Assistance Needed - Mexcian Rivera & Costa Rica

[charlielinda]

There is so much wonderful knowledge on this board and I know many of you don't look at the Port Boards regularly so I am going to ask for your vast experience in planning my next cruise.

I would like to know what excursions you took in these ports (through ship or on your own) and what you liked and did not like. I'd love to know if you think we should concentrate on a water activity (snorkeling or beach) or do tours of the town or surrounding area. Is there one "don't miss" activity or site that should be done? If you remember a particular tour operator you used I'd love to know that also.

So . . . please remember your great (and not so great) experiences in the following ports and let me know your experience. Thank you so much!

Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, and Puntarenas THANKS!

[mii]

Hi Basket I answered you over at the Celebrity board along with others. Hope this helps.

 

Marilyn

[where next?]

We just got back from the Princess Diamond and did a great ATV tour in Cabo. I booked directly with the tour provider, they picked us up at the pier as they said they would, drove us to the ATV site and then brought us back to the pier when we were done.

 

The ATV ride was wonderful - lots of dirt, cacti, very dry waterfall but nice just the same and the beautiful ocean. My husband and I and our two kids had a great day. The driving was so much fun!!

 

Here is the tour description and contact info -

 

ATV tours - El Tule, Waterfalls (3 hour)

 

 

Something you can not miss is to feel the great experience of riding a powerful 350 cc Honda along the secluded beauty of the desert and mountains of Baja California. Ride along the coast, admire the great views of the golf courses and snorkeling beaches, from the highest point of the mountain, close to the water falling from the rocks.

 

Departures

9:00 am 12:30 and 4:00 pm

 

 

Includes:

Round trip transportation, purified bottled water, helmet goggles and bandanas

 

Price: $55 usd single rider $75 usd 2 riders in one atv

 

Explora Adventours – Los Cabos – Fabian Valdes

http://www.xploraloscabos.com

Fvaldes@clubregina.com

 

Hope this helps your planning!!!

 

Bobbie

[hrob777]

Cabo - Took a cab to San Jose del Cabo for $20 roundtrip for 2 of us. Had about an hour to look around there. I think the going rate was $30 or $35. Got a "deal" early in the morning.

 

Puerto Arenas - used Mauricio Vasquez, whose name I got from a Cruise Critic bulletin board. mauriciovp@hotmail.com. 506-352-7697 I think we paid about $30 or $35 each. He'll take you anywhere you want to go in a minivan. Tour was, I think, about 5 hours. We went to the "crocodile river", then dropped off some zipliners, went through the rain forest, picked up the zipliners, went to a small town for lunch, then back to the ship. I had trouble contacting him, but asked for him when I walked off the ship. Everyone seemed to know him and pointed him out. A highlight is that he has a telescope to look at birds and monkeys up close. You can also take digital pictures through it.

 

These tours were in September 2004.

[sweetp0618]

I would like to know what excursions you took in these ports (through ship or on your own) and what you liked and did not like. THANKS!

 

While in Cabo, we did the Chileno Bay snorkeling trip through Princess. We had a wonderful time. The catamaran is new and has a small slide you can use to get into the water, in addition to steps. My only hesitation about recommending this excursion is that there were jellyfish in the water the day we were there--I'm not sure if it's always like that. Many people got stung.

[gopher's girl]

In Cabo we took an early morning boat ride around Land's End. It was beautiful! Very inexpensive ($15 or $20 pp through the ship) and the photos we got were phenomenal. Then we walked from the pier into town where we shopped and drank Waborita's.

[marylyn]

:) Hi, We have never sailed on Princess Cruises. We are thinking about the Princess Sapphire going to the Mexican Riviera. Does anyone have an opinion about the ship and that destination. Thank you for any help. :) Lois and Harvey

[where next?]

We LOVED the Diamond Princess when we sailed her on this April 23, 2005 Mex Riv sailing. I believe she is Sapphire's sister ship. This was our first Princess experience and it was phenomenal!! Princess ships are designed so that they handle crowds without feeling crowded. My kids loved the kids program and freshwater pools. My husband loved not feeling crowded at all and I LOVED the fact that my husband was so happy on this ship that it took three days after we were home to book the Coral Princess Panamal Canal for next year's April school vacation!!!

 

We all loved our Cabo ATV excursion, horseback riding with Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan and spending time with friends in PV.

 

You won't go wrong with this itinerary or ship! We even loved the day we spent touring LA, Hollywood and Beverly Hills the day we flew into LA and then breakfast on the Queen Mary the morning we sailed.

 

Just a FUN vacation!!

 

Bobbie

Derry, NH

[snowcamper]

We took the Zodiac Whale watch tour in Cabo, thru Princess. It was fantastic! Our tour operators had 3 zodiacs (15 person pontoon type boats) out in different areas - when one saw a whale, they were in radio contact and we just zipped over. while the bigger ships were still sitting around. We saw so many whales, and had a school of dolphin swim all around us. I thought we would get wet from sea spray, but not a drop. I can't reccommend it highly enough. We were on the Diamond in February.