dianelevene

Thank you for the good advice. I will look into private tour guides. We have two shore excursions included with our package with the cruise. I think that I have identified which two I will select based on our interests and the lower level of physical activity. But I have to figure out the other days. Private guides are usually so much better and we have used them on all of our previous cruises because we enjoy the individualized touring vs being in a huge group.

I can walk some. Just not very far so long days of walking are out for me. It seemed like taking the scooter ashore would be very difficult. Am I wrong with that assumption? I didn't think I'd be able to get transportation for me and the scooter easily to get to the places we'd want to see. This is only the second trip where I've required a scooter and the last one was mostly getting myself to the beach where I could walk as far as the taxi stand.

We were on a Caribbean cruise last month and took a good opportunity to book a nice cruise to the Mediterranean on the Holland America Oosterdam. The ports include Athens, Korcula Croatia, Zadar Croatia, Trieste Italy, Hvar Croatia, Dubrovnik Croatia, Corfu Greece, Sarande Albania, Argostoli Greece, Olympia Greece, and ending back in Athens. I can walk but not for very long. I plan to rent a scooter to use on the ship in order to reserve my strength for touring. My question is will I be able to see and do anything that doesn't involve a great deal of walking? My legs are weak and my overall stamina is fairly low. I can adjust to seeing a lot less than I used to but I want to know if I will be able to see/do anything much at all?

Glad to hear that Pay As You Go is an option. I was just searching for this information because their website only indicates the all inclusive option. We are not drinkers but we definitely get cold drinks and food while we are there. We've been there about a half dozen times over the years and always enjoy it so much. If the weather is good when we are in port, we will be heading there again. This is usually the only place my husband will agree to go to the beach.

I heard that the original owners of the Tropicante closed it down during the pandemic. It is being run by new people. That is probably why it is not doing as well now. It is a shame about the changes. Next time we are there we will try the Krazy Lobster.

Thanks for the tour company recommendation. I will look them up. Always good to hear about a tour company that someone else liked.

Thanks for the tips. I signed up for a couple of ship tours in other ports because we got the Free At Sea stuff from NCL (which isn't really very free, LOL!) But this looks like a port we can easily manage on our own. I may skip the tour to Stone Island and just do it ourselves. Thanks for the tips.

Which is your favorite restaurant that you use at Stone Island?

I saw a nice looking tour with a company called Mazatlán Van Tours. It combines a city tour with some time on Stone Island. The trip includes lunch and drinks plus two choices of beach activities (horse back riding through village, boogie boards, kayaking, banana boat, or a horse cart tour). It sounds like a nice excursion and not too bad a price at about $65 per person. We usually do the beach days on our own but it sounds like it is kind of complicated to find the transportation to Stone Island and my husband's bad knees have caused some mobility issues right now. I am thinking that easy is good for us for this trip so maybe just booking a tour is the right way to go. Has anyone used this company and were you happy? Should we just try to find the Stone Island water taxis ourselves? We've never been to Mazatlán before so it would be nice to see some of the city. We are in port from 9 am to 6 pm so we have plenty of time.