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Posts
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About Me
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Location
San Diego, CA
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Interests
Travel, music, current events
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Favorite Cruise Line(s)
Carnival, Celebrity, RCCL
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Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
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SDPadreFan's Achievements
Cool Cruiser (2/15)
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SDPadreFan started following Carnival Panorama Noob-cruise , Where to golf in CAbo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan , Cabo overnight and tender? and 5 others
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Where to golf in CAbo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan
SDPadreFan replied to Luvtennis6060's topic in Mexican Riviera
Check your times for Cabo. Some ships are only there for a fairly short time. But if it works, I would suggest contacting "Rocky G" on the Cabo forum board over at TripAdvisor. He is very knowledgeable about golfing in Cabo and is also a Destination Expert on that forum. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g152515-i84-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html A thing to be aware of. Taxi's are VERY EXPENSIVE in Cabo. Would be worth it to use UBER at least one way. The reason I say one way is because UBER can deliver to the resorts, but not pick up at them. Cabo has a very powerful Taxi Cartel. Rocky could give you more details on your best options. For Mazatlan, I'm guessing the best choice would be at the El Cid Resort complex. The ship will tie up just to the south of the Centro District (aka Old Mazatlan). If memory serves, that course is fairly flat. https://maps.app.goo.gl/7MV6Z9wnXsfMcX6u8 -
Depends upon what you want to do. Maybe some early morning trinket shopping followed by a nice breakfast at Solomon's Landing right on the Marina Walk. Guy Fieri even did one of his shows from there. Another option would be Captain Tony's (also on the Marina Walk). Both are excellent, but Solomon's is a favorite of ours. https://maps.app.goo.gl/zemGamKFMs4GpPaE6 Tender ride is only about 10 minutes if memory serves. It's a pretty short ride.
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https://maps.app.goo.gl/djDdC466JWN2BPL19
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In Mazatlan, it's probably easier to use a Pulmonia (think open air VW Bug). It's a Mazatlan thing. If you do use a Pulmonia (or regular cab for that matter), ALWAYS KNOW the price (per person or per vehicle) before you get in. In Cabo - DON'T call for an UBER near a Taxi stand. The Taxi Cartel (yes, you read that right) is not at all happy with UBER cutting into their Golden Goose. Walk a block or 2 away from any taxi pickup location. Example of a Mazatlan Pulmonia
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Seeking Alaska/Carnival Spirit Reviews
SDPadreFan replied to MistyRo76's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
And a few other shots that I never would have gotten from the cruise ship. Harbor seals and their pups. The perfect shot. Baby catching some rays. I call this my "cruise ship iceberg" And finally, some waterfalls. -
Seeking Alaska/Carnival Spirit Reviews
SDPadreFan replied to MistyRo76's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
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Seeking Alaska/Carnival Spirit Reviews
SDPadreFan replied to MistyRo76's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
We were on Miracle when she did a 10 day Alaska Cruise out of San Francisco in June of 2022. Probably our favorite excursion by far was the small boat Glacier excursion when the ship cruised Tracy Arm. The ship stops in Tracy Arm and you board a smaller boat to cruise further up the fjord to the twin Sawyer Glaciers. The small boat can get SO MUCH CLOSER to the actual glacier and we saw multiple calving's and my wife even got to see an iceberg FLIP. An extremely rare occurrence, given the short time we were there. The crew was so excited to be able to see it, even the boat captain (but I missed it). This is a pretty expensive excursion but absolutely worth it in our case. I will post a couple of pictures of the excursion, but understand - these were not taken by a cell phone but a Nikon DSLR with a fairly long lens 70-300mm. I'm not a pro by any stretch, but sometimes, just extremely lucky. I'm guessing these shots were probably taken at about 150mm-200mm because at 300mm I would have been just to close to catch the full scene. The excursion may be hard to find on Carnival's web site because it leaves from the water and not a port. On our sailing, it was actually listed under San Francisco (our departure port) for a long time. We signed up for it early and had no problem, but as soon as Carnival moved the listing to one of our ports (I think Juneau), it sold out immediately because it is that popular. For this first calving, I was zoomed in a little to close. -
Fresh off the Venezia: The Good, The Bad, The NYC
SDPadreFan replied to matymil's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
You said San Juan is your departure port of choice. Carnival doesn't currently depart out of San Juan. Jimbo was merely pointing that out. -
Seeking Alaska/Carnival Spirit Reviews
SDPadreFan replied to MistyRo76's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
Don't plan on doing anything in Victoria. Look at the time you will be there. Mostly, that stop is just to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886. Most people glance at their itinerary and think yay, I'll get to see a little Canada. And then they look at the actual time they will be there and it's no longer "yay" Don't know your sailing date, but saw some, where Spirit was just there from 8pm to midnight. -
Cabo itself is not necessarily the best place for scuba but it's "OK" If you ever want to experience world class scuba in Baja, take a land trip to the Cabo area and go to Cabo Pulmo. It's a couple of hours drive away up the Sea of Cortez.
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The reason for the short time in Cabo for some ships is because of the port rotation. Some ships do Cabo first, then Mazatlan, then PV, so for that rotation, you get longer in Cabo because the next port is nearby. The other rotation is normally PV first, then Mazatlan, then Cabo last. When the ship leaves Cabo at that point, it only has a day and a half to sail back to LA so you get shorter hours in Cabo. If the ship leaves PV last, it has a little over 2 days to get back to LA.
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Yes - there is only one drop off area. There is a covered area (with seats, I believe) but I think it's after the "ships control point" so a non-passenger could not access it, but obviously a ship passenger could. After that point - it will be hawker city with everyone offering everything. Also nearby is a Senior Frogs (but not a place I would go to - there are better) and a little further down the Marina Walk is Captain Tony's and also Solomon's Landing (both of which I would recommend). Personal favorite would be Solomon's Landing. Not to worry about finding a boat - there will be tout's all along the Marina Walk.
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Since you mentioned an Alaskan Bug - we've had that too. Give some consideration to Carnival's 10 day sailing to Alaska out of San Francisco. We did that and the price was virtually the same as a 7 day out of Seattle. But the same ocean conditions will be present. Rough going north and smooth going south. It will be pretty much the same from either San Francisco or Seattle because both stay out in the Pacific until they get past Vancouver Island. They really only head to the inside passage (and very smooth waters) when they either get close to Ketchikan or Juneau (depending on the first port of call). Late June through early August is the best time weather wise (but priciest). There is one line that does more of a pure Inside Passage run from Vancouver, Canada and that is a Holland America ship. All the others pretty much sail out into the Pacific and around Vancouver Island. Even the ones that leave from Vancouver, Canada (save for that one Holland America ship). I've got my eye on that one as perhaps our next cruise to Alaska (thinking 2026 or later). But a little bad news for you - once you've gotten that Alaska Bug, most people are stuck with it and return to Alaska again and again. I know we'll be going back. And one more thing to be aware of. Alaska excursions are EXPENSIVE (but very worth it for the most part). But I consider the prices justified because those people only have about 5 months of the year to make money off of tourists and the rest of the time there is very little income coming in for them.
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Rough seas going north from Cabo is pretty much standard. That is the Alaskan current you are sailing right into. So going south in the beginning, you had "fair winds and following seas". Going north from Cabo - not so much. Doesn't really matter the time of the year, but obviously in the winter/spring, it is colder. Here you can see the Alaskan current marching south each winter. Contrast October sea surface temps compared to March. The current keeps pushing south till sometime in April when it begins to recede.
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My sister loves Japan and has been several times on land vacations. For me - I've just seen Japan from my time in the Navy (a long time ago - retired in 1998).