Shore excursion from Carnival Splendor in Puerto Vallarta - BEWARE!!

[edmusic]

We took a Carnival sponsored excursion that left a bad taste in our mouth. It was a van tour called 'Best of Puerto Vallarta and Shopping'. Everywhere we stopped, we were pressured by store and street vendors to buy things. And, I think the van driver is somehow connected to them and gets some sort of kickback. First stop was billed as a restroom break and the restroom was 'conveniently located' in a jewelry store called 'Jimmy's' located in the Malecon beach area. We were ushered in then the door was shut behind us and we were constantly bombarded with sales pitch after sales pitch even when we told them we weren't interested in buying any high priced unmarked jewelry. Next stop was at the top of an exclusive residential housing area where there just happened to by street vendors set up under their umbrellas hounding us to buy cheap trinkets and souvenirs. Hard to enjoy the beautiful view when everywhere you walk you getting accosted to buy something. Next stop was at a lookout overlooking the bay where Night of the Iguana was filmed. As soon as we got out of the van, two guys approached us with an iguana and some cheap bracelets. Without even asking, he propped a three foot iguana on my shoulder and when my wife snapped a photo, he firmly asked for $5 because he 'allowed' us to take a photo of a creature he voluntarily placed on me. I gave him $2 to get rid of him and shut him up. The other guy wouldn't let my wife go until she bought some of the bracelets he put on her wrist without even asking permission. The next stop was at some back woods Tequila distillery located on some dirt road off the beaten path. I have to admit, this stop was informative even though I don't drink liquor. But after the education on how tequila is made, you're hounded to buy some bottles to take back with you. Once they realize you're not gonna buy anything, their demeanor changes and they want you to leave. The final stop was at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean called 'El Set'. We were ushered in and seated at a table and menus were placed in our hands. It just happened to be lunch time so we decided to eat lunch there. It was delicious, enjoyable, and fairly affordable. It was the only redeeming stop on the entire four hour tour. The driver, who has lived his whole life in PV, was very informative, but somehow he's in cahoots with all the townspeople we came in contact with. While it was nice to see a lot of PV, the aspect of being hustled the whole time ruined most of it. I will never take another excursion like this.

[CruiserBruce]

Sounds like a sternly worded letter to Carnival is in order....

[swedish weave]

What did you expect when you booked a shopping tour ?

[edmusic]

What did you expect when you booked a shopping tour ?

Maybe shopping like we're used to - being dropped off at a mall or shopping area where we can browse the stores at our leisure and decide what we want to buy and what not to. Not being corralled and herded like cattle headed to the slaughter house. Is that too much to ask?

[CWcruisers]

Anytime you book a shopping excursion with a cruise line, you are going to get what they get kickbacks on. The driver isn't the only one involved in that. As for the street vendors, that is beyond anyone's control. A simple no is usually enough.

 

I do hope you take the time to send Carnival a letter though, it doesn't hurt for them to know you're unhappy so that they can look into what is going on. Carnival has a hard enough time selling Mexican Riviera cruise cabins. I'm sure they don't want people unhappy with their excursions also.

[edmusic]

I do hope you take the time to send Carnival a letter though, it doesn't hurt for them to know you're unhappy so that they can look into what is going on. Carnival has a hard enough time selling Mexican Riviera cruise cabins. I'm sure they don't want people unhappy with their excursions also.

I sent them an e-mail basically worded like my original post.

[Laughing Angel]

Wow, edmusic--sounds like you were a captive audience.

 

Next time, you might want to think about doing a tour on your own or maybe hiring a driver for a few hours. It's a lot less stressful and you decide where you want to go and what you want to see.

 

On a related note: Agreed--El Set is a nice restaurant. Beautiful view.

[downsized]

I'm sympathetic, but I have to state that it sounds like every excursion that we have ever booked. (Even those NOT booked through a cruise line!)

Even "non-shopping" excursions always seem to stop at isolated stores, shops, and locations where everyone on the excursion is a "captive audience".

Chalk this up to "experience".