Day 42 - Carnival Panorama Cruise (Day 5 - Puerto Vallarta)

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I woke up first and had a sneaky look outside the window to find us approaching land so ventured outside to the balcony in my pj’s to see we were approaching the port. We ventured into the harbour and I could see the pilot jump onboard as they don’t seem to trust these cruise ship captains to navigate entering each port.



As we docked we watched these three guys trying to built a temporary sign below us which must have been for one of the tours and they had all sorts of trouble. It must been like putting an IKEA furniture flat pack together with no instructions but they got there after about 10 minutes of trying.



Once we docked we went to the buffet for breakfast (I did get out of my pj’s first) and I went easy today on the consumption as our tour is at 10.00 and we are going to a Mexican Fiesta. This tour costs $149.98 for both of us.



We got the lift down to deck zero and waked off the boat and joined the line for our tour and there was only about 6 people so we thought we were going to a small mini van but no off we go to the big yellow coach and we only take the first 3 rows and were thinking why is there no-one else on board ? A few minutes go by and couple more arrive and then a few more and soon the coach is full so all good.



The tour guide we had yesterday was a young lady who was a rookie and she needs to improve but today we have a more experienced tour guide with us and he gave a good commentary. We headed to the downtown area of Puerto Vallarta about 5-10 minutes from the cruise port and first observations is that it looked to be more modern city than Mazatlan with some big new hotels around. We made a stop and got out of the bus and he walked us along the promenade looking at the sculptures and the “Puerto Vallarta” sign with the famous seahorse (they are living here in the ocean apparently). We then took us to a nearby courtyard where there were toilets and then to see a nearby church where Kerry got busy taking photos of the buildings / architecture (we did not bother going inside the church as there was a mass going on).



We then got back on the coach and went to the old downtown area with it’s cobblestone streets and he took us to a silver and opal jewellery shop which also had rest rooms and they were serving complimentary margaritas (too early in the day for my liking) but Kerry managed to sneak a non alcoholic drink (maybe like sprite ?). We were not interested in buying any jewellery so we had a look at the shops next door and bought a nice bowl we can use for nuts on the front deck at home for snacking that cost 280 pesos or US $14-. That was exactly how much cash I had left in my wallet.



We eventually headed off to the Mexican Fiesta. When we arrived we were again escorted to more rest rooms and still no drinks supplied and it is now after 1pm. We soon get introduced to our host who is a family member of the owners and he gives us an explanation as to how tequila is made from the blue agave plant. There was a building where they showed the distilling process that is used and we then went into a room to sample their tequilas so finally we are getting some hydration but it’s not water.



I have tried many drinks but oddly I’ve never had tequila so I was a little apprehensive and Kerry did not want any at all (like me we wanted to eat at the fiesta). We were shown the correct procedure to have a tequila shot (special breathing technique to avoid breathing the fumes) and then the first taste of the basic tequila and it was nice and made many chest feel warm.



There was another tequila shot offered for one that is a bit older and more refined and was smoother and nice. We would go on to have 6 separate tequila shots over the next 20 minutes with an explanation given as to how they are made and there was this one that had almond flavour that was my favourite.



After this we finally made our way to the festa for lunch and it was a buffet style (something different !!) and we sat down at a table near the stage area and it was now around 2.30pm so we were starving. The food was pretty average really and the show soon started comprising some traditional dancing in mexican costumes for 4 different states in this region. We then saw a guy doing tricks with his lasso which was really impressive and finally the show closed with a guy on horse dancing to Mexican music but the horse did not seem to be enjoying it and to be honest this did not look good.



I asked for a 2nd bottle of water and they had run out and I could not believe it as they promoted this tour as a mexican fiesta with unlimited food and water / soft drinks and there was no option for a second load of food and the first plate was not very large at all so we finished the tour and headed back to the ship and I was still hungry and still thirsty.



Overall tour rating would be 5/10

Value for money rating 3/10

Suggested improvements - We had no idea the tour including seeing the old town including two rest room stops (one in a jewellery store which took up over an hour of the 5 hour tour). When we arrived for the fiesta we then waited another 15 minutes whilst all the women queued up to go the toilets (why not tell them to go whilst we were having our lunch ?). It was advertised that drinks were included and so we did not bring any water with us but we had no drinks until lunch was served after 2pm so I was literally using the 6 free tequila shots to hydrate myself (is that actually possible ?). The bottom line is don’t promote we are having 1.5 hours of free time when we only had 20 minutes at best.



We were back on board the ship around 4pm and I was still hungry so we went to the pool deck and there was only 1 place to get food being Guy’s Burger Joint and surprisingly only a few people were waiting in line as I guess most people are still off the ship as we don’t set sail until 9pm tonight. I went for the same burger as I’ve had twice before being the “Straight Up” and with a handful of the hand cut fries that have a nice spicy flavour.



Kerry then went down to the Red Frog Bar to get me a Corona and a Midori Sour cocktail for her and there was no waiting at the bar either. We found our nice mustard coloured seats on Deck 11 looking down over the main pool area and watched time go by. Around 5pm the Discovery Princess which was also in port with us departed and I heard the “Love Boat” theme song being played and given they were using the ship’s horn it was not in very good tune at all. We stayed here until after sunset and it was so relaxing. We then realised that Cindy we met at the Salsa and Salsa must have actually been on a different ship so no Love Boat activities on our ship. We did a face time chat with Elise but I lost my 24 hour Satellite wi-fi package around 7pm so we lost signal after talking for a few minutes.



We decided to hit the buffets again for dinner but tonight was a big disappointment as I tried the Barramundi, Chicken drum sticks and some pasta but none of it was very good so I then went for a minestrone soup and it just tasted like carrots. Kerry got me some cakes and it was the best part of the meal (shame about the calories !).



Whilst we were sitting in the buffet we overheard this guy talking about Elvis Presley and he was going on and on abut different things elated to Elvis and it soon became annoying as he thought he knew everything (give it a break mate !).



There was supposed to be two new comedians onboard today for the rest of the cruise so we then went to the main showroom at 7.30 to see Doug Williams for the PG rated show. He was OK at best and it turns out the other comedian did not actually make it on board so this guy is going to do all the shows for the next 3 days (2 tonight, 3 tomorrow and 3 more on Friday).



We then watched a little Karoake in the Limelight Lounge and there was one lady who did an amazing rendition of that famous Titanic song and was followed up by someone doing Hallelujah who was really good as well and there was this old blocked looking like a grandad who was unreal only I had no idea what song he was singing (you don’t expect old people to sing so well !). We saw some bloke dressed up as Captain America and he was doing a cool rap song as well and the couple Kerry saw at the Love & Marriage show (Scott and Randy) who apparently embarrassed themselves did a quirky version of Love Shack.



Kerry then went to the perfume shop and bought a perfume that was 40% off called “In Love With You” for $64- and she later said it costs over $200 back home so apparently a bargain. We were thinking of going to the party on the pool deck for some line dancing at 10.30pm but too tired so an early night.



Well that is it for ports of visit on this cruise and we will have two final days at sea as we head north back to Long Beach. Puerto Vallarta looked to more of a tourist town than Mazatlan and it would have been good to spend some time on the ocean boardwalk looking at the impressive sculptures. Along with Cabo San Lucas they were out favourite places of the 3 ports.

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