Oosterdam 4/3-4/10 Mexican Riviera

[tracyhack]

*You've been warned*

 

This was the first cruise I've ever been on and the second for my husband. We were in room 5188 on the very back of the ship with an extended verandah deck. Our room was well appointed except for the tv/dvd system they've got going. Very few channels and not at all interactive at all. This review will probably be all over the place and I'm going to jump around a lot... but this isn't college anymore and I've got a lot to say. Bear with me.

 

Embarkation was seamless and since we live in San Diego, it was very easy to be dropped off at the cruise ship terminal. We got on the boat and walked around until our rooms were ready and I was soaking it all in since it was my first cruise.

 

The Greenhouse Spa was the thing that excited me the most since a lot of the pictures you see of the Oosterdam feature the hydropool area. We walked in and saw the thermal suite and smelled the aromatherapy sauna. I was soooo stoked to be able to use it. Oh, but there's a catch. Its not free... $150 for one person or $250 for two for a spa pass for the week. Womp womp.... not worth it in my opinion!!

 

Anyways, our room was ready shortly thereafter and we headed down to dreaded room 5188. (I'll get to that later...) The bed was comfy and there is plenty of space for clothes in the closet and drawers as well as storage for 2 suitcases and a garment bag.

 

The Elemis shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap smelled really good and covered up the not so good smells that roam around cruise ships =) =(

 

Dinner in the MDR was alright. We chose open seating because we like to eat early and the early seating (5:45?) was full already. We sat with a nice couple from Alberta, Canada. I don't remember what we had for dinner though... =( Choices were plentiful and the french onion soup that's available every night was delicious!! Desserts are our favorite, so we always picked a few to nibble on after dinner.

 

The drawback to open seating is that your dining stewards are always different and when you are in the same table every night, they remember your preferences... I like to have decaf coffee every night after dinner and it would have been nice to have it ready for me.

 

On formal nights, service was slooooooooooooooow both times. They blamed it on everyone wanting to eat at the same time... but we went early the first night and it was slow and then late the second formal night and it was slow.

 

*If you do open seating, don't sit upstairs on the last night if they offer you a table there. It is where regularly scheduled dining people eat... we got seated at a table for 2 where the regulars chose to eat at the Pinnacle, so our dining steward that night basically forgot about us and it took over 2 hours to eat.

 

Ok back to cruising...

 

The first 2 days are sea days and laying by the pool was our main activity. People try and save chairs by putting out towels first thing in the morning... but the rule is that if you've left your chair for 30 minutes or more... its not yours anymore!! The drink stewards do an ok job of policing this. But seriously, putting a blue towel down isn't going to save your seat for crap. Go to the pool when you're ready to!! The drink stewards also do a great job of always asking you if you want a double shot of whatever drink you're ordering.... kind of annoying.

 

The aft pool was adults only and the main Lido pool was kid friendly. There was the occasional kid group that came back to the aft pool with their family, but its no big deal to me. (There was a lady, however, who was the ships unofficial policewoman and was trying to boss everyone around... kinda funny to watch!!)

 

We didn't book any excursions on the ship because they are ridiculously overpriced... some of them are more than double. My recommendation to you is to look up the excursions online, print out the address or information, take it with you to port and take a taxi on your own and buy it off the ship. You'll save a TON of money.

 

Mazatlan is rather boring. Living in San Diego, we've got the beach and resorts and that seemed to be all that was there. We've also got killer spanish missions, so I didn't really care to see the cathedrals either. We took a pulmonia ride to the golden zone for $5. They ask for $10, but we negged it down to $5 easily. Walking around a foreign city for the first time is always neat, but when you see familiar stores all over the place its kind of a buzz kill. Starbucks, Applebees, McDonalds and Burger King are amongst the random shops and restaurants.

 

Walked along the beach to put our feet in the water and stopped for a bit to go parasailing. That was super fun and I'd recommend it to anyone. $30 for a heart pounding trip over the resort area. It was beautiful to say the least. Walked until we got to Valentinas and hitched a pulmonia ride back to the ship.

 

Got back on the ship, had dinner, went to bed. ***Here comes the best part***

 

Woke up around 1am with what I thought was heartburn from eating too much at dinner. Hey, its all you can eat and I took advantage of it!! Sat up in my bed to try and let the acid subside, had sips of water, but it wouldn't go away and got a little worse. After a while I thought throwing it up would be the best thing just to empty my stomach....

 

Run to the bathroom to throw up and it basically never ended. Every ten minutes I had the WORST stomach pains of my life. I don't ever cry from pain (played sports my whole life... bumps, bruises, sprains, stitches... you name it) but these stomach pains were making me scream in agony. EVERY TEN MINUTES!! After an hour or so, the diarrhea started. Like water. Not good. I woke my husband up and told him I thought I had food poisoning. An hour after that, he asked me if my problem started with a stomach cramp.... uh oh.

 

For the next 8 hours we took turns puking and having the worst diarrhea of our lives. Luckily our puke cycles were different and we never needed the bathroom at the same time. By the morning, we were so weak and dehydrated that we wanted to head down to the Medical Center for a saline IV.

 

I can't even express how AWFUL this was.

 

Called the medical center and the nurse, Melanie, came up. She took our vitals, gave us medicine (Immodium, something for vomiting and nausea, something for seasickness and Gatorade... along with a survey from the CDC and a letter from the captain saying we were quarantined in our room for 24 hours) and explained what would happen next.

 

We got the dreaded Gastrointestinal Illness (GI) that goes around cruise ships. We were quarantined in our cabin for 24 hours after the last vomit/diarrhea episode. We were instructed on how and when to take the medicine and when to call the medical center. Apparently a lot of people came down with GI and we received a call from the medical center that morning instructing us to fill out the CDC questionnaire immediately and that someone would pick it up right away. They wanted to see if there were any patterns or commonalities with everyone's illness. We got calls every couple of hours from the medical center checking up on us... kudos to them!!

 

Basically, we slept all day on Wednesday and weren't allowed to even leave our room if we wanted to. Have no idea what Puerto Vallarta looks like except from what I could see from the dock =( We ordered room service all day and were allowed to order off of the MDR menu for dinner, but with GI, you are on a liquid only diet and ordering food isn't a good idea. Stick to beef broth and crackers...

 

The next morning we woke up fine and were in Cabo. Still tired from the day before and our stomachs weren't the strongest, but we had to get out of our room.

 

When we went to leave the boat, they scanned our room keys and the screen flashed red and we were asked to step aside. Being on quarantine is a big deal and they called the medical center to make sure it was ok for us to be out and about.

 

We were able to leave and hopped on the tender to shore.

 

All i wanted to accomplish on this trip was horseback riding on the beach. I've never ridden a horse and I wanted my first time to be special. The excursion on the boat was $109 or something ridiculous like that.... so we purchased it off the boat at the same place where HAL passengers were congregating for $45.

 

We were taken by private car to the ranch and hopped on our horses. The guide, Martin, took us to the beach where we snapped a photo and then headed back. Apparently, horses arent allowed on the beach because they chase after the waves... and when the waves crash, so do the horses. Womp womp.... oh well!! It looked like we were heading back to the ranch. Martin told us that we got there early and that we were only going back to pick up a group.

 

Whaddaya know... its the HAL passengers who purchased the excursion on the ship!! We picked them up and headed inland. We were taken around trails and whatnot through the desert.... I was just happy to be on a horse. So the trip ended back at the ranch and the HAL passengers didn't even get to see the beach on horseback. Ha! DON'T BUY THE EXCURSIONS ON THE BOAT!!!

 

We were given a ride back to the restaurants and had lunch at Cabo Wabo. Walked around the city after that. I got a mani/pedi for $30 after negging it down. I thought it was really expensive, but it was formal night that night and my nails were jacked. Don't get a mani/pedi in Cabo if you don't have to.... waste of money.

 

Got back on the boat early and lounged at the pool.

 

The next day was our last sea day, but we spent it in the cabin because my husband's GI came back. Stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, the whole bit.

 

Went to sleep that night and my GI came back!! Stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea. Hubs was a doll and went down to the med center to get me another packet of medicine =(

 

Needless to say, we couldn't wait to get off the boat in San Diego and wont ever be cruising again.

 

My recommendations:

-Bring your own water bottles. They are $2.95 on the boat.

-Bring your own sodas. They are $2.24 on the boat.

-Don't purchase excursions on the boat.... or you will pay double what it really should cost.

-If you want your dining steward to know you by name and know your preferences, sit in the same seat every night for dinner.

-WASH YOUR HANDS!

-Bring the little travel sized Lysol spray you can find at Target. You're constantly touching toilets because you have to shut the lid and then press the button above the toilet for it to flush. People are dirty and don't wash as often as they need to. We were crazy about the hand sanitizer, washing hands, bathing constantly and using a tissue to open bathroom doors like they suggest and STILL came down with GI

-If you live in San Diego, dont bother with a Mexican Riviera cruise.... the food is exactly the same as Albertos Taco Shops. Go somewhere that looks different than San Diego...

-The Crows Nest has half price well drinks from 3:30-4:30... take advantage of that.

 

 

I'm sure I'll think of more things that happened on this cruise... will post when I can think of more!!

 

Its 1 week since we returned home and we still can't eat solid foods. The GI is still with us and I've eaten every kind of soup on the planet for lunch and dinner. We both went to the doctor on Monday after returning from the cruise and they said to stick with the same diet of crackers and clear liquids and slowwwwwly introduce solid foods back. My stomach still cramps when there is too much solid in the soups I'm eating... so it will be a while before I can eat regularly again.

 

Whoever had cabin 5188 after us, I'm sorry. Truly I am. We spackled that bathroom and I know that the cleaning crews didn't sanitize it as well as they should have for you after we left.

[Copper10-8]

That's a truly bad experience (getting Noro) on your first ever cruise! What a case of bad luck! (We've both had Noro once - on land, though - and know it's not a day at the beach; it basically sucks, big time!). We were actually on that same cruise with you but it must have been a mimimum of unlucky pax like yourselves who contracted Noro since the ship never went to Code Red. Thanks for writing your review; it's right on! (Shorex prices are way more onboard than you can/will find on land as is transportation to/from Lindbergh Field). Wish I would have seen the "Adults Only Pool Police" lady!;)

Here's hoping you get your health back soon and perhaps give cruising on HAL another try. It really is a great experience without the Noro;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry your first cruise didn't turn out to be a great cruise for you and you got the virus.

 

[tracyhack]

Oh... the impromptu policewoman was HILARIOUS!!

 

Hubby and I were really hoping to have a good time since our friends are all cruisers!!

 

His sister works on the Celebrity line most of the year and has only had GI once.... LUCKY!!

 

We went to the Padres game last night and saw the Maasdam parked at the terminal and even though it wasnt our boat, I saw the HAL logo and didnt have a good feeling in my tummy. Hopefully, our feelings about cruising will change and we'll build up the bravery to try another one sometime in the future...

 

 

*Off to her 3,483rd bowl of soup*

[luvs2travl]

We are so very sorry your first cruise became such a ghastly experience. I can certainly see how that might sour you against cruising, but please don't blame HAL or cruise ships for the Norwalk Virus. It is actually much more prevalent on land. Our schools here were "attacked" by the Noro Virus right after Christmas, it was in the hospitals and day-care centers here as well.

 

We hope you will give cruising another try after all of this is a distant memory. We have cruised for many years, and (knock-on-wood) have never once been stricken with the horrid thing.

 

Hope you and your hubby are continuing to feel better. :D

 

PS: We also got a big chuckle out of the HAL "Police-lady" I think I may have run into her at the Port Everglades Terminal last November. Our "Police-lady" was telling everyone where to stand, ("Get back out of the way" "Move up." Move back." etc), critiquing those carrying-on wine & sodas, (Are you really bringing a whole CASE on board?" "Are you going to drink that all by yourselves?"), telling folks where the "Priority Boarding" lines were ("Do you have a suite? Well, you need to go over there!"). One guy in line finally asked her where her HAL identification badge was. She kind of quieted down a bit after that, but it was like she couldn't help herself & felt compelled to say something to everyone she saw. Quite a hoot!!

[SwissMyst]

I think you picked the wrong cruise line, maybe. What is typically enjoyed by ship passengers, you found appalling. Maybe you wanted a bus trip instead of a cruise vacation? Free-style Norwegian Cruise Lines might be a better fit - you can pick and choose anything you want and budget yourself to those choices.

 

Did you eat/drink anything in Mazatlan? How can you be sure it was the ship that got you sick. I would put more money on the ship keeping you healthy than Mexico. Even a dirty glass can get your stomach off.

 

There is nothing boring about Mazatlan, if you do your homework and not head over to Zona Dorado which gave you exactly what it was supposed to do - a cheap Gringo holiday spot.

 

You should have walked (for free) to the Zona Historico and fallen in love with this little town. Better luck next time.

[PathfinderEss]

Really sorry to hear you got the Noro Virus. What a terrible thing to happen on your first cruise, I can understand if you never wanted to cruise again. Hope you recover soon and can get back on solid foods.

[igraf]

We really enjoyed Mazatlan during our cruise stop last month. Like SwissMyst suggested, I did my homework on the internet and found plenty to do without running up a big tab. We visited Old Town ($4 ride to, we walked back to the ship) and a resort in the Golden Zone ($2 bus) in the morning, returned to the ship for lunch, and then I went over to Stone Island ($2) for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

 

I actually tried to spend quite a bit more money at Ginger's Horses, but they turned us down due to other commitments.

 

Ditto with "Did the OPs eat anything on shore, or perhaps ingest ocean water while parasailing? " Strange that the husband got sick twice. This was our 5th cruise without a GI problem, but do recall that we ate lunch on the ship.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Did you eat/drink anything in Mazatlan? How can you be sure it was the ship that got you sick. I would put more money on the ship keeping you healthy than Mexico. Even a dirty glass can get your stomach off.

 

There is nothing boring about Mazatlan, if you do your homework and not head over to Zona Dorado which gave you exactly what it was supposed to do - a cheap Gringo holiday spot.

 

You should have walked (for free) to the Zona Historico and fallen in love with this little town. Better luck next time.

[maxout]

I was another on your cruise. I ate in the MDR, at almost every station at the Lido, Terrace Grill, Explorations, Pinnacle Grill, Pool Party goodies, Culinary Demo, Dutch High Tea, Canaletto, Room Service, nuts in the bars and never experienced a moment of GI distress (other than a little groaning from excess lol)

 

Sorry you had a bad experience.

[SwissMyst]

Yes, ingesting water when you are swimming in Mexico is a real culprit for later G.I. problems.

 

Please tell me more about Stone Island - wanted to get there too but we enjoyed the historic part of town too much so didn't make it this trip. I know it is easy to get there from the ship - but what did you find once you were there. I understand there was a lot of hurricane damage there from last fall.

 

One does get "insurance" when taking ship excursions that they won't leave without you. That maybe is one of the value addeds when you compare prices. But easily all of the Mexican Riviera ports can be done on one's own. Particularly Puerto Vallarta, because the local bus stops right at the entrance to the port and is an easy ride into town if you want to just walk around there and explore all the upper side streets and local wonderful food found in little shops and cafes a few blocks away from the main tourist drag and malecon.

 

Thanks.

[Susie51]

I hope you feel better soon.

[westcoastguy]

Your expectations where set too high and probably figured the money you spent on your ticket that you should be getting 6 star service.

 

Try Seabourne next time.

 

Holland america, Princess, Queen mary, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celbrities are not the Four Seasons.

 

when boarding ships more than 50, Norwalk , catching a cold, seeing someone sneezing into their hands than opening a door on a ship is expected. sadly many people have lost their manners and not so considerate of others including the newer younger generation cruise staff.

 

I too had high expection on my first cruise and was disappointed, i learn't my lesson not to take Carnival again, no more Jerry Springers for us.

 

I found that Princess Cruises have dropped their prices less than some Carnival cruises, especially in the South Caribbean out of San Juan and now your seeing more trashy people with no class and more illness on the Caribbean Princess.

[SwissMyst]

when boarding ships more than 50, Norwalk , catching a cold, seeing someone sneezing into their hands than opening a door on a ship is expected. sadly many people have lost their manners and not so considerate of others including the newer younger generation cruise staff.////////////

 

Not to mention bugs in your monitor ........:eek::eek:

[tracyhack]

Oh we weren't disappointed with the service at all!! I was bummed that we couldn't get fixed seating because I would have loved our dining steward to know us, but we booked too late.

 

And as far as Mazatlan goes, we very well could have gotten sick from the food there, but in my experience with food poisoning in the past, my body reacts within a couple hours or eating something bad. I wasn't dipped in the water while parasailing, so i know it wasn't from that. The Zona Dorada seemed like a gimmick thrown together by the cruise ships.... cheesey stores and all of those jewelry stores that happened to have the cruise ship logos all over? Kinda weird to me. It really does remind me of any barrio in San Diego... seriously. We drove the back way to my parents house yesterday which took us through the barrio in Vista and it definitely reminded me of Mazatlan... no joke!! Random restaurants in every other storefront and random other stores (variety, chiropractors, surf shops, etc) scattered throughout. I wanted to walk around the El Cid resort, but hubby was hungry =( My point is that for anyone going to the Mexican Riviera port cities that live anywhere in San Diego, don't expect anything too different than what you might experience at home.

 

It definitely was an unfortunate stroke of bad luck that our first cruising experience wasn't that great =( Tried to eat a little bit of solid, bland foods yesterday (rice) and it didn't go over so well.... my liquid diet continues today as well =( I cant wait to eat normal foods again!!

[tracyhack]

Your expectations where set too high and probably figured the money you spent on your ticket that you should be getting 6 star service.

 

We actually thought we got a great deal!! And when our cabin steward told us that the balconies off the very back of the boat are longer than the ones on the sides of the boat we felt like we scored even more!!

[SwissMyst]

Oh we weren't disappointed with the service at all!! I was bummed that we couldn't get fixed seating because I would have loved our dining steward to know us, but we booked too late.

 

And as far as Mazatlan goes, we very well could have gotten sick from the food there, but in my experience with food poisoning in the past, my body reacts within a couple hours or eating something bad. I wasn't dipped in the water while parasailing, so i know it wasn't from that. The Zona Dorada seemed like a gimmick thrown together by the cruise ships.... cheesey stores and all of those jewelry stores that happened to have the cruise ship logos all over? Kinda weird to me. It really does remind me of any barrio in San Diego... seriously. We drove the back way to my parents house yesterday which took us through the barrio in Vista and it definitely reminded me of Mazatlan... no joke!! Random restaurants in every other storefront and random other stores (variety, chiropractors, surf shops, etc) scattered throughout. I wanted to walk around the El Cid resort, but hubby was hungry =( My point is that for anyone going to the Mexican Riviera port cities that live anywhere in San Diego, don't expect anything too different than what you might experience at home.

 

It definitely was an unfortunate stroke of bad luck that our first cruising experience wasn't that great =(

 

My point is you chose to go to the cheesy tourist area of Mazatlan. You did not explore the Centro Historico. You would have left with a very different impression about Mazatlan. That is all. There is nothing in San Diego like this lovely historic part of Mazatlan. Please do not keep underselling Mazatlan since you chose not to see this part of town. You only saw part of Mazatlan and you were warned ahead of time by every possible tourism resource what you would find there. Which you did.

[bucanero]

I think you picked the wrong cruise line, maybe. What is typically enjoyed by ship passengers, you found appalling. Maybe you wanted a bus trip instead of a cruise vacation? Free-style Norwegian Cruise Lines might be a better fit - you can pick and choose anything you want and budget yourself to those choices.

 

Did you eat/drink anything in Mazatlan? How can you be sure it was the ship that got you sick. I would put more money on the ship keeping you healthy than Mexico. Even a dirty glass can get your stomach off.

 

There is nothing boring about Mazatlan, if you do your homework and not head over to Zona Dorado which gave you exactly what it was supposed to do - a cheap Gringo holiday spot.

 

You should have walked (for free) to the Zona Historico and fallen in love with this little town. Better luck next time.

 

My oh my and I thought that kind of response only lived on other lines boards. I agree about Mazatlan and to miss the downtown is sad. We love it and it is our favorite part of the city and of the Mexican Riviera in our opinion. But that is our opinion. And I wouldn't dream of putting people down for their honest responses.

I'm sad that you wrote that and hope that with reflection you would have been a bit kinder and more gentle.

FYI we have been on ships of all kinds of lines including premium and luxury lines and usually in a suite. While suite service on HAL was very good it was not the best we've ever had. And FYI we sailed on NCL and were treated as if we owned the company. And the passengers on NCL were well dressed. On a recent HAL cruise we saw a man on formal night who was shirtless. Never happened on any other line that we've been on.

[Kentchikan]

Oh we weren't disappointed with the service at all!! I was bummed that we couldn't get fixed seating because I would have loved our dining steward to know us, but we booked too late.

 

And as far as Mazatlan goes, we very well could have gotten sick from the food there, but in my experience with food poisoning in the past, my body reacts within a couple hours or eating something bad. I wasn't dipped in the water while parasailing, so i know it wasn't from that. The Zona Dorada seemed like a gimmick thrown together by the cruise ships.... cheesey stores and all of those jewelry stores that happened to have the cruise ship logos all over? Kinda weird to me. It really does remind me of any barrio in San Diego... seriously. We drove the back way to my parents house yesterday which took us through the barrio in Vista and it definitely reminded me of Mazatlan... no joke!! Random restaurants in every other storefront and random other stores (variety, chiropractors, surf shops, etc) scattered throughout. I wanted to walk around the El Cid resort, but hubby was hungry =( My point is that for anyone going to the Mexican Riviera port cities that live anywhere in San Diego, don't expect anything too different than what you might experience at home.

 

It definitely was an unfortunate stroke of bad luck that our first cruising experience wasn't that great =( Tried to eat a little bit of solid, bland foods yesterday (rice) and it didn't go over so well.... my liquid diet continues today as well =( I cant wait to eat normal foods again!!

 

I hope you're feeling better. We were in the suite next to you and didn't get sick on board but holy guacamole did we ever when we got home. (Dang I'll bet our cabin attendant was a carrier.:rolleyes:) Just as I was recovering DW got it but we're both better now. Even went to a Pasta Feed last night. (oops sorry to mention food). Our case was milder. Rest assured you will get better.

Try cruising again. It is a wonderful way to travel. I know people made remarks about your choices but DW and I have cruised to the Mexican Riviera a dozen times and done land vacations there as well. Every time you go you find something new and different. There are no right or wrong places to go just different places and places awaiting discovery on your next voyage. In fact we usually go downtown in Mazatlan and hang out in Plaza Machado etc. but this time we went to the Zona Dorado and rediscovered the joy of sipping Margaritas on the terrace of the Playa Mazatlan Hotel. A lovely old hotel originally built in the 50's. There are non touristy pockets in the Golden Zone as well.

Good luck. Feel well.

[igraf]

Upon exiting the cruise compound, turn left and walk up the street with the big wall on your left (walking towards the ocean). You will eventually see a sign advertising the water taxis, which are small boats that run back and forth across the channel for the grand sum of US$2 round trip per person.

 

Stone Island is really the end of a long peninsula with a long open beach. Various bars and restaurants operate in quaint structures that would blend right in with the Gilligan's Island TV setting. Everything is within an easy walk from the water taxi pier. I personally would not eat any food there as the kitchens are outdoors and I heard that there is limited plumbing. A variety of activities are offered.

 

You can read all about in on the Mexican Riviera forum, but that is about it. Definitely worth a look.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Please tell me more about Stone Island - wanted to get there too but we enjoyed the historic part of town too much so didn't make it this trip. I know it is easy to get there from the ship - but what did you find once you were there. I understand there was a lot of hurricane damage there from last fall.

 

Thanks.

[scopewest]

I am sorry you had such a bad time on your first cruise. It can affect your decision on whether to take another one (I for one will never go camping again after my one and only camping trip.)

 

My younger sister came home after her first cruise years ago and said the only thing she enjoyed was the private island. For the next 10 years she'd go to beach resorts for her vacations until she got tired of hearing about my cruises and went on another one (HAL). She's back to cruising again. (But I still won't sleep in a tent!)

 

I hope you're feeling better.

[Kentchikan]

I am sorry you had such a bad time on your first cruise. It can affect your decision on whether to take another one (I for one will never go camping again after my one and only camping trip.)

 

My younger sister came home after her first cruise years ago and said the only thing she enjoyed was the private island. For the next 10 years she'd go to beach resorts for her vacations until she got tired of hearing about my cruises and went on another one (HAL). She's back to cruising again. (But I still won't sleep in a tent!)

 

I hope you're feeling better.

 

I'm with you on camping. My idea of roughing it is a motel without room service.

I'm glad your sister gave it another try. I feel that way when I go to a favorite restaurant and the food and/or service is bad. I remember saying to the owner of one our most favorite restaurants after a bad experience that if it had been my first visit it might have been my last. So I'm for giving things another try.

In my years of cruising some cruises were certainly better than others but a lot of it is attitude. I know if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed (hard to do since I always sleep on the same side) I have a different perspective on the world.

[bucanero]

 

If you live in San Diego, dont bother with a Mexican Riviera cruise.... the food is exactly the same as Albertos Taco Shops. Go somewhere that looks different than San Diego...

I think that there is so much more to Mexico in the way of food and culture. A wide variety of foods from various regions. Interesting architecture and history and amazing people. I would definitely encourage people to explore it. Although I think that Cabo had gone from a wonderful sleepy little town to what you describe.

 

--The Crows Nest has half price well drinks from 3:30-4:30... take advantage of that.

 

Ocean bar has a happy hour too. I can't remember the hours but maybe you could start in the Crow's nest and happily slurp your way through to the Ocean bar.:)

[tracyhack]

Sorry to bump this, but i just got a gooood chuckle from reading my post. Ugh.

 

 

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