Couple struggling with cruise decision

[blaneyliss]

My husband and I have been on 2 cruises- one Royal Caribbean and one on Carnival. We are 24 and enjoyed Carnival more because of the late night activities and felt there was more for us to do that fit our age group. Our previous cruises were out of Florida. We wanted to do something a little different and go West Coast on our next cruise.

 

The pickings seem to be slim as fast as the cruise choices out of California. Are the ports in Mexico worth cruising to? It seems like you've GOT to go with a 7 day cruise to go anywhere decent, but we prefer to go on a 5 day cruise so that we can spend 2 extra days in the departure city.

 

We would really like to visit California but we love to cruise. I suppose what I'm asking is...if we go to California should we take a cruise or just stay for 5 days in L.A., San Fransisco, or San Diego?

 

Thanks so much for anyone who helps!

[gratefulguy]

What about taking a "Pacific Coastal" (repositioning) cruise? These are 3-7 day cruises, usually in May, that cruise lines use to get the ships up to the start of the Alaska season. Some just go non-stop to Seattle or Vancouver, but some stop along the way--go to an internet cruise agency site to search for a complete list. These often have good prices (on a per-day basis), and make it easy to sight-see at several cities--beginning, middle, and end! I took a 6 night cruise on RCI's Radiance from San Diego last May, that stopped in San Francisco, Astoria (Oregon), Victoria BC, and ended in Vancouver--it was a great trip. San Diego, San Francisco, and Vancouver all have much to offer your age group.

Happy Cruising

[traveler/]

My husband and I have been on 2 cruises- one Royal Caribbean and one on Carnival. We are 24 and enjoyed Carnival more because of the late night activities and felt there was more for us to do that fit our age group. Our previous cruises were out of Florida. We wanted to do something a little different and go West Coast on our next cruise.

 

The pickings seem to be slim as fast as the cruise choices out of California. Are the ports in Mexico worth cruising to? It seems like you've GOT to go with a 7 day cruise to go anywhere decent, but we prefer to go on a 5 day cruise so that we can spend 2 extra days in the departure city.

 

We would really like to visit California but we love to cruise. I suppose what I'm asking is...if we go to California should we take a cruise or just stay for 5 days in L.A., San Fransisco, or San Diego?

 

Thanks so much for anyone who helps!

Either Pacific Coastal or Mex Riviera is interesting. We really liked the Carnival Spirit itinerary out of SD because it went to Acapulco, Manzanillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (8n). And we spent a day pre-cruise in SD. Shorter than 7 days from So.Cal to Mex. the ports are not as interesting. The 7 n Vision of the Seas visits 3 nice ports, PV, Mazatlan and Cabo, and there are things to see or do in each. I would do more research on the different destinations to see what they offer that you find appealing. Good luck.

[melika091900]

try the NCL star from san pedro ( LA )

great ports, great price, good food and entertainment,

you can stay a while in LA before your trip or after also ..

the ports like ixtapa and puerto vallarta are beautiful..

im 28 my husband is 30 and we love this line, alot of mixed ages, it was our favorite , next to carnival.

 

Melissa

[smoothdancer]

Such a good question, But alas, a difficult one to answer..... We have done both, a California coastal cruise and also a CA land vacation.... I have to say we liked them both equally.

 

A few things to consider.... Evaulate exactally what it is you want. We did a cruise on X with a port stop each day. We saw SF, LA, San Diego, Montery/Carmel and Mexico... The cruise gives you a taste of the coast really well and you get to see a lot in a short week.... Since you are in port so much you may not feel like you have to fly in early to do a pre stay. It is however a full packed cruise with no sea days so you loose that relaxed feeling you normally have on a cruise.

 

We also did a land vacation in California... With a land vacation you need to pick an area... Going from say SF to LA you will eat up all your vacation time traveling from one place to the next. We chose SF, traveled the northern coast, a few days in Napa... It was incredible....

 

If you want to see a lot I would go the cruise route, if you can pick a specific area a land vacation is also great... We did this over 2 vacations because one trip to California is never enough!

[blaneyliss]

Thank you so much- I'll pass this info. along to my husband so we can discuss it.

 

One more question- what is the California/Mexico weather like in November? The last cruise we went on, we failed to do our research and ended up getting rained on every day as it was the rainy season in the area we were in. We had a wonderful time anyway, but we would like to have some sunny weather this time.

 

Are cruise prices higher around Thanksgiving because of the holiday?

[suziehmkr]

I think the Elation is coming out in the Spring to do 5-dayers that go to Cabo. Although we certainly prefer 7-days and the Pride is an excellent ship - if we wanted to limit it to 5 days, we would consider the Elation.

 

Also, at that time of year, if you want some warm weather you usually need to go to at least Cabo or further south. The weather warms up from Cabo... and south.

[JJ2sail]

We really enjoyed the RC Monarch 5 day in November, the Weather was great and there was a pretty wide range of ages on board. Thought is was a really good value.

[leoandhugh]

several advantages come to mind about taking Carnival out of San Diego. The cruise terminal and several hotels are right down town as is the airport, so you can do without a rental car if staying before or after the cruise. The ship goes as far south as Acapulco so it is apt to be warmer, and the Spirit is a relatively new ship compared with Elation so it has more diverse things to do.

Since you are tied to November, I would stay as far away from Thanksgiving week as your schedule will allow because usually the prices are higher and there are usually more families with children on board in holiday weeks.

cruises out of LA have the disadvantage that the cruise terminals -either San Pedro or Long Beach are a long way from LAX and are not very convenient to hotels in the area:)

[Gator83]

try the NCL star from san pedro ( LA )

great ports, great price, good food and entertainment,

you can stay a while in LA before your trip or after also ..

 

the ports like ixtapa and puerto vallarta are beautiful..

im 28 my husband is 30 and we love this line, alot of mixed ages, it was our favorite , next to carnival.

 

 

 

 

Melissa

 

Good food on NCL??? You are the only person I have ever heard say that NCL has good food.

[mithryl]

If you really want to see one of the California cities...just go and stay there. If what you really enjoy is being on a cruise, going to Mexico can really work. We've gone twice and rarely get off the ship. For us, going on a cruise to Mexico is all about the cruise. Time to relax, good food, good relaxation, etc. Who cares about the ports! This would be my first choice for a relaxing, non-port cruise.

If you want to see exotic destinations, Mexico may not serve your purpose. If could be pretty boring. it's all about what youwant to get out of the experience.

[blaneyliss]

We are planning 2 trips this year, one to Seattle and one other vacation. My husband's brother lives in Seattle so we are definitely doing that trip. We would prefer to do Seattle in June, then another vacation in November-December range. At least this is what I'm thinking right now...but choosing a vacation in the winter limits the possibilities of warm weather! (obviously)

 

Of course, we could flip flop and do the cruise in June and Seattle in the winter- but that sure would make for a raaaainy Seattle visit. Any experienced Seattle visitors that have advice?

[melika091900]

Good food on NCL??? You are the only person I have ever heard say that NCL has good food.

 

 

r u serious?? do you ever go on the NCL board,,,,

alot of people like the food, it just depends on what you like ,

I think that all the cruises weve been on , the food has been all the same, i dont expect much re: food, since they are trying to serve thousands of people,,,

if it was horrible i would say, but IMO, it was good,

I also prefer to book cruises by price, and itenerary,,

the food thing, i dont really let it sway me, because i know im not going to starve,,, and NCL has endless choices,,, which is a plus,,

 

LOL

[fun4us2do]

Of course, we could flip flop and do the cruise in June and Seattle in the winter- but that sure would make for a raaaainy Seattle visit. Any experienced Seattle visitors that have advice?

 

Seattle gets little/no rain during the summer months. The other three seasons, you're probably going to get wet.:D

 

As far as cruises on the west coast go, We've departed from Seattle for an Alaska cruise in August 2005 and had great weather up & back!

 

This year we're doing a B2B Repo cruise on NCL Star from Vancouver,BC to Los Angeles and then from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riveria in September.

 

Vince

[smoothdancer]

The food in the main dining room on NCL was just OK, but the other resturants we thought the food was quite good.... Here are some food pictures I posted on our NCL review.... You cant argue with these pictures!!

 

http://www.justcruisin-sv.com/CruiseShips/NCL%20PAGEseven.htm

[gratefulguy]

I bet somebody will--food quality is one of the most personal of opinions.

[Darlipoo]

YOu are in luck. The Carnival Elation is coming to San Diego for year round 4 and 5 days cruises. They'll do 2 5 days in a row and then a 4 day. The 5 day goes to abo and Ensenada. There are some fabulously LOW rates available. I saw some far out for under $300.00pp. San Diego is a GREAT city to visit and fly in and out of and cruise from. Everything is close and easy. We are going on the 6/25 Elation cruise. Our daughter did the Spirit last year and loved it. That is a 7-8 days cruise.

[Darlipoo]

YOu are in luck. The Carnival Elation is coming to San Diego for year round 4 and 5 days cruises. They'll do 2 5 days in a row and then a 4 day. The 5 day goes to Cabo and Ensenada. There are some fabulously LOW rates available. I saw some far out for under $300.00pp. San Diego is a GREAT city to visit and fly in and out of and cruise from. Everything is close and easy. We are going on the 6/25 Elation cruise. Our daughter did the Spirit last year and loved it. That is a 7-8 days cruise.

[skandls]

Royal and Carnival both have 4 day cruises that visit San Diego departing from the Los Angeles area. You could easily spend 5 days in the LA are without going on a cruise. If you have never been there is a lot to see.

 

San Francisco (one of my Favorites) is a great trip for your 5 days. With the wine country close (some of the best food around) - and all the night life in SF 5 days may be to little.

 

What do you want to do - cruise and party - or tour on your owh and party?