Help needed for my next booking...

[lor74]

Hello fellow Princess cruisers,

 

Planning my trip for January 2017. I have 2 port options, Florida or LA. I have sailed the Caribbean MANY times, but have never sailed from the West coast (besides Alaska). I am looking for opinions from those of you who have sailed from both coasts, and your thoughts of one specific western itinerary vs. the Caribbean. Here is the itinerary info and my pros & cons from my perspective:

 

Ruby Princess, B2B, 11 nights,

 

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA

4:00pm

Santa Barbara, CA

7:00am

6:00pm

At Sea

Ensenada, Mexico

8:00am

5:00pm

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA

7:00am

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA

4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

10:00am

8:00pm

Mazatlan, Mexico

7:00am

5:00pm

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

7:00am

2:00pm

At Sea

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA

7:00am

 

Pros:

 

Princess (Elite perks)

Aside from ship, everything about this cruise would be new to us

10 business days (flying in at least 1 day early)

Price – Can get same balcony for both legs, within budget.

 

Cons:

 

Flight

Longer

More expensive

Only one option for a direct flight to LAX

11:55am return flight – is this enough time to get back to LAX from port?

11 nights – would prefer 14

 

Unknowns:

 

Travel between LAX & port

The port itself

Quality of the itinerary/stops

Pacific coast vs. Caribbean – motion?

Typical weather. Rain – more/less/equal ?

Current state of the Ruby. We used to love her, but will she still be a gem after having been on the Regal for our last 2 Princess cruises (which we loved)?

 

 

Caribbean, any ship, any line, any port, maximum 14 nights/10 working days.

 

Pros:

 

Flights – more options, cheaper, shorter

Florida – many options: port, stops, ships, brands, nights

 

Cons:

 

Been to most islands many times

Currently a balcony on the cruises I am looking at are too expensive (Canadian exchange rate :eek:)

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

:)

[Orlando Vic]

Thoughts?

 

Have you done a Panama Canal cruise before (from Florida)?

[lor74]

yes, we did the partial Canal cruise on the Island Princess in 2012

[icat2000]

Sounds like you need to do a new destination.

[cbnewfie]

Have you considered the round trip from LA to hawaii? It's 15 days, lot of sea days but we enjoyed it.

Edited June 20, 2016 by cbnewfie
corrected spelling

[Cruise Raider]

I would do the Caribbean ... just because you have so many more options.

I cannot speak to the condition of the Ruby Princess but for your other questions ... here goes (and please don't mind the caps ... trying to make the answers stand out):

 

Cons:

 

Flight

Longer

More expensive

Only one option for a direct flight to LAX

11:55am return flight – is this enough time to get back to LAX from port?

NOT REALLY ADVISABLE

11 nights – would prefer 14

 

Unknowns:

 

Travel between LAX & port -- PLAN FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR -- COULD BE WORSE DEPENDING ON TRAFFIC

The port itself SAN PEDRO PORT -- NOT MUCH CLOSEBY -- ONLY A TOUR OF A SHIP THAT DOCKS THERE

Quality of the itinerary/stops SANTA BARBARA IS THE ONLY STOP THAT I WOULD CONSIDER A QUALITY PORT OF CALL; CABO IS OK, PUERTO VALLARTA USED TO BE REALLY NICE BUT GETTING IFFY AND WE DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO GET OFF THE SHIP IN MAZATLAN OR ENSENADA

Pacific coast vs. Caribbean – motion? GENERALLY, THE PACIFIC IS ROUGHER THAN THE CARIBBEAN

Typical weather. Rain – more/less/equal ? IT COULD BE CHILLY OR IT COULD BE AROUND 70 DEGREES AND VERY PLEASANT IN THE NORTHERN PORTS; PUERTO VALLARTA AND MAZATLAN WILL MOST LIKELY BE WARM TO HOT

 

 

You will stand a good chance of seeing whales at that time of the year in the Pacific, though. For that alone, I might choose the Western itinerary.

They do have a 10 day out of San Francisco down to Mexico that might be of interest to you but it is on the Grand, which is older than the Ruby. This itinerary includes Manzanillo, which I like a lot. Plus, San Francisco has a lot more to do right near the port than you will find in San Pedro ... but it is expensive!!!

Or the Ruby does a 10 day Mexico that included La Paz and Loreto ... both far superior Mexican ports and also includes San Diego which is a great place to visit. Not sure if you are limited to a certain time in January but if it is possible to combine this 10 night itinerary to the 4 day Santa Barbara as a B2B, this would be a nicer itinerary and make it a 14 day trip, which it sounded like you had wanted.

[Pam in CA]

The California coastal cruise in January is not a warm weather cruise. Temps will likely be in the low to mid-60's. Unlike the Caribbean, the water temps will be very cold until you approach Cabo. The California Current runs from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California along the coast. This is very cold water. Not sure if this is a factor.

 

I've cruised many times in both the Caribbean and California west coast. The passenger make-up is quite different. Hard to describe but passengers seem more laid back. Even though I now live in southern California, I'd take a CA cruise over a Caribbean cruise every time if I still lived in the Boston area.

[lor74]

Thank you all for the information, it is much appreciated!

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you want a warm weather cruise, then I guess it's the Caribbean one. There's a chance of a heat spell at any time of year in Southern California, but less likely between November and June.

 

For me, I would prefer to do a Hawaiian cruise on Princess than go on a Caribbean cruise, but then I can drive to San Pedro (I'm not a good flyer) and the RTs on Princess are an experience in itself with the cultural program (we love those sea days) and beautiful Hawaiian musicians on board. I can take or leave the beach.

[Coral]

The water in the Caribbean is much more beautiful compared to the Western part of Mexico IMO.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Maybe I'm a little biased having done a ton of Mex. Riv. cruises, but I'd go with the Caribbean. It's SO much prettier. The ocean water is SO much warmer and the sea is usually calmer than the Pacific. It's warm, tropical and relaxing.

[Fuzzyape]

To the OP:

 

DW and I did the Mexican Riviera....too choppy for our tastes. We tried to snorkel, and those excursions got canceled. Might have been the time frame we went (winter).

 

Regarding Panama....I think you should do a full transit. We loved it!

 

Hawaii...yep highly recommend. The thing I liked best was that you got the true feeling you were traveling on the sea. Not many other ships around you. That and liked the idea of losing or gaining an hour each day (no jet lag :) ).

 

Another possibility (though it wouldn't be in the time frame you originally suggested) Alaska! Do a land/sea deal if you can (land first).

 

Of the few cruises we've taken I'd rank them in the following order....Panama, Hawaii (sea days rock!) and Alaska. Though they could easily be changed in rank!

 

Hopefully these ideas help you. Whatever you decide.....you are on vacation and on a cruise :) It can't be that bad.

 

Good luck.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

The Ruby Princess is in good shape. It has the new beds..Yea!. I was on the Regal in Feb then Ruby in May. To be honest..it was hard. The buffets don't even compare. But I do like Skywalkers and Club Fusion on Ruby. As long as it floats..it is good for me.

 

We are in Washington up near the Canadian border. To us, the winters in California are not much cooler than our summers. But then, we don't go in the ocean much in the summer up here :rolleyes: