AT SEA ON THE CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM — One estimate is that more than 400 cruise ships drop anchor in Cabo San Lucas Bay, at the mouth of the Sea of Cortez, in one calendar year. That’s why the pier is probably the cleanest, the least offensive and the friendliest of any that cruisers visit in Mexico.
That’s also why Cabo San Lucas has replaced Acapulco as Mexico’s most desirable and exotic cruise-ship stop. Popularity and pricing often go hand in hand. During the Celebrity Millennium’s nine-hour stop in Cabo this week, we researched some cruise-port facts worth noting:
* Car rental for cruisers is available for short stopovers for $45 or less, including insurance. Of course, you have to be comfortable being behind the wheel in Mexico, but a one-way cab from Cabo San Lucas to a town of any size is $40, one way.
* Buses that operate up and down the shore to San Jose cost $2.50 per person each way, or less. The buses are clean and reliable. There are public beaches within walking distance of where the bus stops.
* If you’d like to “go fishing with the old man of the sea” for about six hours, it costs $150 and the “old man” who is either Ozzie or Rolando guarantees a catch (Ozzie is the only one of many such boat operators whom we asked for a price, because we liked his sales pitch).
* There’s a sports bar (topless) where fans of pro basketball or hockey can get any playoff game at this time of year…servers go topless, not customers.
* Mini-bars and restaurants in “downtown” — or Centro — offer free phone calls to the U.S. and Canada just for stopping to have a drink.
That’s it…we’re done.