Day pass at Mexican Riviera hotels

[bigal1579]

We are a family of four, including 8 year old twins, and we will be on the Diamond Princess sailing on 12/29. We are not into snorkeling but would love to spend some time in the waves on the beach. What is the deal with using a hotel's facilities for the day (maybe their beach and pools)? Do we need a reservation, can we change there, who has the best beaches, etc.?

[Bob7]

Al scroll down to the thread "Day Beach In Cabo", lots of info there. Medano Beach on the other side of the harbor from the tender dock has the calmer water, and the closest resorts there are the Hacienda and Melia, no charge and cruisers welcome.

 

In Mazatlan ppl have had good luck at the El Cid Castilla, a $2 p.p. cab ride from the ship.

 

In Puerto Vallarta the Krystal offers the same thing, a 10 minute walk from the ship.

 

Now if they only know how to make a good drink ......

[sunsetme]

I just returned from DP Mex Riv 11/20. We walked to the Krystal in PV with no problems, do not take the main street, find the short cut. In Maz we took a cab to the El Cid Castilla. You can get a day pass from the vendors at the port for no charge even though they try to sell you on a tour. (Or just walk onto their beach from a nearby property). The beach there is really nice. In Cabo we went to Lovers BeaCH, if you don't snorkel you can walk to medano, but i dont know about actually using hotels there.

[CoolCanadian]

After booking a morning excursion to a canopy tour in PV in March of 2005, I was thinking of taking the kids to the Krystal Resort for a swim. Please may I have a direct route to get there in 10 minutes and also someone posted that they now charge for day use. Please confirm. :rolleyes:

[Bob-A-Loo]

Bigal1579 - Please join our roll call for the Diamond Dec. 29 - Our group also has two 8 year olds. When in Mexico we always go to the Krystal Hotel for the day - they charge $10.00 for a day pass, then give you back $10.00 in credit towards food and drinks - FANTASTIC place. In Cabo we go to "The Office" - Have a super time in Mexico and please join us for sail away on the Diamond Dec. 29.

[bigal1579]

Bob7,

 

Thanks for pointing me to that other thread. It was very helpful.

 

Regarding hotels in LA, I live in LA, and you don't want to stay in San Pedro, Inglewood, or El Segundo. It sounds like you don't want to spend much money, but you should look into staying in Santa Monica near the Promenade and the beach. You can walk (or rent bikes) to go to Venice Beach, and you would have a great time. It will cost more than $100, but it is definitely worth it.

[Bob7]

Hey Al thx for the tips. We arrive in LA Friday after lunch and sail Sunday at 5, and we want to spend the weekend seeing Marina del Rey, Venice Beach, and Santa Monica, so staying close would make the most sense, we're looking hard at MDR. Others confirmed what you said ... Inglewood has crime, LAX (especially east of the freeway) is seedy, and El Segundo has a wicked odor from a sewage plant or something. I guess those are worse than Pamela Anderson hitting on me at the beach.

 

We heard the traffic on Pacific Ave between MDR and SM is bad, and parking is a hassle and expensive, better to take the Metro bus instead of renting a car, would you agree?

 

Which ports are you thinking of using a resort at? ... I don't know where the Princess is sailing. We're on the RCI Vision in March, hitting Cabo, Maz, and PV.

 

JD, which port vendors had the Castilla passes? ... is there any point in getting the passes if you can just walk in anyway?

[candigirl41]

Not on your cruise but wondering about the Day Pass as Krystal. How do you get there? Someone said after coming out of the terminal to turn right, is this correct? Do you just go to the front desk and ask for the day pass? Thanks for any help.

 

Candi

[morriscats]

We were not charged for the Krystal in October of this year. Going there we took the main street and it was a long way. Go where the flea market starts and you will see a chain link fence (a flag is there also). Go through the gate in the chain link fence and turn right. Will go right to it. We had a nice time there - pool is beautiful.

[garydm]

Morriscats is about right. I don't recall turning right after the fence however, you just go straight ahead. When you get off the ship go thru or around the terminal building and keep the curio shop stuff on your right. You will go through a bunch of white Suburban vehicles offering to take you places for high prices. Just go past them and as stated you will see a cyclone fence. Go through the spot where there should be a gate and walk staight up that street and in about 10 minutes you will be at the back entrance to the Krystal. There will be a security man there and he may make you go around to the front to pay for a pass or he may allow you to enter there. It is a pleasant walk along a somewhat quiet street.

 

Gary

[morriscats]

Gary,

You are right - no right turn. Have fun. When you are in the pool have someone take your picture with the ship in the background. Awesome.

[Bob-A-Loo]

Candigirl41 - It isn't far from the ship to the Krystal, an easy walk or approx. $6.00 for a cab full. They have quite a few pools, most of them connected, and a smaller pool with a slide for the kids. They also offer awesome massages for a VERY low price. The chips and guac are great! Have fun.....

[candigirl41]

Thank you everyone for the great information. I think if the weather is good enough that will be what we do. The Massage sounds wonderful.

 

Thanks again

 

Candi

[bigal1579]

Bob7: Traffic is only a problem in the summer. Don't forget, LA is a car city -- you'll have a better time with a car and be able to see a lot more. Also, if you end up with a cheaper hotel, like a Ramada or the Furama, you'll be off the beaten track a bit and will need a car.

 

Our ports are Cabo, Acapulco, Ixtapa (we are interested in the beach in any of those three) plus PV where we'll do a canopy tour and Mazatlan, where we'll ride horses.

 

Hey Al thx for the tips. We arrive in LA Friday after lunch and sail Sunday at 5, and we want to spend the weekend seeing Marina del Rey, Venice Beach, and Santa Monica, so staying close would make the most sense, we're looking hard at MDR. Others confirmed what you said ... Inglewood has crime, LAX (especially east of the freeway) is seedy, and El Segundo has a wicked odor from a sewage plant or something. I guess those are worse than Pamela Anderson hitting on me at the beach.

 

We heard the traffic on Pacific Ave between MDR and SM is bad, and parking is a hassle and expensive, better to take the Metro bus instead of renting a car, would you agree?

 

Which ports are you thinking of using a resort at? ... I don't know where the Princess is sailing. We're on the RCI Vision in March, hitting Cabo, Maz, and PV.

 

JD, which port vendors had the Castilla passes? ... is there any point in getting the passes if you can just walk in anyway?

[bigal1579]

bob7: On your trip to LA, you can consider the Travelodge in Santa Monica or Carmel Hotel in Santa Monica. Neither is luxurious by any means. They are both very inexpensive by LA standards, and you get what you pay for, but from a location point of view, they would put you right where you want to be, close to the wonderful Santa Monica attractions, and a ride on the bike path away from Venice and MDR.

[Bob7]

Al thx for the tips. Maybe March is regarded as the dead of winter in LA, highs around 65, so maybe they'll all be bundled up in their parkas and blankets in front of their fires instead of clogging up the roads with traffic, while us Canuks are walking around in our shorts :-)

 

The only port we share is Cabo ... have you picked your resort there? We've narrowed it down to either the Finnisterra near the tender dock, or the Melia around the other side of the harbor. Nice that you get 4 ports, we only get 3 on the RCI Vision :-(

[bigal1579]

We just returned.

 

It is extremely easy to use any hotel. Just walk in -- no one will even look twice at you. If you are uncomfortable with that, just give a pool attendant $5 and ask for some nice chairs and some towels -- they will treat you like royalty, and they don't care if you are staying there, or even if you buy anything.

 

We went took a taxi to the Melia in Cabo, which was nice, but we ended up going next door to the Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos, which was even nicer. There are 2 other Pueblo Bonitos, Rose -- which I think is connected, and Sunset Beach, which is somewhere else.

 

Enjoy.

[Lp56]

Do you remember how much it costs for a cab to Melia Hotel or the Pueblo Bonito next door? Was it easy to find a cab when you wanted to leave? Could you pay in US dollars?

Linda

[Bob7]

Hey Al thx for the news. Did you take a tour or water taxi out to the Arch? How was the weather? (Did you go to the Bonito because they tossed ya out of the Melia?)

-Bob

[bigal1579]

US Dollars are king. You don't ever need pesos. Bring an assortment of bills (not just big bills) because you often (but not always) get pesos as change, and you don't want to end up with a bunch of pesos. However, if you do end up with pesos, it's no big deal, you just use them for the next cab ride.

 

The weather could not have been more perfect. We left in the rain in LA but in Mexico it was 80 to 85 and sunny every day, with water temps in the low 80s.

 

All of our cab rides in Mexico were cheap, typically $5 to $10, and cabs were always easy to get.

 

The only rip-off attempt during our whole trip was in PV. The canopy tour directions said to walk to the Pemex station and get a yellow cab. On the way there a guy came up to us and said he had a special deal on his air conditioned car and that cabs were very busy and hard to get. We ignored him and there were plenty of cabs.

 

The locals were universally extremely friendly and happy to do anything to help. Just avoid anyone who says "Amigo, I have a deal for you"

 

No, we did not get thrown out of the Melia. In fact, they love Americans so much (and, obviously, the fact that we tourists are essential to their economy) that I can't imagine anything you could do that would get you thrown out. However, Bob, I think you should have a few drinks and test out that hypothesis.

[Bob7]

Good info Al, thx. One more question, was there any music at the resorts? We like listening to the local music while working on a drink. We don't expect a live band. The Boatyard Beach in Barbados had a DJ, and he'd even play requests. Those that wanted to hear only surf and gulls could walk down the beach a bit for some quiet. Hope the pool band on the Vision is good.

Now to dig out the driveway :-(

-Bob

[39august]

Bob7-Is $2 pp to El Cid correct? Somewhere else I read $10-12 total each way. Hope you are right!

[Bob7]

Hey August, yup I saved a message by C.C. member "DPayne1962" that they paid $2 p.p. for a Pulmonia taxi ride to the El Cid Castilla in Mazatlan. Here's a good link describing the place:

http://www.si-mexico.com/hotels/mazatlan/castilla_beach/castilla_beach.htm

The $10 thing might have been the tip someone gave the staff to get loungers and towls, I remember something like that.

-Bob

[39august]

Thanks!

[Bob7]

Hey August, that member can't be right about the $2 cab from the ship to the Golden Zone, I was looking at the map, it's an 8 mile drive! And I saw other stuff that said $2 to Old Town (where the ships dock) and about $10 up the coast to the Golden Zone, so the person must have meant a $2 cab to Old Town.

Here's the link to a good map of the whole area:

http://www.allaboutmazatlan.com/images/citymap.gif

-Bob