3kidsncats

San Pedro is also my home port, and we have done this itinerary at least 5 times. We have also done (and have one booked end of next month) the shorter 3 or 4 day trips. But, we don’t book a lot in the way of excursions. I did a very extensive review on our NCL trip back in 2016, which has a lot of port stuff if you feel like checking it out, link in my signature NCL Jewel Haven 2016 — just scroll past all the ship stuff. Be mindful that there has been an uptick recently of violence in these ports (Mexico generally, but lately even in Ensenada, Cabo, etc) — so pay attention to advisories, and don’t explore on your own anywhere that isn’t super touristy. In Cabo, you will be bombarded by hawkers selling boat transport/tours, jewelry, “the best restaurant” etc. The further you walk from the ship, to your right and around the harbor, the better the pricing becomes. We had a great experience and pricing by walking about halfway around the harbor to the less frenzied tour people. (This is included in the review I mentioned along with Divorce Beach and the arches). We have a pretty casual routine with our friends at this point of just hitting Cabo Wabo (I like their shrimp tacos) right at opening, then a few specific shops as we walk back. Mazatlan has the Blue Line from the port entrance that you can walk to take you to the center of the historic town (in review). At the end of the line, you will find a group of expats with maps and helpful info for you. The cathedral is lovely, as are some of the squares where you can have a nice meal outside with very festive atmosphere. Puerto Vallarta I suggest the Malecon (in review 2016) via cab. We took the bus, but these days I would opt for the taxi instead. There is also usually an excursion to Las Caletas that we LOVE. It’s pricey but worth it. We’ve done it a couple of times now. The kids will love it, no beggars, tour operator is safety conscious and does a great job. Included food is very good, massage upgrade was awesome, but I did drink way too much tequila (open bar included). They have a website where you can get more info, just google las Caletas.

Makes me glad that we had already decided (without having looked at current pricing) that we would not opt to do specialty dining on our upcoming quick local cruise (3 night out of LA for belated husband’s birthday trip). We did the unlimited package on our last cruise — a 12 night on Anthem and truly got the specialty restaurants out of our system. Between being Diamond now and having the drink vouchers, coffee machine and snacks in the lounge (we enjoyed our experience in the SL, so assuming DL is similar) and it being such a short cruise, we figure we will stick with a full on low budget quick getaway. I do think I will be bidding on, or outright upgrading us from an interior to a balcony though, lol

So glad we did our major travel year during 2021 and early this year (but booked in 2021). Our Adventure cruises (B2B) out of Nassau last August had water park passes at about $35, the cabana option was $399. We booked Beach club for $99, and an over the water cabana one day for $998. We booked an OS for the current pricing of a JS. And it’s not just RCI jacking up prices — it’s throughout the travel industry. We had the most incredible 3 week trip to Europe this past spring, with several high end hotels mixed in that I booked in Nov/Dec that are all now double or triple regardless of what date I look at — even the moderate hotels. People told us we were nuts to take these trips, but we are happy we did because we couldn’t afford them now. Oh, and did I mention no crowds. Sorry OP, that you are facing this kind of pricing. It’s possible the prices will drop, so just check regularly and maybe you will luck out.