Questions on Mexican Riviera

[anniversarycruiser40]

My daugher (30's) first time cruiser, and I (50's) 6 cruises already, are taking a Mother-Daughter cruise to Cabo, Mazatlan, and PV. She has been to PV, but I have only been to the area as a teenager with my family and don't remember much. I have been doing reseach on Cruise Critic, and she has been checking with friends that have been there. So far, we have come up with:

 

CABO: look around the marina, shop and maybe go to the "The Office" for a drink, food etc. Maybe go to a hotel to just relax and swim. How far is the Office from the tender port? Can you swim in the beach there? How much will taxi cost to this area? What is their best thing to eat on the menu?Any idea what hotel we can go to that is free or low cost for the day. Are their hotels close to the Office we can go to? We will be in Cabo for 8hours, I think.

 

MAZATLAN: Go on our own to either Stone or Deer Island. Which island has the best beach for relaxing? Can you rent kayaks on Deer Island, How much $ ? Are there any restaurants on Deer island ? Princess has a tour there,but it is $79, Has anyone done that tour and is it a good one? What is the best way to get to either island, and where do we catch a water taxi to the area? Cost for taxi and water taxi? Will Stone Island be very crowded? There will be 2 cruise ships when we are there. Will we have any difficulty renting kayaks or horses or will we have to get there really early? Also thought of going to Old town. Is this smart for 2 women alone? Is it worth seeing?

 

PV: Plan is to just go to Krystal resort and relax for the day. Order some Margaritas :D and snacks. Any ideas on other resorts? How much is taxi to the Krystal hotel? Any other ideas on what to do in PV ?

 

FINALLY: what are the prices on massages on the Dawn Princess ? Regular massage ? Stone massage? Facial ? Will we need to book these as soon as we get on the ship? Our flight arrives at 9:30 am. Can we drop off our luggage in SD at the ship, book our spa appt. and go shop the area?

 

Sorry about all the questions, but this will probably be the only cruise we will go on together,so I want it to be special. Thanks for all the help !!:p

[melika091900]

CABO: look around the marina, shop and maybe go to the "The Office" for a drink, food etc. Maybe go to a hotel to just relax and swim. How far is the Office from the tender port?

You can take a water taxi there from the pier its about 5 -10 minutes away its very close.

Can you swim in the beach there?

yes they have a roped off section for swimming,if the water is rough be careful, theres a big drop off there

How much will taxi cost to this area?

its about 5$ each way per person

 

Have a great trip to Mexico !!!

hopefully this helped

melissa

[canadian cruise queen]

My daugher (30's) first time cruiser, and I (50's) 6 cruises already, are taking a Mother-Daughter cruise to Cabo, Mazatlan, and PV. She has been to PV, but I have only been to the area as a teenager with my family and don't remember much. I have been doing reseach on Cruise Critic, and she has been checking with friends that have been there. So far, we have come up with:

 

CABO: look around the marina, shop and maybe go to the "The Office" for a drink, food etc. Maybe go to a hotel to just relax and swim. How far is the Office from the tender port? Can you swim in the beach there? How much will taxi cost to this area? What is their best thing to eat on the menu?Any idea what hotel we can go to that is free or low cost for the day. Are their hotels close to the Office we can go to? We will be in Cabo for 8hours, I think.

MAZATLAN: Go on our own to either Stone or Deer Island. Which island has the best beach for relaxing? Can you rent kayaks on Deer Island, How much $ ? Are there any restaurants on Deer island ? Princess has a tour there,but it is $79, Has anyone done that tour and is it a good one? What is the best way to get to either island, and where do we catch a water taxi to the area? Cost for taxi and water taxi? Will Stone Island be very crowded? There will be 2 cruise ships when we are there. Will we have any difficulty renting kayaks or horses or will we have to get there really early? Also thought of going to Old town. Is this smart for 2 women alone? Is it worth seeing?

 

PV: Plan is to just go to Krystal resort and relax for the day. Order some Margaritas :D and snacks. Any ideas on other resorts? How much is taxi to the Krystal hotel? Any other ideas on what to do in PV ?

 

FINALLY: what are the prices on massages on the Dawn Princess ? Regular massage ? Stone massage? Facial ? Will we need to book these as soon as we get on the ship? Our flight arrives at 9:30 am. Can we drop off our luggage in SD at the ship, book our spa appt. and go shop the area?

 

Sorry about all the questions, but this will probably be the only cruise we will go on together,so I want it to be special. Thanks for all the help !!:p

Hi, if you are going to the Krystal hotel, why not get your massages there rather than on the ship, they will be much cheaper and probably much better. You can walk to the Krystal from the ship. You need to email to make appointment (see thread on "massage at krystals" to get more info). You and your daughter can get couples massage for $75 for 75 minutes. If you can't find the info let me know and I will get it for you. I have posted this info on the above mentioned thread so it should help you out. Hope this helps:) :)

[anniversarycruiser40]

Thanks so much for the info melika091900, enjoyed your photos too. You look like you have a wonderful family, it must be fun to cruise as a family. We weren't able to do this when the kids were young due to $. We have 4 children, so we did a lot of camping in California and Oregon, so had a fun time doing that, and the kids have lots of good memories. Kids grow up so fast !!!! I now have 5 Grandchildren (one more on the way) and am having lots of fun spoiling them !!! Can't believe my youngest is 30 and oldest is now 40 !!!!

 

 

Anyone else with info?

[anniversarycruiser40]

Thank you Canadian Queen for the info.

 

If you do massages at Krystal are they private areas? Since daughter and I aren't as slim as we used to be, that is important. Is the beach massage done in a tent ?j

 

Thank you for your info. Love your area and Victoria, we go there often.

[mtncouple]

Thank you Canadian Queen for the info.

 

If you do massages at Krystal are they private areas? Since daughter and I aren't as slim as we used to be, that is important. Is the beach massage done in a tent ?j

 

Thank you for your info. Love your area and Victoria, we go there often.

 

It is done in a big cabana (tent) with soft music playing and the ocean sounds in the background. It is great! I felt very comfortable being there. The young girls were great masseuse' :confused: sp? Short walk and then you can use their facilities afterwards....pools, bar, beach, etc. We're going again in 2 weeks:D :D

[anniversarycruiser40]

Thanks to MTn couple and Canadian Queen !

 

Went on a goggle search, cc was not working and was able to get tons of stuff on massages at Krystal.

 

Glad to hear that the massages are private MTn couple! Love your boxers, we have a boston terrier and humane society special.

 

Thanks for all your heip.

[SDPadreFan]

 

CABO: look around the marina, shop and maybe go to the "The Office" for a drink, food etc. Maybe go to a hotel to just relax and swim. How far is the Office from the tender port? Can you swim in the beach there? How much will taxi cost to this area? What is their best thing to eat on the menu?Any idea what hotel we can go to that is free or low cost for the day. Are their hotels close to the Office we can go to? We will be in Cabo for 8hours, I think.

 

Our flight arrives at 9:30 am. Can we drop off our luggage in SD at the ship, book our spa appt. and go shop the area?

 

Sorry about all the questions, but this will probably be the only cruise we will go on together,so I want it to be special. Thanks for all the help !!:p

 

Personally, I would scratch "The Office" off of your list. The Office USED to be a great place and was one of our favorites. We are timeshare owners in Cabo and spend a week there every year. Once upon a time, it was not unusual for us to have dinner at The Office 2 to 3 times in a week. Alas, we do not go there anymore. Prices are high, food is fairly bland and low quality, service has also gotten pretty poor compared to "the good old days". Better options for dining on Medano Beach would include Baja Cantina (either marina or beach side), The Sand Bar, or Tabascos. Other options at the marina include Solomons Landing. Further in town you could consider Crazy Lobster, Sleepless Lobster or Mocambo's (although Mocambo's is a bit of a walk). It is kind of behind Squid Roe. Mocambo's is a very plain, very basic restaurant, but with outstanding seafood.

 

I believe the only hotel on Medano Beach in Cabo that wil host cruisers is The Melia (aka: ME). However, all of the beach bars/restaurants have sun loungers for your use as long as you are eating/drinking. These should include The Sand Bar, Cabo Cantina (I think), Tabasco's, Mango Deck, and Billigans.

 

While you may be able to drop off your luggage with the porters at the cruise ship terminal and go shopping, the cruise ship may get nervous if you do not board within a reasonable amount time after your luggage does (think bomb). I don't know if you could fully check in (@ 11:30am) and then leave the ship for a couple of hours. Security issues may again raise their ugly head. I would see if I could get a direct answer from the cruise line.

 

Regardless, I hope you have a great time.

[CocoKai]

That is pretty much our itinerary!!! We have been to all 3 ports by land and sea and have our stress free days mapped out.

 

Cabo: Medano Beach for swimming. You can walk the beach and find the place that looks good. Once you tire, move to the next. I like The Office but Mango Deck and others are just as good, if not cheaper, and they have loungers.

 

Mazatlan: Stone Island....Victors and Beach Hang'n or stay on the ship.

 

PV: Krystal for a Massage. As a massage expert, these are better than anything you'll find in some snazzy spa for a fraction of the price. I would go to PV JUST for the massage. Head down the Malecon to Daquiri Dicks for Lunch. you may be a noodle by then.

[anniversarycruiser40]

SDPADRaFan: thanks for all of your suggestions, will add that to our list. Go Navy, come from a long line of Navy men. (Dad was in for 23 years).

 

We plan to drop off luggage and then get soda and wine at one of the stores nearby, so won't be gone for long. I will check with Princess....we may just take our luggage with us since we plan on packing light (at least I will, don't know about my daughter!!)

 

Thanks for your help, can't wait to cruise !!

[anniversarycruiser40]

CoCoKai: Yes, we are looking for relaxation. Anxious to show my daughter the joy of cruising.

 

Will check out Medano (sp?) beach. We have decided on the massage at Krystal PV. Managed to find the prices for the massages there and they are very reasonable. We plan on calling or emailing them to reserve for the day we are there. It must be fun to spend a week there every year. It gives you a chance to soak in some of the culture.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

[SDPadreFan]

Couple of notes: closest large grocery store to the pier in San Diego is at least 10-15 city blocks away. They would have the largest selection. There is a small convenience store over across the railroad tracks in the America One Plaza building (about 4 blocks away). Not sure what they carry there.

 

Cabo - yes, it is spelled correctly, Medano Beach. It is a pretty healthy walk to get there from the tender pier (figure 45 min minimum). Other options include a water taxi that would take you from the tender pier over to the beach. At the beach, you will have to climb out of the boat in 2-3 feet of water and walk ashore. Or you could take a regular taxi for a little bit more. Others have posted the prices on other threads. On Medano Beach at "The Sand Bar" they have a special "Get Hammered While You Get Nailed" deal. It is a mini bucket of beers/mini pitcher of margaritas plus a pedicure with foot reflexology massage. We haven't tried it yet, but others have told us they enjoyed it. Think it is around $30.

 

Me - I retired in 1998 after 24 years active duty.

[anniversarycruiser40]

Thank you for the info on the closest grocery store to cruise port in San Diego, oldest daughter lived there for about 12 years, but doesn't remember much about that area.

 

Think we have decided on the sand bar at Medano beach. Sounds like fun. Will probably taxi there and enjoy food, drinks and beach. Sounds like heaven after a long cold winter.

 

Congrats on your 24 years in the Navy. I have Great Grandfather, Grandfather, Father and Brother that were career Navy. I've lived a lot of interesting places while growing up.

 

Thanks for all the info, think we have our plans worked out.:)