Detailed Photo Review of Carnival Panorama 8 Night Mexican Riviera New Year’s Cruise 12/30/23

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, pinto18 said:

We are going in a few weeks. My husband really wanted to swim with the whale sharks but thinks the water might be too cold to really enjoy it. Did you happen to stick your feet int the water? Was it brrrrrr?

We went to the first beach that the free shuttle stops at; and the water was clear and not too cold (although it wasn’t the nicest beach; it would have been a big hassle to get out to Balandra Beach)

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, pinto18 said:

We are going in a few weeks. My husband really wanted to swim with the whale sharks but thinks the water might be too cold to really enjoy it. Did you happen to stick your feet int the water? Was it brrrrrr?

I have found the Pacific off of Mazatlan to be more brrrrrr than the Atlantic off of Fort Lauderdale. I think a wetsuit even a shorty is a good idea👍

Edited January 21 by ninjacat123

[mitsugirly]

32 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

We went to the first beach that the free shuttle stops at; and the water was clear and not too cold (although it wasn’t the nicest beach; it would have been a big hassle to get out to Balandra Beach)

 

I just seen something online about Balandra Beach and it looks beautiful. Can you tell me why it would be a big hassle to get there?

[jerseygirlinAZ]

6 hours ago, deladane said:

Tuesday, January 2 | La Paz, Mexico | 8:00am to 5:00pm

 

Back when I was researching daily excursions, I decided to start my research with the smallest, least touristy port, and move on from there.  That was La Paz, and no surprise, it proved to be the most challenging port to pick an excursion.  The port itself is industrial and there isn’t anything to do in that immediate area.  Most cruise passengers go to the center of town where they can walk along the Malecon, go to a restaurant, or shop in some of the touristy shops.  I’m not really a fan of shopping for trinkets that will just gather dust on a shelf once we get home (and Ian gets bored quickly when we put him in the stroller to go shopping at home), so while this was a possibility, it was not my first choice of what to do that day.  

 

There are 2 popular beaches located about 15 minutes north of the cruise port.  They looked very pretty, but also very remote.  I was unsure about the idea of spending the day at the beach, especially one with few resources.  I was not sure if there was any natural shade, or a place to rent an umbrella and some lounge chairs.  When we go to the pool at our community center, Ian is content for about an hour and then he’s ready to go home.  It seemed like a lot of effort to go to the beach if he was only going to tolerate it for an hour and then want to leave. This was still a possibility on my list, but not the ideal choice.

 

Another very popular activity in La Paz is swimming with whale sharks and/or sea lions.  Pre-child, there is no doubt in my mind that this is how Jason and I would have opted to spend our day.  La Paz is one of the top places in the world to swim with whale sharks, and this seemed like an incredible bucket-list opportunity.  The problem was that this would definitely not be a toddler-friendly excursion.  It would involve riding on a small boat out into the Sea of Cortez, and spending several hours on that boat.  My past experience with similar tours was that everyone jumps in the water together, so who would be left on the boat to watch Ian?  And even if Jason and I could somehow take turns going in the water, it still seemed unsafe to take a toddler on a small boat in the open water.  We spent a lot of time debating back and forth on if we should leave Ian in Camp Ocean while we left the ship to do this excursion.  There are some tours which last the whole day and include swimming with both whale sharks and sea lions, then having lunch somewhere, then going to the beach, and we would be gone for 7+ hours.  We knew we couldn’t do a tour like that, but we thought it would be possible to pick a shorter 2-3 hour tour in the morning.  Ian has been going to daycare full time Monday through Friday for 10 hours a day since he was 6 months old.  He loves daycare and always has so much fun (based on the reports from his teachers and from all the photos they upload into the school app), but we had no way to know in advance how he would react to camp on the cruise with all new kids and counselors and a new environment he wasn’t used to.  Unfortunately, swimming with whale sharks would have to wait for another time, but it wasn’t in the cards for this cruise.

 

Every few weeks through the fall, I did another search online for things to do in La Paz, hoping to see something new.  In the end, I really couldn’t find anything specific that would work for us, so we decided to do something we almost never do and have no plans for the day.  We would find our way to the downtown area, walk along the Malecon, and see where the day took us.  The biggest question was how exactly would we get downtown?  La Paz is not a very common cruise port for Carnival, so there was basically no information about it on Cruise Critic.  Some Princess itineraries go there, and I was able to find out that Princess offered their passengers a free shuttle bus to get downtown, but I had no idea if Carnival would make the same arrangements for us.  Princess is owned by Carnival Corporation so I kept my fingers crossed that they would handle things similarly for us.  Planning to have no plan kind of gives me anxiety with all the unknowns, but worst case scenario, we would just cut the day short and go back to the ship, or just never get off the ship at all that day.

 

You were very wise not to swim with the whale sharks.  We did this (well, tried to do this) as our eight-year old had her heart set on it.  Hubby and I went back and forth and back and forth on it.  (He had a bad feeling.)  I did a ton of research and asked for feedback in multiple forums/facebook sites, especially regarding our daughter.  Ultimately, we decided to give it a go.

 

We booked ahead of time for 10 a.m., knowing that the time could change a bit due to regulations.  The day before our tour, I got a call from the company saying that their turn was at noon.  We could either go or cancel.  (Should have cancelled, but more on that in a minute.)  I was a little concerned, but it seemed like we'd still have plenty of time to make the ship, so we decided to go.  

 

The next morning, I got a text saying they had a cancellation for the 10 a.m. tour.  Would we want to go then?  (This seemed shady to me as we actually requested the 10 a.m. tour, but they said they didn't have a turn til noon.)  No matter ... yes, we'll go at 10.

 

Checked in at 10 as instructed.  Guide said we were waiting for a few more people.  We asked if we could grab a quick bite and be back at 10:30.  Guide said to be back at 11.  Hmmm.

 

Got back to the meeting site at 10:40.  Waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Didn't go out on the boat until almost 1 p.m.   Texted the tour guide who I had been in touch with and expressed my concern about making it back to the ship on time.  He texted me back in ALL CAPS that back to the ship is guaranteed.  

 

So, after waiting around for three hours, it was suddenly rush, rush, rush.  They put 14 of us on the boat and started throwing out lifejackets for everyone to wear.  We took off really fast and the boat kept slamming against the waves.   My daughter was singing a made-up song about the whale sharks, which was really cute.  I, however, regretted getting on that boat.  It was not a nice ride.

 

We rode out really far to where the sharks were supposed to be.  After a long time, the crew finally spotted some.  By now, the water was really rough and the weather was cloudy.  The crew handed our snorkel gear, some of which did not have clips to attach the tube to the goggles.  The y offered wet suits and fins, but there was not space to put any of that stuff on in the crowded boat.  One lady was vocally complaining about how it was not safe for any of us to be out in that water.  Most people just brushed her off.

 

The two-man crew only spoke Spanish, which was fine except that the tour said we'd have an English speaking guide.  I can speak a tiny bit of Spanish so I could understand a bit of what they were saying.  There was a bilingual couple on board with us that translated some things, especially when things got dicey.

 

The first four people got ready to get into the water with the whale sharks.  They were the least concerned about the conditions and couldn't wait to get in.  The got in with the guide, went under the water, lost some snorkel gear, and called immediately for the boat to come get them.  They got back in the boat and the "captain" asked who was next.  Every single person on the boat declined to get in the water after that.  

 

One lady who didn't get into the water wanted a video at least since she paid for the tour.  So the first mate, I guess, got in and took a video for her while he swam with the whale sharks.  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and we are WAY far out in the Sea of Cortez.  First mate gets back in the boat and the water is really rough now.  One guy is puking over the side of the boat.  White cap waves are tossing the little boat we're in.  Captain moves all the people around to more evenly distribute the weight, puts on his lifejacket, and slowly tried to maneuver the big waves.  Tick, tick, tick.

 

Once the waves started to smooth out, we started hauling butt back to shore.  We were watching the clock the whole time, terrified that we wouldn't make the ship on time.  Just when we thought we had a decent chance, the motor of the boat died.  My heart SANK.  Our fellow passenger who was bilingual (and not a cruise passenger) said we were out of gas.  I almost died.  Thankfully that wasn't the case.  The boat was taking the waves and crashing down so hard that the battery disconnected.  They were able to fix it though and we continued toward shore.  Tick, tick, tick.

 

We were told we'd be let off at a dock closer to the ship and a van would be waiting for us. (Nine of the 14 of us were cruise passengers.) Not the case.  The boat dropped us on a beach.  No one helped us off or secured the boat.  My husband got injured getting off the boat.  We grabbed our stuff and ran toward the road.  Ship leaves in 10 minutes.  Thankfully, we found a van taxi.  Husband flagged him down and our party of three and the party of four that went in the water got in.  As we drove off, we saw that the other couple trying to make it back to the ship was able to get a taxi as well.  (We would have invited them to join us, but they were behind us and there was no room.)

 

As we were driving to the ship, the tour operator called me to see if we still needed the van.  I lit him up.  Told him it was the worst excursion ever and that we might miss the ship.  Thankfully, we made it with five minutes to spare.  As we were getting out of our van, we saw the other couple pulling up as well.  So, we all made it, but it was really scary for a bit there.

 

As we walked onto the ship, my husband kissed it, lol.  As I was walking onto the ship, the crew member said, "watch your step" and I immediately tripped and fell on me knees.  Ugh.  I was so exhausted and just trying to get on board.  My knee still hasn't healed, but at least we didn't miss the ship.

 

So, moral of the story?  Trust your instincts.  (I almost cancelled twice.)  And listen to your partner when they say they have a bad feeling.  Sorry to hijack your review, deladane.  

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

 

I just seen something online about Balandra Beach and it looks beautiful. Can you tell me why it would be a big hassle to get there?

You have to take the free port shuttle into downtown; to the bus station. THEN catch the Playa Bus.

the ride from the port to the bus station is 30 minutes (one-way) and the ride to Playa Balandra is 45 minutes (one-way).

Playa Balandra closes from 12-1 each day to clean up.

We docked too late to catch a morning spot; and we left port too early to catch a late bus. (unless we literally wanted to ride busses for 3 hours to spend only an hour at the beach)

playa Balandra IS beautiful..but there’s no chance of a cruiser on a time-table, to make it.

La Paz is definitely a one-and-done cruise port for us.

[pinto18]

OMG on the whale shark excursion story!! We have been to La Paz on a cruise one other time a few years ago and my husband was very hyped on the whale sharks, but when we got there they said the seas were too choppy and no tours were going out. I think we dodged a bullet!

[deladane]

@jerseygirlinAZ No worries about the hijack.  I was riveted reading your post.  My heart rate is up right now.  You must have been going crazy that whole time with nerves and anxiety!  That's such a crazy story!  I would have demanded a refund.  You definitely did not get what you paid for!!  I hope your knee heals up soon! 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

32 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

OMG on the whale shark excursion story!! We have been to La Paz on a cruise one other time a few years ago and my husband was very hyped on the whale sharks, but when we got there they said the seas were too choppy and no tours were going out. I think we dodged a bullet!

 

1 minute ago, deladane said:

@jerseygirlinAZ No worries about the hijack.  I was riveted reading your post.  My heart rate is up right now.  You must have been going crazy that whole time with nerves and anxiety!  That's such a crazy story!  I would have demanded a refund.  You definitely did not get what you paid for!!  I hope your knee heals up soon! 

 

Definitely dodged a bullet!  We literally thought we might capsize and, not trying to be dramatic here, die.  I kept apologizing to my husband because, like I said, he had a really bad feeling and didn't really want to go.  He was scanning the sea to see which was the closest boat to swim to in case we capsized.  We have zero pictures from the excursion because it was rough enough that we couldn't have our phones out at all.  We were all soaked because of the water coming into the boat.  (Didn't mention that in my first post.)

 

We did request a refund.  I was only given 300 characters to explain why we requested a refund.  (I needed like 3,000 characters, lol.)  After submitting, it said it could take four to six days.  We had half our money back within three hours.  I guess I could have fought for more, but we did go on the boat and we did see a whale shark from the ship, and, honestly, I was just happy to put the whole ordeal behind us.  

[deladane]

4 minutes ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

 

 

Definitely dodged a bullet!  We literally thought we might capsize and, not trying to be dramatic here, die.  I kept apologizing to my husband because, like I said, he had a really bad feeling and didn't really want to go.  He was scanning the sea to see which was the closest boat to swim to in case we capsized.  We have zero pictures from the excursion because it was rough enough that we couldn't have our phones out at all.  We were all soaked because of the water coming into the boat.  (Didn't mention that in my first post.)

 

We did request a refund.  I was only given 300 characters to explain why we requested a refund.  (I needed like 3,000 characters, lol.)  After submitting, it said it could take four to six days.  We had half our money back within three hours.  I guess I could have fought for more, but we did go on the boat and we did see a whale shark from the ship, and, honestly, I was just happy to put the whole ordeal behind us.  

 

I'm guessing they immediately gave you the 50% refund in hopes that you don't sue them for emotional distress!  What a horrible experience!   I noticed Carnival doesn't have any excursions to swim with the whale sharks.  Maybe they couldn't find a reputable company to partner with?

[deladane]

3 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

We went to the first beach that the free shuttle stops at; and the water was clear and not too cold (although it wasn’t the nicest beach; it would have been a big hassle to get out to Balandra Beach)

 

3 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

I just seen something online about Balandra Beach and it looks beautiful. Can you tell me why it would be a big hassle to get there?

 

We were wondering about that beach where the shuttle stops.  Looking back, I'm really not sure how people get to Balandra Beach... maybe on an excursion?  I didn't see taxis at the port.

[jerseygirlinAZ]

2 minutes ago, deladane said:

 

I'm guessing they immediately gave you the 50% refund in hopes that you don't sue them for emotional distress!  What a horrible experience!   I noticed Carnival doesn't have any excursions to swim with the whale sharks.  Maybe they couldn't find a reputable company to partner with?

 

I think it's because the government only lets a certain amount of boats out at certain times. We sat on the boat just floating for a good 20 minutes waiting for the clearance to actually go toward the whale sharks.  

 

I've done many excursions with companies off ship, but I don't think I'll do anything water-related again.  It was extremely stressful.

 

I also heard that Carnival's policy is that you can't meet up at the next port and you have to meet up back at the port of origin if you miss the ship.  Anyone know if that's true?

[deladane]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

You have to take the free port shuttle into downtown; to the bus station. THEN catch the Playa Bus.

the ride from the port to the bus station is 30 minutes (one-way) and the ride to Playa Balandra is 45 minutes (one-way).

Playa Balandra closes from 12-1 each day to clean up.

We docked too late to catch a morning spot; and we left port too early to catch a late bus. (unless we literally wanted to ride busses for 3 hours to spend only an hour at the beach)

playa Balandra IS beautiful..but there’s no chance of a cruiser on a time-table, to make it.

La Paz is definitely a one-and-done cruise port for us.

 

Oh wow, that's quite a schlep just to get to the beach!  Even if it is beautiful, that doesn't seem worth the effort.

[KarmaCruisers]

1 minute ago, deladane said:

 

Oh wow, that's quite a schlep just to get to the beach!  Even if it is beautiful, that doesn't seem worth the effort.

Not if you’re a cruise passenger; and we were in a party of 9 (with three young boys) so it was impossible to formalize and real plans.

we wished we’d of not went into town and just rode the bus back from that little beach.

[mitsugirly]

10 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

You have to take the free port shuttle into downtown; to the bus station. THEN catch the Playa Bus.

the ride from the port to the bus station is 30 minutes (one-way) and the ride to Playa Balandra is 45 minutes (one-way).

Playa Balandra closes from 12-1 each day to clean up.

We docked too late to catch a morning spot; and we left port too early to catch a late bus. (unless we literally wanted to ride busses for 3 hours to spend only an hour at the beach)

playa Balandra IS beautiful..but there’s no chance of a cruiser on a time-table, to make it.

La Paz is definitely a one-and-done cruise port for us.

 

Wow that does sound like a lot just to get there. Do they not have taxi's that can take you?

 

@jerseygirlinAZ that had to be the most heart pounding story ever! Oh my gosh I would have died. I'm so sorry the whale excursion didn't work out for you guys. We did one when we were staying on the island at Isla Mujeres Mexico and it has to be one of the number one excursions we've ever experienced. I hope you get another chance in the future (maybe during a visit to Cozumel or something). It's a once in a life time experience. I feel so bad for you with this experience. 😞 

[mitsugirly]

8 hours ago, deladane said:

 

 

We were wondering about that beach where the shuttle stops.  Looking back, I'm really not sure how people get to Balandra Beach... maybe on an excursion?  I didn't see taxis at the port.

 

I just looked up some of the excursions in La Paz, offered by Carnival, and they do have one to Balandra Bay. That might be how you have to get there without the hassle and make sure you get back on time. I spent yesterday watching video's of the place and oh my gosh, it looks beautiful!

[deladane]

It was a short walk past the 4 or 5 vendors and through the port building, and then we found the large shuttle bus waiting for us.  The bus was nearly full when we got there, so Jason and Ian boarded while I loaded the stroller into the storage compartment under the bus.

 

 

I was surprised that there was no wait or line to get on the bus.  I’m not sure if it was more crowded earlier in the morning, but this worked out great for us.  Jason snagged the 3-seater row at the very back of the bus so we could all sit together.  We left the port shortly after boarding the bus.

 

 

Ian has never ridden on a bus before and he loved it.  He stared out the window for the entire ride.  Maybe he was just excited to face forwards on a moving vehicle, since his car seat is still installed in the backwards facing direction?  When he returned to daycare the week after the cruise, his teachers asked him his favorite part of the cruise.  Ian’s response: “I rode on a bus!” …#Toddlers!

 

 

A minute or two into the ride, a lady stood up at the front of the bus and introduced herself as our guide for the bus ride.  I don’t remember her name, but she told us lots of facts and information about La Paz, which helped pass the time as we drove the 15 minute ride to our first stop at the beach.  I tried to snap a few photos along the way, but it’s always challenging from a moving bus and with the window glare.  

 

 

I happened to capture this man riding his bike… I didn’t even see him coming!  Good timing, I guess!

 

 

I knew that the Baja Peninsula was in a desert climate, but I had no idea they had this many cacti!  I live in Phoenix.  I see cactus every day, but rarely do I see so many cacti so close together.  It was beautiful!

 

 

 

[deladane]

We pulled over at the beach at 10:20am and the guide explained that we had the option to exit the bus here to go to the beach, or we could stay on until the next stop downtown.  She said the buses would come every 20 minutes, but that if you wanted to go to the beach, you should get off now because after leaving downtown, the bus would return back to the ship and not stop at the beach again.  Nearly everyone got off the bus here.  I tried to get a sneak peek at the beach, but I couldn’t really see much from the bus.

 

 

 

No one was ready to leave the beach this early in the day, so the bus left with those of us who stayed on, and drove another 15 minutes until we reached downtown.  I took a screenshot of Google Maps so we could find our way back to this spot later on to catch the shuttle back to the bus, but that wasn’t necessary as it was very easy to find.  We were at the main bus station downtown and it was a busy hub for both tourists and locals alike.

 

 

Sorry about the sun glare but this was the outside of the bus station:

 

 

[deladane]

As I mentioned, we didn’t have much of a plan for today besides walking along the Malecon and getting a drink or maybe lunch somewhere.  The weather was absolutely perfect with temps in the mid 70s, low humidity, and a slight breeze.  The Malecon is beautiful with lots of shops and restaurants on the inland side, and a long walking path along the ocean side. There were a bunch of sculptures along the way, so Jason pushed Ian in the stroller and I tried to snap a few photos as we walked along.

 

 

 

 

 

It was such a perfect day for a walk along the beach!  I’m not sure how deep the sand was at the beach where the bus dropped people off, but the stretch of beach along the Malecon was beautiful and there were lots of people swimming and sunbathing.  You could very easily have a beach day down here at the beach and skip the other beach stop.

 

 

 

[deladane]

Like most touristy cities, La Paz had the giant brightly colored letters spelling out the city name as a photo opportunity.  We waited for a few families ahead of us in line, then we had our turn.  It was nice that people just naturally lined up to give each family their own photo op.  I have seen similar touristy photo ops when people weren’t nearly as civilized, so everyone ended up with strangers in their photos.  No one wants that!

 

While we waited in line, a guy came up to each family trying to sell footage from his drone at the La Paz sign.  He said he would get a video of you standing in front of the sign waving, then he flew the drone up and down the Malecon, and then came back towards you from out over the water to capture your image from the other direction.  The people ahead of us did it, and Ian loved watching the drone fly, but we opted to just have the people behind us in line take the photo on my phone for free.  I do wish I had thought to ask him what he charged as we were curious about it, but we never found out.

 

 

Ian wouldn’t cooperate and look at the woman taking our picture, and he was getting fussy in his stroller, so we just rolled him off to the side and Jason and I took a nice photo together.

 

 

After that, we continued walking down the Malecon.  

 

 

 

There was a nice wide pier jutting out into the water, so we took a detour to walk along the pier and see the views.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22 by deladane

[deladane]

We walked about a mile down the Malecon until the beach ended in a marina.  There was a fun restaurant and bar right on the water called Estrella del Mar.  It wasn’t busy and they had lots of tables outside on the patio with shade, so we stopped in for a drink.  

 

 

 

 

 

Dos Equis was 50 pesos (just under $3 USD), so we ordered a round of drinks. 

 

 

Ian had fun dancing around on the deck and burned off some energy while we relaxed in the shade and enjoyed our beers.  

 

 

The thatched roof made some weird shadows across our faces.  Too bad, because otherwise this would have been a great photo!

 

 

 

[deladane]

We were having such a lovely time that we ended up ordering a second round of beers.  We were both still full from that breakfast burrito at Blue Iguana this morning or I would have suggested we order some food too.  When we finished our drinks, it was time for the mile-long walk back to the bus station.  At first we walked along the Malecon, admiring the views, but then we got too hot so we crossed over to the inland side because there was shade from the store awnings.

 

 

We got back to the bus station at 1:30pm and at first, we weren’t sure where to go.  There were lots of locals coming and going because the city and regional buses also used this station.  We noticed there was a line wrapping around the corner, and when we looked closer, we realized some people had Carnival towels and Sign and Sail cards in their hands.  We found the end of the line and asked the people ahead of us to make sure this was the right place.  It was, so we got in line behind them.

 

 

Even though the line seemed really long, it only took 20 minutes to reach the front of the line.  This time, the shuttle was a public city bus instead of a coach bus, so there wasn’t space underneath to put the stroller, but they just let us collapse it and carry it on through the wheelchair door at the back of the bus.  It took about 30 minutes to drive back to the ship, and there was just a short line of people waiting to board.  We went straight back to the cabin so Ian could nap, and this little guy was waiting for us:

 

 

Jason stayed in the cabin with Ian while I went to Lido to get us a Fungi pizza to share.  Like yesterday, it wasn’t crowded and I got my pizza right away.  I brought it back to the cabin and we took it out onto the balcony.  As pleasant as the weather was while we were out in the sun by the beach, it was actually kind of chilly sitting out on the balcony.  We were on the shaded side of the ship, and I needed to wear a light long sleeve shirt to avoid goosebumps.

[deladane]

While we were out on the balcony, we chatted about how nice it was to have an unstructured, low key day in port.  I almost always pack my port days full of exciting things to do, so it is very rare that we end up just walking a mile along the beach, getting a beer, then walking back and calling it a day.  It was very refreshing and we had a great day.  Not so great that I was going to abort the rest of our port day plans, but great enough that maybe I’ll save one port day on our next cruise for a similar low key day… maybe!

 

We were treated to a glorious sunset as we watched the ship sail away from La Paz.

 

 

 

 

Adios, La Paz!  Thanks for a fun, relaxing day!

 

 

[deladane]

4 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Wow that does sound like a lot just to get there. Do they not have taxi's that can take you?

 

@jerseygirlinAZ that had to be the most heart pounding story ever! Oh my gosh I would have died. I'm so sorry the whale excursion didn't work out for you guys. We did one when we were staying on the island at Isla Mujeres Mexico and it has to be one of the number one excursions we've ever experienced. I hope you get another chance in the future (maybe during a visit to Cozumel or something). It's a once in a life time experience. I feel so bad for you with this experience. 😞 

 

I never saw any taxis when we left the port, but we got a somewhat late start that morning so it is possible there were taxis earlier and they had already left with passengers by the time we got out there.  We know there ARE taxis somewhere in La Paz because jerseygirlinAZ took one to get back to the ship, but I'm not sure if they are all lined up at the port in the morning like you find in other more commercial cruise ports.

[deladane]

4 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

I just looked up some of the excursions in La Paz, offered by Carnival, and they do have one to Balandra Bay. That might be how you have to get there without the hassle and make sure you get back on time. I spent yesterday watching video's of the place and oh my gosh, it looks beautiful!

 

I vote that you should take the Carnival excursion and come back to tell us how it went!!!  I agree that is probably the easiest and most reliable way to get to Balandra as a cruise ship passenger.

[mitsugirly]

1 hour ago, deladane said:

 

I vote that you should take the Carnival excursion and come back to tell us how it went!!!  I agree that is probably the easiest and most reliable way to get to Balandra as a cruise ship passenger.

 

I'm thinking this just may have to happen! 😄