DKK47 Posted January 7, 2006 #1 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Sailing on the Serenade, Panama Canal in May. I cannot get any information on this ports, Puntarenas and Huatulco (Costa Rica & Mexico). We would like to rent a car and do our own excursion, but Royal cannot help me....trying for about a month. Any information about the location or name of this terminals or port address will be appreciated. If you know how to rent a car .....please tell us. Our first booking with Royal ......not a good first impression with their customer service. Thank you, dkk47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas80 Posted January 7, 2006 #2 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Huatalco is BEAUTIFUL! Kind of like an unknown Cabo. Small, quaint, lush, beautiful! The jewelry shopping is GREAT GREAT GREAT!!! I didnt buy because the prices were so cheap and I thought there had to be something amiss with the jewelry because everything was so inexpensive. I go to a shop talk on the ship the next day and the shopping giude guy says "so many people ask me what's wrong with the jewelry because it is so inexpensive". I could have died! I let some really great prices get away from me! Dont do what I did! Next time I go back I'm getting some jewelry! We did the bike tour in Huatalco. If you like excercising then go for it. We probably would not choose to do that again. The port is quaint and you can take a cab to more of a downtown area but I cant say that there is anything more to do other than walk around and look at mexican items for sale, have lunch, etc. Next time we go back we will probably look for a beachside lunch somewhere and then maybe some beach lounging. After, of course, I buy some jewelry! Puntarenas, Costa Rica is a bit dirty. We didnt do a shore excursion there but we really should have! We thought we could arrange our own but it wasnt as easy as we thought it would be. By the time we got off the ship most tours required more time than we actually had. We were put off by the amount of travelling time the ship's excursions took (2 hours each way) and figured we could just walk around and entertain ourselves. But there just really was not much to see. There is a beach there but something bit me when I swam in the water and I had raised red areas that started to itch a few days later. Nothing serious, it all went away in about a week, but the shopping guide guy did say that the beach by the port, and the water, was dirty - and he was right. Definitely arrange an excursion, of some sort, for Puntarenas. In Puntarenas there is a huge vendor area rght off the ship. HUGE. Lots of things to buy and it's BETTER than the typical mexican garb that you usually see in places like acapulco. Speaking of which, do an excursion for acapulco too. I found acapulco to be dirty, noisy and nasty. We should have done an excursion there too. Also, in Puntarenas, there is a REALLY CHEAP internet place right accross from the ship. I think it is ten cents for ten minutes or something ridiculous like that. In both ports, Huatalco and Puntarenas, I dont recall seeing any place where you could rent a car. We did this cruise last May. LOVED IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abridalmaven Posted January 7, 2006 #3 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I agree about Huatulco and Acapulco ( even with a tour I was not impressed with Acapulco, was past it's prime), but not about Costa Rica, I really enjoyed the country. It is a little dusty in some spots, but we did an inland tour very lush and beautiful, and loved it. Did you know they have a higher literacy rate than the US? Ours was the tour on the refurbished Russian missle launcher! We went up into the mountains. I think we did that one thru the ship.Go to the ports board, there are people who know where to book tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFT_LOVER Posted January 7, 2006 #4 Share Posted January 7, 2006 One is the Skywalk which is an amazing steel cable danging bridges that you walk across & are greeted by Toucans, Monkeys, and other wonderful wildlife. Even ants that carry green leaves to their nest by the thousands. We filmed them. With my bad foot wrapped in ace bandage so I could try the excursion, the guide suggested I ride with him to a sit down ride called the Sky Tram that rides above those walking & you pass thru the trees with the same monkeys very curious on the ride & who we are. I had flowers in my hair & the one monkey wanted them, so he jumped on my head to help himself but didn't hurt me. He was hungry. Great guides that point out everything & video cam got great shots including the downpour that you get in a rainforest & that felt very good at 98 degrees. At the end you have a buffet of fruit, bakery & iced tea that is sweetened with honey. I highly recommend either....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKK47 Posted January 10, 2006 Author #5 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Sailing on the Serenade, Panama Canal in May. I cannot get any information on this ports, Puntarenas and Huatulco (Costa Rica & Mexico).We would like to rent a car and do our own excursion, but Royal cannot help me....trying for about a month. Any information about the location or name of this terminals or port address will be appreciated. If you know how to rent a car .....please tell us. Our first booking with Royal ......not a good first impression with their customer service. Thank you, dkk47 Still waiting for Royal to call me about information.....after 2 weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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