Anyone ever do the Pirate Boat Adventure Excrusion in Puerto Vallarta?

[hardingk]

We are sailing on the Mercury to Mexico on 4/7/06 sailing. We are thinking about doing the Pirate Boat Adventure Excursion in Puerto Vallarta an was wondering if anyone has done this excursion before, if you could answer a few questions:

 

The descrption says that you will stop at a secluded beach, where you can take a banana ride, kayak, snorkel, boogie-board, play volleyball or just take in the sun. Are these things included in the price or is there a seperate charge?

 

How long do you have at the beach?

 

Is the food safe it eat?

 

Thanks!!

[tomatopa]

we did an outing on the Geronimo while in Puerto Vallarta. it was great. we saw so mnay whales. the gang on the boat was tons of fun. a high light of that trip....Judy this was in February

[Cruise Arizona]

First your specifics:

 

We ate the food and didn't get sick, and it was decent.

All activities are included in the excursions price as well as all your drinks.

We did the volleyball and just enjoyed the beach, not sure how good or bad the snorkeling was, but in general Mexican Riviera snorkling is not as good as Carribean or Hawaii. We had a great time on the excursion, but in my review I tried to provide objective details and not too much subjective opinions. It might not be right for everyone.

 

The Marigalante Pirate Land Morning Tour

Somewhere between a party barge and “The Pirates of the Carribean” ride lies the Marigalante Pirate Land Morning Tour in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

 

 

Most cruise ship passengers will see the authentic Spanish galleon replica looking a little out of place docked just across a busy city street from Walmart and Sam’s Club, but may not realize why it was built and what its current purpose it.

 

The ship was built in 1992 to celebrate the 500 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas. It currently serves as an excursion boat for Spanish and English speaking tourists in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

 

An extremely lively bi-lingual host serves as your “activities” captain. Most passengers were amazed at his ability to fluently switch back and forth between English and Spanish, and never miss a beat. As host he had to give all safety instructions, and conduct the recreational activities simultaneously in English and Spanish.

 

The crew serves hot breakfast and then assigns seating for your voyage. During the approximately 2 hour voyage to Majahuitas beach and snorkeling area, passengers are entertained by the dancing pirates, a few off color contests and jokes involving the passengers, and a lively pirate adventure skit. The skit reminded me of something you might see from a college fraternity. Open bar is provided to passengers during this journey.

 

The ship arrives a small secluded beach and cove where passengers must tender in via dingies to enjoy snorkeling, beach volley ball, swimming, banana boat rides or beach play. . The crew also makes every effort to accommodate the elderly and handicapped, though, logistically it may not be practicle for them to board the dingies to go to the beach area. Several of the older people chose to stay onboard the ship during the beach excursion. After the two hour stay at the beach, passengers were transported back to the Marigalante, literally hosed off to wash away the sand and salt, and then served lunch during the 2 hour ride back to the harbor in Puerto Vallarta. The bilingual activities captain keeps things fun for the adults with with silly freeze dance contests and party games. a

 

The voyage has aspects of a fraternity party, what you might experience at a poolside mixer at an all inclusive resort or cruise, and even a professionally hosted child’s birthday part. People enjoyed the open bar, but were not getting totally inebriated. The pirates made sure that all the passengers were having fun by encouraging them to participate in the silly onboard activities. Some of the Pirates dance moves were a little suggestive as well as some of the jokes, but not so much so that I saw any of the families with kids take offense. The crew did a great job of keeping the kids busy. The pirate crew members helped the kids build sand castles and back on the ship the kids got to play several “simon says” type games with activities captain overseeing the fun, again in both Spanish and English.

 

 

At the end of the trip the crew encourages tips and also sells T-shirts to raise money for a local charity. This excursion is offered through many of the cruise lines, or can be booked independantly. For more information visit. http://www.marigalante.com.mx/

[hardingk]

Thanks for the great review!