questions re: taxi and snorkel in Mex Riv.

[Dawn Berry]

Hello All!

 

I just booked the Dawn Princess (will be the 2nd time on her, so no questions about the ship) for The Mexican cruise 11/10-11/20 out of San Francisco. I was wondering if anyone knew the cab fare from the airport to the ship. (and also how easy it was to get a cab) And also was wondering where the best snorkeling was (Catalina, Puerto Vall, Mazatlan or Cabo). We are experienced cruisers of the Caribbean, but have never been on the West side :)

 

Thank You!

Dawn

[Budget Queen]

This isn't a snorkle area. And certainly in no comparism to the Caribbean. Nothing else of interest here??

[MSN-Travelers]

Hello All!

 

... And also was wondering where the best snorkeling was (Catalina, Puerto Vall, Mazatlan or Cabo). We are experienced cruisers of the Caribbean, but have never been on the West side :)

 

Thank You!

Dawn

 

The Pacific side isn't the greatest for snorkel/scuba when compaired to the Carib. DW and I spend most Novembers in PV. Snorkeling is ok when it is a part of an excursion but a disappointment when it is the excursion. Plenty of other stuff to do in the various ports.

[Genessa]

we did a Princess excursion in Puerto Vallarta with Vallarta Adventures which was one of our very best snorkeling excursions, ever.

 

It was a long, "swelly" boat ride out to the location - they actually suggested sea sick pills and had them, for those prone to sea sickness to take before they got sick. None of us are prone, and none of us (4) took them, but some people did. We did not see anyone who was at all sick.

 

The crew kept us entertained for the entire ride (about an hour each way). It was fantastic - a floating floor show. The crew was not just funny and entertaining (singing, dancing, audience participation if you wanted to,no pressure if you didn't), they were really, really nice. They personally assisted every passenger in picking out the proper snorkel gear and helped people adjust masks, fins, etc. before we got there.

 

We saw many birds, which the crew identified for us and you had a choice if you wanted to kayak or not. The crew did skin diving for us and brought up sea life for us to look at and then put it back where they found it. We saw a wonderful variety of sea life, can't remember now any specifics.

If you had arranged for it, you could have done scuba diving in the same location.

 

After snorkeling we had the opportunity to swim from a "deserted" beach.

Back on the boat, a light lunch was served. This was not a "booze" cruise, but some alcoholic punch was available if you wanted it, after snorkeling.

 

I had looked into booking the same excursion w/o Princess before our cruise and it was available, but for the same exact price. I would take this excursion again anytime.

 

I also did scuba diving in Cabo. Very interesting. It was the discover scuba, so they treat you like you don't know what you are doing, although most of us were certified. It was a relatively shallow dive (about 25 - 30 feet) but we saw some very interesting things, including a moray eel and a small shark. I was so busy lookinng, I forgot to take a single photo with my underwater camera.

 

The biggest problem is the water is colder than the Caribbean but we had a wonderful time in the water.

[karstic]

I also did scuba diving in Cabo. Very interesting. It was the discover scuba, so they treat you like you don't know what you are doing, although most of us were certified. It was a relatively shallow dive (about 25 - 30 feet) but we saw some very interesting things, including a moray eel and a small shark. I was so busy lookinng, I forgot to take a single photo with my underwater camera.

 

The biggest problem is the water is colder than the Caribbean but we had a wonderful time in the water.

 

We're planning on taking this tour on the 11/19 Sapphire cruise. Genessa can you give a more detailed description of this tour? thanks.

[Splinter]

Catalina has great snorkeling, but by November the water will be in the 50's so don't plan on it there unless you have wetsuits. While not the Caribbean or Hawaii, you can get quite nice snorkling trips out of both Cabo and PV....and you don't have to use the Princess ones. In Cabo there are several companies that can book you online or when you get off the ship at the pier. Fewer in PV but they still are there. In November the water in Cabo will be in the low 70s or high 60s.

[Dawn Berry]

Thanks for all of the great replies! Budget Queen kind of scared me. Yipes, I apparently picked the wrong cruise for her :) Well, I went ahead and booked a snorkel tour in Cabo (the eco tour). We really don't care about the temp of the water (or so I say now! :) ) We just love to be in the water (we are from Indiana you know!)

 

Anyway, thanks again all! I appreciate the ideas!

 

Dawn

[Genessa]

Karstic,

 

it was a very professional tour. We watched a video after having basic rules explained to us and then a question and answer period, followed by a short test.

 

We were outfitted, then went on a dive boat to shallow water and received drills on the sea floor in 8-10 foot of water. When we were comfortable, we were led to deeper water (may 30 feet max). There was a 2 to 1 ratio of participants to guides. We saw a moray eel and a (harmless) shark.

 

This will be my 4th time trying to post this, it's getting shorter and shorter each time. Ask and I'll give you more specific details about any portion of the tour.