Thinking of doing the Mexican Riviera on Dec. 4th, 2005

[daisey]

We are thinking about sailing on the Vision of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera on Dec. 4th. I'm a little worried about the weather and how rough the water will be. Any input?

 

Thanks!

Daisey

[Ella2]

In early December it will be probably be fairly cool as you leave Los Angeles, but will warm up quickly as you head south. :) Hard to tell on the seas, I had no problems while sailing the Mexican Riviera in February, but coming back north it is usually a little rough.

 

Cabo may be a little on the cool side too but your other ports should be perfect. Enjoy!

[dewayneg]

We sailed the Vision last December. The weather was warm, and the water was a bit cool, but not a cool as it gets by February. We did some swimming at Lover's Beach in Cabo and snorkeling in Yelapa outside of PV. The water in PV was warm enough to swim indefinitely.

 

I think December is a great time to cruise to Mexico, expect average highs to be in the low 80's. As the previous poster said, the 1st day and last day at sea will be cool and of course you should expect to leave LA under darkened skies.

 

Have a great cruise! I'll be in the Carribean that same week!

[daisey]

We are undecided where we want to go, but it has to be that week. Where will you be sailing to that week? My husband won a free cruise playing Bingo on the Serenade last year, so we get to pick where we want to go. We have never done the Mexican Riviera but I was worried about the weather and rough seas.

 

Thanks,

Daisey

[Sillyjilly]

I've cruised the Mex Riv several times. Usually the last day back is rough. (Sometimes worse than others) It seems to me, it is just luck of the draw. The seas for the most part have always been pretty calm.

Last December the weather was great in Mexico. Not too hot and humid, but very warm. I don't think I would EVER travel there during the summer months. I'm a little worried about our October cruise. I've read it is very warm in Oct in Mex.

I'd go again in December in a heart beat.

Jill

[TahoeBob]

We are thinking about sailing on the Vision of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera on Dec. 4th. I'm a little worried about the weather and how rough the water will be. Any input?

 

Thanks!

Daisey

 

I was on the vision last December the first two days LA was warm, no wind, and only 2 foot waves on the water, Cabo and MZland was about 85, then the weather started to change PV was somewhat overcast and some wind, the last sea day was cool and windy but only 8 to 10 foot waves.

 

One of the crue members told me the week before they had to have the bags out on the first few days of the cruise the week before. I had a great time, but it was our first cruise so how could it not be great.

 

 

Bob

[raerae]

Daisey,

 

We are cruising that week on the Mariner to the Western Caribbean. Going to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ochos Rios and Labadee. We lately have cruised that week or the week before and have always had good weather in the Caribbean.

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose to take!! And congrats on winning a cruise. :D

Cindy ;)

[eyegel]

I have observed that the two weeks after Thanksgiving and before Christmas invariably have the cheapest cruise rates. Because that is the only way that I can afford to indulge my wife's addiction to cruising we always cruise at that time of year. We did a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise four years ago (RCCL) and a ten-day last year (Celebrity). While no one can predict the weather, I believe that it should be a GREAT time to cruise.

 

If the weather in Los Angeles is cold, your first day at sea may be a little nippy. By the time you drop below the tropic of Capricorn that afternoon, however, the weather should start to get appreciably warmer.

 

For our part, we found Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Zihuatanejo to be warm and fine in late November/early December. Acapulco was too darn hot and dreadfully humid!

 

The eastern Pacific hurricane season is well over by December. You are extremely unlikely to encounter rain or heavy seas while visiting your ports at that time of year.

 

The last day of the return trip can be a problem. The California current runs down the eastern Pacific/west coast from around Point Concepcion. On the way south, the ship has the current at its back and it can progress smoothly. On the way north, however, the ship is bucking the current. Although the ride back on the last day is almost invariably somewhat rougher than the ride down, conditions are usually not too bad.

 

If the North Pacific high pressure ridge has dropped south, however, storms from the Gulf of Alaska will regularly dip down into California. The long "fetch" of expanses of ocean water unblocked by any land mass as these storms sweep down from Alaska means that high winds can act on the waves for a very long time. Wave height can increase dramatically under those conditions. [if you want a more detailed explanation, see: http://www.westmarine.com/boatsafe/tips_misc_waves.htm.]

Things are not so bad if the waves and the current are at your back when you are heading south to Mexico, but conditions can get quite rough if you are sailing into the teeth of a storm while bucking the current.

 

The good news is that, with the exception of "monsoon" years like we had in California last year, such storms do not regularly begin to swoop down until late December or early January. I think that you have picked a perfect window when you are likely to have excellent weather. I envy you!

 

Now, teach me your winning bingo strategy!

[daisey]

Thanks for all the help!

 

My husband was the big Bingo winner.....the poor guy was all by himself. We were with a group of 30 people and we all opted to get to dinner on time, so he went to Bingo himself. When he was really late for dinner we were joking that he must have won at Bingo since he would never skip a meal! Unbelieveably, that was what happened and the next thing we knew he came to the diningroom waving his free cruise certificate! Who would have thought.....lol. A very nice surprise!

 

I'm deciding between the Radiance - Eastern, the Adventure - Southern, or the Vision - Mexican Riviera all sailing on December 3 rd or 4th. I want to send off the certificate this week.

 

Daisey

[Libracruzer]

I would vote for the Adventure of the Seas - gorgeous ship.