Diez (10) Noches Calientes en la Riviera Mexicana/17 de abril 2011 (4.17.11 Wonder!)

A year from today we will be at our first port of Puerto Vallarta!! Does anyone have excursions or things they know they want to do here? I have been to PV a couple of times, but I was a teenager then. Need inexpensive ideas on what to do with the kids.


On a side note, I just booked the 2 day Wonder trip to No Where on 1/21/11. I thought this would be a fun weekend trip for just my husband and I. This will also get him familiar with the ship.

I've been on some great excursions in PV, but I wouldn't call any of them inexpensive (and your kids might be a little young for some of them). But, FWIW, I can recommend the Dolphin Swim, Las Caletas, and best of all, the ziplining!

The trip to nowhere sounds like fun! I'm trying to get a co-worker of mine to book that one. She probably wouldn't ever do a 7 night but she loves all things Disney so I know she'd enjoy the Wonder.
 
I've been on some great excursions in PV, but I wouldn't call any of them inexpensive (and your kids might be a little young for some of them). But, FWIW, I can recommend the Dolphin Swim, Las Caletas, and best of all, the ziplining!

I would love to do ziplining, of course my kids are too young. Might look into it for just me maybe.

I could also leave a child or 2, or 3 :) on the ship when we go into port as well. I did that when we were in Key West. The kids stayed on the ship and had a blast and my mom and I went on the city tour. It was a win-win for us.
 
We are probably doing the Pirates adventure if available. Sound like fun with snorkeling to boot. :thumbsup2 If not...we are doing the Dolphin adventure. I only have a year to get JoJo to do the dolphin's though...it's one of my favs :lovestruc but he isn't ready just yet.

I just pray, since we're all newbies, that we can get a couple Palo ressies and spa treatment appointments at the 75 day mark. I am working on the OBC part... :rotfl: ...now a year doesn't seem so far off. :goodvibes
 
We are probably doing the Pirates adventure if available. Sound like fun with snorkeling to boot. :thumbsup2 If not...we are doing the Dolphin adventure. I only have a year to get JoJo to do the dolphin's though...it's one of my favs :lovestruc but he isn't ready just yet.

I just pray, since we're all newbies, that we can get a couple Palo ressies and spa treatment appointments at the 75 day mark. I am working on the OBC part... :rotfl: ...now a year doesn't seem so far off. :goodvibes

The Pirate adventure sounds fun, my kids would love it. Maybe I will look into that.

I bet you will be able to get Palo ressies no problem. 10 nights is a long time with plenty of opportunities. My mom was able to get a Palo brunch when we boarded the Magic for our 7 day in Oct. They had plenty of brunch spots still available. However, I had wanted to do the High Tea and there were no spots at all, they only do those on sea days. I think I am going to book one of each for this trip. A dinner, brunch and high tea. Maybe a couple of each.

I am also working on the OBC. Between my Disney Visa, the $200 OBC I got per room for rebooking onoboard, and a couple of Disney giftcards I got I think we will very comfortable for the cruise.

So lets see, a year from today we will be in Manzanillo. A whole new port to research. What are everyone's plans here?
 

I’ve read lots of positive things about the Pirate Ship excursion in PV, sounds like it’s great for families with younger kids.

We did the turtle farm excursion in Manzanillo a few years ago. It included not only the visit to the turtle farm, but a boat ride thru a nature preserve and a visit to a salt museum. My daughter was 10 at the time and we all really enjoyed it.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do this time; I haven't been able to find many choices. Maybe we’ll make it a beach day. :beach:

szubieta - I agree with True Romance; I don't think you'll have a problem with Palo or spa ressies, although you may not get exactly the day or time you want. From what I understand DCL releases the reservation slots in batches: some at 120 days out, some more at 105 days, more at 90, etc. and holds some back for on board booking. That way everyone gets a chance to book. And since we have 10 days that means more reservations available. :goodvibes We've only done brunch so far but this time we'll definitely try for brunch and dinner; Palo was wonderful!
 
Thanks guys...I just don't want to have to run onto the ship and stand in a big line for Palo. I would like to get ressies the PV day for dinner and if it's as good as people say get another ressie later in the cruise. Same with brunch, but I understand it only available on sea days.

The turtle farm sounds good in Manzanillo, but can't find much either online so who know. :confused3
 
Was just looking at the San Pedro website and found their calendar with pictures of the ships on each day their there in port. It's soooo cool...you can see our ship on the 17th of April next year. Here's the link if you care to look...
http://www.sanpedrocalendar.com/scr...nth&NavType=Absolute&Type=Block&Date=2011/4/1

Cool link Szubieta, thanks.

Since there is not much information on the ports here on the DISBboards I have been reading Cruise Critique. They have a whole forum for the Mexican Riviera with good excursions and information. Check them out.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203
 
Thanks for the links! They are going to have to update the port calendar though - RCCL's Mariner of the Seas won't be in San Pedro next spring (less busy at embarkation for us :)). RCCL is moving MOS to Europe in January 2011; guess there's not enough business in the Mexican Riviera these days to support all those ships. I hope that means the Wonder will pick up some of their passengers. I've been paranoid about DCL cancelling or changing our cruise ever since I read that because of slow sales they changed the 10 day New Years cruise on the Magic to two 5 day cruises!
 
Glad to help out!

I got an e-mail 2 days ago and our TA called about the Mariner. Worse off I get $200 more OBC on top of the rebooking OBC for the Mariner's leaving. Oh well...it was a dummy ressie anyway. :cool1: In the e-mail it does not even give a ship replacement, so looks like DCL will have more customers. :confused3
 
I should say it is Cruise Critic I have been getting lots of good info on the ports, not cruise critique. My fingers type words on their own sometimes.

I am also worried they might cancel or change this sailing on us. I am praying they don't. I just cannot believe it is not more popular.

I am starting to get good ideas on what to do in the ports. However my husband is getting sick of me talking about the cruise, so I need to take a break for my planning.

Right now this is what I think we are going to do.

Puerto Vallarta--go to the all-inclusive resort of Crown Paradise
Manzanillo--the turtle farm then beach
Mazatlan--Stone Island, possibly a self booked excursion there that includes food,drinks and activities
Cabo--hire a glass bottom boat to go under the arch and then drop us off at a family friendly beach

Since our kids are pretty small and we have a tight budget we have to keep things simple. All the kids really want to do is play in the water.

Well a year from now our cruise is over. It is nice to say our cruise is less than a year away now.
 
Yeah, I also have been on the critic and porters site. I even started threads on them to see if we getting a full ship. Not one response, well, there's some time yet.

I'm prayin too they won't dump the cruise. I will be so disappointed I WILL CRY. (Not going to think about it...NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT IT!!!) I have wanted to go on a Disney Cruise for the past 10+ years. Any how I will proceed as we are...

My husband just asks me "what are we doing now" everytime I'm on line. So our port adventures are currently...

PV - Pirate Ship Snorkeling Adventure pirate: :dance3:
Manzanillo - ?? but the Turtle Farm sound nice, I will have to investigate
Mazatlan - ?? Old Town shopping
Cabo - Dolphin Center & Cabo Wabo (for sure!!)

Our son just asked me about the dolphin picture hanging in the hallway and told him all about it and said he will get to do it next year and I got the usual response...NO WAY! I'm still working on him. :thumbsup2
 
My goodness! I hope they don't cancel this cruise. I'll be ticked too. I will also be ticked if they shorten the cruise or modify it in some insane way that makes sense only to Disney. I'm not flying out to CA for a 7-night cruise. But, I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. Everyone think positive!

Mike and I have done the Mexican Riviera before and loved it. I am trying to get Mike to do Randi's Happy Horses again in Mazatlan. It was one of my favorite excursions. There was just something about horseriding on the beach that I just found so peaceful. :lovestruc
 
Positive is the key!! :thumbsup2

Horseback riding on the beach is great. We did it in Jamaica and I used to do it down in SoCal as a teen. What type of terrain do you ride on or is it all on the beach? I'd bet JoJo is too young anyway.

Really can't wait for DCL to post the port adventure on their site. ;) Wonder why Mazatlan Frank hasn't added anything else to that thread of his. :confused3 Sure enjoy the local opinion. :goodvibes
 
Riding with Randi is my favorite thing to do in Mazatlan! :thumbsup2 Actually, it’s the only thing we’ve ever done in Mazatlan; we’ve been there 3 times and each time we’ve gone with Randi. :goodvibes But that’s because it is such a fun day we don't want try anything else. Randi picks you up from the port, then takes you to a nice Mexican family’s house on Stone Island where they match you to a horse based on your riding ability. And, szubieta, your son would not be too young; we had 5-6 year olds on our rides. Several of the family members come on the ride with the group and watch over everyone. The best part is that while they take really good care of the beginners, if they see you can ride they let you gallop up and down the beach to your heart’s content! I’ve been riding for a long time, but my daughter had never been on a horse til her first time with Randi, and we both thought it was wonderful.

The riding is mostly on the beach, sometimes if there are no bugs they’ll take you back through some trees. The ride ends at Victor’s Restaurant on the beach where you can buy lunch (the garlic shrimp is great!) and then play in the water or just chill until it’s time to go back to the ship. My DH tried riding the first time we went, but decided he’d rather skip that in the future ( I think it had something to do with the fact that he couldn't walk the next day :rotfl:) so the last 2 times he just came along and waited for us at Victor’s. Nice relaxing day for him.

If you enjoy horseback riding, I can’t recommend Randi enough, and it’s only $45 per person (I think it was only $15 for DH when he didn’t ride). You can get more info at her website http://www.randishappyhorses.com/
We're definitely doing it again next year!
 
Riding with Randi is my favorite thing to do in Mazatlan! :thumbsup2 Actually, it’s the only thing we’ve ever done in Mazatlan; we’ve been there 3 times and each time we’ve gone with Randi. :goodvibes But that’s because it is such a fun day we don't want try anything else. Randi picks you up from the port, then takes you to a nice Mexican family’s house on Stone Island where they match you to a horse based on your riding ability. And, szubieta, your son would not be too young; we had 5-6 year olds on our rides. Several of the family members come on the ride with the group and watch over everyone. The best part is that while they take really good care of the beginners, if they see you can ride they let you gallop up and down the beach to your heart’s content! I’ve been riding for a long time, but my daughter had never been on a horse til her first time with Randi, and we both thought it was wonderful.

The riding is mostly on the beach, sometimes if there are no bugs they’ll take you back through some trees. The ride ends at Victor’s Restaurant on the beach where you can buy lunch (the garlic shrimp is great!) and then play in the water or just chill until it’s time to go back to the ship. My DH tried riding the first time we went, but decided he’d rather skip that in the future ( I think it had something to do with the fact that he couldn't walk the next day :rotfl:) so the last 2 times he just came along and waited for us at Victor’s. Nice relaxing day for him.

If you enjoy horseback riding, I can’t recommend Randi enough, and it’s only $45 per person (I think it was only $15 for DH when he didn’t ride). You can get more info at her website http://www.randishappyhorses.com/
We're definitely doing it again next year!

Thanks so much for the recommendation and link. I love riding and have done so my whole life. Have been lucky enough to ride on the beaches in Kauai and in the middle of cattle ranches in Colorado. My daughter is also in riding lessons now and loves horses. I will look into Randi's. I had to laugh when looking at their site and the recommended riding wear:
Recommened attire

Closed Toed Shoes
Hat
Long Pants (but shorts are ok)
Bring sun screen
Due to the bouncing on a Horse ladys are encourged to wear supporting under garments.

I am kinda stuck on excursions since our youngest will be 2 weeks from turning 3, he can't do to much. I am considering doing Stone Island on our own and leaving him on the ship. If we leave him on the ship I don't want to be tied down to an excursion and their time tables. If we do the stuff we want to do I want to be able to return to the ship right away. I have read that we can find activities on our own there, ATV's, banana boats, horseback riding, ect. I'll have to see how he does this next year and if he is okay to be left in the clubs for a long period. He is outgoing now and loves the clubs he goes to at church, the gym, and other kid care facilities I leave him at. We also have conquered potty training this week. On our cruise in Oct, I left my 6 & 4 year olds onboard and toured Key West. They had a blast and did not even miss me.
 
I do forget JoJo just turned 7 and will be 8 for the cruise. I checked out the Randi's site and it does look and sound like good times. There's even enough time to go shopping afterwards too. I mentioned it to Danny and of course he's ok with whatever I plan. I have been sooo excited since we booked in Jan, just can't get enough. :surfweb: :rolleyes1 DSister would love it too, but I'm pretty sure DBIL won't. :sad2: But maybe he can go to Victor's and relax :drinking1 :cool2: So much time left to keep changing our minds...Sandy
 
Thanks so much for the recommendation and link. I love riding and have done so my whole life. Have been lucky enough to ride on the beaches in Kauai and in the middle of cattle ranches in Colorado. My daughter is also in riding lessons now and loves horses. I will look into Randi's. I had to laugh when looking at their site and the recommended riding wear:
Recommened attire

Closed Toed Shoes
Hat
Long Pants (but shorts are ok)
Bring sun screen
Due to the bouncing on a Horse ladys are encourged to wear supporting under garments.

I am kinda stuck on excursions since our youngest will be 2 weeks from turning 3, he can't do to much. I am considering doing Stone Island on our own and leaving him on the ship. If we leave him on the ship I don't want to be tied down to an excursion and their time tables. If we do the stuff we want to do I want to be able to return to the ship right away. I have read that we can find activities on our own there, ATV's, banana boats, horseback riding, ect. I'll have to see how he does this next year and if he is okay to be left in the clubs for a long period. He is outgoing now and loves the clubs he goes to at church, the gym, and other kid care facilities I leave him at. We also have conquered potty training this week. On our cruise in Oct, I left my 6 & 4 year olds onboard and toured Key West. They had a blast and did not even miss me.


:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :banana: :banana: :cool1: :cool1:party: :jumping1: :jumping2:
Well...A great big CONGRATULATIONS is in order. It's sooo nice to have no more diapers!!
 
I know it's really early (but I think all of us here have already proved we're slightly crazy over-planners :rotfl2:) but I wanted to let you all know about a good deal I found for a room at the Doubletree in San Pedro. I just booked the AAA rate for April 16 for $111.20 plus tax. Since they will let us park the car for free for 10 days and parking at the port is $12/day, we are basically spending the night for free! :cool1:

Doubletree and Crowne Plaza are the 2 hotels closest to the pier that let you park at the hotel and shuttle to the pier; both get good reviews on Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor. (Actually I think there's a Vagabond Inn too, but it gets bad reviews.) We've stayed at the Crowne Plaza twice before and liked it, but they only allow parking at the hotel if you buy their "Park and Cruise" package, which has cost us $179-$199 (it does include 2 free breakfast buffets, but the food wasn't so great). The Doubletree offers "Park and Cruise" packages too, but they let you park there for free during the cruise even if you don't buy the package.

Just FYI if you are thinking about driving in a day early!

Dany
 
I know it's really early (but I think all of us here have already proved we're slightly crazy over-planners :rotfl2:) but I wanted to let you all know about a good deal I found for a room at the Doubletree in San Pedro. I just booked the AAA rate for April 16 for $111.20 plus tax. Since they will let us park the car for free for 10 days and parking at the port is $12/day, we are basically spending the night for free! :cool1:

I've been found out... :eek: :scared1: My OCD is showing. :rolleyes1

We'll also be driving in the day before. That's a really great price and being able to leave the car too. We stayed at the Best Western Sunrise last time. The room we had wasn't very nice. :sad2: The San Pedro site has lots of info on hotels and dining. I hope we get in early enough to go to the Port O Call Village for dinner and sunset. :goodvibes
 


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