Mariner to Mexico

[Jasperdo]

Puffinater, can you help? I am from the united kingdom and have booked this cruise for september, what do you think the weather will be like? I normally cruise in the caribean but thought i would give this routing a try.

September is still hurricane season in the Mexican Riviera. Hurricanes aren't as frequent there as they are in the Caribbean. But two separate hurricanes did brush Cabo this past season. And a few cruises were diverted because of it. And, as Desert Cruizers mentioned, it is more humid and rainy in September.

[goofygame]

We did the Outdoor Adventure through the ship. I tried to book it privately (to save the $$) but they save the 2 start times that will get you back in time for the ship for the ship tours. The plus on it is that you get the boat ride across the bay instead of the bus around the bay. On the way back we stopped off at the arches of PV. It was very nice and the zip lines and rapel were excellent.

 

Also booked Randi's Happy Horses in Matzalan privately and the Yael in Cabo for snorkle and whale whatch privately.

 

The ship is great. Didn't care for Chops (Portofino on Voyager was much better). The ice show is excellent. Would recommend the trip. Have fun.

[Grandiva]

May thru Oct is more humid and tends to get more rain.

 

The weather can be an issue (cool) heading back to LA if you are sailing during the fall/winter months.

 

I am most interested in the weather. Considering this cruise for late September/October. Can not do the extreme heat. Also don't want to get rained out. Any advice/recommendations for the best time to travel to the MR would be appreciated.

 

Been on the Mariner. Love the ship.

[Desert Cruizers]

We have gone in April and have had beautiful weather, in fact going again April 10, 2011, do pop over and join our Roll Call.:) Its a 7 day cruise.

[kath00]

If you don't do extreme heat (neither do I) I would avoid Sept/Oct as it's still summer for us Souther CA (and more south) locations of the West Coast.

 

Try late Nov! It'll be perfect. Katherine

[Let'sGo!]

I've been to the Yucatan side of Mexico many, many times in September - October. You might have a squall type shower pop up in the afternoon. They're caused by the high humidity. They're usually short in duration and just help cool you off and you just keep going.

 

Apparently late November thru March is whale season if you want to see whales. I know we saw tons of them just on the ship. Hurricane Season is June - November, though the Pacific is not traditionally as active as the Caribbean and Gulf. July-Sept is gets really hot and humid in Mexico. If you want to avoid the most extreme weather, try November.

 

You can not guarantee weather for ANY time really. Just roll with it, after all, you're on a cruise! We once got POURED on in Jamaica while trying to

climb Dunn's River Falls. Our guide kept calling it "Liquid Sunshine!"

[Puffinater]

I can add that we were on this cruise in Sept., Dec., and Jan. and by far the humidity in September was the worst. Very, very humid in my opinion.

[jensue1]

What about July weather wise? I'm thinking of booking a cruise for the beginning of July. I know it will be warm but would it be better than September?

[Desert Cruizers]

Expect to see 90's during the summer months

[icemaiden]

Expect to see 90's during the summer months

 

hi coming from scotland i think anything would be warmer, but when you say summer months does that include last weeks of june and does that mean in the 90`s, if so i will be on cloud nine, lol

thanks linda:D

[csaeroach]

We were on the Mariner for the Feb 21st -28th, 2010 sailing. The ship is beautiful, probably the nicest ship we have ever been on (we have cruised 20+++ times) but probably the worst food we have ever encountered on a cruise line.

 

We have sailed Princess (Elite members), Carnival, NCL, and MSC in the past, and this was our first Royal Caribbean cruise. Even though we loved the ship, and thought it was beautiful, it is still not enough to make us book another Royal Caribbean cruise, as the food was so bad! The crew was awesome, had excellent wait staff, and can not blame them for what they were serving from the kitchen.

 

Everyday in Windjammers they never change the food, there is the same thing every day! Most cruise lines we have sailed with in the past have different themes in the buffets everyday, giving a great variety, but this does not stand for Royal Caribbean. Also the lunch menu in the dining room never changes for the entire cruise. It is a very limited menu, and not much on there you actually would want to eat.

 

We did not enjoy the Mexican Rivera as well as Caribbean cruises. It was our first, and probably our last sailing to Mexican Rivera. We did not like Mazatlan at all. They are to pushy, and never leave you alone. Always in your face, hounding you every step, and we do not like that. You can say no thank you a million times! Puerto Vallerta and Cabo San Lucas was the same, but not near as bad as Mazatlan.

 

In Cabo San Lucas we did the Rhino Tour and loved it... was the best excursion we did on this trip. I would recommend booking this, it was a great day. They picked us up and dropped us back off at the cruise terminal.

 

In Mazatlan we booked a city tour with a company called Vista Tours. Do not book this tour company! It was horrible! We left the tour 3/4 way through and grabbed a taxi back to the ship. I would definately never recommend this company!

 

In Puerto Vallerta we booked a whale watching tour with Wildlife Connections. They told us it would be $10 for a taxi to their location, and it actually cost $24. Another $20.00 for taxi to return to ship. It was okay, but the whales did not co-operate very good that day. We might of saw 3-4 whales the whole day which ended up being the tips of tales and a small portion of their backs. It was disappointing, but when your dealing with wildlife you can not promise huge whale shows of breaching everyday. Then they promised swimming with the wild dolphins on the way back in to shore,... they found two dolphins and as soon as we got in the water, they swam away and no others were ever found. Overall it was not a bad day, but wish we would of saw more whales, and had viewings like the show on their website.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Food is so subjective. I have sailed RCI several times (Platinum Member) and have always found something I like. I also have sailed Princess a couple of times and I liked their food a lot, probably a little better than RCI's but DH prefers the food on RCI. I don't see how anyone can say the food is bad, though. There are so many different dining options available that you can always find something different.

 

On the MR itinerary I would suggest lunch in port if you like seafood. the shrimp is awesome!:D

 

Personally I love the ports. I love the history and culture of Mazatlan & PV. I have found that the people who hire a reputable guide (stick with ones repeatedly recommended on the Ports of Call Forum) you will see the area in ways that you will miss on your own. I try to find out what each area is known for and target my excursions that way. May I suggest a tour with tequila tasting in a private distillary in PV? The Blue Agaves which make the finest tequilla are abundant in that area.

 

No, you do not have the same turquoise waters and beaches in Mexico as you do in the Caribbean, but you have more depth of culture. I personally try to get variety from my vacations. We did the Southern Caribbean last year and loved it! We snorkeled in 5 different ports and got beautiful shots. This year we will snorkel in Cabo only then we are off with great guides to see the real Mexico once again!:cool:

[Desert Cruizers]

icemaiden living in So Calif our summers go from June til Aug/Sept. We live in the lower desert, so what we might call wam is quite hot to some. :D. Hot to us is over 100 degrees, but it is a dry heat, with humidity ranging from 7 to 20 %.

[Offgrid]

My husband and I cruised Feb 28 to March 7th. Our first cruise. LOVED it. LOVED this ship. Don't give it another moment's thought... just book it and buy it.

 

Whale watch in Cabo, if it's the season. Just walk off the tender and look for all the guys selling trips. I met a couple who were offered whale watching and snorkelling with all drinks included for $50. They got it for $30 and had a blast.

 

Take any city tour of Mazatlan to get the lay of the town, and then sit, relax, and have a bite to eat.

 

Walk around Puerto Vallarta or go zip-lining, or just relax at a beach resort.

 

I spent a lot of time in a chair on the balcony staring at the horizon for whale spouts. Saw plenty. I heard the shows on board were great, but we saw none.

 

Don't wait. The secret to travel: buy the ticket!

 

Cheers!

[CruiserMickey]

Our family of four was on the Feb. 28-March 7th sailing, as well and loved the Mariner! DH and I had done this cruise last year and wanted to bring our 2 DS's on their first cruise and we didn't hesitate to book the Mariner again.

 

Everything about the ship is wonderful. We really enjoyed the food and the service was excellent.

 

Unfortunately, we didn't think that the entertainment was as good as it was last year. The singers and dancers had just come on the ship so they only did one production show (which we enjoyed) and the comedians really weren't that funny (except Don Friesen on the final night...he was hilarious!).

 

Kieron Buffery was a good cd, but Abe Hughes is better. Perhaps I just don't "get" some of his British humour? Anyways, Kieron is an excellent singer and really enjoyed his jam session with the musicians in Ellington's on the last night. Having a martini in Ellington's listening to jazz was a real highlight for us.

 

Our excursions were all self-planned (glass bottom boat ride in Cabo, Stone Island in Mazatlan, Malecon in PV) and were very enjoyable. In particular, our trip to Stone Island was wonderful. We met Eli of Pizza Benji's right at the dock and he took very good care of us for the day...and there were no vendors at his place! He even arranged to have an ATV brought over (his restaurant is to the right in a private cover, not to the left where Victor's and Lety's are) so our boys could ride on his property.

 

Don't hesitate...book a cruise on the Mariner. You won't be disappointed!

[LBumb]

we are going in may and can't wait.

[VOLLEYBALLDUDE2000]

Just got back. Had a great time on Mariner. Snorkeling is not as good as Caribbean, but there are lot of other activities available. Ice show, promenade parades and rockwall are a must. The only thing to consider (we brought enough gravel and ginger pills), the pacific can get pretty rough, at least at this time iof year.

[Bluegirl]

I see a lot of people have replied already, but I just wanted to add that our family cruised on the Mariner last July and LOVED it. Even though all four of us were squished into a tiny balcony room (NOT big enough for two adults and two restless, growing boys). We were so happy with our experience that in fact I just got off the phone with RCCL - we booked a B2B (our very first) on the Mariner this December.

 

The staff were great across the board. The itinerary is my favorite. The kids' programs were a huge beloved hit with my boys. If there was a weak point, it was food - though not as bad as Princess food or Carnival. Bland and a little dull, if anything. But that's subjective. I eat only fish and vegetarian options, so I can't speak for everything on the menu. My husband the carnivore WAS satisfied, as were the kids (the waiters did everything in their power to indulge and spoil them).

 

I do have to say, though, that the free food on the Promenade was TERRIBLE - completely inedible.

 

Have fun on the Mariner!