imminent, I don't know what does. Maybe it was my deep concern for the safety of my little 6 month babe, but this was outrageous.

 

I just wrote to DCL about this tonight. Shorter version, more straight forward. I don't want a refund. I want everyone to hear about this so they can be safe and not go through what my family went through. This "excursion" should absolutely not be an official Port Adventure and even without the maniac tour guide, isn't worth the money spent. We hope to god that no one gets hurt by this guy because there was clearly something rotten in Cabo with the entire situation. Glad we avoided whatever he had in store for us and I'm just happy family is safe.

 

The only blemish on an otherwise awesome trip.

[ladygogo1]

I can understand your concern since you were travelling as a parent of a small baby but I do feel your title of your post is very misleading.

 

I doubt that there was any real or imminent danger. I think that maybe there was a personality conflict and that you did not like the way that some one was listing off the rules that they have to say (usually it is cruise ship policy- like it or not, often their insurance carriers require this) and maybe you did not like his tone but when you take a tour with a ship, there are waivers and procedures that have to be administered especially when you choose to "go off on your own."

 

When you take a ship's tour- you have to stay with them and if you chose to leave or take your own way back, you have to "release yourself from them" by signing a release waiver. The info they needed was in case you were in an accident or they needed to make sure you got back to the ship on your own.

 

He probably called the tour company and said you wanted to go back on your own, so since they are responsible for you, they sent one of their company tour vans. If you took a taxi on your own and did not sign a client release statement, they would be responsible for you. And the ship would not be happy with you :)

 

No offense to cruise ship passengers but they are not always super travel savvy- and some need extra guidance. Some think that since they are in Mexico, that anything goes but the cruise ships have to carry extensive insurance that forces any tour operator to have very specific guidelines for the passengers.

I worked int he industry in the past for many years and people always complained about all of the rules...like no snorkeling after ANY alcohol, or alcohol not served before snorkeling.... how people had to stay in a group, etc. I cannot tell you how many people missed the ship because they "disappeared"....

 

I am osrry you did nto have a good time but I do not think the tour was dangerous, I think you just did not like the guy or the rules.

 

If it was so dangerous. did anyone else do the same thing you did or did they all depart with him as planned?

[revel]

Thank you for not taking the time to read my review and consider the numerous times where I said this guy was overtly behaving in a manner that was clearly threatening and scaring my family and other passengers on the trip.

 

Honestly, ladygogo1, you watering down my concern to a "personality conflict" is an absurd assumption that negates all of the detail I provided here.

 

But by all means, please do take this trip. Have a great time and ejoy the mystery van ride back to the boat.

 

As I stated in my original writing, other people chose not to depart with the "guide" as well, and for what I assume was the same reasons. I saw other names listed on his so-called waiver and we ran into other couples still at the pool when we left. I have no problem with rules and we did our best to abide by them. But there comes a point, and it was evidenced very quickly, there was something wrong here. Intuition, threatening mannerisms, creepy behavior, body language, tone, expressions, cornering me, laying hands on me, ignoring my polite pleas to back off, and flashing very angrily when I suggested I would call the police, were all stark signs this guy was up to no good.

 

I'm not here for my own health. This is a warning to others. Take it for what it's worth. Is this what you expect to encounter on an excursion?

[Keith1010]

Thank you for posting this review.

 

I think you handled the situation very well.

 

I also think it's a good idea that you wrote to Disney about this. It should not have happened.

 

If I could have made one more suggestion upon your return to the ship I would have asked to meet with the Manager of the shore excursion department to go over what had just transpired and if necessary the Hotel Director.

 

I am glad that you and the family were safe.

 

Keith

[tonit964]

I can understand your concern since you were travelling as a parent of a small baby but I do feel your title of your post is very misleading.

 

I doubt that there was any real or imminent danger. I think that maybe there was a personality conflict and that you did not like the way that some one was listing off the rules that they have to say (usually it is cruise ship policy- like it or not, often their insurance carriers require this) and maybe you did not like his tone but when you take a tour with a ship, there are waivers and procedures that have to be administered especially when you choose to "go off on your own."

 

When you take a ship's tour- you have to stay with them and if you chose to leave or take your own way back, you have to "release yourself from them" by signing a release waiver. The info they needed was in case you were in an accident or they needed to make sure you got back to the ship on your own.

 

He probably called the tour company and said you wanted to go back on your own, so since they are responsible for you, they sent one of their company tour vans. If you took a taxi on your own and did not sign a client release statement, they would be responsible for you. And the ship would not be happy with you :)

 

No offense to cruise ship passengers but they are not always super travel savvy- and some need extra guidance. Some think that since they are in Mexico, that anything goes but the cruise ships have to carry extensive insurance that forces any tour operator to have very specific guidelines for the passengers.

I worked int he industry in the past for many years and people always complained about all of the rules...like no snorkeling after ANY alcohol, or alcohol not served before snorkeling.... how people had to stay in a group, etc. I cannot tell you how many people missed the ship because they "disappeared"....

 

I am osrry you did nto have a good time but I do not think the tour was dangerous, I think you just did not like the guy or the rules.

 

If it was so dangerous. did anyone else do the same thing you did or did they all depart with him as planned?

 

 

 

When you choose to leave the group and get your own way back to the ship, the tour guide does not call a car/cab for you. They clearly state you are responsible for your own way back.

 

 

The poster was very smart not to get in the car/cab the guide called.

[narsibvl]

Interesting,

 

We are doing the MR next month, fortunately we are not doing this particular excursion. Did you get to talk to the CM's about this person once you got onboard ? It certainly doesn't look like an experience you would expect from a DCL excursion. Must have been a big bummer.

 

Also, heard there were shootings in Cabo recently, not sure if your guide was trying to be more secured and in doing so came out as being brash and aggressive.

[babies12]

I think the tour guide was just a little over protected over your group and came across a little too aggressive for you. Seeing you with a little child I hardly think he would have harmed your family and he was only making sure you were taken back to the ship safely. Yes, there was a shooting in Cabo a few weeks back, but it was not in the tourist zone however, the guides and there to protect the tourists and I think with this guide, he was just a tad too over protective. Sorry you had a bad experience but I don't think any harm was to befall your family.

[lovevacadays]

I'm happy to hear you wrote Disney. Did you also tell the shore excursion desk when you got back on the ship? I would make sure someone acknowledges your concerns so Disney will look into this and perhaps reconsider this excursion. I've cruised to Mexico many, many times and never had an experience like this but you may have gotten a bad apple.

[CWcruisers]

I agree with chloedmom in that you should follow up with Disney on your letter to make sure they understand how upset you were. Should you ever have another bad excursion experience, definitely report it to the ship. Jobs are precious in Cabo and if this gentleman is not suited to be in the tourism industry, he should be let go.

 

As for the hotel being nearly deserted, you were in Cabo during low season, so not surprizing.

 

BTW, there are almost no natives of Cabo. Most everyone is a transplant, like in CA.

 

Regarding the recent shooting, tell me that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world. It has nothing to do with the safety of tourism in Cabo, which is one of the safest cities in Mexico.

[revel]

The shooting in the non-tourist market does not concern us one bit. We live in sizable American city and we have our fair share of crime here. Such is this life.

 

But please know, we are not overstating it when we say that this tour guide was being threatening, intimidating, and appeared to be up to no good. Call it intuition and gut feeling, but we had no doubt in our mind following his instructions to get into the car would have put us in real peril.

 

Thank you for the comments everyone. As a side note, we visited Cabo again the following day (baby was in the nursery) and took a glass bottom boat to a beach on the opposite side of the harbor, rented wave runners, enjoyed drinks at a bar, chatted with locals and generally had a great time. And a few times, during this little trip, we discussed the creepy tour guide and both agreed we were glad he was nowhere to be seen.

 

Disney wrote us back yesterday (Friday) and while the response seemed somewhat canned, they did assure us they take the reports seriously and would notify the chain involved. I hope so.

[Keith1010]

revel, thanks again for your post.

 

I didn't read into it as an overreaction and am glad that you shared your experience with others on this board and with Disney.

 

Keith

[NYcruiserNY]

Revel

I think you handled the situation perfectly and am gld you would take the time to notify the cruise line and handle this group for future travelers. This is no way for a tour guide to behave and this title sure gets it the attention it deserves.

[gipohaca]

Revel,

Think you did the right thing but I too would suggest you tell the Tour Desk manager next time you have a problem. There could have been others that complained too.

[CWcruisers]

Revel, I'm glad your second day went better and that you realize, that tour guide was the problem and not the entire population of Cabo. The Mexican's are some of the warmest, friendliest people I have encountered in my travels, which is why it was surprizing that you ran into the exact opposite. Hopefully, that tour guide will not have an opportunity to terrorize any other tourists.

[mycruisedirector]

We have traveled extensively and have had some very interesting experiences but thankfully have not had any major problems. I think you did the right thing by not accepting their transportation. I am a firm believer in listening to your "gut". If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Nature provided all of us with instinct and when traveling I try to listen as much as possible without losing my "sense of adventure". Times are very uncertain in much of the world. When we were in Puerto Rico a few years ago a passenger from a Carnival ship killed a bandit on a tour, the guy picked the wrong bus to rob and it just so happened this passenger was a former special ops serviceman. We were going out to a Coffee plantation on the same morning and we were guarded the whole tour by officers with machine guns. They actually had four armed officers that rode in the pack of a pickup in front of our tour bus. You just never know, these are not Disneyland rides, anything can happen.

[revel]

Thank you again for all of the great comments.

 

We unfortunately did not notify the Port Adventures crew onboard the ship as, when we returned, there were big lines there both the day of the incident and the following day. Instead, we just resigned to notifying Disney after-the-fact and, because I have used this website and forums frequently in the past, I thought it was a good idea to post about the experience here as well. If anything like this ever happens again, we will let the ship know ASAP.

 

Also to affirm what CWcruisers said, we absolutely recognize the tour guide was the problem (along with possibly whoever else was in that van), and certainly not the people of Cabo in general. Our second day was fun and exciting for all of the right reasons and we were grateful for that.

 

And mycruisedirector, great points all around. Completely agreed. I have (thankfully) had to rely on my gut instincts in dangerous situations only a few times in the past (a robbery at gun point in Philadelphia for example), and we agree. Trust your instincts. If it feels wrong, it may well be and it just isn't worth the risk. I am positive something was wrong with that situation and I am as certain as could be that there was a threat.

 

Be safe, have fun, and enjoy. There's trouble the world over but in our experience, we can positively say, there is thankfully a whole lot less than what the news would lead you to believe. Just stay smart, listen to your gut, know when something is wrong and teach your family the same.

[sapper1]

I certainly did not think you were overstating your concerns. You presented your story in a very calm and rational manner and there was nothing about it that did not ring true. The stories on this board that evoke skepticism are the ones where the poster rants and raves to a point where you have no sympathy for them.

 

I am sorry you had such a scary experience and you did what you had to do to protect your family. I would have called my own taxi also. A person's instincts will serve them very well if they pay attention to them.

[louanne93]

Thank you for not taking the time to read my review and consider the numerous times where I said this guy was overtly behaving in a manner that was clearly threatening and scaring my family and other passengers on the trip.

 

Honestly, ladygogo1, you watering down my concern to a "personality conflict" is an absurd assumption that negates all of the detail I provided here.

 

But by all means, please do take this trip. Have a great time and ejoy the mystery van ride back to the boat.

 

As I stated in my original writing, other people chose not to depart with the "guide" as well, and for what I assume was the same reasons. I saw other names listed on his so-called waiver and we ran into other couples still at the pool when we left. I have no problem with rules and we did our best to abide by them. But there comes a point, and it was evidenced very quickly, there was something wrong here. Intuition, threatening mannerisms, creepy behavior, body language, tone, expressions, cornering me, laying hands on me, ignoring my polite pleas to back off, and flashing very angrily when I suggested I would call the police, were all stark signs this guy was up to no good.

 

I'm not here for my own health. This is a warning to others. Take it for what it's worth. Is this what you expect to encounter on an excursion?

 

I thought you handled the situation perfectly!! My husband would have reacted the same way. In this day and age you can NEVER be too cautious. Anyone who tells you that you overreacted is usually the person that ends up dead in the street. It is men like you (and my husband) that make me feel safe.;)

[Fourseventeen]

WOW! Sounds like a pretty hairy experience. I dont know how you kept your cool. I think as soon as he started pushing on my arm and such we would have been having some real serious issues! Im only 5'11 190lbs but I would have busted that guys arm if he kept touching me in a hostile manor.

[RockerWife]

Dude! I for one read your post and it didn't sound like you were overreacting at all. Go with your gut is good advice and it sounds like you did. We are heading to Cabo in January and were looking for a resort to hang out at - I'd kinda like to avoid the one you visited. Can you tell us the name of it?

 

So glad you made it back to the ship safely and didn't allow it to ruin your trip!

[swedish weave]

WOW! Sounds like a pretty hairy experience. I dont know how you kept your cool. I think as soon as he started pushing on my arm and such we would have been having some real serious issues! Im only 5'11 190lbs but I would have busted that guys arm if he kept touching me in a hostile manor.

 

I think I would scrap that idea !!! Fighting in Mexico is not a good thing unless you plan to be there for a while !

 

The Graybar hotels down there are not five star accomodations and it is sometimes difficult to check out :)!!

[Almost Packed]

thanks for the heads up. just think, if more people would listen to that little voice in their head more often, the world would be a better place.

 

as to those saying it was a conflict of attitudes b.s. and i have taken many excursions and NEVER once have i had one person bark out commands or rules like that to me...NEVER!

 

that would certainly make a vacation stressful.

 

i appreciate you sharing your experience here with us on the boards. and remember, everyone, your gut is usually correct!

 

don't doubt it!

 

thanks again for the heads up!

[maritaysa]

Thank you for this thread, and I'm glad that everything turned out well. Good job protecting your family!

 

We're traveling with our family for the first time, and we're trying to figure out what to do in PV and Cabo with our baby. She'll be 1 when we cruise. We're also considering doing an excursion through CCL for the safety. If you could please post the name of the hotel that you went to, I'm going to contact CCL to see if they use the same one and AVOID IT!

[Northern Prairie Cruiser]

Thanks for the heads up! We are sailing on DCL in February. Your story scared me...we have never been on a cruise ship let alone to Mexico. I hope Disney follows up on your reported misadventure. We certainly won't go on that excursion! Unbelievable!

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

With regards to being cautious and concerned for your safety.. what I didn't hear from your post is where you did anything to try to diffuse your rising tension. Sometimes, something as simple as a smile or certainly lowering the tone of your own voice works wonders in turning around negativity.