Hi, first time cruisers, got roped into a family vacation thing to cruise to Mexico on Navigator of the Seas in a few weeks. We're trying to pin down what we want to do at our three ports.
Tl;dr version: had anyone gone snorkeling at Cabo Pulmo out of Cabo San Lucas. There's an $800-ish 6.5 hr jeep tour, which is a lot for us (on top of allllllll the other cruise costs we're dealing with) for two people, but sounds great, and could potentially be our one major thing we do off-ship.
-----------
Longer tmi version: My partner and I don't drink, so wine/tequila/margaritas aren't of interest to us, and sadly we're not big seafood fans either. I'll eat fish and squid and scallops, but not much else, and he will eat almost none of that. So, many of the offered tours and excursions include paying for things we're not really into. We toyed with going to the aquarium or animal sanctuary, but that also feels like stuff we can and do just from home.
All that being SAID, we're into saltwater fish and coral and kayaking, so I've been looking at excursuons with viator and shore excursion group along those lines.
The 6.5 hr jeep tour from Cabo San Lucas to Cabo Pulmo sounds great. We like that it's private, and would just be the two of us plus the driver/guide, and we'd get to see the coastline outside of the city, and the snorkeling at Cabo Pulmo sounds like it's good--undoubtedly better than what we'd get from the ports themselves, it sounds like.
But... it's nearly $800, so we'd both contribute $400, which is a lot for us, especially on top of all the other expenses we have for a trip that isn't really anything he and I would ever choose to do on our own (don't get me wrong, it'll be a fun and new experience, hopefully, and making the most of it, and at least our airfare is being covered, and how in the world do people with kids afford these trips??). But if it's the only real excursion we do, it might balance.
Is it worth it? Has anyone done it? I see viator has a snorkeling "trip" listed for around $200 for Cabo Pulmo, but doesn't include transportation or probably anything else. Not sure how complex it would be to arrange transport from the dock to Cabo Pulmo on our own, but I think my partner would be extra nervous about something going awry and not getting back to Port on time.
There's also a highly-rated shark snorkeling tour out-of either Cabo or Mazatlan that seems really cool, and also for small groups, and ~half the price. Of course, they can't guarantee what we'd see, but as someone who's done pelagic tours and such, I fully get that, and it would be cool regardless. So that could be plan B.
Like I said, this is all very new to us, so ANY advice or experience is very much appreciated. Thanks all, safe travels!