Stone Island/City Tour w/Mazatlan Frank

Just returned from the Mexican Riviera cruise on Celebrity. We had booked the Copola-City Tour with 4 other couples with Frank. I have to tell you, this was the best tour my DH and I have ever taken.

Everything that everyone on the boards have said about Frank is true. He is a wonderful tour guide, and a very nice man. He went out of his way to make sure all of us got to see everything we wanted.

I would highly recommend that you go on one of his many tours next time you are in Mazatlan.

Frank if you are reading this board, thanks for a really great time.

Thanks Cruzin Princess for that endorsement for Mazatlan Frank. We are going to be in Mazatlan for 10 hours in September 2006 on the Diamond Princess and will be using Frank for a tour. Looking forward to Mexico again as we were on the Coral Princess for the repositioning from Florida to Alaska Spring 2005.

John

How do I find this guy? What sort of tours does he give?

Here you go!!!

http://www.mazatlan-frank.com/FrankEng.html

Got it - have sent him an email.

Thanks

Great! He is very good about getting back to you.... it is their busy time right now, so it will probably be in the evening. Enjoy your trip with him!! Everyone speaks highly of him and we are booked with him on our next cruise.

Tried to book with Frank for next week (15th) but he is already booked. He has offerred to set us up with one of his 'partners' but we would need six and we only have four so far. Has anyone done that with or through him?

We recently did a tour with one of his 'partners' (Ismael was his name). The tour was outstanding and flexible. Although at first, the two of us were the only one's booked, I promised to pay the equivalent of the six person min. (@32/day/person full-day tour). However, by the time tour-day came around, we had three other couples join us - and it still did not feel cramped in the van.

Glad to hear that - thanks - I may go ahead and commit the van as well as we already have 4.

Find your roll call and post it there also.... others on your ship might want to join you.

I'm happy to report that we did get to have Frank for our tour and had a great time. We could really appreciate his service as we passed the huge busses hauling 50+ passengers while we were keeping our own schedule for those in our van. Highly recommended!

I am very interested in booking a tour with Matzalan Frank, but my husband is nervous about booking a tour outside of what the cruiseline offers. He is worried that if something happens, we could be stuck. He said that the vehicle could break down or something else might happen. He'd read that it's better to book through the cruiseline.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you.

Your husband is correct in that the lowest risk approach is to book via the cruise line. Can't argue with that.

However, we've found that the non-cruise line tours are typically (but not always) better run, more personable, less cattle-call like, and provide a better 'feel' for the local community. They are also typically less costly for the same product.

So what to do? It really depends upon your own personal comfort level. For myself, I typically look at the worst-case (but reasonable) scenario. For example, if it is a van tour, and the van breaks down on the way back to the ship, that could be a problem. However, it would be simple enough to flag a cab down for this last leg - and the ship would not be missed. This is just an example, but it is how I typically approach this decision (and we've run across it many times - sometimes choosing the cruise-sponsored activity!).

As for Frank, the van we were in was very new and the guide was personable and very concerned for our well being & schedule. If you were to ever take a chance with a non-cruise activity, this would appear be a very low-risk choice based on our experience.

Hope you enjoy your cruise! We had a great time.

Thank you, Stek.

After the bus accident in Chile, my husband said that he never wanted to do an excursion that wasn't booked through the cruise line.

I've heard so many good things about Mazatlan Frank's tours. My husband said that if I want to do it that badly, we'll do it. He said that he'll still feel a little uncomfortable, though.

I'm wondering if the rest of you were nervous at first about booking an excursion, any excursion, outside of the cruise line. Have you done many tours that you've booked on your own?

You can probably tell that this will be our first cruise. :p

Thank you, Stek.

 

After the bus accident in Chile, my husband said that he never wanted to do an excursion that wasn't booked through the cruise line.

 

I've heard so many good things about Mazatlan Frank's tours. My husband said that if I want to do it that badly, we'll do it. He said that he'll still feel a little uncomfortable, though.

 

I'm wondering if the rest of you were nervous at first about booking an excursion, any excursion, outside of the cruise line. Have you done many tours that you've booked on your own?

 

You can probably tell that this will be our first cruise. :p

My wife and I are going on our first cruise in July. We decided to book with Frank after looking at his website and reading the numerous positive reviews on this website. As far as the bus accident goes, it was an unfortunate event and my heart goes out to the families of the victims. As unfortunate as the accident was I think something like that could happen on a ship sponsored excursion just the same. If you go on an independent excursion do the necessary research to see what others say about the excursion. This forum seems to be a good place to start. It will probably ease your worries about booking an independent excursion.

So when is your first cruise?

DH & I will rarely book thru the cruiseline.... but we also book excursions that are highly recommended by others. I have NO worries about tour with Frank on our next cruise... Randi is an independent operator and one of the BEST excursions we have ever gone one... she is still a good friend of mine today. You can't say that about many operators. Our Los Veranos zipline tour was booked independently and we will be repeating that on our next visit also. Their safety record is outstanding.

The two excursions that we have booked on the ship were not our favorites... the snorkeling trip in Cabo was less than impressive, but fine for us as beginners.... too expensive now that I look back at it - but out boat was also hit by a wave runner. No one was hurt and we made it back fine, but accidents can happen anywhere! And one of our excursions in Hawaii proved to be a huge dissapointment to our day when we were put on a bus in very humid weather, with no AC and the windows do not open. Miserable and frustrated, especially with the high price we paid again.

Are there risks? Sure!! But you have to weigh those risks... go with reputable operators that are highly recommended rather than just surfing the net and going by what you see there.

Tell your husband that Frank is an honest, stand-up guy that truly cares about each and every customer and has the best reputation in Mazatlan. If something were to happen with his vehicle and it were to break down, I have NO doubt that we would do whatever it takes to get you back to the ship on time.

Thank you for your replies. :)

Our first cruise is April 17th on the Mercury.

Hi MLT53

Just want you to know that we have just booked with Frank for our 4/28 Infinity cruise because of recommendations from others on CC. We have been on many cruises and rarely book a ship tour unless we cant find a private tour, are in a country where English is rarely spoken or understood, where time in port is very limited, or our gut tells us it's wiser to go on the ship tour. Some of the private tour operators also have contracts with the cruiselines and are very responsible. I would rather strike out on our own (especially in the Caribbean) than get on a "Cattle" bus or boat. One of our best experiences was taking private tours in Istanbul and Ephesus in Turkey. It was only my wife and I with the tour guide and we could hear everything and ask a million questions. When we got to Athens I had not set up a private tour, so we took the ships and with such a large group we heard almost nothing and saw so much less because of the wait while inconsiderate people were late getting back to the bus. Go with your instincts and feelings, and either way try to enjoy fully the best form of vacation - cruising. -Bill

Thanks, Billyheart. We're going to go for it if he has any space left.;)

Our family of four just did a tour with Mazatan Frank on March 28th. Everything the previous posters have said is right on. He was excellent. Very professional, and knew our ships schedule. He met us at the pier at 8:30am, and we had a 4 hour trip planned. We did the city tour, so like others have said even if we would have had a break down we were right in town. Frank had a cell phone, and the one thing we noticed was that Frank knows EVERYONE in Mazatan. I think there would have been plenty of help if we had needed it. We had a great time with Frank and learned a lot about Mazatlan. I am not a risk taker and felt very safe touring with him.

Thanks, Tracyr. We went ahead and booked with him. I'm looking forward to it.

We went ahead and did a tour with Mazatlan Frank when we were on our 4/17 cruise to the Mexican Riviera. He is a fabulous tour guide. We highly recommend him.

MLT53, thanks for the info. Were there other passengers on your tour? If so, did *you* find them (to make up the minimum number) or did Frank fill the other tour spaces himself? I guess I'm just concerned that I might have to pay a huge guarantee amount if it ends up being only my husband and myself on the tour.

Which tour did you take?

Thanks!

Becky

This past November, several of us from our roll call got together and booked with Frank. It was a wonderful tour and he is very reliable with a newer model van. No worries when you book with Frank. He is highly recommended by all who have used him.

I am interested in who you used for a tour guide in Turkey - we are going next year and would love the info. thanks Marg