SDPadreFan

We will have 9 hours in port. With our 7 city itinerary, the minimum time in each city will be 9 hours.

The IKEA one can easily hold 2 plates, silverware, as well as at least 2 of Carnivals small plastic drink cup. Might have to make a second trip for desert though.

You may see them from the ship but they will mostly be at a distance. To get closer there are different options. Everything from a small high speed boat like Ocean Riders, to a larger catamaran like Pez Gato (our favorite), To a private party/small group sail boat charter. I took this picture on the Pez Gato catamaran in Feb 2008. This is a high speed Ocean Rider boat. You sit in a padded saddle. Did this in March 2007.

The whales generally arrive in numbers in December and are around until sometime in April. I've done whale watching in late April and got nothing but a nice day out on the water in a small boat. But March - they should still be around. In February - it is awesome. End of March Sea lion colony was also out on their rock by the Arch February whale shots Took these in 2007 & 2008 with a point and shoot camera. Got very lucky.

We use these at home and they are great + lightweight. These are like tupperware tough. And cheap! https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/smula-tray-clear-40041131/ They can be a little slick so we also use a layer of this to keep things from sliding around. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DQB1Z2R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 You certainly don't need a 20' roll of this, but the 12" width is about right. Only trimmed a little to fit (width). I just weighed one and it comes in at 1 pound.

I hate it when that happens!

You should prep your older family members, that after leaving Cabo San Lucas on Dec 22nd, the ride will get noticeably worse as you head home directly into the southbound Alaskan currents and winds. By that evening - being out on the open decks will probably be no fun at all. Nothing wrong, completely normal - just the nature of cruising the Mexican Riviera. Enjoy the outside of the ship the first 5 days. The last day & a half is a good time to enjoy the interior. The whales will be in Cabo in December as well as Puerto Vallarta so hopefully you'll be able to take a whale watching tour. My preference is Cabo for whale watching.

I believe the main issue requiring the dry dock is to fix one (or more) of the side thrusters. With those not working properly, the ship has to go old school and use tugs to dock and then to get underway as well. I doubt much else will happen other than new paint here and there.

Here is where the ship should pull in. To the right a short distance is the Fort I mentioned earlier (short walk). To the left is the Malecon and the nice Zócalo de Acapulco (pictures in earlier post). There will be shopping and restaurants in that area. The resorts and beach bars/restaurants are further away and would require a cab. https://goo.gl/maps/gwbvYzSPY57JWg5n7 Also on the map is the fameous La Quebrada Cliffs where you can see the cliff divers. We watched them from the Mirador La Quebrada Hotel (google shows it as temporarily closed). Here is their website. La Perla is the restaurant we had dinner at and watched the cliff divers. https://www.miradoracapulco.com/en/ La Quebrada is a short cab ride from the ship through some neighborhoods. Not walkable as it is a steep hike uphill to the cliff area. You don't have to do the restaurant. There is also a public viewing area with great views. I believe there was a small charge to access the viewing area. After the show - the divers will swim across and climb the rocks to the viewing area to collect tips.

The Kraken was available on our June cruise. That's my preferred and what I stock at home. Easy (for most) to bring a 12 pack of coke onboard. Then just get a rum on the rocks (or straight) and add it to your own Coke.

A little off topic, but wondering if you can use the AARP cards to pay off Fly2Fun. I have used them to pay for CHEERS, excursions, etc but never tried using them for FLY2Fun. Cruise is already fully paid for so the only thing currently due is our Fly2Fun charges on the outstanding balance.

It's not frigid, just not bath water warm. I would guess in the range of 65f to as high as 72f.

There really isn't much to Lovers Beach. It's a very small beach between the huge rocks. On the other side of the rocks is another small beach called Divorce Beach (so called because of a near constant rip tide). Very dangerous on that side. Not unusual to lose a couple of tourists each year. Regardless - as I said, there is really nothing there. No services, no bathrooms, just a little sand.

This is a very useful chart/map. It shows current ocean surface temps. See that blue/purple colored area - that's the Alaskan current migrating southward. It will continue it's southward trek (generally terminating around Cabo in mid April and then slowly start receding northward. Surprisingly - that's also when the whales head home to Alaska. Fun time and play is over and it's time to put on the feed bag up in Alaska until the next Fall when they start heading south again. So May/June is surprisingly the coldest ocean temps in the Cabo area. The air temps are certainly hot, but not the water.

At least in Cabo - the humidity "usually" breaks in late October to early November. Watch the hurricane storm tracks, they generally form around Acapulco and cruise up the coast. If the bigger storms are done (Tropical Storm and above), then generally the humidity will subside further up the coast, but this is not an absolute, just the historical trend we have experienced over 20 years of going to Cabo (mostly in very late October).

But if you show up and all the tables are already filled - then your choice is to wait for an available table (in a line) or go elsewhere - correct?

Cabo weather should be just fantastic (and warm) during the day. Pretty much the same thing will apply in Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta. If you are going to be in port in the evening (especially out on the water) however, a light jacket might be a good idea. It doesn't really get cold, but a light breeze can make it feel cooler (at least this is true for Cabo). Water temps are a whole different matter. I don't really have much experience with ocean temps in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta. Cabo is a completely different animal however. There is virtually no continental shelf at the tip of Baja. So in Cabo - you can go from 1 foot of water depth to 6 feet of water depth to 100 feet of water depth VERY QUICKLY. So typically, Cabo's winter time ocean temps can be pretty nice (low to mid 70's). HOWEVER - a winter storm out in the ocean away from Cabo can still cause havoc. 100 feet down is very cold water and an offshore storm can cause an up-welling of that cold water to the surface and suddenly Cabo's nice ocean temps can get pretty darn cold for several days until things return to normal. On your cruise ship - Sailing south will get better and better with each mile. Generally, following seas and winds (north to south). Once you get a little south of San Diego it will be really nice and most people will be on the Lido Deck enjoying the sunshine. It should pretty much stay that way until your return trip. As you head north of Cabo, the ship will run smack into the southbound ALASKAN current. Remember those southbound (nice) following seas and winds. Now the ship will be heading straight into them. The further north of Cabo you get - the colder it will get. It's not unusual for the Captain to close the outdoor decks starting the night after you get past Cabo. So that last day/night you can pretty much figure on being indoors. The ride north can also get a little rough since you will be heading straight into the southbound current. All that said - mid Nov through March can be a fantastic time to cruise the Mexican Riviera. We're doing it Nov 26 on Carnival Panorama.

Could not find any evidence that the Cabo submarine still exists so that may no longer be an option. In watching some YouTube videos on the Rhythm of the Nights Excursion at Las Caletas (Puerto Vallarta) - we have tickets, I also saw some of the daytime trip option to Las Caletas as well. That might really work well for your group but it could be pricey for that many people.

Couldn't agree with you more Hank. Couple of questions. We will be stopping in Puerto Vallarta right after Thanksgiving on Carnival Panorama. We will make the obligatory trip briefly over to Sam's Club (want to get a couple of bottles of Kahlua) but I also see there is a Chedraui nearby as well. Pretty familiar with Chadraui as they have those in Cabo. Would that be a better place to get the Kahlua? I'll have peso's since we always try to use the host countries currency as a sign of respect. Then I'm interested in taking the bus down to the area of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Church) as we like that area and it's a stunning Church inside. Also want to explore the Isla Cuale area as we have never done that. I see there is also a Mercado Municipal Rio Cuale near there. Any opinions? Worthwhile? Lunch suggestion in the Centro area or even at the Mercado? We like popular, local "hole in the wall" places. In Cabo, we always try to get to either Gordo Lele's (for carne asada tacos) or Tacos Gardenias (our favorite fish tacos) for lunch at least once a year (and more when we can swing it). Have to be back to the ship for the Rhythm's of the Night excursion by about 3pm so may just get a cab back, but if the bus was an option, where would be the best place to catch it down in that Centro/Rio Cuale area.

Definitely your own personal opinion. We've been going to Cabo every year since 2004 for at least a week (sometimes two). As well as several stops when on cruise ships. We'll be there again for a week at the end of October and again briefly in Nov/Dec off the Carnival Panorama. Never really had a bad or useless port call (and that includes 24 years in the Navy). Guess it all depends on what you make of it. I've even had a fantastic time in Karachi, Pakistan (early 1987).

Mostly a pretty different experience in whale watching. In Alaska (we were there too on Carnival Miracle in June), the whales are there to feed. In the Southern Baja area (and PV), that is their summer playground. They are there to procreate (in a couple of secluded bays) and around Cabo and PV they are there to play and teach their newborns how to act like proper whales. Most common behaviors are spy hopping and breaching. Here are a couple of pictures I got in Feb 2008 using a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Definitely my lucky day with that basic camera. When We are at our timeshare in Cabo in the winter, we can sit on our balcony and watch the whales all day. Mostly they spy hop close to the beach there. They get so close to the shoreline (very deep water) that you could probably throw a Ritz Cracker at them. My wife (on right) and best friend (on left) having morning coffee watching the cruise ships sail by.

December is the perfect time to see the whales in Cabo (and PV as well). I prefer Cabo for whale watching. I don't think your youngest 3 will be able to go though. Best choice for whale watching in Cabo would be a catamaran like Pez Gato (our favorite) but there are other options. Many moons ago when our grandson was 10 months old (he's almost 13 now). We took him on a submarine tour in Cabo (called the yellow submarine). If they still have that - it would be an option for the youngest 3. When they get onsite, you can go below deck and look out the port hole windows to see the fish. PV has a daytime sail/snorkle/beach break type tour out to Las Caletas which might be fun as a big group. It is popular however and frequently sells out in advance. There is also a night time trip to the same location (called Rhythm of the Night) out there with a dinner show that would be great for the older ones. PV also has the Pirate Ship Marigalante that has both daytime and nighttime cruises. We did the nighttime one many years ago and it was a lot of fun. Mazatlan - you could just spend the day on Stone Island. There are a ton of options depending on how you want to split up you group.

Definitely Mazatlan for the cultural aspect. Read this post - I posted some pictures of the Pino Suarez Mazatlan Market and provided some other guidence. When in March is your cruise. If it's not too late - the whales will still be in Cabo for a little while longer. Definitely worthwhile for the kids. I like doing the catamarans for that (like Pez Gato) but there are other options. Any whale watch tour will also include a stop by Cabo's arch and the sea lion colony so you don't have to do that separately.

Here you go. https://thesandbar.mx/projects-item/massages/ Scroll down to the "blue" rectangular boxes and select which one you want. You will go to a reservations page.

Completely agree that you should try to hit one of the lesser well known locations on embarkation day (Mongolian Wok, Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse BBQ, and Cucina del Capitano). Of those - I would speculate that the Mongolian Wok might develop the largest lines later, on sea days because a little more time is involved in food prep for each order.