Mexico or Carribbean?

[bvocruise]

My wife and I live in Las Vegas and currently have a Mexican Riviera cruise booked out of San Diego 11/28 – 12/05 on the Oosterdam. We have always cruised the Caribbean in the past and love the warm weather and Half Moon Cay along with the other spots. We are considering switching cruises to the Westerdam departing on 11/29 – 12/6 out of Ft. Lauderdale. The demand for Mexico cruises is really soft and we booked a SY for a great price. We may need to downgrade to a VC if we switch to the Westerdam. We would also have to pay about $350 more for air to Ft Lauderdale and get a hotel for the night. We are also concerned with being cold in Mexico compared with the Carribean.
I’m looking for some advice and feedback. There are a lot of higher category suites left on both cruises and we are hoping to get an offer to upgrade for $150 to $200 a person. We look forward to the replies from the HAL experts.

[kakalina]

We have taken so many cruises to Mexico. Anymore the ship is the destination for a cruise there. Living in Ariz. we also have a long way to get to the Fla coast.

We like to take a repo cruise that gets us to Fla do the carribean cruise and then rent a one way car and drive home. Of course, not everyone has the time to do this.

Personally, I would go to the Caribbean.

[bvocruise]

We recently took the Veendam from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego but were not able to stop in Mexico and missed those ports. I would like to do it again sometime as we enjoyed the cruise for the most part. I am leaning toward just doing Mexico this time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have done both types of cruises.

Much prefer to do the Caribbean -- a lot more choices in the ports there.

[furluvcats]

Have done both numberous times...always prefer the Caribbean...the warmer climate, beautiful azure waters...we also are booked on a Mex Riv cruise this fall on the Veendam...the prices were just too hot to resist! Traveling as a family of 4 for this cruise, it just makes it more cost effective to stay at the local ports...

Good luck with your decision...either choice will be an amazing escape!

[bvocruise]

I'm sure we will have a good time regardless but I know we really like the Carribean. The cost difference is about $500 when we add the extra expenses and staying an extra night in Ft Lauderdale. Half Moon Cay is priceless though and the weather there is normally nice.

[cruiseathon]

Looking at November's route for the Oosterdam, the port furthest south is Vallarta. It'll be comfortable here, but all of Baja to the north will be chilly to cold. The caribbean would definitely be warmer.

[scopewest]

If you're sailing for the ports, Caribbean. If you're more interested in the ship, Mexico. If you really don't want to spend a day flying to FL, pick Mexico. You can't count on the weather being perfect on your cruise and if the sea is stormy, HAL could skip HMC completely so don't make that the deciding factor.

[SusieKay]

We live on the East Coast, and have cruised to and visited islands in the Caribbean many times. Always loved it. Last November we decided to try something different - The Mexican Riviera-a 10 night cruise on the Ryndam out of San Diego. I can only say it was just OK-it was chilly out of San Diego, and for the first day or two-same way coming back. In my opinion, the beaches in Mexico just cannot compare with those in the Caribbean-of course, the scenery is a bit more impressive, but we found the water rough, murky, and cold. We took our own snorkel gear, and never used it. We have already booked a Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam . Personally, I would chose the Caribbean over the Mexican Riviera at any price, but everyone has a different opinion.

[bvocruise]

Thank you for the good advice.

[Bill HaHa]

I don't like to fly anymore, so I stick to cruises out of San Diego and return to San Diego. Of course living 10 minutes from the cruise terminal in San Diego helps. Plus we really like the Mexican ports I am booked on two more cruises to Mexico 10/09 and 3/10. My main purpose to cruising is cruising, not the ports

[brucory]

Originally Posted by cruiseathon

Looking at November's route for the Oosterdam, the port furthest south is Vallarta. It'll be comfortable here, but all of Baja to the north will be chilly to cold. The caribbean would definitely be warmer.

For the OP, we did the Sea of Cortez last November and the weather was beautiful. The only cooler weather was on the last days heading into San Diego. We enjoyed the beach every day in Mexico and came home nicely tanned!!!

The Oosterdam is doing a Panama Canal in November departing FLL on the 2nd for San Diego. Sailing on the Oosterdam's 19 nighter in November would cover both of the OP's regions off as it has a taste of the Carribean and a huge chunk of Mexico. It is also reasonably priced!!! It looked so good, we booked it.

[bvocruise]

We would love to take the Oosterdam from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego but we don't have that much time. We still have a few days before the 75 day point to make our final decision.

[Dolfan66]

I did the Mexican Rivera in December '08 out of San Diego. It was cool in San Diego and cool once the ship left the port. It started to warm up about mid-way to Cabo San Lucas and it was nice and warm from that point forward. The seas were not rough on the southbound part of th cruise, but were a bit rough coming back to San Diego. The best part of traveling to Mexico this time of the year is the opportunity to see the magnificent humpback whales in their natural waters. You can often see dophins swimming along side the ship too. There are some really nice port activities as well. Hurricanes shouldn't be a worry at this time of the year either. I don't sail the Carribean during hurricane season either.

No matter what your decision, Mexico isn't a bad cruise at all. Enjoy!

[alcpa1]

We cruise the Caribbean almost annually so this 11/29 we are heading out of Tampa on the Ryndam for an interesting itinerary to Key West, Belize, Costa Maya, and Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.
It is something different and it certainly will not be a cold weather cruise.
The ship is wide open, even the Penthouse is still available.
Give it a look.

[DaveOKC]

We live in OK, so we are about half way between CA and FLA. Having said that, I would rather sail out of San Diego - so much easier to deal with than Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

As others have stated, if just sailing is your thing, go with Mexico - you get a much better deal around Dec 1 sailings for your money. If seeing ports is important, go with the Carb.

Since you live in Vegas, the flying to SAN is so easy (and cheap) I would be tempted to take the Mexican cruise.

DaveOKC

[bvocruise]

We have Mexico booked this time and got a great deal on a SY and love the location. We are hoping for an upgrade offer to a SB or higher for $200 a person. We have cruised out of Miami and Ft Lauderdale and it is more expensive now that we are back in Vegas. I have heard good things about the Vista Class ships. The only negative thing I have heard is they are a bit over crowded since they added extra cabins which causes long waits at times and congestion.