4th Mexican Cruise coming up, 1st Riviera 7 day. Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallerta shore excursions

[Mommu98]

Good Morning! We just booked a 7 day Riviera for next April. 
wondering about shore excursions, other’s experiences, suggestions, likes, dislikes, wastes of time, must do’s/sees. 
Born and Raised in Los Angeles 

thanks everyone! 
p.s. i think i have a cruising problem, when i’m done with the current one, i’m already thinking about the next one.
Hi, i’m Amy and I'm a cruisaholic! 

[MSN-Travelers]

What type of activities do you enjoy?  What ship?  When you arrive in port and how long you will be there helps us create a list.

[Hlitner]

Hard to help folks that only want to consider cruise line excursions.  To be very blunt (and obvious) you are limited to only what the cruise line offers.   Once you decide to consider private tours or simply doing your own thing, then your world really does expand.  My only advice to the OP is, based on your desire to do cruise line excursions, just choose from among those you have yet to try.  Otherwise, I guess you could just stay on the ship (not a bad thing).

 

Hank

[ober134]

following. we are also hitting those ports later this year. First time for all of them

[Mommu98]

Embark L.A. 1st day @ Sea. then Cabo 11am -7pm, Puerta Valarta 12pm-8pm Mazatlan 7am-2pm the another day at sea. We like to eat, explore what makes a destination A DESTINATION. i.e. Alaskan cruise: Glaciers and whales we did and saw both(humbled and awestruck). I say I'm from L.A. because Mexican food is everywhere (including my kitchen.) Looking for historic sites, culture and tequila! 

6th day stop is Ensenada, if you've never been, "La Bufadora" is fun OH and bring your own toilet paper, there are restrooms but they charge for it.  But we saw an Anthony Bourdain episode at a tostada stand that he raved about, so that's what we're going to do.  Then back on the ship. 

[CruiserBruce]

If you look around the board, every port and it's attractions are discussed in great detail. Match with your interests,  and what your cruise line offers, to narrow down this very broad question. 

[Mommu98]

On 2/24/2024 at 8:14 PM, Hlitner said:

I’m not all about the cruise line excursions since currently, they are only offering 4. I want to know what should I consider doing while in Mazatlan, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta? I’m not someone that is afraid to explore but safely given the location of the cruise ports. 
Does Mazatlan have mayan pyramids or is there a restaurant that the locals go to in Puerto Vallarta, or a place in Cabo that will be a breathtaking moment. 

Hard to help folks that only want to consider cruise line excursions.  To be very blunt (and obvious) you are limited to only what the cruise line offers.   Once you decide to consider private tours or simply doing your own thing, then your world really does expand.  My only advice to the OP is, based on your desire to do cruise line excursions, just choose from among those you have yet to try.  Otherwise, I guess you could just stay on the ship (not a bad thing).

 

Hank

 

[Mommu98]

Already deciding after this cruise where do I want to cruise next

Edited February 26 by Mommu98
Changed post reply

[Mommu98]

On 2/24/2024 at 6:20 PM, MSN-Travelers said:

What type of activities do you enjoy?  What ship?  When you arrive in port and how long you will be there helps us create a list.

Thank you for asking, we are cruising on NCL Joy. we are stopping in Mazatlan 8 hours each, Cabo and Puerta Vallarta. 

[Hlitner]

You ask about Puerto Vallarta restaurants, and I believe we have far more then 600 eating venues in this city :).  You can eat everything from inexpensive tacos to very pricy French, Austrian, Italian, etc.  Many cruisers like to come into town (often referred to as "Centro") and head to the southside of town into what is called by several different names (Old Town, Viejo Vallarta, Zona Romantica, Southside, etc).  If you walk along the beach (Los Muertos Beach) there are many restaurants where you can eat with an ocean view.  The food and drinks here are safe so it comes down to your price point and type of food.  The Sea Monkey (we live above it) is popular with cruisers for inexpensive basic Mexican food.  Further south you find more expensive places like the Blue Shrimp, La Palapa, etc.  You can look at menus before you sit down.  Keep in mind that some restaurants only accept cash (pesos or US dollars) and if you pay in dollars you may not get the best exchange rate :).

 

Hank

[MSN-Travelers]

22 hours ago, Mommu98 said:

Thank you for asking, we are cruising on NCL Joy. we are stopping in Mazatlan 8 hours each, Cabo and Puerta Vallarta. 

 

 I don't spend near as much time in Vallarta every year as Hank (Hlitner) does but I can confirm that Vallarta is a foodies paradise.  

 

I'm not really thrilled with the ship's excursions they have available for Vallarta.  If you are shopping for a port that could become a future land vacation, I would suggest you book a food tour . . .   https://vallartafoodtours.com/food-tours/the-original-downtown-tour/    for as soon as possible after the ship arrives.  Allow 25-30 minutes to taxi from the port to Lazaro Cardenas Park.  I use this company to book their evening "street" taco tour when I have first time guest.  They do a great job and you get a mini-city tour.  You'll start down in the Romantic Zone and finish in the downtown area (Malecon).  This will give you the balance of the afternoon to be a tourist, sip adult beverages on the beach and think about what you want to do for dinner.

Make absolutely certain you know if "ship's time" and Vallarta local time are different so you don't miss the ship.

 

Enjoy! . . .     

Edited February 27 by MSN-Travelers

[whataboutport]

On 2/26/2024 at 9:35 AM, Hlitner said:

You ask about Puerto Vallarta restaurants, and I believe we have far more then 600 eating venues in this city :).  You can eat everything from inexpensive tacos to very pricy French, Austrian, Italian, etc.  Many cruisers like to come into town (often referred to as "Centro") and head to the southside of town into what is called by several different names (Old Town, Viejo Vallarta, Zona Romantica, Southside, etc).  If you walk along the beach (Los Muertos Beach) there are many restaurants where you can eat with an ocean view.  The food and drinks here are safe so it comes down to your price point and type of food.  The Sea Monkey (we live above it) is popular with cruisers for inexpensive basic Mexican food.  Further south you find more expensive places like the Blue Shrimp, La Palapa, etc.  You can look at menus before you sit down.  Keep in mind that some restaurants only accept cash (pesos or US dollars) and if you pay in dollars you may not get the best exchange rate :).

 

Hank

What do you think about the guys selling raw oysters on los Muertos beach? I love oysters and was intrigued but not sure if it's safe. Like what if they just put older oysters on new ice? Have you ever tried them?

[Hlitner]

On 3/28/2024 at 5:40 PM, whataboutport said:

What do you think about the guys selling raw oysters on los Muertos beach? I love oysters and was intrigued but not sure if it's safe. Like what if they just put older oysters on new ice? Have you ever tried them?

Just noticed your old post and apologize for never having responded.  DW and I spend weeks on the beach near those guys who clean and sell the oysters.  They haul in big bags of Oysters, every morning, clean/shuck them and serve them on the beach.  They have a couple of roving vendors who carry them all along the beach (they are on plastic plates with bags of ice to keep them semi-cool).  As much as I love fresh oysters, I have avoided buying from that operation because I am cautious about oysters being handled outdoors on a hot beach.  Several of our friends love and eat those oysters.  We do have one friend, who ate them for years, before she got quite sick about 2 years ago.  She assumed her illness was due to bad oysters, but one can never be certain of what might have caused her situation.

 

I cannot know if those are "old oysters" since I do see them arrive, every day, in large burlap bags.  I have no clue from where they come. their age, or whether they have been kept consistently cold.  

 

While I do sometimes eat oysters in PV, I only get them at restaurants that I have trusted for many years.  Some of the best I have eaten were at El Brujo, although their oysters are cooked (their version of a kind of oysters Rockefeller).  I have been told that the Blue Shrimp also has decent oysters, but DW and I have avoided that nearby restaurant because we always thought it was overpriced.

 

Hank

[lax19]

1st time in Mazatlan we booked the “Barrio Bites” tour through Flavor Teller. The tour included food carts, a restaurant, the shrimp market, a craft brewery and a one man tortilla shop.

 

2nd time we climbed to the lighthouse. Then took an Uber to Plaza Machado and explored from there. Saw the cathedral, found the tortilla shop and bought fresh corn tortillas (tortillaria Zaragoza) Ate tamales at a hole in the wall tamale shop (Maztamales), stopped at the Panama Bakery, walked the Malecon for a mile and took a Pulomina back to the port. 
 

Next time we’ll find the Beatles statues and then go to Stone Island.

 

Mazatlan has become my favorite Mexican Rivera port. Very friendly people going about their normal day.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 3/28/2024 at 4:40 PM, whataboutport said:

What do you think about the guys selling raw oysters on los Muertos beach? I love oysters and was intrigued but not sure if it's safe. Like what if they just put older oysters on new ice? Have you ever tried them?

I refrain from eating anything raw in Mexico unless it's fruit or vegetables.  Raw seafood is high on my list of "no."