We were surprised at how beautiful the area around Puerta Vallarta is. The city itself looks like many US cities, but once you get outside of town there is lush jungle vegetation everywhere, in spite of the 2 year drought they have had. Banana trees, mangoes, guavas and other edibles grow wild along some of the roadsides. The weather was warm and wonderful! 
We hired a private driver/guide who was standing near the end of the long line of tour vendors when we got off the ship. He took us for a 4 hour ride for $10/pp and we felt we got more than our money's worth. He stopped at a waterfall that was on the property where the movie "Predator" was filmed. They had a zipline there as well as a little open air restaurant. We had chips and guacamole along with 2 cokes and our bill was a little over $6 US. We didn't do the zipline. 
He also took us to the "rich" part of the area where we saw some of the most awesome architecture, and then he took us to the "poor" area where the architecture was also spectacular, but very different from that in the more affluent area. 
We went to a small, family operated tequilla distillery where we got to sample there wares...and ended up buying some almond flavored tequilla to take home. He stopped at several beaches and outlooks along the way too, all the while telling us the history of the area. It was a pleasant, enjoyable day for us. 


Puerto Vallarta

Mazatlan was so different from Puerta Vallarta. I wasn't sure at first whether to love or hate the place. It was also lush and green but not to the extent of Puert Vallarta, and it was flatter terrain. 
The public transportation system there was interesting, to say the least. There are hundreds of open-air, cart-like taxis (?) running around everywhere, darting between vehicles, not signaling, no seatbelts, running stop signs...and a more sane person would have been scared to death, but I found it a little exciting. Just wave your arm, one will pull over and quote you a price (negotiation is possible) and you jump in and off you go...but hold on to your hats. 
We caught a ride to the "old" part of town where the locals shop. Wow! They had open-air meat markets...with pig's heads, chicken feet, and all other kinds of interesting meat to sell. I wouldn't shop there, but had fun watching the locals do it. They also had lots of flea market type stalls and vendors, but we didn't find anything we wanted to buy. 
Down the street we found a small pharmacy where I was able to stock up on my medications for about 1/3 of what I pay in the US. They were factory sealed and identical to my regular meds, but with Spanish instructions. Since I have no insurance to cover my medications I was really thrilled about my savings. 
We had an OK day in Mazatlan, but just OK. It was my least favorite port on this cruise. 


Mazatlan

We had booked a fishing excursion with the ship which had been cancelled after we got on the ship due to lack of interest. So, we booked a sailing excursion to replace the fishing one. They got us all the way to the dock before telling us it had also been cancelled. Oh well, we usually just find our own fun at ports anyway, so we did it again in Cabo San Lucas. 
We hired a guy with a panga (small boat) to take us around for a tour of the bay and cape. It was $20 for both of us and well worth it. He took us to the pacific side of the cape though, where the waves were higher than the boat and that was a bit scary. That was when I realized our panga had no floatation devices of any kinds. We survived though and had a nice time. There were tons of other water activities available there too, at much better prices than the ship offers them. Next time, we will try to parasail while we're there. 
After our tour in the panga we just wandered around, site seeing and doing a little shopping. Even though the terrain there is mostly desert, we liked Cabo most of all the ports. 


Cabo San Lucas

Stateroom # 8104, nice cabin, strange round footed bed (but comfortable) "hump" balcony of nice size but forward view obstructed by the "hump" of the cabin next door, small bathroom, plenty of storage, terrific steward, close to elevators.

I had read a few reviews where people complained about the food on this ship, but I am inclined to think those people would be hard to please no matter what.There were a few cases of gastrointestinal trouble on the ship, so there was no shortage of people cleaning and disinfecting everything in sight.

Radiance of the Seas Review

Not perfect but SO close!

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Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

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