Dancer Cruise Tour - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Spend the day on one boat on the Bay

 

 
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On Dancer!

by Brenda Retzlaff
posted: 5/8/2003


The Dancer Cruise is a huge multilevel boat, very well maintained and sparkling clean.

The first level is set up nicely for breakfast dining and relaxing out of the sun. The first thing you notice is the bar and the D.J. booth. Both are crafted with wood paneling, which is uncommon on a boat in the tropics, but lends a nice warm feel and gives it a more luxurious appearance.

The bathrooms are much better than expected, very clean, and a little bigger than the typical matchbox sized boat restroom.

What I really enjoyed about the boat itself, besides the excellent and attentive crew was the lounge chairs. Yepf. Lounge chairs. Honest to goodness chaise lounge chairs, right on the top deck, perfect for sunning and lazing about, especially after lunch or a few rounds of margaritas.

They also have added another thoughtful touch, beach towels. If you forgot your beach towel, you can rent one for 50 pesos, which is worth it if you swim or snorkel at Los Arcos or Las Animas and want to dry off.
One other thing that caught my attention, this is the first sea tour where they didn't insist on having a minimum of four stereo speakers blasting on each level of the boat. The lower level has the D.J. booth and music, but the top deck, which is large with outdoor and covered seating, is free of speakers, giving you a chance to meet others and have a conversation. What a concept!

There are other fine points about the Dancer Cruise besides the boat. The tour route is excellent, giving a wide range of activities and yet the tour is relaxing and not rushed.
Upon boarding, the staff serves everyone light breakfast of fresh fruit, juice, coffee, ham and cheese croissant and sweet rolls as you set south to Los Arcos for snorkeling. Before you arrive to Los Arcos, the staff will serve alcoholic drinks and people are advised to not drink alcohol before snorkeling. If you don't want to snorkel, you can swim or stay on board and relax. You are given about 30 to 45 minutes of snorkel time, which for most people is plenty.

From Los Arcos the boat goes to Las Animas. At Las Animas you have about 45 minutes to swim or stay on the boat. Since the boat can dock relatively close to shore, you can easily swim to shore or float around the boat. Las Animas is a lovely beach with clear water and soft sand. The boat is set up with wide steps that lead right to the water making it easy to get in or out of the ocean, even with flippers on.

After Los Arcos, the boat heads a little farther south to Quimixto. The bay here is more shallow, so they panga (small boat) everyone to shore. Once everyone is on dry land, you walk a little ways to the beachside restaurant where you are given your choice of fish filet, chicken, quesadillas or beef tacos. (Your order is taken on the boat before you arrive so they can start preparing.) The lunch is very tasty, served with rice and a salad and tortillas, drinks are not included, so bring money or go thirsty. You may also want to make sure you have a little tip money for the waiters and at least 20 pesos to buy fresh and warm queso (cheese) pie or fresh coconut pie from the pie ladies.

If you want to rent a horse to take you to the waterfall it is 125 pesos. My suggestion is to walk if you are in decent shape. Many people just opt to hang out on the beach instead, or wander through the little village and shop at the little street side stands. In the winter and spring months, (February, March, April and May) the waterfall is merely more than a trickle and to me is not worth the effort. October and November is an excellent time to make the hike as the waterfall is really flowing after the rains, making excellent photo opportunities and it is a wonderfully refreshing swim.

The Dancer Cruise is an excellent boat, the staff is great and the tour route is wonderful. All in all for the price, I can say that it is absolutely worth the price and I personally would not hesitate to go on the Dancer again or recommend it.

*Side Note: There is another cruise in Puerto Vallarta called the Rainbow Dancer which is an alternative lifestyle cruise and is completely different than the Dancer Cruise.