Puerto Vallarta, Cabo and Mazatlan, how easy are the ports for elderly passengers?

[juanarcin]

My wife and I are doing the Panorama in December. We are taking 12 first time cruisers with us. among them are my in-laws and my mother. One concern of ours is that we will be focusing a lot on our parents who, while arent using any type of mobility assistance (scooters, walkers, canes etc) they still have a bad knee or need a rest  after a block or two They can keep walking but will have to stop for about 5 minutes every 2k steps or so. 

 

With that in mind, I have a few questions regarding these ports.

 

For Cabo, we are interested in a boat ride to the arch. However, Carnival has one for 45 min. We're not excited about getting dropped back onto the ship after 45 min in port. Would we be allowed to opt for staying out there and wondering on our own, then taking a cab back? Or are there private boat tours within a short walking distance of the port?

 

For Mazatlan and PV, just wondering how easy it is to get to the port to meet with third party excursions. 

Thanks!

[Mike45LC]

Cabo is a tender port.  Can your folks handle going from the ship to a tender boat?  There is crew to help with that transition.   The passengers have to get on to the tender from the ship and then later, go from the tender back to the ship.  The tender and the ship are both rocking somewhat, and his can be daunting for some.  Getting off (and back on) the tender dockside is usually not a problem.  

 

You do not have to take a ship's excursion to the Arch.  There are dozens or hundreds of "glass bottom boats" offering this boat ride once you disembark from the tender.  No advance planning needed.  The standard tour is to motor out to "Lovers' Beach," where some people might choose to get off the boat -- into waist or thigh-high water to wade ashore.  No services.  I do NOT recommend this for elderly people!  The boat then briefly stops to allow you to look through the window in the hull to see the colorful fish.  Then, look at the (stinking!) sea lions on their rock, and do a photo op of the Arch.  People do NOT get off at the Arch.  Then, a peek at "Divorce Beach" (the Pacific Ocean side of Lovers' Beach where the surf is rough), and the boat will drive over to Medano Beach, where the limber can off-load into waist-deep water for beach time with FULL-services.  (Cafes for food and drink, beach vendors, water sports, rest rooms, loungers, umbrellas, etc.)  But again, not for the elderly!  [Once your boat trip is over, you can catch a land-based taxi to and from the beach without having to fight the waves.]

 

The glass bottom boat ride will leave you back at the Cabo Marina near the tender dock.  The Marina is full of shops (including liquor and pharmacies) and cafes and bars.  Wander around to your heart's content, and then return to the ship whenever you feel like it.  

 

I don't recall a lot of public benches at the Cabo Marina for your folks to rest on.  I am not saying there aren't any, just that I don't recall them.  You can preview the walk on You Tube to see if there are benches.

[Mike45LC]

Mazatlan:

 

Once you disembark the cruise ship, you need to take a shuttle free service to the Cruise Passenger Terminal.  No wandering around the port on your own is allowed, it is a functioning commercial port.  

 

The Terminal has a lot of shops and tour vendors.  Once you clear that hurdle, there are mobs of golf-cart drivers and tour salesmen.  A group of 12 will need multiple carts!  Negotiate the prices before you get in.  The carts will take you wherever you want to go -- we have done tours, but mostly we go to the Cathedral and the Market.  These are the two main sights in Mazatlan.  You can walk from the Cathedral to the Market.

 

Again, I don't recall any public benches.

 

Grab another set of golf carts, either to the Golden Zone (hotels, restaurants, shop and bars, and the beach) to back to the ship.

 

I DO recall a public bench in the Golden Zone.  I was sitting waiting for my wife (who was in a jewelry store) on a bench outside Senor Frog's Merchandise Store when a guy with a tuba sat down next to me, and started practicing.  He was just trying to get into tune while waiting for his "banda" group to assemble.  I won't be using the bench when you visit Mazatlan, so your folks can have it if the tuba guy isn't there!

 

[Mike45LC]

Mazatlan:  I do not know where third party tours pick up their passengers, but probably right at the Passenger Terminal.

[Mike45LC]

Puerto Vallarta

 

Third party tour companies usually pick up their passengers right near the piers where the ship docks.  My last PV excursion was through the ship, so the pick-up was right next to the ship. 

 

Check with your tour provider to make sure.  Some might be a short cab ride away, but with the number of people you have, that is harder than it sounds!

 

A tour operator is likely to be accommodating for such a large group.

 

[Ine]

In Puerto Vallarta you will see certified guides (ask for their license in case of doubt) on the dock or at the exit offering all kinds of tours. Talk to them and see what they can offer you. Maybe a private tour or with a small group. 

[juanarcin]

13 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

Cabo is a tender port.  Can your folks handle going from the ship to a tender boat?  There is crew to help with that transition.   The passengers have to get on to the tender from the ship and then later, go from the tender back to the ship.  The tender and the ship are both rocking somewhat, and his can be daunting for some.  Getting off (and back on) the tender dockside is usually not a problem.  

 

You do not have to take a ship's excursion to the Arch.  There are dozens or hundreds of "glass bottom boats" offering this boat ride once you disembark from the tender.  No advance planning needed.  The standard tour is to motor out to "Lovers' Beach," where some people might choose to get off the boat -- into waist or thigh-high water to wade ashore.  No services.  I do NOT recommend this for elderly people!  The boat then briefly stops to allow you to look through the window in the hull to see the colorful fish.  Then, look at the (stinking!) sea lions on their rock, and do a photo op of the Arch.  People do NOT get off at the Arch.  Then, a peek at "Divorce Beach" (the Pacific Ocean side of Lovers' Beach where the surf is rough), and the boat will drive over to Medano Beach, where the limber can off-load into waist-deep water for beach time with FULL-services.  (Cafes for food and drink, beach vendors, water sports, rest rooms, loungers, umbrellas, etc.)  But again, not for the elderly!  [Once your boat trip is over, you can catch a land-based taxi to and from the beach without having to fight the waves.]

 

The glass bottom boat ride will leave you back at the Cabo Marina near the tender dock.  The Marina is full of shops (including liquor and pharmacies) and cafes and bars.  Wander around to your heart's content, and then return to the ship whenever you feel like it.  

 

I don't recall a lot of public benches at the Cabo Marina for your folks to rest on.  I am not saying there aren't any, just that I don't recall them.  You can preview the walk on You Tube to see if there are benches.

Thank you so much for the detailed info! This sounds doable, I believe getting in the tender will be fine but if course I won't speak for them. Once they see it, they can decide, snd if they can manage the rest should be fine. Thanks again! 

[juanarcin]

13 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

Mazatlan:

 

Once you disembark the cruise ship, you need to take a shuttle free service to the Cruise Passenger Terminal.  No wandering around the port on your own is allowed, it is a functioning commercial port.  

 

The Terminal has a lot of shops and tour vendors.  Once you clear that hurdle, there are mobs of golf-cart drivers and tour salesmen.  A group of 12 will need multiple carts!  Negotiate the prices before you get in.  The carts will take you wherever you want to go -- we have done tours, but mostly we go to the Cathedral and the Market.  These are the two main sights in Mazatlan.  You can walk from the Cathedral to the Market.

 

Again, I don't recall any public benches.

 

Grab another set of golf carts, either to the Golden Zone (hotels, restaurants, shop and bars, and the beach) to back to the ship.

 

I DO recall a public bench in the Golden Zone.  I was sitting waiting for my wife (who was in a jewelry store) on a bench outside Senor Frog's Merchandise Store when a guy with a tuba sat down next to me, and started practicing.  He was just trying to get into tune while waiting for his "banda" group to assemble.  I won't be using the bench when you visit Mazatlan, so your folks can have it if the tuba guy isn't there!

 

Thank you for this! And for letting us have the bench! 😂 

 

This actually sounds like a great plan, so much so that we may skip the tour and just do it on our own with the golf carts. I believe we are in Mazatlan from 6:30 am to 3pm so the amount of time we would be out would depend on how early everyone eakes up. 

 

As for your advice in PV, I believe we saw a 3rd party excursion service that can accommodate a private group of ip to 19 people. So that may turn out to be the only port where we do an excursion since everything else sounds so doable.

 

Your replies truly answered so many questions for me and now I'm even more excited! One last question (I feel like now I'm Taking advantage lol.. Sorry). We  are actually Mexican American and all speak Spanish fluently, so that helps but it also means that we many of us will be very picky about eating americanized Mexican food made for tourist... Especially when we are aware of the great local flavors. If we stick to those recommended locations in mazatlan and cabo, how likely are we to find authentic food? 

I figure with a private guide in PV doing a custom tour we have a greater chance of eating authentic... Though I'm very much aware of the possibility of them taking us to restaurants that pay them per customer. But that's something we can discuss with them. 

 

Once again thank you for all your help, it was more info than I was expecting and I'm grateful that you practically planned out everything for us! You laid out a great road map for us to follow, my family and I all thank you! 

[juanarcin]

1 hour ago, Ine said:

In Puerto Vallarta you will see certified guides (ask for their license in case of doubt) on the dock or at the exit offering all kinds of tours. Talk to them and see what they can offer you. Maybe a private tour or with a small group. 

We found a tour that can accommodate a small private group of up to 19 people in PV! I was concerned about this as well but luckily it worked out on this one port. Even better is that broken down per passenger, it still works out to a much better rate per person than any of the ships excursions. And for a much longer time. This is great for us because we can take advantage of the full 8 hour day offered since we will be in Port for 12 hours that day. Thanks! 

[Reva_Dearchi]

On 6/25/2022 at 10:22 AM, juanarcin said:

We found a tour that can accommodate a small private group of up to 19 people in PV! I was concerned about this as well but luckily it worked out on this one port. Even better is that broken down per passenger, it still works out to a much better rate per person than any of the ships excursions. And for a much longer time. This is great for us because we can take advantage of the full 8 hour day offered since we will be in Port for 12 hours that day. Thanks! 

Hi!  Do you recall the name of the tour operator or was it just random once you got off the ship?  We are a family of 12 travelling in August 2023.  Thanks