Mexican Riviera / Sapphire Princess First Time Cruiser Questions

[Tggrtoes]

Hi everyone - I've been reading through the posts and have found everyone's info so helpful!

 

We are traveling in November/December from LA on the Sapphire Princess to Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, and Cabo. We're traveling with the grandparents and my son who will be 15 months at the time. Everyone but my son and I are frequent cruisers, but none of us have ever cruised with children before. Have a few questions that I haven't yet seen the answers too (probably there... just haven't found 'em yet!).

 

1. Am I to understand that everyone thinks the best way to go for transportation from airport to ship is to get the Eddie Bauer thing for a cab? (We have a short flight from Phx to LAX)

 

2. Grandparents are going to watch my son while DH and I have fun in Cabo. What about tips for Mazatlan and PV? We'd like to just find a family friendly beach nearby so we can play and head back to the ship for naptime. Suggestions?

 

3. Non family related, but has any one been on the Sapphire and do they recommend Sabatinis, I think it's called... the Italian specialty restaurant?

 

Lastly... any misc. advice for first time family cruising? We have a mini suite, plan on taking baby monitor for naptime so I can hang out on balcony... have "leash" for keeping track of little guy.... anything else?

 

Thanks! (and sorry for the Loooong post!)

[6rugrats]

I am not sure why you would buy a special car seat for one trip. I've read some reviews from posters here about the Eddie Bauer seat (which is outrageously expensive), and I'm not clear what's so great about it. Personally, I would just bring my regular car seat or just forget about using one altogether.

 

You may want to check out the ports of call section of this website to direct any questions about specific ports.

[Kerry's Girls]

I've done this cruise a few times with my twin toddlers, and we're booked on the Sapphire again in October - we love the Sapphire (and her sister the Diamond) for toddler cruising. Though Princess doesn't provide babysitting, they allow you to take your child into the play area as long a parent is there - there's a great padded area with playhouse and tons of toys.

 

I have the Eddie Bauer portable seats and LOVE them (thank you cruisin mama!), but it's up to you if you want to bring your own regular one or buy the Eddie Bauer (which I think you can find for about $40).

 

Bring a good stroller that reclines and has a sun shade.

 

In Puerto Vallarta we take the short walk to the Krystal Resort. Sometimes they charge $20 per person which is then applied to your food/beverage purchases and is very worth the price - especially considering what the cruise line charges for an excursion to a resort. (Very often the Krystal doesn't charge cruise passengers at all - we weren't charged last time). The Krystal has a playground near the pool area (we go there first before it's too hot). We tip an attendant for beach chairs under a canopy and play on the beach and in the sand, then enjoy lunch and the pool. They have a nice toddler pool attached to the rest of the huge pool area. We bring sand toys and blow up pool toys (great to have a stroller to lug everything). This is always our best shore day.

 

In Mazatlan there isn't anything walking distance. I'd suggest a shore excursion, but keep in mind that many ship excursions use local taxis, so you'll want to have a car seat. We always do the Papalantas Flyers show + beach excursion. Next time I think we'll book something with Mazatlan Frank, who provides his own vans and gets rave reviews from Cruise Critic posters (check out the ports of call boards).

 

Let me know if you have any other quesitons I can help with.

 

Best,

Mia

[junglejane]

I'm going to second Kerry's Girls recommendation of the Krystal Resort. We went there in March when we were on the Golden Princess. They didn't charge us anything and it was an all around positive experience. Nice pool, nice playground, nice restaurant with clean restrooms, and a nice beach. Be sure to take a towel from the ship, though. That was something we forgot.

 

We've been to Sabatini's on the Diamond and the Golden, and enjoyed it both times. It's not toddler-friendly, though. We took our older DD when she was 10, but it's a long dinner (2-1/2 hours) with a heavy emphasis on seafood. I wouldn't want to try to keep a toddler entertained through it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

 

--Junglejane

[calikak]

Ditto the previous poster about not wanting to keep a toddler calm through a Sabatini's meal. The food is great and it's one of my DH's favorite things to do when we're on a Princess cruise, but not with a little kid.

 

We are taking our then-16-month-old on NCL Sun in October and we're also trying to figure out excursions. In PV we're planning to go to the Krystal, and in Maz we're thinking of taking the historic walking tour since our son loves a stroller ride...but we're not positive that'll end up being the best choice for us.

 

We just bought the Eddie Bauer seat--I was opposed to getting it when I thought it was $150 (Amazon price) but I did a Google search and found it for much cheaper at several other websites, in the $35-40 range. We figured this gives us more options in choosing shore activities, since we can take a taxi. We're talking about going to the ME in Cabo--it's a hipster hotel rather than being kid-friendly, but the pool and beach there are nice and they have a part of the beach that's roped off from beach vendors.

[helenb]

Our kids' first cruise was on the Sapphire to Mexico (although they were older than your child) and they loved it! I second the idea of going to the kids' play area and using the facilities. As long as you are with your child, they don't mind. They eve have diaper changing stations in the bathroom at the Kids' Club.

[lindsayr]

When we were in Mazatlan last time we went to Stone Island, A little beach that you take a water taxi to for $1.50 a person. Its about a four block walk to the water taxis... directions and details on this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=793620&highlight=stone+island

They have all the beach adventures you might want to do too (horseback-riding, atving, banana boat ride, kayaking) and delicious food for crazy reasonable prices (we hung out at Lety's all day and had shrimp fajitas and drinks and chips with fresh guacamole and coconut juice out of coconuts for a family of five for under $40). I have heard good things about Victors as well, but we just fell in love with Lety and her family. They brought us out chairs and an umbrella (hurray for shade for our little ones) and were so sweet and hospitable! There is also shopping on the beach for all those beach coverups, purses and whatnot. and the people were great about not hounding you. We will be there again with our 2 year old on our November cruise! This was by far the hole families favorite excursion!

Some groups will charge you for this excursion, but you can do it on your own for super cheap. $1.50 per person travel, delicious food and drinks, sweet people with great service, and then pay the locals for whatever extras you want to go on.