Mex Riviera: Royal Caribbean's Love Boat Route

[RCCL Fan]

In my continued quest to "find something new" in cruising, we decided to book Navigator to the Mexican Riviera.

 

I've never been on the pacific coast of mexico, and thought it would be fun to see what it has to offer.

 

I got my first taste of cruising watching Gopher, Doc, and Isaac sail each week to Mazatlan, Cabo, &Puerto Vallarta but outside of what I saw on ABC each week, I am clueless. 

 

My travel agent said, "don't expect the white sand beaches you're used to in St. Maarten and the Bahamas"  this is less beach time and more exploring.

 

OK.....

 

Outside of that, I have NO CLUE what to do. 

 

What do you suggest?   I love to book private excursions when possible.

 

We're in our early 40's    two girls (8 and 13) and bringing some friends similar ages.

 

We're not big sit on a charter bus and do city tour people,  and we're not doing a 150 mph speedboat or jungle exploration, need a happy medium.  

 

I hear I should do whale watching at some point, but outside of that.  I'd love to hear from my RCI peeps  what you enjoy, suggest, loved and hated in Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. 

[Seville2Cabo]

Cabo

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

26 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

I hear I should do whale watching at some point, 

This this this!! Cabo whale watching excursions have been some of my favorites. There was one in particular on an old sailboat (as in several hundred years old) that was just fantastic. The passengers even got to help with the sails. 

 

I did that itinerary fairly often when I lived in the West, but none of the other excursions really knocked my socks off, especially if you're not into city tours (I did one in Puerto Vallarta that was worth doing once). Definitely don't bother with scuba diving--it's nothing like the Caribbean.

[smarterman64]

Puerto Vallarta you can take a taxi out to the malecon or boardwalk. IT's plenty busy there. 

 

Mazatlan, you can walk to the old town. There are points of interests that are walkable or a short taxi walk away.  

 

Cabo - hands down whale watching. 

[brillohead]

In Cabo you can just grab someone as you get off the tender and get your own boat/driver for the whole day for like $100. 

 

You can have them take you to tour the rocks (one formation looks like Scooby Doo!), go look at whales, stop at a beach and swim (you can snorkel, too, but there's really nothing to look at other than regular looking fish -- nothing like the colors of the Caribbean), watch the sea lions harass the fishermen for their spare fish parts, etc.  

[Ashland]

You'll love the Mexican Riviera and Navigator. Our home and favorite port is San Pedro.

 

It's this itinerary in the early 1990's that started our addiction to cruising with RCI even though it was on the Viking Serenade and then the Vision...my how the ships have changed.

 

We waited a long time for RCI to return to our coast and so happy to have Navigator. Sailed on her in January and will be sailing again this coming January.

 

These ports are so friendly and easy to manage. After sailing to these ports many many times they never get old. Actually an excursion isn't even necessary. 

 

Enjoy...you won't be sorry.

 

 

[royalcedars]

We did a food tour in Puerto Vallarta with Vallarta Food Tours and it was amazing!  We learned about the history of the area and the history of the food as we walked around and stopped at 8 different places for some delicious food.  One of the best tours we have been on.

[Sianli]

4 hours ago, Ashland said:

You'll love the Mexican Riviera and Navigator. Our home and favorite port is San Pedro.

 

It's this itinerary in the early 1990's that started our addiction to cruising with RCI even though it was on the Viking Serenade and then the Vision...my how the ships have changed.

 

We waited a long time for RCI to return to our coast and so happy to have Navigator. Sailed on her in January and will be sailing again this coming January.

 

These ports are so friendly and easy to manage. After sailing to these ports many many times they never get old. Actually an excursion isn't even necessary. 

 

Enjoy...you won't be sorry.

 

 

What activities do you suggest for San Pedro? Or what restaurants/walks?

[klfhngr]

I've done the MR cruise over 10 times. I've posted here in CC under MR section, look for my post, I made a few suggestions for all the stops.

[Coralc]

22 hours ago, Sianli said:

What activities do you suggest for San Pedro? Or what restaurants/walks?

There is not a lot to do there, but there is some stuff. https://www.daytrippen.com/san-pedro-waterfront-los-angeles-day-trip/

[joeyancho]

Zip line in PV.   But your TA is correct. It is nothing like the Caribbean.   

[bedfordmom]

I did the Mexican Rivera on the Navigator about ten years ago and loved it. Totally agree that the beaches are not as nice but the ports felt so different in a good way than the Caribbean. For Cabo we took a boat shuttle to a local beach and rented jet skiis. For PV we did a independent zip line tour with a well known company, sorry can’t remember the name. It was 1/2 price of the ship. For Mazatlan we hired Matzatlan Frank for a private tour of that area as there was 8 of us. 

[bedfordmom]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:57 AM, Sianli said:

What activities do you suggest for San Pedro? Or what restaurants/walks?

For San Pedro we hired a car and drove to six flags for the day as we had annual passes. We then drove back to LAX, dropped off the car there and spent the night at the airport Hilton for our early am flight 

[3kidsncats]

San Pedro is also my home port, and we have done this itinerary at least 5 times.  We have also done  (and have one booked end of next month) the shorter 3 or 4 day trips.  But, we don’t book a lot in the way of excursions.  I did a very extensive review on our NCL trip back in 2016, which has a lot of port stuff if you feel like checking it out, link in my signature NCL Jewel Haven 2016 — just scroll past all the ship stuff.  Be mindful that there has been an uptick recently of violence in these ports (Mexico generally, but lately even in Ensenada, Cabo, etc) — so pay attention to advisories, and don’t explore on your own anywhere that isn’t super touristy.

 

In Cabo, you will be bombarded by hawkers selling boat transport/tours, jewelry, “the best restaurant” etc.  The further you walk from the ship, to your right and around the harbor, the better the pricing becomes.  We had a great experience and pricing by walking about halfway around the harbor to the less frenzied tour people.  (This is included in the review I mentioned along with Divorce Beach and the arches).  We have a pretty casual routine with our friends at this point of just hitting Cabo Wabo (I like their shrimp tacos) right at opening, then a few specific shops as we walk back.  

 

Mazatlan has the Blue Line from the port entrance that you can walk to take you to the center of the historic town (in review).  At the end of the line, you will find a group of expats with maps and helpful info for you.  The cathedral is lovely, as are some of the squares where you can have a nice meal outside with very festive atmosphere.

 

Puerto Vallarta I suggest the Malecon (in review 2016) via cab.  We took the bus, but these days I would opt for the taxi instead.  There is also usually an excursion to Las Caletas that we LOVE.  It’s pricey but worth it.  We’ve done it a couple of times now.  The kids will love it, no beggars, tour operator is safety conscious and does a great job.  Included food is very good, massage upgrade was awesome, but I did drink way too much tequila (open bar included).  They have a website where you can get more info, just google las Caletas.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by 3kidsncats
Correct a detail

[Ashland]

On 9/16/2022 at 3:57 AM, Sianli said:

What activities do you suggest for San Pedro? Or what restaurants/walks?

I'm sure someone can help with that but it's our home port and we just drive (45 min) and get on the ship.

[3kidsncats]

On 9/16/2022 at 3:57 AM, Sianli said:

What activities do you suggest for San Pedro? Or what restaurants/walks?

I will add to the opinion that San Pedro is not a hub of activities.  If you are there for a full day, consider an outing somewhere in the greater LA area, with the understanding that that would involve traffic, and most likely a drive of some distance. We often stay at the CrownePlaza the night before and get their parking package, and walk to the Green Onion (I think that’s the name) for dinner.  We aren’t going ahead for our upcoming trip though, as the package value is not there when doing a shorter cruise (parking cost at World Cruise Center vs cost of room/package).  You could go over to the Long Beach area and visit the Queen Mary and some attractions over that way. 

[Itried4498]

I also live in the Los Angeles area, and most of our cruising has been locally.  When traveling to PV, it will be cool (and if traveling in the winter, almost cold) your first and last sea days pretty much year round.  The trip north is notorious for being windy and rocky, especially in the spring.  The good news is that it’ll be very sunny - unless you’re traveling in the summer (cloud coverage along the coast is a thing here, and keeps the temps down), then it’s hit or miss.  The other good news is that the Navigator has a covered deck (at least for adults).

 

I mention this only because I’m shocked at the number of non-locals who complain and say ‘never again’ because they expect Florida-like weather.  Of course, you can’t predict the weather.  When we went for Valentine’s week (different cruise line) there was a heat wave and it was very warm the first sea day (which was Super Bowl Sunday and featured Los Angeles in the game - a day we won’t forget).

[Lorey2007]

Cabo - we walked a ways down the marina and got a 1-1 1.2  hour boat tour out to the arch and beaches for $40 for 2 of us.

 

Mazatlan - We took a RCL bus tour, do not do. I would just crab a taxi and have them take you around to some of the tourist spots. We liked the cliff divers and the Beatles statues crossing the street.

 

Puerto Vallarta - crab a taxi at the pier and have them take you to the Malecon. 

[neverbeenhere]

I’m good with the above statement. 

 

[crzndeb]

Being originally from San Diego, and always living on the West coast, I have done Mexican Riviera many times, going back to 1984 on Sitmar, when it was longer and different ports. We are on the same cruise @RCCL Fanand going with my family. I always go to Gordo Lele’s (just a block up from Cabo Waco) in

Cabo for authentic, cheap tacos, and Javier is the best. Planning on an independent whale watching this time, while fam goes elsewhere.
I have gone zip lining twice with Los Veranos Canopy Tour, and they are awesome.

If you want some ideas, check ParoDeeJay vlog on YouTube. They have some good tips on excursions in Mexico.