Pride shore excursions and other questions

[Polina]

Hubby and I are sailing to Mexican Rivera on May 16th. We are already booked with Randi's Happy Horses for Mazatlan after reading so much about them on this board. What are some things not to miss in other ports (Cabo and PV)? We prefer activities such as beach and snorkeling. Not really interested in shopping. We are also comfortable doing things independently because my hubby speaks Spanish.

We also had a couple of questions about Pride. Do they have refrigirators in staterooms? Is there a self-service laundy onboard? What about the Supper Club - is the menu really that different from the dining room and is it worth the $25 per person? If so, how much in advance do we need to make reservations?

Thanks for your help!

[noodle]

We took our honeymoon in February aboard the Pride and had a fantastic time.

Our 8I stateroom had a mini refrigerator which was stocked with booze, juice, and candy. We took a few items out and chilled our wine in there, we also used the ice bucket to chill some wine.

We also did Randi's happy horses, and my husband is not into horses at all, but had a great time. The scenery is beautiful.

In PV, he golfed and I went on the swim with the dolphins which was pricey but fantastic.

In Cabo, I had wanted to do the ship's whale watching, but after spending so much for PV and Randi's horse, and a spa day, I couldn't justfy the $85 per person for another excursion. But, we got off the boat and there were people selling excursions. We were skeptical, but signed up for their whale watching since it was $35 per person, including drinks and lunch. We had a fantastic time. We saw humpbacks breachin just a few hundred feet away from the boat...It was amazing. The guys working on the boat were so nice and it was a very professional operation. I believe the same guys who sold us this trip offer snorkeling trips and other adventures. They are standing on the pier holding large boards with pictures of the different adventures they offer. Try and get on an early tender so that you don't miss something you'd be interested in if it takes off early. Our whale watching boat left as soon as we got on it, we would not have made it if we were on the next tender.

We ate at Davids on Thursday night. The service was fantastic, and the atmosphere was definitely quieter than the main dining room and more romantic. You can also dance to the singer/band they have up there and some people did. My husband had the surf and turf (filet and lobster tail), and I had a filet. His was fantastic but unfortunately I think my cut of meat was just a bad cut. Putting aside my bad cut of meat (which they offered to replace), the food is superior to the dining room. However, we loved the food in the dining room and did not really think that David's was $50 more superior to the dining room. I say, if your curious, try it since it is good. But, we are booked on the Spirit next year to Alaska and we won't do the supper club again.

The food in the main dining room exceeded our expectations. It by far was not the best food I have ever eaten (like a $250 meal at a fine french restaurant), but it was really good to excellent. We were surprised by the quality of the ingredients and really enjoyed it. My only suggestion: don't order the field green/baby greens salad expecting a lot of field/baby greens. It mostly was iceberg. I preferred the ceasar salads and the soups. Lobster bisque was fantastic.

My favorite: an apetizer called: Mushroom Ragout, it was a puff pastry topped with yummy sautee'd mushrooms with sauce. I could have put down about 5 of them.

Have a great time!

Pride 02/15/04
Spirit 05/11/05

[noodle]

Oh yeah, in PV, we ate dinner at a place called Pipi's. It is great, I eat there every time I go to PV. Just ask a cab driver if they know where it is and usually they do. We went around 4pm and the place was packed.

I had Pipi's special...enormous shrimp that were fantastic...and their margaritas on the rocks are to die for, and very strong. I have never gotten sick drinking an iced beverage in Mexico, but if you are worried, they claim to use purified water in their ice.

Pride 02/15/04
Spirit 05/11/05

[Polina]

Thank you for the info! We have inside guarantee, but it looks like we've been upgraded to the outside with obstructed view. Not bad! We were thinking about the Dolphin swim but it may be too pricey, so we'll have to see about that. It's no longer a whale watching season but there will probably be other tours we can buy at the terminal.

[mohavemommy]

Didn't do any other shore excursions, but Randi's is NOT TO BE MISSED! She is a wonderful person and her horses are well kept. You will not be disappointed. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

See my past cruise pics here:
[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/mohavemommy"]mohavemommy's Cruise Pics[/url]



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[Polina]

She e-mailed me back confirming our reservation. It will be fun! How much time did you have on the beach after the ride? Would we be able to go for a swim and lay out?

I hope you'll be posting a review of sorts about the Pride. Sounds like you had a good time and I'm sure we will too. 3 weeks and counting!

[JohnQ]

Polina,
We were on the Pride on 2/8, the week before Noodle, and had great time. We also had a inside guarantee,a first for us, and didn't know our cabin until we got to dock. We got an obstructed view outside with french doors, right between two life boats so it was great, lots of light and good view straight out.
We also did Randi's happy horses on Stone Island and the whole experience of getting there, the ride, lunch at Victors, and trip back are very nice and laid back. The total trip lasts about 5-6hrs, the ride through coconut palms and along beach is about 45min to an hour. Check out her website thru maz.info.com and you will see us and others.
Sweetcharlote wrote a detailed review of the Pride in February that was on our cruise. There are others also.
We also did Cabo whalewatching which was great and right outside of harbor. Saw several for the whole time we were out, just stayed there with them.
Also took Unimog Rainforest Safari Adventure and beach bbq in PV. It is a trip into the back country and private ranches in big Mercedes trucks and was a hoot. Lots of tequilla and fun.

[Polina]

Thanks!
I did go to the website but did not know it was you in some of those pictures [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

It's no longer a whale watching season but I believe there will be plenty of other things to do. If nothing else we'll be happy to take a cab to a nice beach.

I read some reviews about the Pride but don't remember who wrote them. Better go back and re-read [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]