Best excursions on Mexican Riviera cruise

[Islander000]

Thanks everyone for all your good comments about the San Diego hotels closest to the marine terminal. Now I'd like to ask for recommendations on the best shore excursions. Don't know if December is prime whale watching time, but the dolphin experience that Rev. Neal mentioned sounds good. Any other suggestions?

[ore-ee-gun]

I would have loved to try the dolphin encounter, but because one cannot wear sunscreen in the water, it was not an option for me. :(
We did the pirate ship and whale watching excursion in Cabo - it was excellent! The boat was an 1800's sailing ship and used no engines except to motor out to and back from the whale-watching area. The crew was friendly and entertaining, and we saw lots of whales (we went in early March). In Mazatlan, we booked an independent tour with Mazatlan Frank - we found out about him through CC. He does a great job and his prices are very reasonable.

You might want to check the Ports of Call board - lots of input on the various excursions, both cruise line-sponsored and independent operators. Enjoy!

[Atomica]

I really enjoyed the Old Mazatlan Walking Tour - it took me to a lot of areas I would otherwise not have seen. Covers a lot of historical landmarks, plus the cliff divers. In Puerto Vallarta I took the Town, Country & Tequila tour, and while I enjoyed it, I would take an earlier departure next time: it didn't leave for a lot of time to explore PV, as the Tequila factory is well out of town.

[Craigster-diver]

I know it's a HAL board, but my DW and I did a Mex Riviera cruise with Princess at the end of March, 2006.

I built a multi-media slideshow and posted it to my website.

Here's the link to the CC board where I mentioned it on the Princess board : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=340429

I agree 100% with previous suggestion of Mazatlan Frank while in Mazatlan. Excellent value, excellent host.

We did a 3 hour bus tour of Puerto Vallarta, covered the basics and gave a good orientation to the city.

Mazatlan was a full day (6 hours or so) tour with Frank. We did the Colonial and City tour....at $50pp it's a bargain for what you get !!

Cabo was my favourite "walk around and explore" port. Didn't arrange any tours.

Hope this helps,

Craigster

[Bucky3]

We really like Las Caletas (PV)and have gone there three times. If you like the beach, kyacking, margaritas, and a fun catamaran ride there and back, it's a fun day. Also enjoyed the tour to the Cuyutlan Turtle Farm in Manzanillo.

[lougee1043]

try the zip line in pv--very popular----did it on maui and will do it again in pv this january

[cruznon]

We really enjoyed the Sierra Madre excursion in Mazatlan. It was a long tour that takes you up into the Sierra Madre Mountains to a small Spanish Colonial town and then a tiny Mexican village with cobblestone streets.

[dakrewser]

We also did the pirate ship whale watch in Cabo, and it was fantastic!