Mazatlan Stone Island Victors

[ASB&Cruiseluvr]

A quick report that we enjoyed our outing to Stone Island. The directions were "spot on", and we had no problem getting there. I agree that the boat didn't look like the one in the photo, but as mentioned, it is a very short ride. The walk down the beach wasn't that long. The people who arrived just before us got the last lounge chair at Victor's, so we ended up eating garlic and coconut shrimp at Lety's. (Very good! The garlic shrimp were my favorite.) We got a lounge chair but no umbrella, so we sat at a table under the "roof" quite a bit of the time. I had planned to swim there, but caught a cold while on the cruise and just "relaxed" instead. We said "no gracias" several times, but that was the end of it, and after a while most vendors knew we weren't worth the trouble. I didn't consider it a problem. At the very end I broke down and bought a little turtle with a moving head from a child for $1. I thought I'd add a magnet to it and put it on the refrigerator as a Stone Island souvenier - even though I know they are sold all over the place. All in all, it was much more enjoyable than going to a fancy resort and paying a premium price. I liked the atmosphere and the food - I only regret not getting to swim.

 

Thanks everyone for the information provided here. Like those before me, I recommend it as an enjoyable (albeit not luxurious) way to spend time in Mazatlan.

 

Kim

[jannyb]

A quick report that we enjoyed our outing to Stone Island. The directions were "spot on", and we had no problem getting there. I agree that the boat didn't look like the one in the photo, but as mentioned, it is a very short ride. The walk down the beach wasn't that long. The people who arrived just before us got the last lounge chair at Victor's, so we ended up eating garlic and coconut shrimp at Lety's. (Very good! The garlic shrimp were my favorite.) We got a lounge chair but no umbrella, so we sat at a table under the "roof" quite a bit of the time. I had planned to swim there, but caught a cold while on the cruise and just "relaxed" instead. We said "no gracias" several times, but that was the end of it, and after a while most vendors knew we weren't worth the trouble. I didn't consider it a problem. At the very end I broke down and bought a little turtle with a moving head from a child for $1. I thought I'd add a magnet to it and put it on the refrigerator as a Stone Island souvenier - even though I know they are sold all over the place. All in all, it was much more enjoyable than going to a fancy resort and paying a premium price. I liked the atmosphere and the food - I only regret not getting to swim.

 

Thanks everyone for the information provided here. Like those before me, I recommend it as an enjoyable (albeit not luxurious) way to spend time in Mazatlan.

 

Kim

 

Thank you for taking the time so soon after your cruise to post. Sound like a great place to unwind. That is what my vacation is all about.

 

How was the weather for your cruise? What was your favorite port? Did you have a favorite restaraunt on the ship? OK...I'll stop! LOL!

 

jannyb

[Bailey0930]

Hello,

 

Leaving in 3 weeks!:p For the people that have just come back and posted...were you able to drink margaritas? I want to have some drinks when we go to Stone Island but I'm not a beer drinker:(

 

Thanks!:D

[ASB&Cruiseluvr]

Thank you for taking the time so soon after your cruise to post. Sound like a great place to unwind. That is what my vacation is all about.

 

How was the weather for your cruise? What was your favorite port? Did you have a favorite restaraunt on the ship? OK...I'll stop! LOL!

 

jannyb

 

The weather was fantastic! The evenings were quite cool (sweatshirt/jacket weather if on the Promenade deck) the first and last nights - up CA way - but even there the days were beautiful. Other than that it was beach weather all the way.

 

I think Stone Island was a highlight; however, we really enjoyed going to the Malicon walk in Puerto Vallarta and having cheap drinks at The Cheeky Monkey ($1 beer, $2 for my creamy drink with banana rum) which is on the 2nd floor looking over the walk and water. We first walked to a grocery store near the port and someone told us we could take a bus for $.50 pp to DT PV and where to get off, etc. There were 4 of us, and we had planned to take a taxi but decided to get the local flavor, and it was easy and interesting. However, as mentioned on CC, if you take the bright yellow taxis that are found outside the port fence, it is a set rate per car (I think $5) to go downtown, as opposed to a pp rate if you take the white or cream federal taxis inside the port area.

 

I'm not much help on the ship restaurants as we did late seating in the International Dining Room every night. I guess I'm a traditionalist, and we liked our wait staff (Eduardo and Arturo). I did enjoy getting a coffee card and having a latte each morning at the cafe on Deck 5 (Plaza), along with brewed coffee and one hot chocolate enjoyed by my DH - and I have punches left for my NEXT Princess cruise - whenever I am fortunate enough for that to be. One member of our group insisted that plans pause at about 3:30 in the afternoon each day to go to the free ice cream bar in the Horizon Court (vanilla or chocolate with chocolate and/or caramel topping and with a few types of sprinkles available). As with most cruises - especially with a 24 hour buffet - there was always plenty of good food to eat!

 

My biggest disappointment on the cruise was that we had to miss the first and last night's show productions because there was only one showing and it conflicted with late seating. I think that is poor planning on the cruise's part. It would be too bad for the wait staffs and the other restaurants if a lot of people deserted their late seating and went any time on those nights just to be able to get to the shows. I enjoyed the shows I saw and thought the voices of the singers were better than on my last couple of cruises.

 

Kim

[Green Onions]

ASB&Cruiseluvr wrote:

 

At the very end I broke down and bought a little turtle with a moving head from a child for $1.

 

Was this a very friendly and precocious boy around seven years old? He was by far the best salesman on Stone Island when we were there last week.

[ASB&Cruiseluvr]

ASB&Cruiseluvr wrote:

 

At the very end I broke down and bought a little turtle with a moving head from a child for $1.

 

Was this a very friendly and precocious boy around seven years old? He was by far the best salesman on Stone Island when we were there last week.

 

No. I believe he came by earlier on when we were discouraging attention, but it was a little girl that approached as just before we were leaving, and I decided to make my "major purchase." Kim

[melissy123]

Just got back from the MR on Sunday, and Stone Island was my favorite!!! The directions the OP gave were perfect. I just printed the directions and took them with me.

 

The boat did the job. We were the first "tourists" on the boat. We got there along with all the vendors and took the boat over with them. Once we were there our main thing was to do ATV's. We heard good things about Victor's so we went there and the server called the guy with the ATV's, and they brought 4 of them to us. We did have some problems with the ATV's not being maintained, but they were good about fixing the problems and we got a replacement vehicle. He originally quoted us $35 each, but we said no and he dropped it down to $30.00. The beach you drive on is dirty so you have to watch where you are driving, but it was so fun!!!

 

We also ate at Molakay's which was very good. I had the coconut shrimp and the others in my group had fish tacos.

 

Was the cost for the ATV's $30 per hour then? Thank you.

[ej22ndrow]

We're sailing on the Sapphire next week (Yay!) and plan on going to Stone Island. My DH loves seafood and I'm sure will enjoy the garlic shrimp quite a bit but I am a landlubber - does anyone on Stone Island offer anything besides seafood?

[Jules7226]

There is a lot of great information on this thread. Thanks to all who have posted. I'm very curious about the Margarita question though. I didn't find a clear answer about whether or not any of the restaurants serve them or not. I have Celiac Disease and can't drink beer, which stinks because I used to love Pacifico. Anyway, Margaritas won't hurt my belly near as much as beer. So if anyone has been to SI recently and can confirm for sure if they are available, I would appreciate it. :D Thanks!

[wolfshadow]

We're sailing on the Sapphire next week (Yay!) and plan on going to Stone Island. My DH loves seafood and I'm sure will enjoy the garlic shrimp quite a bit but I am a landlubber - does anyone on Stone Island offer anything besides seafood?

I know at Victor's they not only serve garlic and coconut shrimp they also serve ribs and chicken, I'm not sure about steaks though.

[dfitz]

We were in Maz early Dec '09. Made reservations online ahead of time w/ Randi, I recall $45/pp. She was easy to find at the port, she gets you back and forth to Stone Island, her horses are very well-behaved, and you are allowed to ride at your own pace rather than riding in a nose to tail line, we all galloped and another rider I met asked me to explain how to get her horse to gallop, when her horse ran down the beach she was so excited :) I'm experienced, daughter has ridden a little, husband no experience and was concerned, but you can see the big smile on his face in the pic ... we all enjoyed the ride, oh, and even saw dolphin playing in the ocean as we rode along the shore.

 

At the end of the ride, Randi takes you to Victor's and the first drink (choice of soda or beer) is on Randi. She didn't rush us back, so we had plenty of time to kick back and relax on the beach and at Victor's after the ride. We also ordered garlic and coconut shrimp after reading on the boards about how great Victor's shrimp is. I would not plan to go to Stone Island with Victor's garlic shrimp as the main reason ... it was ok (we weren't so keen on the coconut shrimp and didn't finish it). We have all lived/grown up near the coast in CA so maybe we are used to extraordinary seafood, so Victor's was only ok for us.

 

When we were there, there was not a massage tent near Victor's. There were a lot of "vendors" approaching us both while at tables at Victor's and while sitting on the beach.

[mamaza]

Getting to Stone Island was a breeze following the directions posted above!!!!!

 

We followed those and eventually ended up at Lety's which is right next to Victors. You will see posts about Victors, Lety's and Molokay. All are right in the same area. The place you choose will probably be contingent on the availability of beach chairs.

 

We stayed there for about 4 hours eating shrimp (both Garlic and Coconut), quesadillas, home made tortillas, drinking buckets of beers and sodas. The Margaritas are made from squeezed limes and mineral water (really good!!). Literally, the four of us ate too much, drank too much and sunned for about $40.:D:D:D:D

 

An absolutely great day!!!!!!!

There is so much talk about no hard liquor on Stone Island. But, I see you got Margaritas. Were you part of a tour? Are you still posting on this thread? :o

 

BTW, has anyone done the massage near Victors? If so, how much?

Edited March 29, 2009 by mamaza

[kluv2cruz]

Just got back from the MR on Sunday, and Stone Island was my favorite!!! The directions the OP gave were perfect. I just printed the directions and took them with me.

 

The boat did the job. We were the first "tourists" on the boat. We got there along with all the vendors and took the boat over with them. Once we were there our main thing was to do ATV's. We heard good things about Victor's so we went there and the server called the guy with the ATV's, and they brought 4 of them to us. We did have some problems with the ATV's not being maintained, but they were good about fixing the problems and we got a replacement vehicle. He originally quoted us $35 each, but we said no and he dropped it down to $30.00. The beach you drive on is dirty so you have to watch where you are driving, but it was so fun!!!

 

I know this was 5 years ago ginam650 - but do you remember how long you were able to ride for $30?

[swedish weave]

I know this was 5 years ago ginam650 - but do you remember how long you were able to ride for $30?

 

Ginam650 hasn't posted since 2009, and Randi has passed away.

 

If you search for horses stone island, you may find some current information. I have seen posts that someone else has taken over Randi's horses, but don't know any details.

[kluv2cruz]

Oh, sheesh, I meant ATV. Yes, I read that randi had died. We rode with her years ago and that was my original plan, but the boys are older and I think they'd prefer quads to horses now. Thx for your response!

 

 

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