Koningsdam - Mexican Coast Temps

[yonader]

We will be on the Koningsdam from San Diego boarding Dec 10.  What can we expect for day and evening temperatures?  Also curious re phone service.  Any chance for service while sailing since we stay just off the coastline?

[oakridger]

Welcome to Cruise Critic @yonader!  No regular phone service on board, only the really expensive service is available at sea.  I've been told that What's App and WiFi calling on iPhone aren't available but haven't tried.  Check Google for average temperatures in each port you will be in...the further south, the warmer.  December in San Diego has a good chance of being cool, or maybe not!  50-60F???  

 

average temperatures in san diego in december - Search (bing.com)

average temperatures in december for puerto vallarta - Search (bing.com)

 

It's a fun itinerary!  Enjoy.

 

~Nancy

 

[meh56]

Just got off the ship - internet was terrible. Problems with email coming in and going out. Our phones would not work. I was able to send a message from my iPad and get a response. 

[CruiserBruce]

You will not be close enough to shore to reach via cell until you approach a port. And much of the land as sail down the coast in Baja California is very lightly occupied, so not likely there is even cell coverage there.

[Hlitner]

Ships are generally too far off the coast, during normal operations, for folks to use land-based cells.  As you approach the various ports you should begin to get local cell service about 10 miles out from the nearest cell.  In our experience we generally can get cell service about 45 min before docking.

 

Within Mexico the two major providers are Telmex and Movistar.  If you have T-Mobile your account should work with either of those providers.  I believe ATT uses Telmex.  Not sure about the other providers. 

 

Be very careful if you do try to use your phone while outside ports.  You need to make sure you are connecting to a land-based cell and not the ship-wide Cellular at Sea (or similar service) which can be very expensive.  

 

Hank

[Florida_gal_50]

We had beautiful weather for the Nov 12 and 19.  That said as soon as the sun went down it cooled off quickly.  As the poster above  mentioned the internet was terrible for MOST sites.  It was down for some period in every port.  I couldn’t access several sites even though I upgraded to premium the last few days.

[crystalspin]

16 hours ago, yonader said:

We will be on the Koningsdam from San Diego boarding Dec 10.  What can we expect for day and evening temperatures?  Also curious re phone service.  Any chance for service while sailing since we stay just off the coastline?

https://weatherspark.com/

 

"just off the coast" on the map is (1) not necessarily where the ship will be, and (2) farther off than it looks.

[yonader]

Thanks to all.  Glad to know it cools off in the evening.  Was hopeful we could utilize cells more than usual like we did on our Alaska out of Seattle in May.  Oh well!

[pamps2801]

Use Whats App, in the 3 ports of call, by using WI/FI at a bar or restaurant. Been doing this for years. No need to purchase internet for a 7 day cruise. Not worth it.

[rj59]

I'm going on the K this weekend, and the forecast for Cabo is a high of around 80. I was there 2 weeks ago, also with pleasant weather. It gets chilly as you go north on the sea, but Puerto Vallarta is usually hottest and Mazatlan also warmer than Cabo, often unpleasantly so, so before going to the ship I usually head to the air-conditioned mall across from the port. I just load the cities onto my iPhone weather app, along with San Diego. A lot depends on the winds and October-November, hurricanes--I missed one by 12 hours in PV in October. For phone service, you can just find a bar or restaurant with wifi ("Tiene wifi?")--they'll most likely input the password for you. My favorite is an outdoor cafe/bar along the Malecon in PV, where I can get cheap beer/margaritas/chips, use their restroom, and sit and watch the crowds stroll by. Alternately, T-Mobile works, but your cell provider may have a foreign data pass or by-the-minute usage--I paid $5 or so for some email checking on Xfinity last trip, but they also sell $5 daily data passes if you call ahead of time. Then you can either pay for slow wifi on board and be frustrated, or suffer until you make ports, or just surf the free NYT access they used to offer.