for those of you that have used los veranos in PV...

[4cees]

Let's try it this way:

 

1. Are advance reservations needed? Would it be unwise to just get off the ship, grab a cab to the tour office and book there? Or were they really full?

A: I think you should make advanced reservations. I tried to change my time by one hour and couldn't because it was full.

 

2. Do they accept credit card payment at the office?

A: I don't know. I paid by paypal online, and got confirmation of payment and reservation confirmation also.

 

3. Are there cabs that hold 6 people or will we need to get 2 cabs? There are some suburban type of SUVs, but mostly Altima types of sedans.

 

4. If so are the cab fares per person, or per cab?

A: Not sure exactly how they do it; I think it is per person. It is highly recommended that you confirm the total amount before you get in.

 

5. What type of tip for the guides at the end of the zip lines is typical?

A: I'm not sure what is typical, I think we tipped $10-20 for the 2 of us.

 

6. Is it clear what time the last bus leaves from the tour area back to the office?

A: No set schedule; I think they just have a bus on a drop off/pick up loop. We were late for "our" tour return bus because we stuck around for the DVD. But another came soon enough without any problems.

 

7. Is the restaraunt there good and reasonably priced, or should we bring snacks and plan on eating back in the main part of town?

A: Not sure; the reviews I've read were so-so. I knew which taco stand I was going to anyhow before hand. We just had power bars to get us by until we got our taco.

[kidfanz]

Thanks so much for all your help and answers.

[Mitnos]

I think the zip line sounds like a blast and would love to try it but I have one problem, I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. I'm concerned that I will get on the platform and then freeze up, therefore I have been afraid to attempt a zip line. Please explain how you start down the zip line. How do you transition from the platform to the line. Do I have to jump off?!?

[jaycee200]

Just wanted to comment a bit more on the OP's original question. My sister really wanted to do the Zip Lining, but I'm afraid of heights and am WAY over the weight limit restrictions, so I chose to go along and pay the $20 to take the shuttle to the restaurant/beach area.

 

I know my sister had a MUCH better day than I did, but I must say, I had a really nice relaxing day. I ordered some nachos and a Sprite at the restaurant, and looked out across the water and beach area and watched some kids playing. A little while later, one of of the workers brought out a HUGE trantula spider and asked some of the restaurant guests if they wanted to hold it. FREAKED ME OUT watching one of the guests put it in his hand and then on his head, but I was deeply enthralled :). There was the water slide, which one lady was brave enough to go down (looked fun, but the water had to be UNBELIEVABLY cold... I wasnt that brave!) watched a deer drink at the water's edge, enjoyed the forest and watched the monkeys, and the other caged animals (the trantula, some scorpions, etc).

 

Sorry, a long post to say my sister had a BLAST and I really thought it was worth $20 to hang out at the restaurant and beach area (and not try to find something to do by myself in town :) ) Plus I got to take a picture of her as she landed (thus saving ourselves the $40 in pics ;) )

[4cees]

If I recall correctly, we were double tethered. The main harness line to a "pulley" and the second was a back up safety line attached to the zip line. The lines and pulley felt completely safe. You are "geared up" at the beginning, with a harness that goes around your legs and waste, and given a helmet and gloves.

 

At the beginning of each line, your guide takes your pulley (which you carry with you from line to line), and places it on the line, along with the back up line. You then get your harness line strapped to the pulley. To start, basically all you do bring your legs up and lean back, and your weight is transferred to the line. The guides will hold you in position until your ready and let you go. Really simple. No jumping, really.

 

There were children in our tour, and senior folks. There must have been at least 10 people over 50. If I were to guess, I would say well over 50% were not in the adreneline junky crowd. I never felt unsafe at all. If you are petrified at heights, you might balk at first. If you just have an uncomfortable fear, then you will have no problems in my opinion. I've read about others (tripadvisor.com) that were afraid of heights and loved it.

[O2Bcrusin]

We did this with our 5 children and son in law (ages 14 to 31) at the end of March. It ws great. One suggestions is to bring a bandana to wear under the helmet. Just a little protection from lice since I don't think they clean the helmets between uses. Zip lining was a lot of fun and our whole family enjoyed it. We felt safe at all the times. Getting to the "office" was no problem at all. Just took a van/shuttle. Can't remember the price but it wasn't that expensive for all 8 of us. Three are two different colors of taxi's and the people from Los Veranos suggested one over the other but I can't remember which one right now. If you call them I am sure they can tell you. After the tour we enjoyed the little area they had with the animals. They had a giant snake and really cute monkeys. The zookeeper gave us each a bamboo tube and filled it with some sort of misture that the monkeys loved. When they let all of us in the cage to feed them one of the monkeys jumped on my DH's head and reached down into the tube to get the food out. After that some of my kids decided to swim. There really wasn't a lot of time after zip lining to do too many activities because we were worried about getting the bus back to have some time in town. When we were getting on the bus to go back they told us it was full and we would have to take the next one in an hour. That was cutting it too close for me so I insisited that this was the bus we needed to be on to get back to the ship. They did end up letting us on and my DH and I sat up front with the driver. Looking back we probably would have made it back to the ship in time but wouldn't have had any time in town. All in all it was the highlght of our trip and I would do it again in a minute.

[joycefnp]

We are so excited!!!! Getting to hold or feed monkeys just makes it even better! How long did it all take total? I think the ship is in port until about 10 pm, but we would like time in town too.

[O2Bcrusin]

It probably took about 4 hours. You need to get to their office a little early. We waited there for about 20 minutes. If you are leaving port at 10 you should have plenty of time to do everything. Book online on your own and you will save lots of money.

[stressdmum]

I sent a reservation request to Los Veranos about a week ago and have not heard anything from them yet. I sent another e-mail a couple of days ago asking about the status of my reservation and still nothing. If I hear nothing in the next day or so I will just call; trying to avoid that to get the "15% off for booking online" deal. For those of you who have booked directly through them, are they normally a bit slow responding? We really want to do this tour, and their are five of us, so I want to get the reservation confirmed and paid for. Our cruise is only about 3 weeks away. Thanks for any input!

[4cees]

They were pretty good in their communication to me. To make sure we're talking about the same company/website, here's the one I used:

 

http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/

 

I would recommend calling ASAP as I understand their tours book up pretty fast.

[stressdmum]

4cees: That is the place I've been contacting. I finally got my reservation! It is for noon, instead of 11am, which is what I originally wanted. The earlier one was full. I guess we can sleep in a bit more that day. Our ship leaves at 8pm; does that still give us enough time taking the later tour? The kids want to stay a bit and swim & play with monkeys! We'll head right back to the ship after. I'm a bit confused with the whole ship time/PV time thing, so I'll have to figure that out!

[4cees]

Did they email confirmation and proof of payment? They asked me to bring a print out of that which we did, and we had no problems whatsoever.

 

You should have plenty of time. We took the 11 a.m. tour, waited afterwards for almost an hour (including playing with the monkeys), bussed back to the office, walked through town, walked around the Isle Cualo (sp), up part of the malecon, and cab back to the ship, and made it by 4:30 p.m.

 

You'll probably want to hydrate up before you go, although they do have water available before a couple of the lines. It'll be warm and partially sunny, with walking and some stairs. I wore shorts and was glad I did; I did have bug deterrent (? my mind is drawing a blank on what it is called!) on, but I'll never know if I needed it or not as the bugs never bit. :)

[can't wait 2 cruz]

Does anyone know if Los Veranos is the ziplining spot that RCCI uses when you purchase the excursion through the ship? We are booked for October and am really looking forward to it.

[dirtgirl]

Does anyone know if Los Veranos is the ziplining spot that RCCI uses when you purchase the excursion through the ship? We are booked for October and am really looking forward to it.

 

 

No, the cruise tour goes to another area.

[Fenn4Him@comcast.net]

We are sailing on the Pride in 7 days!:D I read all these posts and it seems to me that PV time is one hour ahead of ship time, correct? So, if we dock at 9 (ship time) and make an 11:00 appt. then we should be okay?

 

I am taking myself and my 11 and 14 year old sons. My husband and 3 year old son will wait for us at the restaurant area. How long will we actually be ziplining?

 

Also, last question. Does anyone know if any of the trees involved are nut trees??? I have a son with a life threatening allergy. I emailed the company, but haven't heard back yet. I may just book it and then cancel if they deem it unsafe.

 

THanks for any info you may have.

[MSN-Travelers]

We are sailing on the Pride in 7 days!:D I read all these posts and it seems to me that PV time is one hour ahead of ship time, correct? So, if we dock at 9 (ship time) and make an 11:00 appt. then we should be okay?

 

I am taking myself and my 11 and 14 year old sons. My husband and 3 year old son will wait for us at the restaurant area. How long will we actually be ziplining?

 

Also, last question. Does anyone know if any of the trees involved are nut trees??? I have a son with a life threatening allergy. I emailed the company, but haven't heard back yet. I may just book it and then cancel if they deem it unsafe.

 

THanks for any info you may have.

 

The Pride normally has a published itinerary putting the ship in Vallarta at 8 AM with a scheduled departure of 10 PM. (I haven't been able to find the itinerary for your specific sailing.) Every Wednesday, that we have been down there, I watch the ship arrive between 7:30 & 8:00 AM. This gives ample time for passengers to get off and hook up with the 9 AM water based excursions that leave from the dock area.

 

In any event, you are correct, ship's time will be one hour ahead of local time. The folks at Los Veranos recommend cruisers sign up for the 11 AM (local time) tour. This will give you plenty of time to make your way off the ship and take whatever ground transportation you want to the tour office (even if you have two hours vs. three).

 

You have a tendency to lose track of time while on the lines. I would estimate that the time involved, including the safety briefing, is roughly 1.5 to 2 hrs and the last zip-line brings you back to the restaurant area.

 

I suspect you haven't heard from Los Veranos is because they don't understand the question. I really don't understand what you mean when you ask "Does anyone know if any of the trees involved are nut trees???". This implies that your son could have a reaction just by being near a tree that reproduces by means of a "nut" (i.e.: palm trees that produce a coconut). Vallarta is a tropical rain forest environment. I can't say that I have observed any "nuts" on the ground at the excursion site and actual contact with a tree is somewhat limited.

 

Enjoy!

[Fenn4Him@comcast.net]

Thanks for the information! You were right. I rechecked my info and we do dock at PV at 8 am. So, that means it'll be 9 PV time and if I get verification we are booked at the 11 am that should be plenty of time. :p

 

Thanks for letting me know, too, that my question about tree nuts was confusing. I will email them again with more specifics, but it's good to know that contact with trees is minimal. He is severely allergic and to even touch a tree nut could be potentially fatal, but luckily coconut doesn't fall into his allergy. Its more pecan, almond, macadamia, etc.

 

Thanks again. We are looking forward to this cruise. These boards have really helped!

[dirtgirl]

Sorry, but there is some confusion about ship vs port time.

 

On my first cruise on the Vision, we set the clocks ahead one hour, as Cabo and Mazatlan are one hour ahead of PST (Mountain Time, I think). However, PV is one hour ahead of Cabo and Mazatlan's time - Central Time. We did not change our clocks for PV, so PV was ONE HOUR AHEAD of ship time.

 

On last November's Vision cruise, we changed our clocks one hour ahead twice. The first time before Cabo, and the second time before PV. So, we were the same time as all the ports. Once we started heading back, we changed our clocks back.

 

So, you really need to know what your ship is going to do, and plan your arrival at your excursion accordingly. You would have missed the excursion altogether if you had only moved your clock ahead one hour.;)

[joycefnp]

So if we dock at 8 am ship time then it's 9 am in PV? Oops didn't figure that into the equation. Is 11 am too early then?

[MSN-Travelers]

So if we dock at 8 am ship time then it's 9 am in PV? Oops didn't figure that into the equation. Is 11 am too early then?

 

I don't know why people assume that the whole ship's time vs. local time also applies to published itinerary schedules. The Pride normally arrives in Vallarta just before 8 AM (local time) and normally departs around 10 PM (local time). This is 7 AM & 9 PM Carnival Pride "ship's time".

 

The folks that run Los Veranos recommend cruisers book their 11 AM tour for a number of reasons. It will allow you plenty of time to have a relaxed breakfast aboard the ship, plenty of time to explore and find the transportation method that best suits you and also arrive at their office 15-30 minute early (this will be requested in their tour instructions).

 

A real good planner, aboard the Pride, can do a Los Veranos zipline in the morning (10 or 11 AM), massage at Krystal resort in mid-afternoon and then finish off your stay in Vallarta with a sunset sailboat cruise or Las Caletas-by-Night in the evening.

 

Enjoy!

[joycefnp]

Thanks for the input. Guess I'll keep my 11 am time!

[dirtgirl]

Thanks for the input. Guess I'll keep my 11 am time!

 

 

Just keep in mind that there will be a difference if you only set your clocks forward one hour as opposed to two.;) It sure hurt to lose an hour's sleep twice!:rolleyes:

[joycefnp]

FYI, the Pride didn't change it's time to reflect PV, in case anyone is interested. But there was no problem getting to our 11 am trip, we were early. And this was with 3 girls ages 18 and 20 who DIDN'T want to get up that early! So have no fear with the 11 am tours.

 

Secondly, what a blast that day was!! We all loved it and had a great time. The girls all agreed it was the best day of the trip. The guides are very professional (and very cute, all the girls agreed) I was originally pretty leary of the whole thing, and I loved it.

 

There were 2 cages of monkeys, 2 different kinds. We had to drag my oldest daughter away, and check her purse to make sure that no monkeys "just fell in". We got great pictures.

[Tweety1961]

We just returned from the Vision of the Seas, and we changed the clocks one hour ahead before Cabo & Mazatlan, but didn't change for PV, so the ship is one hour behind PV. I booked Los Veranos, and originally wanted the 11am tour, but they called me back and had to change it to the 10am because some big group was scheduling at the same time I was and it wasn't showing up yet on their computer. I was a little nervous about making it there on time, but no problem. We got off the ship at 8am ship time, 9am PV time and we were at the office by 9:27am, they wanted us there at 9:30. We were on our way back to town by 2pm, PV time. Plenty of time to still shop in town or have lunch. The earlier you go, the less traffic. I was a little nervous with some of the cabs on the way back, they drive like crazy. The yellow cabs charge $8 to the port instead of $4 per person the other cabs charge!

[BEFdoc]

for those of you that have been on the Canopy tour can you tell me about the equipment? Is it a single or double cable system? Did everything seem to be well maintained, checked frequently for problems, knowlegeable guide, etc?

 

Single cable system, cables are steel and you hold on with both hands to handles incorporated into pulley. Unlike climbing rope system you slow down by jigging the pulley back and forth causing friction. Steel cable is louder than traditional rope. Very safety conscious crew and equipment was well maintained.