Reenie... our family sailed on Pride last month with those ports. P.V. was cancelled because of a problem with the ship. In Cabo, we snorkeled at Chileno Bay. Okay snorkeling. Just average. Better in the Caribbean. The beach was beautiful with crushed shells and reef. We did the excursion through Carnival and the guys on our excursion were first rate. Free drinks on the way back, music, dancing, lots of laughs. Your choice of mixed drinks or different Mexican beers, and they were not stingy with the drinks either. Their boat had sonar so we got to see whales breaching. Awesome sight ! Lover's Beach is also pristine. The sea lions sunbathing on the rocks is very cool. Cabo is a rich port. Vendors don't do much (if any) bartering. Mazatlan is a poor port. When you leave the ship and there's a short tram ride to the Arts and Crafts Center,(another fairly priced place to shop for souveniors) you will be approached several times for "free tours of Mazatlan". They will be holding up signs. Be careful of this. Many fellow cruisers on our ship got taken. They spent the whole day listening to speeches on time shares and condos. Once they've got you, it's hard to get away. Just ask someone in authority to hail you a cab and they will.
We opted not to do an excursion in Mazatlan, so we took a cab to The El Cid Resort for the day and did the beach and the Golden Zone (another good place to shop). You will be bombarded with vendors selling you everything but the kitchen sink on the beaches. Be prepared. Practice your "NO's" now. The nice part about The El Cid is that they expect cruisers to use their facility for the day. There is no charge unless you want to rent a locker (reasonable). There's a decent pool by which you can sit and there's wait staff for drinks. If you sit at the El Cid you will not be bothered by merchants. You will get the absolute best prices on silver on the beach. I regret not buying more silver. I bought a large, handwoven, beautiful straw basket. Just to give you an idea... one vendor wanted $45 for a stamped .925 ss bracelet. After 2 minutes, we bought it for $8. In Mazatlan, they expect you to barter with them. Some vendors will have their child/children working with them. One little girl with her mother cried until we bought. It's heart wrenching.
If I could give you one word of advice it's to make sure you bring binoculars. Not only did we see whales (on our excursion and at sea) sea lions, but also dolphins following the ship at sea.
We are partial to the caribbean for our destinations and snorkeling, but the rock formations along the Baja Coast in the Pacific are beyond words.
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