Mexican Riviera with Kids?

[the4cannons]

We have taken our kids (3/06) on the NCL Dream when it was out of Houston; we visited Cancun, Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize City - we absolutely loved it. We are thinking of going again next year (Spring Break again) and thought about the Mexican Riviera, NCL Star out of LA. Is it as pretty, are the shore excursions as kid friendly? We had such a good time on our first cruise, we don't want this one not to measure up.

 

Any advice you can give would be appreciated.:)

[niso2]

We were on the Star last year, same trip as you are considering. We have taken the kids on 2 Mex Riv trips and are booked for Hal in October.

We generally do nto do shore excursions as we are bi-lingual and prefer to go in a cab and hit a beach resort. We like to eat local food and find local beaches. With that siad, the kids aboard the Star looked like they had a blast on the trip. The Star was one of our favorite cruises, you cannot go wrong.

As far as prettier, we love Mexico and think it is beautiful. I have nto been to the ports you mentioned, so I cannot comment.

You may want to check out RCLL Mariner as she is sailing from LA and is one of the Big ships. I woul not hesitate to book the Star, and LOVE free style with the kids.

[karatemom2]

We have been on three Mexican Riviera cruises with our kids and on one Caribbean cruise. I love the ports in Mexico. Some people feel they aren't as pretty, but I find them lovely and full of history and friendly people. You won't find the white sand beaches and clear aqua blue water like you do in the Caribbean, but the gold sand beaches are very nice and most of the year the water is very warm. There are lots of family friendly shore excursions at each port depending on your interests and the ages of your children. If you give me an idea of the types of activities you prefer, I could probably make some recommendations.

[CanadianTwosome]

Hey, are you following us? ha ha ha We did the Dream out of Houston in December 2006 and the Star out of LA this January. Our daughter LOVED the Star - and your kids will find the kids' areas and activities are much better on the Star, since she's a newer, larger ship.

 

We went to Sea Life Park in Puerto Vallarta where we booked their Royal Dolphin Swim online and they threw in a sealion encounter as well. They also have waterslides. It was our daughter's favourite day. :) We also went whale watching in Cabo, but I'm not sure they'll still be there during Spring Break. She definitely loved being out on the water, though, and seeing the arch and 'Scooby Rock'. Oh... she was 9 (almost 10) at the time.

 

I'm absolutely certain your kids will LOVE the Mexican Riviera on the Star. :)

[Kerry's Girls]

I've done the Mex Riviera four times with my kids, and our fifth is booked in Oct, so we obvioulsy love it - but truth-be-told, if I had to choose between the two, I'd much prefer to be on the Carib side for the beautiful warm clear water. The fact that I can drive to the port keeps us on the Pacific for now.

 

Best,

Mia

[niso2]

I've done the Mex Riviera four times with my kids' date=' and our fifth is booked in Oct, so we obvioulsy love it - but truth-be-told, if I had to choose between the two, I'd much prefer to be on the Carib side for the beautiful warm clear water. The fact that I can drive to the port keeps us on the Pacific for now.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

That is my opinion as well- we can drive to the port and save tons of $$ so we can cruise a couple of times a year-

We are going on a no kids cruise in the caribbean soon and cannot wait!

[Uncle Fester]

As someone said earlier, you're not going to find the warm, bath like water on the Pacific side. In fact, the water can be pretty chilly up around Cabo. In addition, Mazatlan is a working industrial port, so you will tend to see more commercial ships there than cruise liners.

 

With that being said, our kids had more fun at these ports than on our Eastern Caribbean cruise. The zip line in P.V. is great, while in Mazatlan, you have to do Randi's Happy Horses. Add on to that the great food, and the people, and you can't go wrong.

[SelectSys]

I prefer the Caribbean over West Coast Mexico for a cruise. If I want to go to Mexico, I'll just fly to a resort and hang out - just like Hawaii.

 

If you do go to the West Coast, pick the biggest ship with the most attractions as you'll likely have 3 sea days.

 

Good luck! You'll have fun regardless.

[the4cannons]

We love free style cruising too, and will probably go with NCL no matter where we go. The Star looks like an awesome ship. My husband hesitates to go on our own, so we will probably do excursions. We did go on our own in Cozumel and I thought it worked out fine. Took a cab to the beach, went parasailing and shopping and had no problems at all; but he still prefers the excursions - I guess it is good to know the ship won't leave without you.

 

In Roatan we did the zip line and it was awesome. In Belize City we took the boat up the Belize River and hiked to the ruins which were truly amazing. I think our daughter (12) would really enjoy the swim with the dolphins and my son (16) loved the ruins. I haven't looked much into ruins on that side of Mexico so I am not sure what, if any, is available. He also might enjoy the sea kayak or tubing of some type.

 

I sure appreciate all the information. Thanks for your input and happy cruising!:)

[karatemom2]

I think our daughter (12) would really enjoy the swim with the dolphins and my son (16) loved the ruins. I haven't looked much into ruins on that side of Mexico so I am not sure what, if any, is available. He also might enjoy the sea kayak or tubing of some type.

 

I sure appreciate all the information. Thanks for your input and happy cruising!:)

 

I have heard great things about the dolphin swim in Cabo San Lucas. There isn't really any ruins easily accessable on the Mexican Riviera cruises, but there are tours that will provide a more historic, authentic view. You might really enjoy the Concordia/Copola tour in Mazatlan. In Puerto Vallarta the excursion to Las Caletas is really great and offers snorkeling, banana boats and kayaks along with lots of other beach activities so you might want to look at that option. The zipline excursions in PV always get great reviews too. The excursions I've mentioned here are always available through the ship.

[kitty9]

I think it's a great area for families. Cabo is wonderful and depending on when you cruise, the dolphins and even whale-watching is wonderful. While the water won't be as warm as in the Caribbean, I think the MR is a great cruise choice.