Help me pick excursions... head is spinning

[MnAsMom]

We are doing the Mexican Riviera, family of 4 w/ boys (4 and 8)

 

So 1st port is Cabo.(9:30 to 6) options are

 

cabo submarine (this one is only for 1 hour so we could do more than this alone) http://www.cabosubmarine.com

 

dolphin encounter http://www.cabodolphins.com/

 

OR??? anyone have a great day in Cabo and have some suggestions for us?

 

Next stop is Mazatlan (8:00 to 5:30)

 

We are pretty sure we will just take a water taxi over to Stone Island and have a beach day

 

again if you did anything here and think we should check it out I am all ears!

 

Last port is Puerto Vallarta (8:00 to 7:00)

 

options are

 

Krystal resort ... hotel lets you use pool, playground, beach in exchange for buying drinks/food. They have a massage spot.... great price. Thinking hubby and I can trade off watching the kids

 

http://www.go2vallarta.com/milleniummassage/

 

Our original plan was to do the dolphin encounter here and then spend some time at the adjacent water park (you get in free with a dolphin encounter). But I am wondering if we should spend our time at a water park when we can easily do that at home! I also read over on trip advisor that some people got eaten up by mosquitos in the bathroom here.... might have been the time of year?? Are mosquitos a big issue in PV usually (anyone know)?

 

http://www.puertovallartatours.net/swim-with-dolphins.htm

http://www.puertovallartatours.net/sea-life-water-park.htm

 

I wanted to do a zip line here

http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/restaurant.html

 

my 8 year old said he wants to too but he isn't too thrilled about heights and I don't think he realizes that this is WAY up in the trees. I'd hate to get there and have him back out. I don't know if it's worth it to do the 45 minutes drive up there... although the restaurant looks nice and my 4 year old would love the monkeys. I thought it might be a nice alternative to a "beach" day but it might be wasting too much time in a bus/car when we have limited time in port.... especially if no one is doing the zip lining!

 

SO any suggestions? What would you do if it were you planning this trip?

 

My last issue is that since we are so close to sailing I am not even sure what will be available or not! I will be trying to contact people today to see. Might just help us make our decisions if not everything is available!

 

thanks in advance!

~Tondi

[cb at sea]

1st you should get a guidebook on your ports---for your beach day, you might not NEED to pay a hotel to use a beach! Plus, there may be some other things that would interest your family, aside from ship's excursions (or even private excursions!)

 

The actual zip line ride only takes a few minutes....I'd skip that, until the kids were older! Lots of time and money for a few minutes ride???? Nope--

 

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time!

[MnAsMom]

1st you should get a guidebook on your ports---for your beach day, you might not NEED to pay a hotel to use a beach! Plus, there may be some other things that would interest your family, aside from ship's excursions (or even private excursions!)

 

The actual zip line ride only takes a few minutes....I'd skip that, until the kids were older! Lots of time and money for a few minutes ride???? Nope--

 

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time!

 

I suppose I can get something at a book store then or AAA maybe?

 

I emailed about the cabo submarine and they responded back that I would need to book with RCCL ... except booking directly the price is $45 and $35 as opposed to $64 and $44... I'd love to have that almost $60 to use for other things!!!! If I email directly should I not tell them I am coming in on a cruise ship?

[Kerry's Girls]

I love to do a ton of research, but I never bother with buying guidebooks anymore for ports - I just head on over to the ports of call area of cruise critic

 

The Krystal resort is always our favorite day on the Mexican Riviera cruise - and you can't beat the price. We just order lunch and enjoy the playground, huge pool area (including splash pool area with fountain that my 4 year olds LOVE) and beach. Bring a some blow up floats and some small bills to tip the workers to set up your chairs under umbrellas at the pool and on the beach. We do playground first (before it gets to hot), then lunch on the beach and then the pool (there are showers, but still prefer to do the pool last so we're not sandy for the short walk back to the ship).

 

I think your plan in Mazatlan is also a good one.

 

Best,

Mia

[MnAsMom]

I love to do a ton of research' date=' but I never bother with buying guidebooks anymore for ports - I just head on over to the ports of call area of cruise critic

 

The Krystal resort is always our favorite day on the Mexican Riviera cruise - and you can't beat the price. We just order lunch and enjoy the playground, huge pool area (including splash pool area with fountain that my 4 year olds LOVE) and beach. Bring a some blow up floats and some small bills to tip the workers to set up your chairs under umbrellas at the pool and on the beach. We do playground first (before it gets to hot), then lunch on the beach and then the pool (there are showers, but still prefer to do the pool last so we're not sandy for the short walk back to the ship).

 

I think your plan in Mazatlan is also a good one.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

thanks Mia... Question for you. Have you ever been to Dreams in Puerto Vallarta. Apparently for $45 pp (kids under 12 are 1/2 price) you can use their facility .. pool/beach and it includes lunch. I am not exactly sure how far it is from the dock but the reviews said it was a very nice resort and the beach was much nicer than at the Krystal Resort.

[Kerry's Girls]

thanks Mia... Question for you. Have you ever been to Dreams in Puerto Vallarta. Apparently for $45 pp (kids under 12 are 1/2 price) you can use their facility .. pool/beach and it includes lunch. I am not exactly sure how far it is from the dock but the reviews said it was a very nice resort and the beach was much nicer than at the Krystal Resort.

 

I haven't. Since the Krystal is walking distance, it works for me so I don't have to deal with lugging car seats around all day.

 

Best,

Mia

[CanadianTwosome]

We did the dolphin encounter at the water park in PV. I booked online directly with a live agent, and when I booked the 'Royal' tour (or whatever it was called), they threw in the sea lions. Out of three we've done now, it was my daughter's favourite. We didn't end up spending much time on the waterslides, but we did get a couple in before our encounter was called.

 

We had two dolphins for our group, and we spent quite a bit of time with them, including a foot push and a pull, and then we went and met the sea lions. It was just our little family with the sea lions, too, so that was cool. You don't get to interact with them quite as much as the dolphins, but it's definitely fun and different. They've also got some other animals and birds, and if you arrive early enough, there are assorted animal shows. Unfortunately we missed them so I can't tell you anything about them. All in all, we had a great day - and there were no mosquitoes. :)

[MnAsMom]

We did the dolphin encounter at the water park in PV. I booked online directly with a live agent, and when I booked the 'Royal' tour (or whatever it was called), they threw in the sea lions. Out of three we've done now, it was my daughter's favourite. We didn't end up spending much time on the waterslides, but we did get a couple in before our encounter was called.

 

We had two dolphins for our group, and we spent quite a bit of time with them, including a foot push and a pull, and then we went and met the sea lions. It was just our little family with the sea lions, too, so that was cool. You don't get to interact with them quite as much as the dolphins, but it's definitely fun and different. They've also got some other animals and birds, and if you arrive early enough, there are assorted animal shows. Unfortunately we missed them so I can't tell you anything about them. All in all, we had a great day - and there were no mosquitoes. :)

 

Oh Cool... that is great to know. We are only planning on doing the dolphin encounter although since seeing the travel channel show recently on the Mariner/Mexican Riviera, my 4 year old fell in love with the sea lion swim they showed. I think he'll be thrilled with the dolphins too!

 

I think we might do the dolphin swim in PV and then maybe head over to the Krystal if the boys want some beach time before we have to head back to the ship!

[JHCB]

Is the Krystal Resort a shore excursion? Or, do you just walk over once in port? Is it a short walk? Reservations required/suggested? Thanks.