North-of-the-border travel agents will typically have a stack of cruise brochures that include Puerto Vallarta on their itineraries. People who enjoy being pampered with lots of food and ready-made entertainment (and who don’t mind paying for it) can have great fun on cruises. Accommodations on a typical 10-day winter cruise (which would include a day or two in Puerto Vallarta) can run as little as $100 per day per person, double occupancy, to as much as $1,000 or more.
If, however, you want to get to know Mexico and the local people, a cruise is not for you. Onboard food and entertainment is the main event of a cruise; shore sightseeing excursions, which generally cost extra, are a sideshow.
Sailboats, on the other hand, offer an entirely different kind of sea route to Puerto Vallarta. Ocean Voyages (1709 Bridgeway, Sausalito [1], CA 94965, tel. 415/332-4681 or 800/299-4444, fax 415/332-7460, www.oceanvoyages.com [2]), a California-based agency, arranges passage on a number of sail and motor vessels that regularly depart to the Puerto Vallarta region from Pacific ports such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. It offers custom itineraries and flexible arrangements that can vary from complete Puerto Vallarta round-trip voyages to weeklong coastal idylls between Puerto Vallarta and other Pacific ports of call. Some captains allow passengers to save money by signing on as crew.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/california/san-francisco-and-the-bay-area/north-bay/sausalito-and-tiburon
[2] http://www.oceanvoyages.com