My 2 Cents on Mexican Riviera Shore Excursions

[Brooklyn]

can you tell me if a wetsuit had to be worn for the dolphin encounter? i was going to go as an observer on the dcl excursion cuz i really don't want to squish into a wetsuit!! LOL!!

No wetsuits at Sea Life Park

 

[DisneyMom92]

Brooklyn--we were thrilled to read your report. We have followed your magnet thread and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We, too, have considered the Puerto Vallarta Sea Life Park. We have read some reviews that it was run down, in disrepair and dirty. Your pictures show the opposite. I assume you did not find this at all?

What time would you suggest to book an excursion. We want to do the sea lion encounter.

Thanks for your insights.

 

[Brooklyn]

Brooklyn--we were thrilled to read your report. We have followed your magnet thread and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We, too, have considered the Puerto Vallarta Sea Life Park. We have read some reviews that it was run down, in disrepair and dirty. Your pictures show the opposite. I assume you did not find this at all?

What time would you suggest to book an excursion. We want to do the sea lion encounter.

Thanks for your insights.

I did not find it to be dirty at all. I also did not think it was run down. It is still Mexico so it will not be the quality of a Disney waterpark. I did not find anything broken or to be a problem. Basically the pictures show it all. I did not have one problem when we were there. The staff was very friendly. The dolphin trainers were great. The slides were all a lot of fun.

There were 3 slides that were closed. I am not sure if that was due to lack of staff or them being broken. It did not matter to us. We never ran out of things to do. I liked doing the dolphins early. Then we got to have the rest of the afternoon for ourselves.

I would do this again in a heartbeat.

 

[omgbrittx]

wow great report! we're doing ziplining and im so excited that you said it was a lot of fun!

questions: what would u recommend wearing for the excursion?
is it too late to book the sea life park thing now? were leaving sunday.
also do u have a link you went to i can sign my family up with?

thank you

 

[vossjemi]

www.sealifeparkvallarta.com

 

[Brooklyn]

wow great report! we're doing ziplining and im so excited that you said it was a lot of fun!

questions: what would u recommend wearing for the excursion?
is it too late to book the sea life park thing now? were leaving sunday.
also do u have a link you went to i can sign my family up with?

thank you

It is hot out there. I wish I wore something a little lighter. The teenager in our party wore short shorts and was fine. I would go with as light and comfortable as possible. You have to have closed toed shoes.

I am sure you can still sign up for dolphins. I know the spots fill up but check their website. The royal swim is the first to fill up so if you are interested in that I would sign up ASAP.

have a great trip! I am soooooo jealous. I am still trying to get over leaving the ship. I can't wait till 2010 dates come out so I can book our next cruise.

 

[omgbrittx]

It is hot out there. I wish I wore something a little lighter. The teenager in our party wore short shorts and was fine. I would go with as light and comfortable as possible. You have to have closed toed shoes.

I am sure you can still sign up for dolphins. I know the spots fill up but check their website. The royal swim is the first to fill up so if you are interested in that I would sign up ASAP.

have a great trip! I am soooooo jealous. I am still trying to get over leaving the ship. I can't wait till 2010 dates come out so I can book our next cruise.

thank you so much for hte info. i was just afraid that wearing short shorts with those harnesses would be uncomfortable. haha.

ino im dreading leaving the ship :[

thanks again!!!

 

[andriade]

Would you have taken your kids just for the water park? I am afraid that my kids won't like swimming with the dolphins but they would like the water park. I am just wondering if I should save my money and let them enjoy the water park minus the dolphins.

 

[vossjemi]

Would you have taken your kids just for the water park? I am afraid that my kids won't like swimming with the dolphins but they would like the water park. I am just wondering if I should save my money and let them enjoy the water park minus the dolphins.

I considered it and it is a whole lot cheaper, but you won't totally miss the dolphins. The dolphins do a show for everyone...I emailed and asked what time & was told 1:00pm. But, I plan to dbl-ck when I enter the park as I know the kids will want to see the show!

 

[andriade]

Thanks! I am thinking that maybe I will save myself some money and take the kids here. DH will appreciate the savings. He still isn't over the cost of this vacation.

 

[Bess92]

Ok so we just got back today and I wanted to share my 2 cents about our shore excursions...

CABO SAN LUCAS
Family Beach Party - NOT WORTH THE MONEY!!!
It does not live up to the hype in the description at all!!! You CAN'T swim in the ocean. The water is SOOOO rough. I did not believe them till I got there. The "lunch" was ok but it was half breakfast/half lunch. The food was OK (at best) and did not hold a candle to the ship. Others just went to a local hotel/beach...got great lounge chairs and spent about $20 total including lunch. If you booked this one I would consider canceling.

The Magic was so close to us I just wanted to go back on the ship!!!!

MAZATLAN
Canopy Adventure (Zip Line)
We LOVED this. DH and I did it. It was awesome. The company was great. You start at a tequilla ranch. It was neat hearing how tequilla is made. Then you have about 15 minutes to walk around before being taken to the zip lines. The guides for the zip lines was GREAT. There were 9 lines total. The equipment was very high quality! I felt totally safe the whole time. I highly reccommend this one.

The vehicles you ride to the first platform.

saftey first!!!

Here I go!!!

PUERTO VALLARTA
Sea Life Park
We decided to book this one on our own. Disney does not offer an excursion to this place. This place was GREAT!!!! The dolphin experience was WONDERFUL. The best part of this one is that you can have a child as young as 1 enjoy this experience. Our DD 3 LOVED it. Also children 5 and under are FREE with a paying adult. You just mention at time of booking that you have someone 5 and under.

The cost for the Swim Adventure....ages 8 and up is $99 a person.....a huge savings over Disney's tours. This includes the belly swim, kiss, handshake, boogie board ride and free time. It was AWESOME. DD (7 - we were not so honest about her age but it was well worth it!!!) and I did this one

The Dolphin Encounter is for those ages 1 and up. Adults are $69 and children 6-11 are $59. DH and DD (3) did this one. They are similar and in the pool at the same time. You just don't do the belly ride and boogie board ride. Again, children 1-5 are free on this one!

The taxi ride from the port was about 20 minutes and cost $7 pp. The ride back cost $5 pp. We used the governement approved taxis both times. Other taxi companies are cheaper but not protected in cases of accidents, etc....

The cost of the dolphins ALSO includes admission to the waterpark and use of tubes all day. It was so awesome. There slides were AWESOME and the lazy river was soooooooo relaxing!!!! It was much better then the "kid soup" pools on the magic...

There was also a GREAT toddler area with a bunch of small slides. DD 3 loved it here.

Belly Ride - It was sooooo much fun!!!!

Ok, I am getting off my soapbox now!

How long did it take to get your daughters hair done? Did you have it done on the ship? Also what did it cost to have it done?

 

[ohana8363]

Ok, so was Rico on your cruise? And will he be on all the Mexican Rivera cruises?

 

[AirTita]

Ok, so was Rico on your cruise? And will he be on all the Mexican Rivera cruises?

I can answer this one since we were on the same cruise as Brooklyn... (Hi there Brooklyn! Let me know when DCL 2010 itineraries come out! I have a feeling I'll be booking another DCL cruise then as well!?

Yes, "Rico" was on the cruise and couldn't have been more pleasant or nice! My DN who will be 8 next month was so excited to have her picture taken with him. He happily signed autographs and posed for pictures whenever asked.
Sad to say but I don't think he'll be on all the Disney cruises but maybe you'll luck out and some other Disney Channel star will be on your cruise~!

 

[Brooklyn]

Would you have taken your kids just for the water park? I am afraid that my kids won't like swimming with the dolphins but they would like the water park. I am just wondering if I should save my money and let them enjoy the water park minus the dolphins.

Yes the park would still fun without the dolphins. I think it was $30 for tube rentals but not sure.

How long did it take to get your daughters hair done? Did you have it done on the ship? Also what did it cost to have it done?

DD has long hair. It took forever! Almost 2 hours. We did it on the beach in Cabo. I paid $30 for her whole head. On ship it costs $2 per cornroll (braids in front). DD had 12 of those. The back ones cost $1 each and she had about 24-30. Now when your hair is past your shoulders on ship you add .50 to each braid. So the front braids would have cost me $30 on the ship. Then add the back in and that would have been another $36. So I paid $30 on the beach and on ship it would have been around $66. It could be a little cheaper if DD's hair is above shoulders.

 

[ohana8363]

I can answer this one since we were on the same cruise as Brooklyn... (Hi there Brooklyn! Let me know when DCL 2010 itineraries come out! I have a feeling I'll be booking another DCL cruise then as well!?

Yes, "Rico" was on the cruise and couldn't have been more pleasant or nice! My DN who will be 8 next month was so excited to have her picture taken with him. He happily signed autographs and posed for pictures whenever asked.
Sad to say but I don't think he'll be on all the Disney cruises but maybe you'll luck out and some other Disney Channel star will be on your cruise~!

Thank you! How excited my daughters would be to see any Disney Channel Star!!!!

 

[abayaflowers]

Thanks for the information about Sea Life Park.

Does anyone know about Cabo Beach Break? Or the Cabo Resort Pool Getaway? My DD5 and my DD8 like to run in the water and play on the beach. Should I change my shore excursion from the getway to the Cabo Beach Break?

We are leaving on the 6th of the July.

Thanks!

 

[SweetSpot]

I haven't gone on the cruise yet but have done a great deal of research about Cabo excursions. We originally booked the beach break but have cancelled after learning how easy it is to do on your own. Medano beach, the only swimable beach in Cabo is near the pier. You can take a land taxi or water taxi to the beach. Chairs and umbrellas are free to use as long as you buy drinks or food from the bar on the beach. There are several different bars/restaurants to choose from. Also, if you take a water taxi you can ask the driver to take you on a tour of Land's End, past Lover's beach and to the sea lions for an additional charge. Before booking look up the beach and check other boards like cruise critic for info on Cabo. HTH

 

[abayaflowers]

Ok so we just got back today and I wanted to share my 2 cents about our shore excursions...

PUERTO VALLARTA
Sea Life Park
We decided to book this one on our own. Disney does not offer an excursion to this place. This place was GREAT!!!! The dolphin experience was WONDERFUL. The best part of this one is that you can have a child as young as 1 enjoy this experience. Our DD 3 LOVED it. Also children 5 and under are FREE with a paying adult. You just mention at time of booking that you have someone 5 and under.

The cost for the Swim Adventure....ages 8 and up is $99 a person.....a huge savings over Disney's tours. This includes the belly swim, kiss, handshake, boogie board ride and free time. It was AWESOME. DD (7 - we were not so honest about her age but it was well worth it!!!) and I did this one

The Dolphin Encounter is for those ages 1 and up. Adults are $69 and children 6-11 are $59. DH and DD (3) did this one. They are similar and in the pool at the same time. You just don't do the belly ride and boogie board ride. Again, children 1-5 are free on this one!

The taxi ride from the port was about 20 minutes and cost $7 pp. The ride back cost $5 pp. We used the governement approved taxis both times. Other taxi companies are cheaper but not protected in cases of accidents, etc....

The cost of the dolphins ALSO includes admission to the waterpark and use of tubes all day. It was so awesome. There slides were AWESOME and the lazy river was soooooooo relaxing!!!! It was much better then the "kid soup" pools on the magic...

Hi, After reading your posting, I cancelled our reservation for the other Dolphin Experience and booked this one instead. I am glad to hear about this place, because my family doesn't like crowds. We want to enjoy our vacation. My DD8 and my DD5 is looking forward to this time.

Thanks so much!
Cruising on July 6 -13, Mexican Riviera

 

[SGcruiser]

In Cabo, we walked over to Medano beach and then rented jet skis, 2 for 40 minutes at $45 each. We were able to ride around the ships and over towards Los Arcos, great time, the water is quite chilly.
In Puerto Vallarta we did the canopy adventure and it was awesome. The guides are great and you really get your money's worth. The entire tour took about 5 hours due to the ride to the forest area but you get to see the country side and small villages along the way. We did 13 platforms with one tarzan swing and the final rappel. They take pictures of you so bring money if you want to purchase.

 

[discruiser]

Brooklyn, thanks again for the info on Sea Life Park. I booked the Dolphin Encounter for the 6 of us for the Repo cruise next month. On the email confirmation, it states that they only permit biodegradable sunscreen, and that it is available for purchase in their shops. Did you happen to buy any while you were there? I did find some that I could order online, but then I'd have to pay shipping. I'm wondering if it would be just as cheap to get it there or maybe I could stop in at the Wal Mart in PV first and see if they have it.

Kim