One of the numerous highlights of taking a cruise trip is the chance to go to new locations just like the Cabo San Lucas cruise port. The normal phrase for these places is a “port of call,” that are locations alongside a route the place ships make scheduled stops in the course of the voyage.
While some people like to easily come aboard and go wherever the ship sails, others get pleasure from a bit of information gathering previous to cruising.
As one of many latter journey nerds, I’d wish to share with you the next ideas and details about the Cabo San Lucas cruise port on the Mexican Riviera.
Where is Cabo San Lucas?
Where is (within the parlance of locals and frequent guests) Cabo? To place your self on the globe, first think about the farthest southwestern level within the U.S. and look south. Here lies a peninsula, referred to as Baja California, a state in Mexico comprised of 5 areas.
It is 775 miles lengthy with widths starting from 25 miles to 199 miles. To the east of the peninsula is the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and to the west lies the Pacific Ocean.
There are over 2,000 miles of shoreline across the edges of this landmass with some 65 islands dotting the sides. The southernmost half known as Baja California Sur (Spanish for “south). Our Cabo San Lucas cruise port lies on the very tip finish within the Los Cabos area.
(Cabo San Lucas interprets to “St. Luke Cape” and Los Cabos interprets to “the capes.”) Interesting tidbit: The archeological document signifies steady human habitation on this peninsula for the final 10,000 years – at the least!
This port of name is persistently rated within the high 5 vacationer locations in all of Mexico. At this location, passengers disembark and discover the city and tradition; style new meals; hearken to native efficiency artists; study historical past; see new wildlife; and, choose up souvenirs.
Now let’s journey from the cruise ship to the shore.
Tender Transport
When your cruise ship arrives at a port of name, you’ll disembark the vessel in one in every of two methods. The first shall be to stroll by way of ramp or gangplank immediately from the ship, which shall be docked on the pier, onto the shore.
The second is by way of a smaller transport vessel referred to as a “tender boat.” This technique of transportation could happen when the port services are too small for the ship to dock on the shore or piers are usually not obtainable.
At the Cabo San Lucas cruise port, the second technique is how you’ll attain the land. There is not any devoted cruise terminal, so your ship shall be anchored offshore in deeper water.
A ferry-type vessel will tender you to the interior harbor. This smaller boat shall be enclosed or open relying in your cruise line and is designed for protected passage.
The transport will take solely 10 to fifteen minutes. However, you may need to attend in line for for much longer on the ship. Our tip: Arrive early to hitch the queue. Or, within the various, wait till after lunchtime to tender ashore since strains are usually shorter then.
You will experience by means of the Bahía de Cabo San Lucas – look ahead to marine life on the way in which. The tender dock for cruise ships is positioned simply contained in the marina.
Money While in Port
Whenever you go ashore throughout a cruise, have a bit of money with you. Paying with playing cards or digitally is not going to at all times be obtainable, notably in smaller institutions. There may be a surcharge added by the service provider to the ultimate price for accepting these strategies of fee.
Pesos are the popular and appreciated authorized tender with the native retailers. However, at this vacation spot, U.S. {dollars} are accepted.
Prices on merchandise shall be marked with US$ or just the (double stroke) greenback signal if the fee is supposed to be learn in U.S. foreign money. Otherwise, the quantity you see on worth tags would be the worth in pesos. Bring smaller denomination U.S. foreign money to ease the method of creating change.
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If you might be exchanging foreign money from {dollars} to pesos and again once more, banks have the very best charges. While ATM machines and cubicles on the road are open longer hours, they’ll actual a hefty payment for the comfort. And, since charges fluctuate day by day, it’s endorsed that you just solely change what you would possibly want. Also, it’s a lot tougher to vary pesos again to U.S. {dollars}.
Getting Around
Once you arrive on the marina’s tender pier, you’ll see that it’s totally different from different bigger ports of name. There are solely fundamental facilities right here: a couple of distributors with souvenirs, snacks, drinks and so forth, an ATM and an info sales space. Stop on the final one for a free map – an enormous assist in navigating Cabo.
While at this location, take a second to go searching on the yachts moored right here. This is a well-liked vacation spot for many who wish to sail and journey on their personal vessels. So, the array of ship types and ranges of luxurious seen from the piers are spectacular.
If you’d like to go to one of many well-known seashores (and also you undoubtedly ought to!), there are a number of water taxis obtainable for a budget-friendly ticket worth on the dock. Also, in the event you’ve booked a shore tour with the cruise line, you’ll probably be departing from this location.
You’ll have a number of choices for getting round onshore. The first is solely to stroll. Surrounding or in shut proximity to the harbor are a number of outlets, eating places, bars, sightseeing spots and the large Puerto Paraiso Shopping Mall.
Within strolling distance, you can even discover an arts and crafts market and the superb expertise of swimming with dolphins (solely a five-minute stroll away).
After you’ve studied the map, you might need to rent an eco-friendly bicycle taxi to hold you to sights across the city. (Negotiate the value up entrance.) Or, for some train, there are bike leases (each pedal and electrical) positioned across the space.
There are additionally automobile rental companies shut by, in the event you’d wish to drive about by yourself. (A US driver’s license is legitimate – nonetheless, your insurance coverage will not be.) Additionally, there at the moment are experience share choices (like Uber and others) across the port.
You may hop on a public bus and experience for a couple of pesos. Or, merely hail a taxi cab for a snug experience to your subsequent cease on the town.
Additionally, you’ll be able to simply find a tour operator for specialised or long-distance exploration. This will usually imply touring in air-conditioned vans or shuttles to and from sights.
And, you probably have booked a giant sport fishing constitution – and why wouldn’t you? This is the “Marlin Capital of the World”! – then you’ll board your tour vessel at this harbor, as properly.
Basic Services and Info
Check forward of time along with your mobile service to see if roaming is obtainable right here. While there’ll virtually definitely be extra charges, it’s prone to be less expensive than utilizing your telephone on the cruise ship.
(You also can cost your telephone onshore since Baja electrical energy is suitable with U.S. requirements of 110 volts.) There are additionally pay telephones if wanted. These normally take pay as you go playing cards which may be bought at many native outlets and all money-exchange cubicles. The emergency quantity in Cabo is 911.
If you have got the necessity for medical care, Cabo San Lucas now has an AmeriMed (American-style) hospital. The employees and medical doctors communicate English. However, it would be best to verify along with your medical health insurance firm previous to leaving in your cruise to see you probably have protection. And, take into account buying a further well being coverage on your travels.
Should you need to choose up a couple of groceries whereas on land, there are a number of small shops together with a number of giant supermarkets on the town.
The common temperature here’s a snug 78°F and rises into the low 90s throughout summer season months. There could be very little rainfall year-round. For summer season cruises, count on some sizzling and humid days. Although, with the suitable breezes from the encompassing waters, the local weather may be extra nice. In the winter, you should have gentle and sunny days with cool nights.
This space is on Mountain Time Zone – two hours behind the Eastern Standard Time zone. Daylight financial savings time is noticed between the primary week of April by means of the final week of October. This shall be essential since it’s essential to know what time the ultimate tender leaves to take you again to the ship.
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Also, remember the fact that there could also be a “ship time” and a “local time” throughout your stops at ports of name. It is probably going that your voyage will go by means of totally different time zones.
The query it’s best to ask the concierge is whether or not your particular vessel will hold their clocks synchronized to the time at your departure port. Or, will they alter the clocks based mostly on the time zone of the present location. The ship will depart on schedule – and also you need to be on it!
Stay Connected
Throughout the Cabo San Lucas cruise port are a number of locations the place you’ll be able to entry the Internet. Cafes, particularly, normally supply WiFi for his or her clients; and there are some WiFi hotspots positioned about.
Notes on Water
For people visiting the Cabo San Lucas cruise port, it’s suggested that you just not drink any unfiltered or faucet water. Also, keep away from ice cubes. Instead, fill you water bottle previous to leaving the ship. Or, buy solely bottled water and drinks throughout your go to on shore.
What cruise strains name on Cabo San Lucas
When excited about taking a cruise sooner or later, there are a number of features to contemplate (apart from the value!). What facilities are you on the lookout for on a particular cruise ship? Where would you want your ship to depart from?
What ports of name locations are in your ship’s route? For the latter, if you need to spend a day or so in Cabo San Lucas – excellent news! There are a number of cruise strains with a number of ships that frequently anchor at this thrilling spot.
To take advantage of your trip, take a couple of minutes to plan. The checklist under is a place to begin to assist slim your search standards. Pick your favourite cruise line, use the filter on their web sites to seek out particular info on ships, ports and dates for crusing. All of those cruise strains are pre-scheduled for arrival (as of publication) at Cabo San Lucas cruise port.
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Celebrity Cruises
- Cunard
- Disney Cruise Line
- Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
- Holland America
- MSC Cruises
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Oceania Cruises
- Phoenix Reisen
- Princess Cruises
- Regent Seven Seas
- Royal Caribbean
- Seabourn Cruise Line
- Silversea
- Viking Ocean
Beyond Cabo San Lucas Cruise Port
This harbor marina is the right launching level for quite a few locations throughout all kinds of pursuits: wildlife watching, scuba and snorkeling, off-road and zip line adventures and even a “safari.” Read about them in our article – Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico During a Cruise.