Mexican Riviera

[BobnJan66]

We booked a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera for next April as a replacement cruise for one cancelled due to COVID. It is celebration of our 50th anniversary. We rarely cruise, so are looking forward to any tips and tricks that anyone wants to pass along. For example, we are unsure about what excursions, if any, we want to book, and if we book them, can they be cancelled if we change our mind. We love to walk through towns, explore the history and scenery etc., so are wondering whether any of the three ports (Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) are especially conducive to strolling directly from the dockside. Thanks!

[skynight]

1 minute ago, BobnJan66 said:

We booked a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera for next April as a replacement cruise for one cancelled due to COVID. It is celebration of our 50th anniversary. We rarely cruise, so are looking forward to any tips and tricks that anyone wants to pass along. For example, we are unsure about what excursions, if any, we want to book, and if we book them, can they be cancelled if we change our mind. We love to walk through towns, explore the history and scenery etc., so are wondering whether any of the three ports (Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) are especially conducive to strolling directly from the dockside. Thanks!

Suggest speciality dining for 5oth. Placing covid restrictions aside. Cabo is a tender port. There is a large marina area there where you can walk. Not much actually in the town. Puerta Vallarta the pier is away from the main area. Take a taxi to/from the malecon (boardwalk) area. 

[paul929207]

As to canceling excursions. Yes, you can get a full refund as long as you cancel before the cutoff with is usually about two days before the excursion. 

[MarkBearSF]

Cabo - Tender to Marina. A short walk from there to the town. Not very historic. (The nearby town of San Jose is more historic - tour, bus, or other transportation needed). The top thing to do is take a boat to El Arco (the Arch) which is at the tip of the peninsula, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific. Many of the boats that do this trip have glass bottoms which are fun, and many include a stop at a nearby beach. Generally, it's cheaper to make your own plans when you get to the Marina than to pay the surplus for a Princess Excursion for the same boat. 

Mazatlan - as others have mentioned, the old town is very walkable from the pier. There is a "blue line" to help you and many expats stationed around to answer questions. The Public Market and the Church are the main sights here, if I recall. Afterwards, I highly recommend taking one of the special Mazatlan "Pulmonias" (which are sort of a hybrid jeep/golf cart) along the Malecon to the Golden Zone for lunch.

Puerto Vallarta - the most walkable thing is the giant Walmart across the street from the pier. (Don't laugh, great deals on vanilla and gifts and souvenirs) The walking-around part is the old town (Zona Romantica) and the Malecon (shoreline road). However you will want to take a cab or Uber for the short distance. You could also take a city bus, but since a bridge is out right now, not all the buses go the usual route. (Note, if you take a cab, the ones right at the pier, inside the gate are almost twice as expensive as the regular cabs, although they won't tell you that. Go outside the fence and you'll find plenty of cabbies with nice new cars. Negotiate the price in advance.)

Manznillo. There is nothing. Stay on the ship or take a tour to the Tortoise Sanctuary and Salt Museum.

That's my take. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by MarkBearSF

[MarkBearSF]

2 hours ago, 1stin71 said:

Oh man, Mark.....you must have missed the Las Hadas Resort in Manzanillo!

Remember Bo Derek in the movie "10" with Dudley Moore and the famous love-making

scene to the rythm of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero"?

All filmed there!

You can get a day-pass to use the facilities and buffet at the resort, if they still

do it. 

Mind you, not that the OP is going there anyways....I think theirs is a 7-day sailing.

But thought I would point it out, just as an FYI.

 

Thanks.

A member of our group has been trying to contact them in vain. Our TA is looking into it.

[PaperSniper4]

18 hours ago, BobnJan66 said:

We booked a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera for next April as a replacement cruise for one cancelled due to COVID. It is celebration of our 50th anniversary. We rarely cruise, so are looking forward to any tips and tricks that anyone wants to pass along. For example, we are unsure about what excursions, if any, we want to book, and if we book them, can they be cancelled if we change our mind. We love to walk through towns, explore the history and scenery etc., so are wondering whether any of the three ports (Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) are especially conducive to strolling directly from the dockside. Thanks!

Here's a great place to start. Mexican Riviera on CC.

 

Congrats on the 50th; there are not a lot of us around! We're doing our 54th next year.😎

 

Doug

[Coffeeluvr05]

Happy 50th!  Personally, there isn't much we haven't seen this side of Mexico at this point so our next trip we don't even plan on getting off of the ship.  Mexico just isn't what it used to be and unless you are doing an organized excursion, I would use caution.  Check the US State Department's travel warnings for Mexico. 

[brisalta]

22 hours ago, MarkBearSF said:

Cabo - Tender to Marina. A short walk from there to the town. Not very historic. (The nearby town of San Jose is more historic - tour, bus, or other transportation needed). The top thing to do is take a boat to El Arco (the Arch) which is at the tip of the peninsula, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific. Many of the boats that do this trip have glass bottoms which are fun, and many include a stop at a nearby beach. Generally, it's cheaper to make your own plans when you get to the Marina than to pay the surplus for a Princess Excursion for the same boat. 

Mazatlan - as others have mentioned, the old town is very walkable from the pier. There is a "blue line" to help you and many expats stationed around to answer questions. The Public Market and the Church are the main sights here, if I recall. Afterwards, I highly recommend taking one of the special Mazatlan "Pulmonias" (which are sort of a hybrid jeep/golf cart) along the Malecon to the Golden Zone for lunch.

Puerto Vallarta - the most walkable thing is the giant Walmart across the street from the pier. (Don't laugh, great deals on vanilla and gifts and souvenirs) The walking-around part is the old town (Zona Romantica) and the Malecon (shoreline road). However you will want to take a cab or Uber for the short distance. You could also take a city bus, but since a bridge is out right now, not all the buses go the usual route. (Note, if you take a cab, the ones right at the pier, inside the gate are almost twice as expensive as the regular cabs, although they won't tell you that. Go outside the fence and you'll find plenty of cabbies with nice new cars. Negotiate the price in advance.)

Manznillo. There is nothing. Stay on the ship or take a tour to the Tortoise Sanctuary and Salt Museum.

That's my take. 

 

Manzanillo is the oldest port on the West Coast of North America and was founded in the 1500s. It is not a tourist trap. I enjoy walking around the back streets off the main shopping street and watching the interactions of the locals and seeing what is in the shops and at the street vendors stalls.

[cruisingrob21]

The Pacifico brewery tour offered a few years back was really fun.  The brewery is very old, but since Pacifico is owned by InBev (I think) its interesting to see how they have attempted to "standardize" the brewery to modern safety standards.  The attention to detail to these things was almost as impressive as the brewery tour, IE uneven cobblestone stairs had patches and additional wood shims to make it more level and the stair height and tread more uniform.  The brewery tasting room had a great view of Mazatlan.

 

After the tour, we were taken to a ceviche bar on the beach near the Zona Dorada (food was okay, but I ordered nachos rather than something uncooked yet washed in the local water supply).  There was some guy who ordered a 400 peso "Ceviche Ark" which was literally a terra cotta ark filled to the brim with ceviche.  He seemed surprised but he had to know that 400 pesos was like $20 so he was going to be a getting a lot of food.  And then after that, we were running late, but they still took us to a shopping mall - I think we were all ready to head back to the ship but we were offered tequilla and free trinkets obviously in the hopes that we would buy something.  We ended up getting back about 90 minutes late.  It does not appear that princess offers this tour anymore which is somewhat of a shame, the brewery was great and there was a lot of interesting history about german migrants bringing their brewing traditions to mexico where they were modified.  However, I won't miss the ceviche restaurant or the semi forced shopping.

Edited December 14, 2021 by cruisingrob21

[mpdog42]

15 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

The Pacifico brewery tour offered a few years back was really fun.  The brewery is very old, but since Pacifico is owned by InBev (I think) its interesting to see how they have attempted to "standardize" the brewery to modern safety standards.  The attention to detail to these things was almost as impressive as the brewery tour, IE uneven cobblestone stairs had patches and additional wood shims to make it more level and the stair height and tread more uniform.  The brewery tasting room had a great view of Mazatlan.

 

After the tour, we were taken to a ceviche bar on the beach near the Zona Dorada (food was okay, but I ordered nachos rather than something uncooked yet washed in the local water supply).  There was some guy who ordered a 400 peso "Ceviche Ark" which was literally a terra cotta ark filled to the brim with ceviche.  He seemed surprised but he had to know that 400 pesos was like $20 so he was going to be a getting a lot of food.  And then after that, we were running late, but they still took us to a shopping mall - I think we were all ready to head back to the ship but we were offered tequilla and free trinkets obviously in the hopes that we would buy something.  We ended up getting back about 90 minutes late.  It does not appear that princess offers this tour anymore which is somewhat of a shame, the brewery was great and there was a lot of interesting history about german migrants bringing their brewing traditions to mexico where they were modified.  However, I won't miss the ceviche restaurant or the semi forced shopping.

Wonder if you can still a tour of the brewery tour if you took a taxi?

[cruisingrob21]

2 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

Wonder if you can still a tour of the brewery tour if you took a taxi?

At the time, I looked into that since the brewery is right in town and the other parts of the tour because ceviche and "chauffeured"/herded shopping is not really what I like to "pay" to do on a tour.  At the time, there were no tours that I could determine that were offered to the public.  If I recall we did have to bring passports which were scanned for identification and had to attest to a few things beyond the normal tour disclaimer.  So I'm thinking that public tours are not offered.  

[mpdog42]

3 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

At the time, I looked into that since the brewery is right in town and the other parts of the tour because ceviche and "chauffeured"/herded shopping is not really what I like to "pay" to do on a tour.  At the time, there were no tours that I could determine that were offered to the public.  If I recall we did have to bring passports which were scanned for identification and had to attest to a few things beyond the normal tour disclaimer.  So I'm thinking that public tours are not offered.  

Great Thanks!

[jer_l]

On 12/12/2021 at 12:03 PM, BobnJan66 said:

We booked a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera for next April as a replacement cruise for one cancelled due to COVID. It is celebration of our 50th anniversary. We rarely cruise, so are looking forward to any tips and tricks that anyone wants to pass along. For example, we are unsure about what excursions, if any, we want to book, and if we book them, can they be cancelled if we change our mind. We love to walk through towns, explore the history and scenery etc., so are wondering whether any of the three ports (Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) are especially conducive to strolling directly from the dockside. Thanks!

If you have a balcony and the weather is conducive, I would recommend doing the balcony dining to celebrate. We’ve done it twice and it was a highlight of the cruise each time. 
 

We often stay on the ship when in Cabo, but a couple of years ago we did take a tour that went to San Jose del Cabo. The tour was very informative about the history of the area. There were a few stops where we were able to walk around and see some historical sights. 
 

When in Mazatlan we have walked to old town and have also taken a pulmonia for $10. If taking a pulmonia you can ask to be let off at Plaza Machado. We’ve had lunch at a few different restaurants there. You can also visit the  Angela Peralta Theater (historic opera house) at the plaza.  We always visit a local family owned shop called Nidart which is about a block from the opera house down a brick walkway as I recall.  We’ve purchased several leather masks over the years from them. From the Plaza it is short walk to the cathedral and the public market in one direction or to the seaside in another direction. On ship days there usually are expats (all in blue shirts the last time we visited) in the plaza that will give you directions. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by jer_l
Mispelling

[Hlitner]

On 12/13/2021 at 2:59 PM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Happy 50th!  Personally, there isn't much we haven't seen this side of Mexico at this point so our next trip we don't even plan on getting off of the ship.  Mexico just isn't what it used to be and unless you are doing an organized excursion, I would use caution.  Check the US State Department's travel warnings for Mexico. 

An interesting point of view which we would disagree.  I can only speak to Puerto Vallarta (and its' region) having lived there for the past 16 winters (about 10 weeks a year).  In the PV region there are somewhere between 50,000 - 60,000 Americans/Canadians that call the region their home or winter home.   There are many reasons why so many "gringos" love living in this region and either returning year after year or simply living there for much of the year.   I can also tell you that we (and are friends) who live in PV never use "excursions" anymore then folks would use excursions to move around their homes north of the border.   While some excursions make sense for a portion of cruise passengers or short-term visitors it is actually quite easy to enjoy the various Mexican Riviera ports on one's own.  All the usual ports are very tourist-oriented with lots of options for visitors be it just going to a beach, shopping, or trying different "activities."  

 

I am not a big fan of the State Department Warnings (in terms of Mexico) because they are often not specific enough in terms of breaking down parts of various regions.  But careful reading does reveal some interesting trends.  So while our State Department has often had warnings about the Mexican State of Jalisco (which contains Puerto Vallarta) they will often specifically Exclude PV from most of their warnings.  It is the same with several other Mexican Riviera ports where there is a big difference between the safety in the tourist areas vs moving outside the normally visited (and populated) areas.  Folks should always be on their alert for the usual street crime (i,e. pick pockets, purse snatchers, etc) which exists everywhere in the world and also be aware that in Mexico just about everything is negotiable and there is "gringo pricing" and also cruise passenger pricing (which I would call "gringo plus").   As is normal many vendors (and taxis) will often "see a cruise passenger as an easy mark" be it places like Diamonds International, a local taxi, or street vendor.  This can often extend to cruise ship excursions which are often (not always) overpriced for what is offered.

 

Hank

[Coffeeluvr05]

@Hlitner thanks for your point of view.  Puerto Vallarta is actually my favorite of Mexican Riviera ports.  I just think it's the most beautiful!  I can see someone like you would have a familiarity with the area.  I think that makes a difference in having a feeling of safety too.  I think that's funny what you said about the different gringo pricing... "Gringo Plus" lol!  

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

@Hlitner thanks for your point of view.  Puerto Vallarta is actually my favorite of Mexican Riviera ports.  I just think it's the most beautiful!  I can see someone like you would have a familiarity with the area.  I think that makes a difference in having a feeling of safety too.  I think that's funny what you said about the different gringo pricing... "Gringo Plus" lol!  

I will repeat a true tale that I previously posted a few years ago.  One year we had visitors to our PV Condo and decided to take them out to lunch at an out-of-town restaurant.  We needed a taxi so I walked ahead of our little group to a popular local taxi stand to "negotiate" a price.  The driver quickly told me $300 Pesos (about $15) and my quick response was "I am not a cruise ship passenger and live over there (pointing to our large Condo building).  The driver immediately laughed and said "Senor, for you it is only $200 pesos)."  To be honest, those of us who consider Mexico our home (part or full time) find this kind of thing somewhat charming and just part of the culture.    I will admit that when we were living in PV last winter (during the worst part of the COVID pandemic) we often paid "gingo prices" or more without any attempt at negotiating to a lower price.  DW and I truly love Mexico and the Mexicans and will often do our part in supporting the locals and their businesses.  Paying a few more Pesos is not going to change my life but it may be very important to the local.  These folks are really hurting (due to the economic consequences of COVID) and desperately need our support.

 

Hank

[bonsai3s]

Happy 50th Anniversary!

We are currently onboard the Navigator of the Seas...Cabo, Mazatlan, & PV.

 

If you love to walk or simply DIY, all 3 ports are conducive to leisrely walks. Here's what we've done...

Cabo:  You'll tender into the wharf area. We've walked (to the right) the entire boardwalk...restaurants, bars, vendors along the way. You can stop in town and go back...or keep going until the boardwalk ends at the beach. About 1.5 miles each way.

Or, turn left, walk about 12 minutes and enjoy a local beach...about half mile each way.

 

Mazatlan: A free shuttle was provided by Royal Caribbean from the ship to the cruise terminal. Outside, there are many drivers offering their services. We politely say "No, gracias", and keep on walking outside the gate. As someone already posted, there is a clearly visible "blue line" (actually 6 blue lines together) on the sidewalk for cruise passengers to follow. It will take you to the center of town (20-25 minute walk)...there are police officers, and expats all wearing "blue shirts", tourism volunteers who are there to help you if you are lost (they are not trying to sell you anything).

At the end of the blue line, you can turn left on Calle Aleman and head to the beach/boardwalk. We walked straight up Carnivale street, to the Basilica of Immaculate Conception. After a restful visit inside the church, we walked through the park (look at the statue of Christ the Redeemer, and walk towards where he's looking) and walked right towards the beach using Calle Angel Flores until it dead ends on the beach. You can walk along a very nice beach promenade/sidewalk...there you'll see a large public swimming pool and the cliff divers a short distance to the right.

Puerto Vallarta: Yes, there is a mall, Sam's Club, and Walmart directly across the street from the cruise terminal. We took the local bus (runs every 10 minutes, take any bus saying "Centro"), 50 cents each way, the bus driver readily accepted  a 1 dollar bill for the both of us. We got off near the boardwalk/beach area and enjoyed a leisurely walk along the beach. On the way back, simply take any bus with a sign to "Walmart"...bus stops at Walmart...be careful crossing the street and you're back at the cruise terminal.

 

[latserrof]

20 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

 On the way back, simply take any bus with a sign to "Walmart"

 

 

[latserrof]

Mostly true, but I think PV has several Walmarts.  A few years ago we mistakenly took a bus to the wrong Walmart, and it was another bus ride and a long walk back to the ship.

[Ine]

13 hours ago, latserrof said:

 

Apart from the Walmart sign also check for e.g. Sams or airport or you might go to a different Walmart!

[bonsai3s]

37 minutes ago, Ine said:

Apart from the Walmart sign also check for e.g. Sams or airport or you might go to a different Walmart!

Ine...yes, thank you. I neglected that important detail.

When we took the bus back, the digital/moving sign above the window of the bus said "Airport"...there was another non-digital sign below the bus' front window that said walmart. And, just to make sure, we asked the driver "Walmart/cruise terminal?"...he said "Si". 

[iancal]

We ignore many of the Gov't warnings, and take heed of others.  Many seem CYA and political in nature.  Especially the ones for Europe and parts of Asia.

 

Our last extended trip,  pre covid,  was seven weeks of independent travel in Mexico.  Merida, Cancun, Playa etc for two weeks.   Then five weeks traveling up the coast from Huatulco to PV.   Usually  by bus stopping in various places for 5-7 days.  Including  a week in Acapulco. Most plane routes up the coast involve flying via MEX which we like to avoid when possible.   We had to end in PV and return home early because of covid.  Two stars to six stars, plus B&B's.  We enjoyed it so much and plan to do it again.

 

Never felt unsafe, never threatened.   Went out at night in Acapulco to eat...no issues.  It has been cleaned up.    We are both nudging 70 years of age.

 

We always are very aware of our surroundings and stay in areas where there are other people about.

 

Frankly, we are just as concerned about our personal safety  and crime in some  US  cities as we are when in Mexico.

Edited December 28, 2021 by iancal

[Hlitner]

On 12/28/2021 at 8:42 AM, Ine said:

Apart from the Walmart sign also check for e.g. Sams or airport or you might go to a different Walmart!

Ine,   Are you in PV now?  

 

Hank

[Ine]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Ine,   Are you in PV now?  

 

Hank

not yet, arriving in about 2 weeks !!

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, Ine said:

not yet, arriving in about 2 weeks !!

That is wonderful and we are delighted that you two can make the long trek :).  We are heading to PV tomorrow.  Please give us a shout once you are back in town and settled.  Kathy and I are looking forward to getting together.

 

Hank