Is an all-inclusive resort a good choice for a cruise shore excursion? While on our Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise we tried it out for ourselves with El Cid Resorts.

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El Cid Resorts has it all, and I mean ALL, when it comes to a perfect, hassle-free, laid back and fun Mazatlan cruise shore excursion.

During our Mexican Riviera Carnival cruise we made port stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatla,n and Puerta Vallarta.

Shore excursions are a big part of a cruise experience and can often make or break your whole cruise. I’m not trying to be overdramatic, but vacation time and money is precious and on shore excursions you very rarely get a do-over.

I know we only had one day in Mazatlan, but we fell in love with this place and need to return one day.

Just to say its name over and over. I love the sound of Mazatlan. Say it with me MA-ZAT-LAN. How can you not want to visit this place with a name like that?

There are so many wonderful choices for Mazatlan cruise shore excursions, from deep sea fishing to a zip lining adventure through the tree tops. You can even release baby turtles back into the ocean!

But we knew as soon as we heard about El Cid All-Inclusive Resorts in Mazatlan we had to go.

Here’s what we enjoyed most about our Mazatlan cruise shore excursion with El Cid Resorts – El Moro Beach Hotel:

The Ocean And Resort Pool Are Side By Side!

Pool, ocean… ocean, pool… it’s so hard to decide!

Well, at El Cid’s Moro Beach you don’t have to. Just steps away from both makes young families like ours very happy. In the morning we chose the beach and in the afternoon we were in the pool, but if we wanted, we could have gone back and forth all day long depending on our mood.

The Best Boogie Boarding Waves For Kids We’ve Ever Experienced

I’m on an eternal quest to find the best boogie boarding beach for families and El Cid Resort – El Moro made my top 10 list.

First, soft sandy beach as far as the eye can see, so there’s no worries about hidden rocks or weird shore breaks.

Second, the ocean water was a very nice temperature that didn’t deter us from catching as many waves as we wanted.

And third, the waves during our visit couldn’t have been more perfect for the age of our kids at 12, 10 & 9 years old. All we needed to do was stand at the right place and when the wave was ready to break we pushed off the sand bottom with our feet, riding the wave all the way to shore.

Beachside Full-Body Massages

While the kids and I enjoyed our time in the ocean waves, Gretta took advantage of a full-body massage just steps from us. Under the shade of a canopy, she relaxed listening to the crashing waves and birds chirping overhead.

She told me the experience of a beachside massage was more relaxing than any in-room massage she’s had.

The fresh ocean air, warm breeze and real sounds all worked together to release any tension she had. It was definitely a must-do activity while at El Cid Moro Beach Hotel. She highly recommends you take the opportunity while you visit too.

Beachside Dining And Swim-Up Snack Bar

I never like leaving the pool or the beach. Gretta says I’m worse than the kids. Well, at El Cid Moro Beach Hotel you don’t have to!

La Conchita is serving up drinks and tasty appetizers all day long located right alongside the pool. And if you’re looking for a sit down restaurant with a bigger menu to choose from, then stroll on over to La Gruta. Gaze out over the ocean and the pool as you enjoy a light meal and a refreshing drink.

El Cid Staff & Service Are First Class

From the moment we were picked up by our Pronatours shuttle driver at the cruise terminal we could tell there was something different about the staff. Everyone, and I mean everyone, from the front desk staff and managers to the lifeguards and restaurant servers, all helped us have a fabulous day.

El Cid Resorts Love Kids & Families

We were only at El Cid for one day, but it was evident that their kid’s club staff genuinely love kids. We were asked if the kids wanted to learn how to do cake decoration, arts and crafts, play games and more. Only being at the resort for a day, we couldn’t take full advantage of the El Cid kid’s club, even though we wanted to.

However, one of my kids couldn’t resist the floating aqua obstacle course race and won second place! I was quite impressed with how the staff celebrated the victory and he even won a shirt to take home the memory.

This Is No Ordinary Pool

In the afternoon we migrated over to the pool patio area and spent the rest of our time soaking up the sun and splashing around in the pool. We’ve been to resorts with pools before, but El Cid El Moro Beach hotel took it to a whole new level. You couldn’t find a square edge in this pool if you tried. And the water was so nice and warm.

Our favourite was the jump off lava rock waterfall structure. We split up our time between jumping off the cliff, hiding in the waterfall, and taking breaks at the swim up snack bar.

Our second favourite was the giant floating obstacle course that the kids took turns racing on.

If we wanted to get away for some quiet there were other pool options, but the El Cid El Moro Beach Hotel main pool area was just too much fun for us to leave.

Transportation to El Cid Resorts Is Convenient And Quick

It took us about 20 minutes to debark from our Carnival Cruise ship, take the trolly and make our way out the other side of the cruise ship terminal.

Our shuttle driver with Pronatours met us on-time right outside the cruise terminal holding a sign with our name on it and instantly took all our anxiety away about how we would get to El Cid Resorts. He was kind, gracious, easy to talk to, offered us something cold to drink and loaded us up into a clean, comfortable and modern shuttle bus.

On the way to El Cid Resort we even got a short tour as he taught us some of the valuable history of Mazatlan and pointed out special sights along the way. We couldn’t have asked for a better shuttle driving service.

The only downside we experienced choosing El Cid Resorts for our Mazatlan cruise shore excursion was…

WE WEREN’T READY TO LEAVE!

Our whole family was having such a great time. I mean over-the-top, one of our best family vacation resort days ever and if it wasn’t for our wonderful Carnival Cruise ship calling, we would have spent the week!

In fact, we are just scratching the service of all that El Cid Resorts Mazatlan has to offer. El Moro Beach Hotel is just one of 5 El Cid Resorts in Mazatlan. If you’re staying at the resort as an all-inclusive guest you can take the free shuttle between the resorts and have access to it all.

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El Cid Resorts Mazatlan – El Cid El Moro Beach Hotel

Website: elcid.com – El Cid El Moro Beach Hotel

Phone: 1.888.733.7308

email: [email protected]

How to book your all-inclusive El Cid Resort Mazatlan day pass and what’s the cost? 

1. If you want to book the Carnival Cruise El Cid Resort shore excursion and be first off the ship simply make your booking directly on your Carnival account. However, the Carnival excursion is to El Cid Marina Resort and we preferred El Cid El Moro Beach Hotel to have the pool and beach side by side. Approximately $75 for adults and $65 for kids.
2. Or you can do what we did and book directly with the El Cid Resorts – El Cid El Moro Beach Hotel and they can arrange transportation with their internal tour and transportation company – Pronatours. Prices vary per season.  Pronatours, the on-site tour and transportation company can assist you with your transportation. You just need to send an email to: [email protected] or call  1.888.888.8330 in order to ask more information.
3. Are you feeling adventurous? Wheel and deal with a local taxi driver waiting by the cruise terminal and make your own way to El Cid and pay for your all-inclusive day pass at the front desk. Prices vary per season.

Check out El Cid Resort – El Moro Beach Hotel From Space

Disclosure: I was a guest of the El Cid Resort – El Moro Beach Hotel but they did not ask that I write a favourable review or cause an unsensational desire to return.