Cruising to Mexico....Is it better to book a port or starboard balcony?

[Craving A Cruise]

Southbound we will have 1 cruising day. 3 port days. Northbound we have 2 cruising days. I want to enjoy my balcony cabin as much as possible and I am unsure which side of the ship to book!! :confused: Ugh. Help me please..... Can you see the coast from the ship or are we too far from shore? Will I have something to look at? Or would I be better off booking the other side of the ship and enjoying the sunsets each evening? Any opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!:)

[flamomo]

If you want to be able to view ports as the ship docks, and also see some land from time to time while cruising, you would need to choose a cabin based on whether the ports are on the southbound or northbound portions of the cruise. If they are on the southbound, you'd need a port cabin, and the opposite if they are on the northbound.

[mii]

Unfortunately you cannot see land from the ship. It is a rare thing to see. Now if you are bothered by sun then going south the sun will be on the portside. But then coming back north you will have the sun especially the afternoon sun. We just got back from the Star Princess this past Oct. and picked a starboard and frankly we liked it. No sun in the morning and coming back we had a covered balcony so the sun was really not a problem.

 

Marilyn

[cruiserbryce]

when you are at sea you are far enough away from land that you cant see anything...we have sailed both sides and it really hasnt made a difference

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Southbound we will have 1 cruising day. 3 port days. Northbound we have 2 cruising days. I want to enjoy my balcony cabin as much as possible and I am unsure which side of the ship to book!! :confused: Ugh. Help me please..... Can you see the coast from the ship or are we too far from shore? Will I have something to look at? Or would I be better off booking the other side of the ship and enjoying the sunsets each evening? Any opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!:)

In this case, it depends on what ports you are visiting...

That is the only time that it can make a difference (although even then it's definitely not 100%).

[Craving A Cruise]

Thanks Flamomo,

 

So, I am assuming that Port side always faces the land while in port. (hence the name.) Duh, I can be so dumb at times. :o ........ Is that true regardless of the town we are docking in? I suppose if we are being tendered to shore then the ship can be facing any direction, correct? or do they still have to "park" facing a certain direction? Thanks for your help!:)

 

If you want to be able to view ports as the ship docks, and also see some land from time to time while cruising, you would need to choose a cabin based on whether the ports are on the southbound or northbound portions of the cruise. If they are on the southbound, you'd need a port cabin, and the opposite if they are on the northbound.

[Craving A Cruise]

Thanks Marilyn,

 

I had not thought about sunrises only sunsets...;) Oh bother, I had this all figured out but now I may have to reconsider. Was your starboard cabin shady and cold in the afternoon with no sun or did you still have plenty of sunshine?

 

Unfortunately you cannot see land from the ship. It is a rare thing to see. Now if you are bothered by sun then going south the sun will be on the portside. But then coming back north you will have the sun especially the afternoon sun. We just got back from the Star Princess this past Oct. and picked a starboard and frankly we liked it. No sun in the morning and coming back we had a covered balcony so the sun was really not a problem.

 

Marilyn

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Thanks Flamomo,

 

So, I am assuming that Port side always faces the land while in port. (hence the name.) Duh, I can be so dumb at times. :o ........ Is that true regardless of the town we are docking in? I suppose if we are being tendered to shore then the ship can be facing any direction, correct? or do they still have to "park" facing a certain direction? Thanks for your help!:)

Absolutely not.

That is why I asked the question I asked about which ports you are visiting specifically.

Port side does NOT always face the port side.

They can also "park" however the captain needs to at the time (if there are other ships in port, or for other reasons - he might need to "back in").

 

Also, some ports are tender ports. You won't even be at the dock.

 

Just want people to know that and realize it, for you and any others reading this who didn't know.

[Craving A Cruise]

Curt,

 

:D Thanks, that clears it up 100% for me. :p.....Sailing MOS, ports of call are Cabo (tendered) Mazatlan & PV. Now does it make a difference?

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

In this case, it depends on what ports you are visiting...

That is the only time that it can make a difference (although even then it's definitely not 100%).

[Craving A Cruise]

Sorry CJW, our posts overlapped.....

 

Right, I didn't want to assume anything , that is why I thought I would post the question on CC. I know I can always get some timely, accurate advice from people such as yourself...:)

 

Thanks again!

 

Absolutely not.

That is why I asked the question I asked about which ports you are visiting specifically.

Port side does NOT always face the port side.

They can also "park" however the captain needs to at the time (if there are other ships in port, or for other reasons - he might need to "back in").

 

Also, some ports are tender ports. You won't even be at the dock.

 

Just want people to know that and realize it, for you and any others reading this who didn't know.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Curt,

 

:D Thanks, that clears it up 100% for me. :p.....Sailing MOS, ports of call are Cabo (tendered) Mazatlan & PV. Now does it make a difference?

 

Thanks for the advice!

No problem!

Here's what will happen in those ports, just so you know...

In Cabo, you will be tendered. So the boat, shifts and turns a bit while it's anchored during the day (I think the captains do that on purpose a bit) -

 

but on several cruises there the port side has faced The Arches

and the starboard side has faced the beach/hotels...

Only on one cruise did it drift the other way around...

 

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Curt,

 

:D Thanks, that clears it up 100% for me. :p.....Sailing MOS, ports of call are Cabo (tendered) Mazatlan & PV. Now does it make a difference?

 

Thanks for the advice!

In Mazatlan, you're really docked at the industrial port, so you'll kind of either get a view of the port or the ocean out back.

This is luck of the draw as it's up to the captain on how he parks.

 

Puerto Vallarta has pretty good views from either side of the port.

You're kind of parked in a big U shaped bay.

One side is resorts/parks/beaches.

Other side is mountains (and Walmart!)

If they pull in head first (which I think is more common), then starboard will face the resorts and port will face the mountains.

 

So, as you can see you kind of can't go wrong in those ports - but for fun, maybe this info will help you choose!

Enjoy!

[Splinter]

Depending on when you are going, your first and last days at sea will be COLD on your balcony. I hope you are planning on bundling up well!! Between the cool weather at sea, esp. as you get close to Ensenada and San Diego, and the breeze (apparent wind) from the ship's movement, sitting on your balcony at sea can be problematic in the Pacific.

 

Often you can see the shore from the leeward side of the ship (the side away from the wind direction...nearly always on the east of the ship) but it will also be windy there due to the apparent wind. Even then, mostly what you see are the mountains along the spine of Baja, not the beach or actual shoreline which will be 10-15 miles from the ship at least. The side of the ship toward the oncoming wind is called the windward (winard) side, and nearly always is toward the west.

 

In Cabo, the ship may face many directions during the day. It will be anchored at the bow, which generally means that the ship will be pointed into the wind direction at any one time. In the AM this is often off-shore (ie, facing the beach) and in the afternoon this is usually (but not always) facing seaward toward Los Arcos.

 

In Mazatlan they usually put the boat on the pier with the bow pointing out to sea (it makes it easier to pull out in the evening), which means that the starboard side is usually against the pier (land side).

 

In PV, if you are at the pier, they usually do the same, but there you will most likely have the port side to the pier (but not always...I have seen them put the bow towards land which puts the starboard side to the pier). Regardless, unless you don't plan to get off the ship in port, what difference does it make??? (of course if you are misbehaving on your balcony and it is facing the pier you may have an audience you did not anticipate).

 

Port is the left side of the ship (as you face the bow). ALWAYS.

 

Starboard is the right side of the ship (as you face the bow). ALWAYS.

 

Sunrise is over the land on the Mexican Riviera except if you are in the Sea of Cortez.

 

Sunset is over the ocean. I always watch this from the Promonade deck (usually with a drink), so I can go to whichever side of the ship I want. Sometimes the sunset is better in the east sky than it is in the west, so check out both.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was going to mention the weather the first couple of days and the final sea day. Be sure to bring something warm for that time (one time my hubby didn't put my coat in the car -- I was doublechecking to make sure I had all the supplies for my toddler -- and I was shivering in my sweater). Didn't bother with a balcony. Also, you may have some very rolling seas going back north.