Which Mexican Riviera cruise?

Would love some help chosing a cruise for next March. We are 4 girlfriends that cruise every year and are finished with the carribean.

i have done the 10 day mexican riviera cruise on the mercury liked it and would do it again. nice opption of ports. and a nice ship with good service aswell. but then again there are lots to choose from but i would tend to choose the 10 day cruise over the 7 day cruise more ports for your money.

The 8 day NCL Star has 4 ports and freestyle with I think 10 restaurants to choose from. I will be able to tell you more about it in 4 weeks.

I choose the ship for the reasons above 4 ports one late night to 12:30 am in Acapulco and FREESTYLE.

judy when you get back i need a full report on ncl free style cruises we have never tried them so please let me know how it was.

Would love some help chosing a cruise for next March. We are 4 girlfriends that cruise every year and are finished with the carribean.

You can not beat the ease and comfort of CCL Spirit out of San Diego. Airport is 1 mile from the port. Lots of hotels to stay at if you come in early and lots to see downtown. All easy walking distance. Holiday Inn just across the street from the port (300ft) but books early. Long Beach has a few more cruises but a bit more difficult to get around. :rolleyes:

Not to trash Mexico cruise or anything, but we enjoyed our Carribean cruise much more than our Mexico cruise, so if DH and I were to cruise again, we probably would go back to the carribean. But for now, we are done cruising for a few years, we want to travel to the fareast now....

judy when you get back i need a full report on ncl free style cruises we have never tried them so please let me know how it was.

They are great. I sailed on the NCL Dawn last May and that's the reason I booked her sisiter ship the Star. I just loved it so much. I liked all the ships I've been on for different reason but I must say it will be hard now to book anything but freestyle. The true freedom of a vacation feel doing what you want when you want makes it a true vacation. Not worring about rushing to make it to the assigned dinner time. Not everyone likes it but for my mother and I it's the best.

thanks judy sounds really good. we will be looking into ncl for our next cruise and it will be mexico for us because we love mexico. lol.

I was on the NCL Star a couple years ago. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the freestyle dining. I ate when I wanted to eat, not when the cruiseship decided it was my time to eat. Plus I was always able to get a table for two - I'm not the type that prefers eating at a large table with a bunch of strangers.

yes FREESTYLE ,, will get you hooked to NCL , that was the most relaxing vacation we have ever been on... we didnt have to worry about getting ready for dinner by a certain time, we slept when we wanted to , and then ate when we wanted to without any worries..it was so nice,

and the ship is nice , and great service and food,,

and the itenerary is the best... ACA,IXTAPA,PV and CABO

we liked it so much we are going again in november... ( sicne we missed aca and ixtapa)

good luck deciding

i think i have just been sold on ncl. thanks so much for your comments.

We are going on the Dawn for a 10 day Mexican Riviera Cruise on April 29 . I will surely post a review and let you know my thoughts.

I loved the Carnival Pride out of Long Beach! Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Great ship and great service!

thanks for all the info on the mexican riviera. i will look into the NCL cruises. sounds like those are the "critics" favorites. thanks for all your help.

The ONLY bad cruise we've ever had was NCL - the Wind in Hawaii. We'll NEVER sail NCL again!

Just got back from Mexico on the Sapphire Princess. The only thing I didn't like about this particular cruise was that we had only 4-5 hours in Cabo San Lucas. I would have enjoyed an entire day there so that we could have done some water sports, walked through the town or see the resorts. All we had time for was a 2-hour cruise to Los Arcos and see a few shops. Of the three Mexican cities we saw (Puerta Varrata and Mazatan), it was the place we enjoyed the most. Next time, I would get on a cruise with an agenda that gives more time to Cabo.

Ray and Barbara

Thats what makes these boards great...different people can do the very same thing and come away with entirely different opinions. I sailed NCL and really DON'T like freestyle. I can go to a restaurant at home. I really like the feeling of the traditional cruise dinner. The waiter who learns my likes and dislikes, cruisemates who I can learn more about as the week progresses, and just the "feel" of the dining experience. Yes, the specified time to eat can be restrictive but I always take the late seating and incorporate that into my planning as far as excursions go. For me vacations are about doing something different and special...NCL made me feel like I just drove down the block. Of course that was just 1 experience and I'm sure I will try another NCL cruise at some point, especially since they have the all Hawaii monopoly.

We absolutely loved out trip to Mexico on the Sapphire Princess!! It was just spectacular.....Would love to be abe to go on the Dawn Princess 11 night sailing to Mexico. We are die-hard Princess fans!!

I loved the Carnival Pride out of Long Beach! Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Great ship and great service!

Me too! That cruise would be hard to beat - however we are giving the 8 day "Exotic Mexican Riviera" on the Carnival Spirit out of San Diego a try! ;)

I also enjoy the more traditional "Dining Room" experience, and, while I have never tried "Freestyle", it doesn't sound like I would care for it - at least not for dinner. It sounds too much like eating on the Lido Deck. I'm sure it's better, but I just don't think that dining in the Dining Room can be beat! To me it's all part of the cruising experience!

Me too! That cruise would be hard to beat - however we are giving the 8 day "Exotic Mexican Riviera" on the Carnival Spirit out of San Diego a try! ;)

 

I also enjoy the more traditional "Dining Room" experience, and, while I have never tried "Freestyle", it doesn't sound like I would care for it - at least not for dinner. It sounds too much like eating on the Lido Deck. I'm sure it's better, but I just don't think that dining in the Dining Room can be beat! To me it's all part of the cruising experience!

You can eat in the dining room on NCL ships - they haven't been done away with. All they've done away with is the rigid two seatings for dinner; plus the almort required coat and tie dress code. Every dinner I was dressed in one of my pairs of dress slacks & a luau shirt. Most people were dressed in slacks & a polo shirt or nice sports shirt. No jeans/shorts & t-shirts at dinner is about the only thing not accepted.

Most people were dressed in slacks & a polo shirt or nice sports shirt. No jeans/shorts & t-shirts at dinner is about the only thing not accepted.

That's about how it is in Carnival's dining room - except for formal nights. I just really liked everything about the whole dining room experience. I really liked going straight to "our" table and having the same waiters and getting to know them. But that's just me! :D

I have to toss in my vote for the NCL Star. For your group, traveling to Acapulco will be wonderful. My family and I did a few Carnival cruises down the coast, and while Carnival is fine for us, we wanted to try a different line and a different itinerary. (We are going on the Star again in a few weeks and just booked the RCCL Freedom of the Seas for next year in Miami.).

Truly, my belief is that you can't go wrong on a cruise. It's the best way to travel because it's so flexible (if you want to sit around, do so, and if you want to be active, that's OK as well). But as we all can attest, different lines do things differently, and it just depends on what literally floats your boat. Plus we have a couple of teens and small ones to factor into the mix.

What attracted us to NCL were a lot of positive recommendations (and I don't think they were wrong) and the fact that we got to do something a little different than the typical PV/Mazatlan/CSL run. I loved Acapulco and Ixtapa, and I think you will as well.

Have fun with whatever you choose.

Jerry

We took it over last NY Eve and it was a very nice ship...and RT out of SD is great for us (we live here) but also could give you an "extra" port, if you will, to explore. I was concerned that there would be an "older crowd"..whatever that is anymore..but that was not the case. Have also done Princess and Carnival to the Mexican Riviera...would do Princess again but not Carnival..I think, at this point in time..I might be starting to creep into that older crowd level...:rolleyes: Just got a brochure from HAL and they had some GREAT rates for balconies...enjoy no matter what line you try! LuAnn

The 8 day NCL Star has 4 ports and freestyle with I think 10 restaurants to choose from. I will be able to tell you more about it in 4 weeks.

 

I choose the ship for the reasons above 4 ports one late night to 12:30 am in Acapulco and FREESTYLE.

OOhhh, I LOVE the Star & their freestyle dining.

I've posted this before, but in case you haven't already seen it, below is the link to my report and lots of pictures from my 10-day Mexican Cruise on the Dawn Princess. You will find pictures, menus and Patters here also. This was my first cruise so I can't compare it to other lines for you, but thoroughly enjoyed the Dawn.

Carol

http://members.aol.com/pudyqat/DawnPrincess.html