Help! Mexican Riviera with kids

Vegaslover

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 6, 2009
We are considering booking the Mexican Riviera cruise with DCL for Spring 2011. To me it looks like the stops are mostly for partiers or there are more adult activies than kid activities. They don't have shore excursions listed yet, but I looked at Carnival and RCL to get a general idea. If you've been on a Mexican Riviera cruise with kids, can you tell me what activities you did?
 
We have done 2 cruises to the MR with young kids. We generally look at beach activities since the kids have fun playing in the sand and water.

Cabo San Lucas - We always grab a water taxi to "the office" which is a restaurant on the beach. There are actually several restaurants/bars along the beach there. They will let you use a lounge chair or table for the day if you buy $20/person in food and drink. Last time we went we spent $120 for 6 adults and 3 kids. The water taxi is about $5/person round trip, which they will try to sell you up front but you can get them to take you for $3 on the way out and $2 for the way back even without paying up front and you don't have to worry about picking a time for return.

Puerto Vallarta - Last time we went to Dreams which is a resort you can use for the day. They have a nice beach area but it can be a bit expensive at $50/person kids are less. That price includes food and possibly drinks. There is another resort within walking distance called Krystal which will only charge a $20/person minimum for food and drink.

Mazatlan - We really just stayed on the boat in this port so I can't be that helpful here.

For more information about the Mexican Riviera ports check out cruisecritic.com
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203
 
We did the Pirate Boat in Puerta Vallarta (all day excursion that included several hours on a private beach) and the boat that takes you close to Los Arcos in Caba San Lucas (if I knew you could see the rocks from our own cabin balcony we probably wouldn't have booked this). We stayed on board in Mazatlan and had a nice hot pool day - Minnie also hosted a Mexican Fiesta party while in port with fun music, games for the kids, and even free churros.

Here's the link for my review of the Pirate Boat in Puerta Vallarta:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1864867
 
We did the Mexican Riviera in 2008 with 35 family members, including kids of all ages up to 11. In Mazatlan we (some adults and some of the older kids - the youngest was 5) rode horses on the beach with Randi's Happy Horses (booked independently) and had a blast. In Cabo most of us did the DCL family excursion to a resort with pools and a beach (you couldn't really swim in the ocean, though, because of the currents). In Puerto Vallarta most of us did Sea Life Park (swimming with dolphins, water park) on our own (reserved ahead of time online and then took cabs there). That was great for kids of different ages.
 


We've gone 3 times, and have managed to do different things each time.
Randi's Happy Horses is a great one for Mazatlan, plus we've walked out and gotten a taxi van (the driver even had a cooler of water and sodas ready) and toured the island, saw their cliff divers.

Cabo is a great spot for beaching it. A little further past The Office is another restaurant/bar, a little less crowded, called Tabasco's. You can water taxi or take a regular taxi, and on the way to it, or on the way back (if you take a regular taxi) you can ask the driver to take you to the Glassblowing Factory. You'll get to see them make all kinds of different items out of glass, and you can purchase a hand-made souvenir. Before heading back, you can make a stop in town for shopping, too.

One of my favorite spots in Puerto Vallarta is a ship excursion to Las Caletas. This is a GREAT place to take kids, even the littlest ones. They have a nice beach, lots of activities like pottery making for the kids, several different animals to have pictures taken with (monkeys, parrots), lunch is great, bars, trails...and for a little extra $$ you can do a private swim with a sea lion.

The Mexican Riviera is a lot different than the Caribbean, but still great in its own way...and even better on Disney.
 
Are these areas still quite safe after the recent increase in drug cartel activity? Just wondering because I was also keen on doing the MR but husband brought up the safety issue. Bear in mind we live in Dubai and he travels as an airline pilot with Emirates all over so he isn't a scaremonger or easily put off. He doesn't fly to Mexico but just concerned taking children there.
 
I've cruised the Caribbean several times with kids. How would you compare Mexican Riviera cruises to Caribbean cruises in terms of kid-friendly things to do?
 


Are these areas still quite safe after the recent increase in drug cartel activity? Just wondering because I was also keen on doing the MR but husband brought up the safety issue. Bear in mind we live in Dubai and he travels as an airline pilot with Emirates all over so he isn't a scaremonger or easily put off. He doesn't fly to Mexico but just concerned taking children there.


All of the stops on the Mexican Riviera are true tourist destinations. You'll see far more tourists than you will locals, for the most part.
Lots of people from America vacation down there, especially in Cabo.

Most of the news that you'll hear about Mexico, in regards to drugs and difficulties, are more in the middle of the country. These port areas are pretty "sheltered" because they know that there money comes from the tourists.
When DCL went to Cartegena Colombia, many people were afraid and said they wouldn't get off the ship. Those of us who did found it to be a charming place, and never felt unsafe at any point at all.
 
I've cruised the Caribbean several times with kids. How would you compare Mexican Riviera cruises to Caribbean cruises in terms of kid-friendly things to do?


Pretty much equal. They have the same offerings in each of the ports, such as dolphin swims, beach resort areas with water toys, horseback riding, etc.
My favorite place for kids is Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta. Only people who've booked with the ship can get there, accessible by boat only, so it never feels crowded, there's plenty of beach space, lots of tables, chairs and umbrellas and a lot of activities. Do a search for it on your computer and check it out.
Cabo has the dolphins....and lots of beach space, boat rides, snorkel tours, and a town full of shops and restaurants.

One thing that will be a GUARANTEE.....when Disney starts to go down the Mexican Riviera on a regular basis, they will find and offer everything there is for kids to do.
 
Anyone do the Zipline?

We ziplined in Puerto Vallarta last summer - it was amazing! It was called the Outdoor Adventure and I highly recommend it.

Let me also second the recommendations for Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan and Las Caletas in PV - both are great for kids (and adults :goodvibes).
 
And also for the grown-ups....kids are allowed, too....there has to be the obligatory stop at Cabo Wabo!
 
We did the Mexican cruise in 2008.

In Cabo, the teens in our group did the teen surfing and had a great time. The rest of us just walked around town a bit (stopped at Cabo Wabo of course) and then enjoyed the ship.

In Mazatlan, we did one of the excursions that took us on a tour of the town, saw some cliff divers (watch out for the tip can) and stopped for a lunch with a show and use of the beach. I don't remember what it was called but it was rainy and we didn't stay long.

In Puerto Vallarta, we did these awesome amphibious vehicle rides. It was a bit scary as we were packed into small cars and driven somewhere on these dirt roads. We were concerned since we had no clue where we were going. Anyway, we ended up at this nice ranch and we were put into these vehicles and went riding in the mostly dried up riverbed. Again, it was very fun but we got very dirty. Our poor room host had a lot of cleaning when we returned since some of us had oil on our feet.

Just an FYI concerning the Mexican, we went in mid-June. We were prepared for the June Gloom in California (didn't have any, it was beautiful and crystal clear for our 4 days before the cruise) but the weather on the actual cruise was not what we were expecting. Our sea days were too cold to go on deck and we were heading into the rainy season for Mexico (which we didn't know prior to our trip). That put a bit of a damper on it for us, but not so much that we had a horrible time, just was a bit of a surprise for us.
 
Did you do the Zipline excursion or book on your own? It looks MUCH cheaper to book on own.
 
No matter what time of year you do the Mexican Riviera, it will be cold the first night, and somewhat chilly that first sea day, so be prepared for that.

We've gone in May, June, September and December...and it's always the same.

Once you get down to Cabo, the weather should be nice and sunny. We had an unusually rainy day in December....most of the time, they'll have rain for a bit of the day (a lot like Florida) and then it clears, but this day it rained all day.
Instead of the beach, we grabbed a taxi and had it take us to the glass blowing factory and waited for us, then took us to Cabo Wabo. After that, we walked around town, even in the rain. We'd worn "water shoes" so we didn't care that our feet were getting wet, and had our hoods up. We still had a great day. We were there for two days in a row on that cruise, and the next day was nice and sunny. We did a whale tour and then snorkeling. The water was chilly at first, but then we got used to it, and the beach felt nice and warm.

But again, on the way back to LA, that last day at sea is chilly and the last night is pretty cold. Just make sure you have a sweater for the dining rooms, and a jacket or sweater for out on deck.
 
Did you do the Zipline excursion or book on your own? It looks MUCH cheaper to book on own.


We've not done the zipline, but we always try to book our excursions independently. For one thing, they're almost always guaranteed to be less crowded, and cheaper. The most important things to do are to check the times....never take an independent excursion that puts your return time too close to final boarding. And always check for reviews on here, on Cruise Critic, or on some of the other informational websites. Don't always trust the excursion's actual website....obviously, they're only going to print the GOOD reviews.
 
Did you do the Zipline excursion or book on your own? It looks MUCH cheaper to book on own.

We did the zipline thru an RCCL excursion. I usually book independently because of the price savings, but for this one the company has a deal with the cruise lines so once you tell them you are on a cruise ship they probably won't let you book direct. I know some people booked independently and "forgot" to mention they were coming in on a cruise ship, but it wasn't worth the hassle to me. Here's the website of the excursion we were on; it won't hurt to ask them if you can book direct.

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/tours/outdoor-adventure
 
If you go to the Cruise Trip Reports board and do a search for Mexican Riviera (make sure you go back far enough) you can read a lot of great trip reports. I already have and got some great ideas!

It looks like there will be some really neat things to do. I personally can't wait to surprise my DD with a Dolphin Encounter...
 
subbing in!

I decided today that I think we will do the Feb 20th 2011 Mexican cruise ( our school district doesn't have school that week)- hopefully the weather is semi decent - we tend to be late srping/summer travelers.

I'm hoping to book onboard my June cruise to get a good deal! :)

My kids will be 5 and 9- thanks for good tips so far, can't wait to hear other's experiences and see what DCL will offer as far as excursions!
 

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