Pirate Ship in PV via the Star

[mattR]

Has anyone done the Pirate Ship tour in PV this year comming off the Star?

 

Did you do it through the ship or privatly?

 

The tour company says it starts at 9am but the Star dosn't get into port until 10am.

 

My brother has 7 in his party so would be great if he could book privatly to save a good chunck of change but don't know if this is possible with the time problem?

[BeachBumMama]

You might have better luck searching the Ports of Call board for PV. Lot's of info there.

[psbtrvlr]

Has anyone done the Pirate Ship tour in PV this year comming off the Star?

 

Did you do it through the ship or privatly?

 

The tour company says it starts at 9am but the Star dosn't get into port until 10am.

 

My brother has 7 in his party so would be great if he could book privatly to save a good chunck of change but don't know if this is possible with the time problem?

 

We did a land based trip to PV and went on the Pirate Ship. There were cruise ship passengers who were also booked on it. Their ship was late getting into port and we waited for them to get there. The Pirate crew said that they have contracts with the cruise ships. If your ship is offering it, and if you book it through them, then the Pirates will be waiting for you.

[gottago2mexico]

Has anyone done the Pirate Ship tour in PV this year comming off the Star?

 

Did you do it through the ship or privatly?

 

The tour company says it starts at 9am but the Star dosn't get into port until 10am.

 

My brother has 7 in his party so would be great if he could book privatly to save a good chunck of change but don't know if this is possible with the time problem?

 

Hi Matt,

 

The Star has always arrived at 9:00 AM - I would check with your ship to verify that, and make sure to verify it is PV local time (CST) and not ship time.

 

If your ship offers the pirate ship, then it will be there waiting for you whether you book privately or with the ship - there is only one pirate ship, and there will be dozens of other people from your ship going on it - they won't leave without you.

 

However, if your ship does not offer the pirate ship, then this is due to a scheduling issue, because the Star normally does offer it.

 

It is very true that you can save a chunk of change by booking it privately, and there will be no difference in the tour. It's only a short walk from the cruise ship over to the pirate ship.

 

Hope this helps clear things up, have a great time!

[panda619]

I just visited PV and took the pirate ship tour on the 13th. I booked it through the Diamond Princess. It was very entertaining and the pirates were very accomodating. They served breakfast for anybody who wanted it and then lunch. The food actually was very tasty. It took about an hour or so to get to the cove where you snorkel and or swim or sunbathe. The currents were pretty strong that day so we were not able to snorkel. Now you do have to get on one of their little dinghy's if that is what they are called. They are motorized and they take you from the pirate ship as close to the shore as possible but you do have to jump out of the dingy into the water. So make sure you have on proper shoes to accomodate the water. Also when you leave, you have to jump back into the dinghy, also requiring going into the water. My SIL, who went with me also actually almost got swept under the dinghy by the water while trying to get out as the current was a little strong, so be careful. That was the only downfall that I felt. They only served drinks on the cove as well, so if you want snacks of any kind, make sure you bring those also. On the pirate ship they do serve lunch. It was a great excursion, and I would be willing to do it again.

[mattR]

Thanks for the info!!

[Perky1]

Panda.... if you didn't book it through the ship would you be able to just walk off and pay as you got on the Pirate Ship. Do you know if they were exclusive for the Diamond Princess or could you book it on your own. We have it booked throught the Dawn Princess but you can get it for about $20 less pp on your own. Any thoughts?

[panda619]

No, this excursion is not exclusive just for Diamond Princess. There were two other cruise lines out there at port and those people were on it also. I do not know if you can just walk up and pay. I didn't see anything for that. The pirates were waiting outside on the dock when our ship came in. They asked for our vouchers. I didn't see anybody pay them cash. I'm not saying that is not possible, i'm just not aware of it. I do see online though that there are other companies that sell those tickets. So yes, definately if you can get them cheaper go for it. I don't see where that would be a problem. I pulled up a site www.puertovallartatours.net and they sell those tickets for a little cheaper. I don't quite remember how much I paid for that excursion through the ship. There is an 800 number on that site that you can call if you decide to book with them. The price of their ticket is $63.00 pr adult. I want to say I paid about $69 or $70. For that little bit of a saving's, I probably would of just done it through the ship anyways just to make sure. But thats me. I'm sure the company I listed above is just fine. If you found it for $20 less pp then go with that company for sure. that I would definately do. If I knew that I could of gotten it lower I would of done it. But the excursion itself was a lot of fun. If you do go on it, check out the bathroom stalls. That was something to see. Ha Ha.

If there is anything else just let me know. I'm more then happy to help.

 

Adora- AKA Panda

[sdlindsay]

http://www.marigalante.com.mx/

 

We were on the ship from the Diamond last week. I wish I was still there.:D

 

The trip over to the beach is a little longer than it needed to be, and the beach time seemed a bit too short, but overall a fun time.

The show is really geared towards children, so if you are travelling with young'ns, they'll like it.

It also has an unlimited bar for adults.

 

PV time is one hour ahead of what ship time was. We met the pirates at the pier and boarded the ship immediately, but it was an hour before we set "sail".

 

Have fun!

[Perky1]

Thanks Panda. We are going to stick with the ship's booking. That way we are all sure to get it. One more question. Is there enough seating on the Ship for people to sit down? My friend has a bad back and cannot stand all the time. She would need to sit with a seat with a back rest. thanks

[panda619]

Yes, there is plenty of seating for everybody. The only thing is, that you are sitting on wooden benches. when you first leave the dock you are sitting on life jackets to make it a little bit more comfortable but when you come back you are pretty much just sitting on the benches. i don't think that there was a seat with a back rest other then maybe sitting up against the boat and maybe leaning that way. And there was definately no back rest on the little dingy's that you have to take to get to the cove that they go to. But I think your friend will be o.k. Please let me know if there is anything else.

 

Thanks,

Adora

[sdlindsay]

In this picture taken from the Diamond, all of the people you see aft of the forward mast are sitting on benches. There are 3 levels. I don't remember specifically and seats the had a backrest, but the pirates are very accommodating and I'm sure can find a way to let you sit comfortably.

[sdlindsay]

Heres the pic.

[Perky1]

Heres the pic.

 

 

LOL..... no it's not... but would love to see a picture

[sdlindsay]

http://www.7ent.com/newmini/images2/pvpirate-balc.jpg

[Perky1]

thanks:D .. I read your review and you didn't seem overly impressed with the Pirate Ship. We have a group of 8 or more adults all going. Do you think it's gearded too much to kids?

[cdnguy]

Thanks for that picture of the pirate ship. We're also part of that group with Perky1 in the last post.

 

The picture of the ship makes it look rather crowded. I realize the picture was probably not taken during your tour but did you find it overly crowded?

Also, we're not exactly "spring chickens" and my wife is a bit concerned about getting from the ship to the dinghy. In the past, on other pirate ships, we've used rope ladders which she finds difficult to use. Are rope ladders used on this ship?

 

Appreciate your help on this.

[goat rancher]

Can't speak for the day cruise, but the evening dinner cruise on the Marigalante was a lot of fun.. There were children on it but probably not as many as there would be during the day. It was geared primarily for adults, but was "clean" type stuff. Slapstick comedy was the order of the day and it was just a lot of fun...being silly and relaxing....

(We went on it in Sept. 2005 while on the Carnival Pride mexican riviera cruise). Based on our memories of that trip, we plan to go AGAIN....this time we are going to take the daytime cruise. We are bringing a 5 year old nephew in our group....we expect the pirates to entertain the little ones, like him and we expect, since it is daytime, that there will be a higher percentage of the activities and jokes geared to the kids....and that in itself is fun to watch.., but we also expect they will be up to their 'adult, but clean" humor just as on the evening trip. Aaaargghhh...it is time to go a piratin' again :)

[sdlindsay]

Puerto Vallarta in nestled in a huge bay surrounded by lush jungle. The shoreline it dottted with white sand beaches, beautiful rock formations, magnificient resorts. You get the picture. I was more interested in taking in the sights and enjoying where I was, than being on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. The way the show is set-up, you are obligated to pay attention, even possibly unwillingly participate. This is all good fun, especially after a few cocktails. I just felt the fact I was in a picturesque setting in a foreign country was lost.

 

The picture was taken by my mother from her balcony of our actual tour.

It was not uncomfortably crowded, but as you can see they don't waste much space.

 

They use regular wooden stairs wet from the sea to load you to the tenders. Several people required help in and out, but I think everyone who wanted off got off.

[cruisin'mama]

I was on the Marigalante on Friday. We were on the Norwegian Star's booked excursion that we paid $78 for. There were already people onboard the pirate ship when they led the people from our ship over to board. It was crowded and we were directed to the top deck. From there we could not see the show or hear very well. Also there was some problem with their normal beach and they took us to a different beach that was really tiny and only had enough chairs for maybe 1/2 the people. The people on the lower decks were able to get tendered off first and get the chairs so by the time we got off, we had to just scrounge for an open spot of sand to lay out our towels. I am fairly athletic, but when getting off the little tender boat into the water, my leg hit the side of the boat really hard and my leg still is bruised and hurts! Everything was definately geared toward the 5-10 year old crowd which is ok. The food was ok and the drinks were good. It took us about 2 hours to get to the beach and by the time we got back into P.V., it was time to reboard the ship so we didn't get to do anything else, not even a little shopping. I was really excited to do this excursion, but I don't think I would ever do it again. But I do think the people on the lower deck had fun.