Puerto Vallarta - Travelling Downtown Independently November 2024

Surprised to see we are docked at berth number 2.  The NCL Bliss is at pier 3 and no ship is at 1.  Never have seen this before.

We wander off and walk to the terminal building.  There is also a small shuttle that transports guests for free, but it is only an 8 min walk. 

We refuse to walk the gauntlet of shops in the terminal.  So just as you are about to enter the duty free shop we head straight as if we are walking to the flea market.  Then we just walk along the street to the main drag to catch a bus.

It is busy at the stop.  It is very hot!  We are already tired.  When a taxi driver offers a ride and quotes us the right amount of $10 to the malecon we are in.  Now you can take the bus.  It is only 19 pesos.  But we are glad we took a taxi.

We stroll along the malecon.  It is nice to walk,  it is crazy busy.  Lots of people are on vacation due to Thanksgiving week.

After a few blocks we have had our fill of the crowds and we walk inland three blocks and then turn right and enjoy the quieter streets.

We pass the cathedral with all the tours getting ready to go in.  We pass.  We are on a mission, but not a religous mission.  

Our friend at home, Kim, use to live here.  She had her son here.  She told us the address and we thought, why not seek it out.  Up a hill, then up a staircase, then up another hill. And just pass Casa Kimberly, the iconic home of Elizabeth Taylor that Richard Burton bought her.  Then up more stairs.  Here it is!  Cool.

We stroll back down into town on a different street and cross Gringo Gulch in the Romantic Zone.  We do a bit of shopping, picking up 2 more glasses to match the ones we bought a few years ago.  And I got a cute pair of earrings.

Back into El Centro We spot some whales not far from the shore so we sit and enjoy the scene,  until a family stands right in front of us to watch too!  Why they stood right in front I have no idea.  There was tons of space.  Didn't help we are feeling grumpy.  Remember, little sleep, and we are hot.  So we stand up and start walking.

We decide to take a taxi back to the Walmart.  $10 again, woot woot, normally I am always frustrated with the taxis trying to scam the cruisers.  Maybe they are turning over a new leaf.

We walk into Walmart, along with a ton of crew.  We need to pick up some items.  Conditioner, moisturizer, sunscreen, soda, 2 bags of chips, Bernie is craving them.  And a few Xmas treats, oh and a bottle of wine and a six pack of Pacifico.  We have had no issue bringing on a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer.

We decide to venture to one of our favorite taco stands,  it is just up the street to the right of the Sam Club.  There is a market there, and the taco stand is on the south west corner.  I don't know the name but a lot of crew go there,  it isn't fancy.  Stools, narrow tables and a bag of napkins hangs from above.  

4 tacos, a Pepsi and a beer for 165 pesos.  We gave them 200 and so for $10 US we are stuffed.  

Cabo San Lucas Overnight

We are scheduled to arrive at 1 pm and we are here overnight until 4 pm the next day.  Tendering will continue until 11 pm and resume the next morning at 6 am.  

At 1130 I had guests asking about getting off the ship!  I explained we don't start handing out tender tickets until 1:15.  But they must be eager to get off.

We are in a further away position and there is quite a swell too, so tendering is taking a lot longer.  Also there is a large Carnival ship in.   So patience is needed.

After my lecture, then my desk hours, I grabbed a bite to eat.  I then had to film the wake show and by then the queue for tendering is still taking a long time so we decide to stay on.  

A lot of guests have stayed on.

At 4 pm they had a folkloric show in the theater.  

The next morning we are up early and off by 830.  No queue for tenders we just walked right down.

It is Hot 🔥!   

One thing we noticed is there is a large police presence today.  This is because the President of Mexico is in town.  

We walk along the malecon and I get some updated information for my talks.  Prices for water shuttles mainly.

We head to the store to pick up some essentials.  And we grab a coffee and people watch.

By noon we are hungry and head to our favorite spot.  El Buro Loco.  

This is not a touristy spot.  This is where the locals go.   It is about a 15 min walk from the marina.  But for great food from a locally run business, try it.

We share a combo plate and chorizo con queso.  They now have a liquor license so we get a beer and I get a hibiscus margarita.  In total the bill came to $40 US.  

We walked back but a taxi would be about $5.

Day of the dead is coming up and the city is getting ready.  Lots of alters and statues all around.

A Day In San Pedro

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro, close to the ship.  We love the area.  It is certainly changing.  Lots more fancy condos.  Really cute shops, cafes, restaurants.  Every weekend they have a market and the first Thursday of the month they have the art walk which is great.  It feels like a city I would live in.  Eclectic, families, very new age, healthy and cool.

We wake feeling so rested.  We needed it.  Our room isn't cooling down much so a quick stop at the front desk and when we return early afternoon it is fixed.

We first head up to a great spot for breakfast The Brite Spot Mexican Cafe on Pacific Street.  

Hasn't changed much but the food is amazing, 

Bernie's huevos ranchers

The servings are so huge, actually I find all over the US servings are huge.  But ask for a doggy bag to take some home.  We didn't finish it!

We head up toward the Rite Aide to pick up some things but omg the store is half empty.  We head to get shampoo and conditioner and there maybe was 10 bottles in total.   So we just walked out.  Does anyone know if this store is closing?  Sure looks like it.

We then walk over to CVS on Pacific and their shelves are stocked.  We get some shampoo and conditioner and a small bottle of laundry detergent.  

We wander around for another 2 hours but decide we still want to rest.  

Back in the room we both relax and we each have a short nap.  

At 5 we meet up with our friends and they ran into a group who were part of a roll call for the cruise and were invited to join them.  It was a huge group.  Well run, very organized, and they all were very nice.

Later we were getting hungry so we head to a restaurant I have never been to, but really enjoyed.   The restaurant is called Think Cafe.  

Very nice menu and the ambiance is nice too.  We order cocktails and our meals.  

I got the chicken picante and Bernie got the roast chicken.

Again we are full.  It is a lovely evening and tomorrow we board the ship.

I am happy to say I am feeling good.  So far I haven't had a flare up from my fibromyalgia.  Rest has been key and the hot bath has helped too.  Even with all the walking I have done!  

Thanks for following.

Dinner at Our Favorite Mexican Restaurant In San Pedro

We found this place a few years ago.  Kalveras Mexican.  They have a few locations.  We go to the one a few blocks away from our hotel in San Pedro.

We started with drinks.  Lori and I got the margarita flight for $20.  All I can say is yum!  

I ordered 3 different tacos and Bernie got a mole enchilada.  

Lori and Andy both got fajitas.  

Everything was so yummy.  

After dinner we walked down 6th street checking so many cool shops.  Things were closing up so we will head back tomorrow.

Once we got back to the hotel we sat outside and had a nightcap.  So nice to enjoy a beautiful evening with good friends.  How lucky are we.

No set plans for tomorrow.  I know I have been thinking if things to tweak or add to the lectures so might try and get that done too.

It is now 6:30 pm and we are ready to crash!  10:30 at home and we were up at 2:30 am.  

Thanks for following. 

Flying To Los Angeles

The Cruise leaves from San Pedro.  

I am one who really loves San Pedro.  It feels like a working class place.  I love it's vibe and trendy shops, bars and restaurants.

We booked Bernie's flight ages ago since it was a good price.  He flew to LA via Montreal.  I will be on the same flight.

We flew in two days prior.  Mainly because it is a long flight, a four time change, and I am not taking any chances.  Also I need to rest and recover after flying now or I will set up the next week for disaster.

We booked the Crown Plaza San Pedro once again.  We love the location.  The price was right especially because I booked via Hotwire.com which saved us over $150 compared to any other booking site.  Hotwire is easy for San Pedro as there are really only 2 hotels in that star class.  So you are either getting Crown Plaza or the Doubletree and we would of been happy with either.

Our friends Lori and Andy are travelling with us and they flew with us and are also staying at the Crown Plaza.

Day of travel.  We caught the shuttle from the hotel at 315 am!  No one got much sleep.  

First flight to Montreal was quick and then with a 1.5 hour layover and needing to clear US customs first we wasted no time once we arrived in Montreal.

We joined the queue to go thru connecting flights security. And guess what my boarding pass had the dreaded SSSS on it meaning i had been randomly selected for full security screening!

Oh well.  Full pat down, everything in my carryon was checked.  Phone, tablet, computer all had to get checked.  Even my runners were swabbed.   But all good.

Then thankfully we had nexus (Global Entry) and got to front of line to see customs agent, which was quick and easy.  Our friends took a bit longer but still maybe 10 minute wait.

Thankfully our flight to LA was a little delayed as we got to the gate just as we should of been boarding.  But was delayed around 15 min.  

Flight is just over 5 hours!  Watched some shows I downloaded and read.  But with a full plane, and squished in, and little sleep we are glad the flying is done.

Bags arrived quickly and we grabbed the shuttle to the taxi/ride share stand.  We jumped in a van that could accommodate all 4 of us and our bags and a fast trip to the hotel.  Thankfully it is Sunday.  Taxi cost was $85 which included the tip.

Once at the hotel I asked about an upgrade and he gave us one to a huge room with sitting area on the corner with a view of the water.  Doesn't hurt to ask, plus being part of their loyalty program helps.

We will rest in the room for a bit and meet up at 3 and have an early meal and crash early.  

We are heading to one of our favourite Mexican restaurants Kalveras.  

Final Tasks Before Leaving

Lists, lists, lists.  It is what keeps things in order.  List to do before we leave and a list for the day we leave.

We are down to the wire.  Today I went thru my clothes.  I personally like to try most items on.  Does it fit?  Does it need repair?  Does it go with at least two other items?  Is it necessary?  

I often lay out my dress pants and then check blouses that goes with them.  I do the same with shorts and shirts.

In the end for 4 months away I bring (note if I was a guest and not lecturing it would a third less).

• 2 dress pants and 7 blouses (this is the outfit I wear for lectures).
• 3 summer dresses
• 3 pj's
• 3 pairs of shorts
• 3 pairs of light everyday pants
• 1 cardigan
• 2 shawls
• 2 pairs of high heels, 2 flip flops, 2 flats
• 1 formal dress (some of my other items can work on dressy night if necessary).
• gloves and mitts for tip of South America 
• one Christmas sweater
• 1 Halloween costume
• pair of runners
• 7 t shirts 
• undergarments 
• 3 bathing suits and one cover up

That is it for clothes.   

We both got the flu shot and the most recent covid shot, which just became available here on Friday.

Hair cut, pedicure, manicure done too.

The house is ready.  We have guests staying next week so it is ready for them.  Otherwise our neighbours are checking the house regularly.  

Garden has been put to bed for another year.  It was a great growing season.  

All my lectures are backed up.  Paperwork to assist guests are in the folders.  

We are both excited for this contract.  Especially the itineraries,  to learn more about where we are going click here.  

We leave for the airport hotel As our flight is crazy early.  Staying at the Quality Choice Hotel, which our friends Monika and Neil highly recommend. 

4 Months on a Cruise Ship - Am I Ready?

 

If you have been following along you will know we are off to the Majestic Princess for the winter where I will once again be the Destination Experty on board.  Read the blog here for details on sailings.  Majestic for 4 months blog

I finished all my work on all my talks a few weeks ago.  I am the kind of person that when I have a project I don't rest until it is done.  I also can't move on to a new project till the first one is done too.  It is good and a bad trait.

So for the four weeks before we leave we can focus on getting ready for four months away.

We have spent numerous winters away for exctended periods.  I think this is our 4th winter away since we retired.  We have this down to a science.  Key for me - Lists!  Key for my hubby - Check Vickie's List!

No really lists are key for me.  It gets that task out of my head and onto paper.  It is also a spot where Bernie can add to it and also see what needs to get done.

The list is quite scattered. Here are some items:

• Plant the garlic
• Clean the garden beds and put them to bed for winter
• Arrange for snow removal while away (resourceful young neighbours have this one!)
• Get US cash
• Update phone apps
• Gather toilitries
• Get perscriptions
• Book last Doctor's appointments
• Pedicure
• Iron clothes
• Pause streaming services
• Charge outdoor camera batteries

See quite scattered.  And the list is LONG.  But over half of the items are scratched off now.

We now have a bed in our spare room upstairs so it has become the "packing room".  As we stock up on things, or find something we need (like Halloween costumes, snorkel gear, umbrella etc) it gets thrown on the bed.

We have some family staying here periodically so the house will at least get lived in.  And we are so lucky we have so many great neighbours that are checking into the house all the time.  

I have all our booking numbers in the Medallion App.  Which I should say is working well.  This is the first time I use the newer updated Medallion App and I find it flows better for putting in all our details and manuvering around the app.  

Stay tuned for departure.  I won't be blogging every day - a little dull, but if I think there is something worth sharing I will post.

Thanks for following.

Princess and Holland America Let's Compare - Would I Sail Holland America Again?

I can only compare Princess ships with the one Holland America cruise on the Zuiderdam.  

I have sailed on Princess for over 1,700 days in total (as guest and as lecturer), but only 14 days on Holland America.  I have also done five Carnival cruises, and two Celebrity and one Royal Caribbean.

For this blog I can only comment on the Zuiderdam.

I am sure things may be different on different Holland ships that are newer and bigger.  But I can only compare what I have experience with.

Ship

• Zuiderdam was launched in 2002.  She is 82,000 tons.  Only the second smallest ship we have been on.  Original Star Princess was smaller.
• I never felt the ship was too small at all.  
• Was easy to get around.
• She is ready for some updating.  Cabin corridors are sad looking and the old print artwork looks like something from my first apartment.  Oh and don't even get me started on these odd benches.
• She is a classy ship - with huge promenade with teak lounge chairs.

This category is a tie.  Although I loved the smaller ship I did miss the amenties of Princess.  But the state of the ship is needing work, but then again so are many Princess ships.  

Itineraries

• Hands down Holland has some special itineraries that are longer and leave and return to the United States.  
• The voyage we are on is called Voyage of the Vikings and it is 35 days round trip from Boston.
• So if you are looking for amazing itineraries Holland wins.  But if you are just looking for standard itineraries - Princess is great too.  

A tie.

Cabin

• I had an ocean view cabin with a full length window 4083.

• Cabin is well laid out with a small couch, desk, large bank of closets, fridge, coffee table (that raises up or down), and nice size bathroom with a tub (mind you a small tub but still a tub.  Note not every cabin had a tub apparently.

• We really missed the large walk in closet that most Princess ships has (minus the newest ship The Sun).  When we had to open a cupboard to get clothes the other person could not get by. You had to close one cupboard to open another cupboard. 
• We found a lack of drawers. Only two very small ones beside the bed.  Barely got underwear in it.  There are also two drawers at the foot of the bed (you can still store luggage at head of bed) but found them hard to get at and steward often used them for towels etc.  

• Lots of cupboards and shelves.
• We are not heavy packers and we had plenty of room to store our items. 
• Lots of outlets and especially like the USB beside the bed.
• The lights in the cabin were totally weird.  One light switch turned on the lights at the door and at the window.  The other turned lights on above bed and by the couch.  So you couldn't discretly get dressed with a light on to see without waking the other.
• There was a motion sensor light by closet which was just right.  Not too bright and went out quickly.

• The bed was extremely comfortable.  But the two beds pushed together had a very bad gap.  We probably could of asked for a topper.  But we have never had to ask on Princess, should be automatic.
• Bathroom had a medicine cabinet to hide away your items which we prefered.  Lots of towel bars too!
• TV in the cabin had similar movies/shows as Princess and like Princess they are all free (not all lines provide free movies).
• We did find it very annoying that the recorded port talks kept buffering.  No matter what we did we couldn't prevent it.  Others had similar issues.  
• I liked that they had a bow camera, but also an aft camera.
• Cabins are cleaned by two stewards - one main guy and his assistant.  They were very quick too.  Loved that they did not have those annoying housekeeping carts blocking the corridors and which are noisy if they are placed outside your door.  
• One thing we found annoying is they evening turn down is way too early.  Often they were knocking on our door around 6 pm with our pillow chocolates (yes HAL is still giving out chocolates).  

Overall I found the cabin to be very nice and comfortable.  Really again it is a tie.

Entertainment 

• This is sadly where things disappoint.  I found the evening entertainment was 80% music.  I do enjoy listening to music but every night, all night is too much for us.  
• There are no production shows on this ship.
• Two commedians, which were funny.
• One magician that was good too.
• Breton Thunder was amazing and they are on for the entire Canada/New England season.
• Some trivia.  But really really missed the game type shows Princess does.  Yes/No, variety of trivias, musical bingo, etc etc.  HAL did do a marriage match game and a majority rules but they were not well put together and quite disappointing.
• We found every evening we wander the ship with nothing to do.
• During the day there were crafts, bridge, two trivias, lectures, and movies.  

My vote goes to Princess here.

Food

• Food is very subjective.  But when it came down to it the food was good.  Not great, and certainly not bad.  It was just good.  Although I find Princess' food to be just good now too.  
• I did notice that the dining room menus to be minimal with not nearly as many options as Princess.
• Items that we love on Princess like their French Onion soup were so bad on HAL that I was skimming off the layer of oil that had formed on the top.  Many dishes were obviously sitting under heat lamps for a very long time.
• Very repetitive dishes.  I think in my 13 days I saw corn soup on the menu five times.  Salads repeated often.  And the salmon bowl was on the menu every night but with a different way of serving (which was usually my go to dish) and very good.
• Absolutely loved the breakfast served in the buffet because the items were freshly made.   Like eggs bennedict!  Amazing!  
• We had tons of fresh fruit.  But really the best part was the fresh berries - throughout the voyage - that was available for your yoghurt or cereal.  LOVED this.
• In the buffet we really enjoyed the Asian section and often ate there.  Small variations each day.  But stay away from the sushi.  Both times we tried they were dried out and chewy.  
• Selection in the buffet was adequate but we found it very repetitive.  However I certainly wasn't going to go hungry.  I think if it would of been a shorter cruise (like a week) the buffet would of been fine.
• Although I love that HAL serves us in the buffet I hated that because of this it took a while to get your food.  Queues were common.  So you would queue up for certain hot foods but then have to queue up again if say you wanted something else from a different station.
• Since they serve you, that keeps the germs down; however they don't encourage guest to wash their hands - and rarely did I see anyone wash their hands.  There are lots of self serve sections.  Like the breads, butter, dessert self serve station, pickles, cold cuts, fruits - where you had to use tongs.  Defeated the purpose of them serving us.
• When we did dine in the Dining room service was very very good - and two times just ok.  They obviously have a good set up here with adequate staffing.  Waiters seems able to do their job and even get us wine before our first course.  With Princess this area has gone down hill.  Service is not what it use to be with staff so overworked they can't do the job they want to.
• HAL still does complimentary room service (however some late times do come with a fee).  Menu was fair and similar to Princess.  Breakfast room service did have the option for hot items.
• The burger bar called The Dive was very popular.  Although I don't eat burgers and fries often I knew I wanted to try one here.  One afternoon I ordered one and it was about a 20 minute wait.  It was a good burger and fries, but for the wait I am not sure.  I find Princess' burgers to be just as good and their menu is much bigger.  Also the burger bar closed every day at 6 pm.  Way too early.
• I really missed the International Cafe that you find on Princess as another food option.  Also missed the pizza bar on Lido - pizza in the buffet was not appetizing at all and looked like frozen pizza.

My vote for the best food goes to Princess - but I enjoyed HAL too.

Ship Amenities

• I found the ship to be well laid out.  I really enjoyed the Crow's nest; however it was very hard to find a good seat there.  But the coffee bar up there was lovely and they had cookies and muffins available too.  And great staff.

• The full libary was outstanding.  And even though I read most of books via my tablet I do enjoy a nice library at times.  
• Casino was a good size and non smoking!  I did not gamble but anyone who does you will find all the regular tables here to meet your needs.
• The size of the ship was so easy to get around and no time to get from one area to the next.
• There were 16 public elevators on this ship!  Heck that is what you will find on a big Princess Ship with a heck of a lot more people.  We rarely had to wait for an elevator (expect when the show got out).  Also loved the day of the week in the carpet in each elevator.
• So many quiet spaces.  On Princess I find it difficult to find a quiet spot.  Yes if the ship has skywalkers that is a good spot but even that gets loud.  Here I found tons of quiet spots to sit and read.
• Guest services was on deck 1 in the Atrium and was easy to talk to them without loud music coming from the Atrium.  Rarely were their lines either and the staff were top notch.
• Lots of public bathrooms and I loved that they had face clothes to dry your hands with.  

• I did not like the layout of the World Stage.  Yes it was comfortable; but there were so many blind spots.  Also many of the seats are banquette style and this meant many people took up a lot of space when they could of easily sat more people if in individual chairs.  Also the screen was so far back on the stage that it was impossible to see it entirely unless you were sitting directly in front of stage.
• I really like the enclosed pool concept but found it very noisy with sound reverberating off the ceilings and walls.  
• There is another aft pool and bar which I also enjoyed but the smoking section is on the port side and the smoke even when sitting on complete opposide side was bothersome.  I didn't find any other smoking section but then again I didn't look for it.
• Zuiderdam has a full promenade that you can walk around - note the front (bow) of the promenade is enclosed - and very wide.  
• I really missed the medallion capabilities.  Even the fact the medallion opens my cabin door was missed.  The ability to press a button to tell steward to clean room or to give me privacy.  Or for steward to know we are in the cabin.  
• HAL has the navigator app - which is basic and ok it is not nearly as good as Princess Medallion app.  

Although I like the Zuiderdam ship, my vote goes to Princess for more venues, better layout, more pools and open air spots and medallion.

So overall I am still a big Princess fan.  I would have no issue recommending HAL.

If I had to pick between the two I would choose Princess for a similar itinerary/costs.

Although I would definately look at HAL for a cruise, but only for a shorter itinerary.  I think I would just get too bored and tired of the food on a longer itinerary.

S