canadjineh

Here's a suggestion for a great company that does tours that they tailor to cruise ship passengers' available time:  We've used them in Mazatlan for an amazing private tour of Las Labradas Petroglyph site, and they have very good reviews for their other tours as well.

https://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Cruise-Corner.htm

Have fun in October!

Your best bet would be in PV, as the state of Jalisco is the birthplace of Mariachi.  One possibility is a little restaurant called Casa Tradicional. You can email them to ask ahead of time.  info@casatraditional.com  (I haven't used this email address, so I'm not sure if the 'anglicized' spelling of the restaurant name is correct, or if the 't' should be a 'c' like the Mexican name of the place.)

Their address is:

Puerto Vallarta
Hidalgo 335
Col. Centro
48300 Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Opening:
Monday - Sunday: 12pm - 11pm

Phone: 322 222 1812

Our last vacation before Covid was the second week of March 2020 - Mex Riv. cruise on Holland America.  We love this itinerary and the scenery along the coast.  We did see whales, while coffeeing in our robes on our balcony a couple mornings.  There are some nice sandy beaches, but it's true they aren't like the Caribbean side.  We suggest doing a tour of Las Labradas Petroglyph site when in Mazatlan.  Here's more info from UNESCO: UNESCO Las Labradas Sinalao  We had a good time and learned a lot when we took a private tour (just the 2 of us) with Mazatlantours.org.  They picked us up right at the cruise dock and brought us back in time with no problem.  If you can get a small group of friends together it's cheaper of course.

Our last trip before the pandemic was on Holland America to the Mexican Riviera.  We returned to San Diego on the 15th of March 2020 and our ship immediately was sidelined.  (No illnesses though, a very conscientious staff and cooperative patrons complying with increased sanitization procedures.)  

We love the Pacific coast of Mexico and have been in PV and Cabo San Lucas a few times on our own.  Very safe, we rented vehicles when we weren't on cruises, everyone we met was friendly and there were no sketchy situations we encountered.  For us, we felt safer there than most cities the same size in the US.  Our first time in Mazatlan was on the cruise and we took a private tour to the Las Labradas Petroglyphs ( https://www.mazatlantours.org/las-labradas-petroglyphs.htm ).  Mazatlan also has a great expat/semi-year resident volunteer program to assist tourists.  http://www.mazatlantouristaide.com/   We are sure you'll enjoy your time in all three of these cities.  

@rkacruiserHahaha, yep.  I remember the year before Hurricane Katrina doing a drive in late November along the Gulf Coast and arriving in Pensacola and frolicking on the beach in pants and a long sleeve t-shirt.  It apparently was during a cold snap as we saw several locals in town in parkas and toques, who looked at us Canadians strangely.  Even though we have very hot weather where I live during the late spring thru to early fall, we are used to cold winters.

Is there any real reason to book a balcony if the TA/TP is mainly sea days especially if it's a northern crossing?  Just wondering, because we've only done a bit of cruising, and the only time we used our balconies was when we were coming into or leaving ports, or on HAL we had our room service breakfasts and coffee in our robes.  Haven't done a crossing yet though, mainly Mexican Riviera and Caribbean itineraries.  Give me your opinions and why. Thx.

I didn't notice anyone talk about repositioning Pacific - ie Vancouver, BC to Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan via Alaska and Russia.  Viking, Regent Seven Seas, and Holland America.  I think we'd be interested in that itinerary.  Anybody taken those trips?

Hi Princess1963, did you mean walking from the terminal in Cabo San Lucas, or did you mean walking from the terminal in Mazatlan?

8 hours ago, Dunmore2 said:

We’ve mainly cruised Celebrity, but an itinerary from HAL caught our eye. Reading through this helpful thread has been great. Thank you for sharing your knowledge . I’m looking for a thread or a sticky where I can compare cabins. Ie not all veranda cabins look equal in size. Sometimes a location looks good, but in actual fact it’s noisy. Is there a place where this information is compiled?

We were on Oosterdaam on deck 10 verandah cabin 10011 March 7-14/2021 which was quiet and perfect, just back of the Explorations Cafe/Crows Nest and lots of deck space near us that wasn't used much.  Perfect views off your balcony for Pacific /Mexican Riviera for both arrivals and departures.  I will say HAL cabins have a fair bit of room and I love the actual tub - even though we just shower.  There's so much more room to move around and shower in comfort.

On 1/24/2020 at 9:30 AM, drsel said:

So what exactly do you like on your various Holland America Cruises

Sent from my Lenovo K8 Note using Tapatalk
 

I think this is our favorite line now, thanks to the excellent music venues:  BB King's Blues Club, the fun and talented duos that do Billboard, and amaaaaazing Lincoln Centre Stage.  That was all we did on our HAL cruise, except for 'On Board for a Cause' 5km.  Went into the hot tub once, later at night when the rest of the pools were all closed for the evening. It wasn't very warm though, I'm pretty sure because they want you to buy the spa thermal waters package.  Looking for more trips on this line for Feb/Mar 2021 although they don't have all the amazing deals like Princess does right now.  Oops, I forgot, hubby went to a 2 part lecture on the environment which was very informative on specific Mexican concerns and not just the usual general info that gets passed around.  He really enjoyed it, I can't remember why I was MIA.  Probably reading in the shade on a deck.

I think other ships are still going to Jamaica and Caymans, just Carnival throwing its weight around.

On 3/4/2020 at 11:16 PM, GalCruzer said:

What is going on in Jamaica that things are changing or being cancelled... 

Nothing except that a Jamaican port refused to let a cruise ship dock, worried about Covid-19, and now I think the line is punishing them under the guise of 'not wanting to chance another refusal.'   Ship was the MSC Meraviglia originally.

On 3/4/2020 at 11:16 PM, GalCruzer said:

What is going on in Jamaica that things are changing or being cancelled... 

Nothing except that a Jamaican port refused to let a cruise ship dock, worried about Covid-19, and now I think the line is punishing them under the guise of 'not wanting to chance another refusal.' Darn, I wish I could find that reference again. It may have been on cruiselawnews.com.   Yep, found it. Updated 3 days ago, Carnival will not land at Jamaican ports or Cayman Islands due to their previous refusals.  You can just go to the cruiselawnews website for more info.

If there is a no-go for Italy, wouldn't they likely just change port to another country nearby?  Like they are already doing in the Caribbean (no Jamaica on one line for instance, but I can't remember where I read that just the other day - I think it was US News..)

6 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

What are the fees to convert pesos back to US $?

I'm not sure about that as we just put any leftover USD in our Scotia USD account for next time, and keep extra pesos in an envelope at home for the next trip.  The less often you flip funds back and forth between currencies the better.  Banks always edge exchanges in their favour in both directions, buy and sell.

8 hours ago, az_tchr said:

Cwell.Celebrity has gotten as low as $389 for a 14 day cruise.

Do tell! I might book the next one before I leave this weekend on my present one.

@sydbarrett  lol, Birkencrocs.

I have a pair of Birkie copies that are black patent leather and I have worn them with a dress to a gala evening, that night my foot wouldn't allow anything else.  I just hate when function trumps fashion! (**irony**) 

Hah, yeah, it seems like there is always a load of cold colours to be washed the day before we leave, because our fave stuff is in it, and there's always something in there that needs to go in the suitcase.

I have a narrow foot with issues from jammed 'frozen' metatarsal and I like the Rockport sandals and loafers.  this one is dressy-ish as well as being water resistant for the beach.  Only issue might be the toe thong if you like to wear hose when dressing up.  Zappos Rockport Ramona   3 different colours.

We are thinking of taking their Ethnic Explorer tour in Mazatlan.  Petroglyphs, other UNESCO cultural sites, and small pueblos are a big interest.  I'm hoping we can connect with another 2 or 3 who want to take the same tour.  Its the same cost for 1-5 persons.  A bit pricey for just the two of us. 

From the reviews I've read online, this company seems to be pretty reliable and does quality tours.  If we end up with them, I'll pop back and review too. 

On 3/25/2018 at 10:24 AM, xfer said:

I second the chase sapphire card. It is great for travel.

If you are in Canada like we are, a great card is Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite.  It does cost $139 for the primary card but free for one supplementary.  Gets you:  no FX markup, 6 complimentary airport lounge visits/year, travel health/accident insurance (even for 70+ y.o.), luggage insurance, cancellation and trip delay insurance, rental car collision insurance, hotel burglary protection insurance, price protection and extended warranty, Avis^® Preferred Plus membership,  Visa Infinite Concierge and the Luxury Hotel Collection,  and you collect points you can use to purchase travel (no restrictions), other goods, or credits toward your bill.  By purchasing our cruise with this card, we were able to redeem the points to pay for our flights from South Central BC to San Diego.  We got this card for promotional deal free for 1st year and likely will keep it as it's worth it for us.  You can redeem your points for credit toward your bill no matter what is on it, but you get 50% more value if you use it to redeem against travel related purchases on the card.  Perfect for us.  

We also like to double-dip by buying our hotels pre/post cruise on Hotels.com (free night after every 10 and they don't have to be consecutive) through airmilesshops.com.  You can also do a double-dip deal with Priceline.com through airmilesshops.com.

I know, they are quite pricey.  I have narrow feet that have arthritis issues from broken bones and find I have to be picky about my shoes.  That said, you may be able to find a similar style in a different brand that fit you well.  If you don't need to spend that, I sure wouldn't.  Jambu women's shoes are similar in style (especially the Celeste) and very comfortable and well made and one third of the price.  Some of their sandals have cute 'bungee' sides too.

You can find clearout stock for Travel Smith here:

threadup clearance Travelsmith

Lois R, they are Arche.  Quite comfortable!  You can find them on Zappos easily.

I'm also fond of those fancy clasps/hooks that you can use with long strand pearls or beaded necklaces. 

https://www.callagold.com/necklaces/necklace-shorteners-adapters/

I have a swirly S shaped 'hook' that you can easily link several beaded necklaces through and twist to create a choker.  The 'S' is in silver and about 2 inches long and also looks good in front or to one side as a design feature.  I have a very long strand of dark peacock freshwater pearls, one of cream, and one of cocoa that I like to combine and multitwist.  I often take those on trips.

Barring that, you can also find a nice pin for heavy gold or silver chains to use as a 'pendant' or to pin them to one side or use a piece of beautiful ribbon to twist or tie your long necklaces together.