SDPadreFan

It's possible, Javier did have some serious heart issues a few years ago that required surgery. The Cabo Fanatics from Trip Advisor helped with that too. I've been watching the Cabo forum to see if there has been any mention his status, but nothing yet.

Look at the picture I posted earlier in this thread. I took that picture in early Feb 2008 while on board the catamaran Pez Gato.

The advantage to Solmar is its walking distance from the tender pier. No ocean swimming at Solmar, but that is generally true at RIU Palace as well (dangerous rip currants)

Tacos & guacamole are not really "the flavor of the culture" Cabo - as wonderful as it is (we've been spending at least a week there every year for 20 years) is an Americanized Baja Resort town. But if you want taco's & fresh guacamole - here it is On this street are 4 taco stands - all are considered very good. The street is called Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas https://goo.gl/maps/hyk2aXcQN6Adot9i9 The ones I here talked about most frequently are Taco's Guss and Las Guacamayas but I'm sure all of them are very good. To get there, walk along the marina walk until you pass by Solomon's Landing. Just after Solomon's there should be a pathway left to the main street (called Blvd Paseo de la Marina). Take the pathway and then turn right on the street. Walk along this street to the right a couple of blocks until you see "The Giggling Marlin" off to the left. Turn left down the street past the Giggling Marlin and go one block to Blvd Lazaro Cardenas. Turn right. At that point there will be at least 4 taco shops along that street including Taco's Guss. Pick one that looks good. If you want to be more adventurous, I would suggest a restaurant that serves a mocajete (mexican stew served in a hollowed out volcanic rock) or a chicken dish that includes mole (mole is pronounced MOH-lay). Mole is a very labor intensive sauce that will take you all the way back to Aztec times. My favorite place to get mocajete is Herradero. The original restaurant is in San Jose del Cabo, but there is a second one in Cabo. A little more challenging to get to - it is on the backside of the marina. There might be a way to walk there but I have never tried it, you would just follow the marina walk all the way around to here. The problem is that if there is an obstacle to walking there, your teenagers are likely to get frustrated and whiny. https://goo.gl/maps/ypecvRmpZUw5rTzZ7 The easy way would be to catch a cab.

That benefit has been removed. Whether it is permanent or a temporary measure until Carnival pulls out of its post COVID financial hole leaves to be seen.

Sedona, AZ is wonderful. Same thing for the Grand Canyon. But January... - not for me. late April, early May is better for us..

Taco's Gus is a popular place that is close by. Personally never been there. Our favorites are Taco's Gardenias for outstanding fish tacos. But that is a bit of a walk (but we will be there on Dec 1st off of Carnival Panorama). Our other longtime favorite is Gordo Lele's for outstanding Carne Asada tacos. Both of those favorites have many other tacos as well, but for us - why mess with perfection (of our favorites). We started going to Gordo Lele's back around 2003/04, and back then - sadly, it was not a hole in the wall. Far from it. Back then it was more like a crack in the sidewalk. But progress ensued and it is now an official hole in the wall. Gordo Lele's is a little further walk then Taco's Gus, but absolutely worth it in my opinion. The owner of Gordo Lele's is Javier and is considered by his many fans to be the "5th Beatle". Ask him and he will sing you some songs. So here is Tacos Gus https://goo.gl/maps/JHSm2wxZubFVZQ457 Here is Gordo Lele's https://goo.gl/maps/1VhqPDmdtKR36cpo8 Was looking at the map and currently Google has it as permanently closed which would be really sad. But I know Javier did have some heart issues. Hoping he is ok. And finally, here is Taco's Gardenia's. It's become more of an upscale hole in the wall from it's humble beginnings. Gardenias has been our favorite for fish tacos since around 2005 I would guess. https://goo.gl/maps/wpMW5nwusMZv8Ezc7

In my opinion, no. We've done the steakhouse on both Carnival ships and RCCL. We've always been quite content with the offerings in the MDR (even recently), so why spend the extra money. Neither of our experiences in the steakhouse's had us drooling to repeat the extra expense. Rather spend our money on experiences that will last a life time (like another cruise!).

You are going to love San Diego even more after you've spent a lovely 10 days in Los Angeles.

I would agree that both the San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway museum are both outstanding suggestions. Both are world class sites. Hint: take good care of your feet, you will be doing a lot of walking both at the Zoo and the USS Midway. The Zoo does at least have a hop-on, hop-off bus/tram that could be a worthwhile option because the zoo does have a lot of hills to navigate. On the USS Midway, there will be numerous narrow and steep ladders to climb. Want to look like a pro - go down those ladders facing outward. It will feel very awkward at first, but after a couple of them, you will almost look like an old salt. Almost. Flat comfortable shoes (not sandals) and non-revealing clothes are the uniform of the day for the ladies. Skirts/dresses are not a good idea. Someone can stand at the bottom of these ladders and see ... There is an option to get a "sort of" guided tour of the USS Midway. Very worthwhile option. In addition, there will be a ton of docents around to explain shipboard life. They are all old salts like me (and boy can we tell some tales). Never served on the Midway, my first aircraft carrier was even older than her. USS Hancock (CVA-19), a WWII Aircraft Carrier. She only had a straight deck originally, complete with a wooden flight deck. Her angle deck (steel) was added later on. She also had the very first steam catapults installed to launch aircraft. Served on her in 1975 and was part of the evacuation of Vietnam and also Cambodia that year. The Gaslamp District as well as Little Italy (both downtown) are great locations to stay at as well as dine. But do your homework. The train tracks for freight, AMTRAK, and our light rail system runs right by some of these hotels. I would suggest a room facing away from the tracks. Getting around downtown San Diego can be pretty inexpensive. We have FRED (Free Ride Everywhere Downtown) so that is an option worth looking into. For the ZOO, you could either take a bus from downtown or Uber/Lyft. It will be fairly inexpensive. Want to check out San Diego's beaches. Easy to catch a ride share to Mission Beach and walk the boardwalk. Get dropped off by Belmont Park and walk north as far as you care. Fun fact. The Plunge San Diego is a huge indoor pool at Belmont Park. Remember the original movie Top Gun (not the newer one). Obviously many scenes were shot in San Diego. The locker room scene from that movie was actually filmed in the locker room at The Plunge (it's now just a storeroom). Have a little free time either before boarding or after debarkation. The Embarcadero is a nice walk along a flat concrete walkway. Head north from the cruise ship terminal. Walk far enough, and you will actually be back at the airport.

The airport is on the edge of DOWNTOWN. Depending on the time of day and traffic, a ride (by car/shuttle) can take you between 5-10 min from the airport to center city (or cruise terminal). Obviously you can throw that out the window around major travel holidays. But try and say 5-10 min airport to downtown from any other major city. San Diego and the suburbs comprise a very large area. I live in San Diego City and am still about 15 miles from downtown.

Most, if not all violence tends to occur away from the tourist zones. It is cartel violence and it mostly occurs in the local neighborhoods (not the tourist zones). Sometimes - the results of this violence will be put on display in the tourist areas to get the attention of the business owners and local media as well as the local government. The cartels do that as a way to communicate power, but as I said, the actual violence rarely occurs in the actual tourist zones. But that does not mean that cruisers and other visiting tourists don't do incredibly stupid things and either become an attractive crime target or get arrested. Just look at all the incidents that occur (seems almost daily) at our airports or onboard the planes themselves. Go on your cruise, BE SMART, BE A GOOD TOURIST, BE RESPECTFUL, and chances are very good that you will have an absolutely amazing time.

I would also look on the Cabo forum board on TripAdvisor (parent company of CruiseCritic). It is located here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g152515-i84-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html You can do a simple search of the forum or join for free and ask more specific questions. Other resources for whale watching. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g152515-Activities-c61-t167-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html and https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g152515-Activities-c61-t188-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html REMEMBER: Cabo is a TENDER PORT and it can shut down due to rough seas. We're talking the Pacific Ocean here and not the fairly tame Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico. Make sure you understand the cancellation policy clearly before booking. Best policy would be "No port, No pay". I might add there are also forums for Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g150792-i257-Mazatlan_Pacific_Coast.html and https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g150793-i46-Puerto_Vallarta.html Hope you have a great cruise. We leave in 1 week for our Carnival Panorama cruise doing Cabo, Maz, and PV. We were just in Cabo 3 weeks ago at our timeshare. Our 20th straight year spending at least a week (sometimes two) in Cabo.

Made a small error in my post. The other large Catamaran is SunRider (not SeaRider). The company does have a smaller catamaran called SeaRider (and it does claim to have a full bathroom as well), but I have no direct experience with that smaller boat. SunRider 100 is an excellent large boat and we have sailed it twice for sunset dinner cruises. The SunRider 100 can hold a lot of people (up to 250 according to their website). I've never been on it with that many (maybe 100). The SunRider 100 Whale Watching tour is 2.5 hrs long and it is currently priced at $98 (and it includes a nice lunch. They have a whole grill area setup back aft on the main deck. One hint - if you do go on this boat, maybe stay on the main deck until the food is served (or at least keep an eye on things if you decide to sit topside). That way you are ensured of getting the food you want when it first comes off the grill. If you are topside, it's easy to get distracted with the sights and miss out on the food when it is first set out. Not a biggie, you will still get fed, but... So go upstairs for the great seats if you want, but peak downstairs every 5-10 minutes. EcoCat is priced at $80 for 2 hours and DOESN'T include any food. Both provide an OPEN BAR. In a perfect world - I'd say to book ahead of time. February is prime time for Cabo whale watching so the ships will be in demand. But the problem is Cabo is a tender port and there is the potential for the marina to close due to rough water (tenders can't approach the cruise ship safely). I would contact sunridertours.com and caboecotours.com directly and find out what their cancellation policies are and if they have a "no port, no pay" policy or something similar for cruisers. Also be sure to discuss your wife's needs to make sure they understand your situation. Hope you have a great cruise.

And dad - take this in the right spirit. 3 hours on a boat won't kill your kids. Be the adult in the group and tell them how this experience is going to go. They may whine and pout, but they may also have the experience of a lifetime. And you will have been the one who provided them with that. And you can take pride in that.

It's not really a 3 hour excursion to see whales. You will make the obligatory run/slow cruise past the snorkeling area where some of the boats will throw tortillas into the water to bring the fish to the surface, then a slow cruise past Lover's Beach, then on to sea lion rock and the arch where you will sit for a few minutes, then probably around the corner slowly to view additional rock formations and caves (and of course "Divorce Beach" on the other side of Lovers Beach"). Depending on where the whales are - you might cruise up past Solmar Beach, Pedregal, and Sunset Beach to lighthouse mountain and an area below it where some of the movie "Troy" (with Brad Pitt) was filmed. That's probably at least 30 minutes of your time gone already. Then on to find some whales. Jan/Feb is peak time (IMO) so there shouldn't be any issue with finding them. Whales in Cabo are there to play and cavort (and train their juveniles on proper whale behavior). So there is a lot of activity. In Alaska (by comparison), they are there for serious feeding. So there, you will see spouts and tails and little else. People think seeing whales in Alaska are an attraction but they have never seen them in Cabo/Puerto Vallarta. If you get to see "bubble feeding" whales in Alaska, now that is a sight. But otherwise, fairly boring compared to Cabo. The better experience in Alaska is seeing a pod of Orca's, or a couple of bears feeding on some tasty salmon (but that is pretty rare). Even the Bald Eagles are more interesting to look at (IMO). The little inflatable boats don't get you any closer to the whales (other than being closer to the water line) and you really can't move around in them. There are enforceable limits on how close any boat can purposely get to the whales. Do the whales follow those rules - no, so many will come quite close all by themselves. Also no bathrooms. But they are faster moving. That's really not an advantage in my opinion. We've done both the fast ones's like Ocean Riders and the catamarans like Pez Gato & SeaRiders. I'd pick the catamarans any day. All of the larger catamarans will have at a minimum drinks and some snacks. The larger ones like EcoCat and SeaRiders will have regular bathrooms and the older catamarans like Pez Gato (still great, and a personal favorite) will still have smaller (single person) bathrooms. Smaller still means 40-80 passengers. Don't remember any music on our whale watching catamaran trips. It's more about seeing the whales, etc. Sunset Cruises - that's dinner, drinks, and party music. If you really want to tailor your experience, you probably need to charter a sailboat. There are many good ones in Cabo and you could just tell them what you want. Food, drinks, music would probably all be available. Just need to be willing to part with a larger pile of pesos.

From the looks of it (the picture), I'd venture that the folks were there to watch the "hairy chest" or "belly flop" competition.

The Rolling Stones were never at the 1969 Woodstock (they declined). Many others though (a total of 32 acts). Melanie (called back for 2 encores) Arlo Guthrie Joan Baez Santana Canned Heat Grateful Dead Creedence Clearwater Revival Janis Joplin Sly & The Family Stone The Who Jefferson Airplane Joe Cocker The Band Johnny Winter Blood, Sweat & Tears Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young by the time Jimi Hendrix played, the crowd had shrunk by more than half (Monday morning).

Does your tile have a replaceable battery (many do). Could be the old one is dead.

You are correct that the "basic" functions of an air tag will work with other Apple products. But the newest feature (which makes them so valuable is this... "Ultra Wideband Each AirTag incorporates a U1 chip, which Apple says enables unique precision tracking features for users with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12. The U1 chip can be used to more accurately determine the distance and direction to a lost AirTag when it is in range, using what Apple calls “Precision Tracking.” Each AirTag is equipped with the Apple-designed U1 chip using Ultra Wideband technology, enabling Precision Finding for iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users. This advanced technology can more accurately determine the distance and direction to a lost AirTag when it is in range. As a user moves, Precision Finding fuses input from the camera, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope, and then will guide them to AirTag using a combination of sound, haptics, and visual feedback." That technology (the U1 chip) has only been installed since the iPhone 11 so it is very doubtful that your friends old iPad can pull off that trick. Same with the Smart Tag+ by Samsung. The Ultra Wide Band technology has only been incorporated in the models S21 and newer. That Ultra Wide Band technology is what makes these items so valuable for tracking lost luggage. Pinpoint accuracy compared to ballpark accuracy. Tile is also working on incorporating Ultra Wide Band technology in a future product.

Further info on the trackers. For the Apple airtags best feature, you need an iPhone 11 or newer. For the Samsung "Smart Tag +" You need a Galaxy S21 or newer. Important to note that only the Smart tag + has a feature set similar the the Apple airtags.

If you have a newer (not new, but newer) iPhone, then airtags are a fantastic option. Available at places like Costco, Amazon, and other Apple authorized sellers. Costco will typically save you $10 on a set. For android users, Samsung also makes a set. But again - the best features requires the newer phones. The Apple airtag feature set is currently considered the best, but as always, don't play nicely with android phones.

Noon would be cutting it close unless you can be on one of the first tenders (AND the ship arrives on time). You don't have to walk very far (probably less than 10 minutes from the tender pier). Generally - the tours like you to be there at least 15 minutes early. The tender ride is only 10-15 minutes, but it all adds up. And obviously priority for tender seats will go first to ship sponsored excursions and passengers in suites and/or status holders with NCL. Your best option may be a ship sponsored excursion. If you are doing the 5 day cruise on NCL - get your outdoor fun time on the first full sea day. Once you leave Cabo, you will be heading home smack into the southbound Alaskan current and the southbound winds. It will be noticeably rougher and much windier heading north. You may not find time up on the pool deck that enjoyable unless your ship has a covered pool deck. It's just the nature of a Mexican Riviera cruise. South of Cabo is not so bad. We will be on Carnival Panorama in just 2 weeks. This will be our 6th Mexican Riviera cruise because we really enjoy West Coast cruising. Wish you the best.

Spirit Class ships (Spirit, Pride, Legend, & Miracle) have a multi level (stacked) fitness area vice one big floor area. So sometimes you have to look around to find the equipment you want. It's not always placed logically (like a circuit) but shoe-horned into the available space.

Good job on posting to TripAdvisor. Definitely the place to get your fishing answers. One further suggestion. When posting on the TripAdvisor forums, let them know you are a cruiser and what time your port visit hours are. Many there also cruise so it will help them tailor their advice to match your port visit. Otherwise - they might think you are on a land vacation and there for a week (which is not a bad idea). We've been spending a week (or two) there every year at our timeshare since 2002 (20 years running and haven't missed a year yet). Not a fisherman though. There is even a group on the Cabo board that have an annual little fishing tournament (usually right after the Bisby Black & Blue in late October). They have group dinners, little competitions, an awards ceremony, do some local charitable work, etc. Both of the people who first answered your question on TripAdvisor are regulars there and there are more who will probably pipe in. They can even provide the best advice if you want to do more than "catch and release". Hope you have a great trip.