Mexican Riviera ?

[Mollypuss]

My husband and I are celebrating our 10 yr. anniversay this summer. In the last few days we have decided to book another cruise. Usually we book at least 9-12 months out, but we just decided to do it. We were pretty settled on the Freedom out of Pt. Cavanaral, as we can get pretty reasonable airfare from St. Louis to Orlando. But, the Mariner out of LA would save us about $700 total for the trip. We have never been to the Mexican Riviera and in some of the reviews I have read about serious wind. Is it more windy than the Caribbean? Also, I've heard the beaches are not as nice, but are the ports interesting? The way I look at it is this.....it is a savings, but if the ship and itinerary are just so-so, then maybe saving the money wasn't such a great deal if the level of enjoyment isn't there. Please help!! Not sure which one to pick!

[Bfamilycruisers]

I'm going on to the mexican riviera 2 times this summer. I'm going because I live in Las Vegas and LA and San Diego are my close ports. I'd go on Freedom if I were you. I really want to go on Freedom but I have to deal with the cost of flying from Vegas to Florida plus the big expense of Freedom. I've flown from Vegas to Florida when we went on Voyager out of Miami it cost me a lot of money but it was worth it. Worth every penny:D

 

Personally I'd choose the your itinerary everytime over the riviera but. The riviera isn't bad or anything but I just really like the caribbean much better. One of these days I'm going to stop being so cheap and we will haul the family back to Florida and go on Liberty or Freedom.

[pcur]

It's a nice cruise. Since you're going in the summer, you will have nice weather. Up near Los Angeles (first and last day of the cruise) the weather is cooler, but in the summer it can be hot there, too.

 

We've been twice, and on the Mariner I think it would be an even better cruise.

 

Don't know about the beaches, but check the Ports of Call board for Mexico and see what people are posting.

[39august]

The Mariner is a spectacular ship! I find both Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta very interesting places as both are Spanish colonial cities with imposing cathedrals. The "old town' of PV and the malecon (waterfront walk) are very charming and walkable. A tour of Mazatlan should also include the cliff divers. The beaches are not white sand as most Caribbean beaches are. They are beige colored. he Pacific tends to be rougher and cooler than the Caribbean. Don't know much about Cabo because when we were there we did a whale watch tour, but summer is not whale season. I understand Cabo may have the best beaches on the Mexican Riviera. We are going on Mariner in May for our second MR cruise. I would save the money and do the Mariner. As far as Freedom vs. Mariner, the ships are laid out almost identically, but Freedom is of course, longer and has the kids H2O zone and the flow rider. Otherwise, the ships are much more alike than not.

[ERTHDOG]

my opinion is...i would do the caribbean:)

 

reason being, we just got back from the mex riv on mariner, and i loved the cruise but not the ports (at least not as nice as the caribbean)

 

we will likely do the mex riv one more time, but only because we can drive to port (LA or san francisco)

 

hope that helps

 

dave

[Winegirl58]

My husband and I are celebrating our 10 yr. anniversay this summer. In the last few days we have decided to book another cruise. Usually we book at least 9-12 months out, but we just decided to do it. We were pretty settled on the Freedom out of Pt. Cavanaral, as we can get pretty reasonable airfare from St. Louis to Orlando. But, the Mariner out of LA would save us about $700 total for the trip. We have never been to the Mexican Riviera and in some of the reviews I have read about serious wind. Is it more windy than the Caribbean? Also, I've heard the beaches are not as nice, but are the ports interesting? The way I look at it is this.....it is a savings, but if the ship and itinerary are just so-so, then maybe saving the money wasn't such a great deal if the level of enjoyment isn't there. Please help!! Not sure which one to pick!

 

Hi There,

We have been on the Mexican cruise 3 times. All three times were during the summer months. We never experienced windy conditions, nothing out of the usual anyway. We love that route and will do it again in the future. Easy for us as we live in CA and we save lots of $ on airfare. In Puerta Vallarta we did the Tequila Factory tour once and it was lots of fun. Mazatlan, two times, we did a horseback ride with Ricky (not a ship tour). That is a great tour if you like to ride horses. You take a water taxi over to an island, and then you hop in this open air "bus" which takes you thru the real Mazatlan where the horses are. Then you ride for a while and end up on a beautiful long white sand beach, where you end up at a restaurant right on the beach. Lots of fun! The other time we spent the day at Senor Frogs. That was fun. It was my hubby's 50th birthday and boy did we celebrate!lol! In Cabo, we have taken catamarans and snorkeled. But snorkeling during the summer down there is not good because of the jellyfish. They hurt when they sting, and my husband is really allergic to them. So last time, we just walked around Cabo and had food and drinks and just enjoyed the day. The port is pretty with lots of shops. All of these, of course, are my humble opinion!

Whatever you choose have a great time!:D

[rclcruzer]

Off the Mariner 2 weeks ago, and 2nd time on her. Like someone posted above, Freedom and Mariner are pretty much the same with the exception that the Freedom is newer, a bit bigger, H2O zone, and flowrider.

Our family enjoyed our Freedom cruise soooo much in 06'. Such a great time for us :D

 

I LIKE the Mex.Riv, but LOVE the Caribbean so much better. Only windy the last day and 1/2 coming back, cool outside as well, and usually a bit rocky. The water temp is considerably cooler in the MR. Cabo has great beaches and lot's of bars etc...a stones throw away from the ship.

PV is great for ziplining etc... pretty. And Mazatlan? Well, and this is just MY opinion...I can do without it!! We just hang at El Cid Resort for the day, that's about it.

This will be the last time we do the MR for a long time.....looking forward to our Liberty cruise this June. So I guess, if your looking for some advice, I would do the Caribbean. JMHO ;)

[casandbliz]

We have been on both Caribbean and Mexican Rivera cruises, and have enjoyed all of them. We live 60 minutes from LA, so the Mexican Rivera cruise is cheaper (no air fare). In fact, we will be doing another Mex. Riv. cruise in 2010 for our 25th anniversary (and will be taking our son and friend for their UCLA graduation) for that reason. If it was just us for our anniversary, I think we would do the Caribbean...

 

We like to cruise in the summer months, and we love it!! Cabo did have quite the breeze (we did a kayak excursion), and the water was choppy, but very nice and warm. In Matzalan, we did a Senor Frog's trip, and some shopping. Puerta Vallarta was probably our favorite- did an all inclusive hotel excursion, and it was really hot!! But we had a great time.

 

Needless to say, we absolutely love the Caribbean!! We love the heat, and the Caribbean offers such a variety of ports. We have done the

Western and Eastern a couple of times. Labadee was great, we also liked Cozumel, St. Maarten, Dominican Republic. St. Thomas was just OK....almost too commercialized....

 

I think it really depends on #1- your budget, and #2- if it is a specific occasion. Caribbean for a special occasion and $$ is not that big a deal, or Mexico if it's simply a vacation and/or $$ is an issue.

 

Hope this helps!!! Enjoy wherever you go!!!!!:D

[DonnaK]

I'm facing the same dilemma. We love the Caribbean, but are tired of the same old ports. Mariner has some great NY residency deals, plus low 3/4 passenger fares, making an August Mex Riviera cruise very affordable for us. We're intriqued with going to ports we've never been to before, but are afraid that we won't like them because we are "beach people".

[jules815]

I'm facing the same dilemma. We love the Caribbean, but are tired of the same old ports. Mariner has some great NY residency deals, plus low 3/4 passenger fares, making an August Mex Riviera cruise very affordable for us. We're intriqued with going to ports we've never been to before, but are afraid that we won't like them because we are "beach people".

 

We decided to do Mexican Riv for the same reasons. Plus, we've never been to CA, and are adding a few days pre-cruise to do some sightseeing. We've had some great price drops (nice one today) and the air fare from Chicago to LAX has gone way down too.

[saltsandknit]

We have cruised the Mex Rivera several times and it is what you make of it.

Cabo is a tourist town. Lots of shopping, a large mall, plenty of restaurants right off the pier and decent beaches.

 

Mazatlan is a very old city and it shows. There are some beautiful buildings but the city is run down and old. The canopy is beautiful if you do a zipline some of the beach resorts are nice and the people are wonderful so you have to ignore the the way the city looks. Its a nice town but not my favorite.

 

PV is the most tropical and green, it has nice beaches and more variety and there is a walmart just off the port. LOL :eek: PV is my favorite of the 3 ports

 

The last day back on the ship will be more windy and rough more than not. It is still a cruise and Mexico is beautiful and if you have never done it before it is definitely worth the experience.

[Mollypuss]

Thank you all so much for the info and opinions. I just booked the Freedom! It was a bit more, but we really like St. Thomas and St. Maarten and have never been to Coco Cay. My husband was voting more for this because we are going in a day early and touring the Kennedy Space Center...something he has wanted to do for years. I also have motion sickness issues and was worried about rougher seas. I do medicate, but try to take the bare minimum because it makes me sleepy. Plus, we want to check out the Freedom! Our 5 year old is staying the week w/gram and gramps so we can have some adult time. It will be nice to eat dinner without a head in my lap!

 

Again, thanks for all of the responses.....another reason I love cruisecritic.

[klfhngr]

We've done this cruise/intenary at least 10 times.. We enjoy it.. Yes, Caribbean might be nice and calmer, however, Mexico has it's own charm and character... You won't notice the swells until you come back, IF THAT. Go for it, check it out and have a blast! Mexico rocks, lol!

[klfhngr]

OH, never mind, lol!

[SusieKay]

We have been to the Caribbean numerous times, both land stays and cruises. We took our first cruise to the Mexican Riviera this past November and were very disappointed with the beaches. We like to snorkel-took our own snorkeling gear-and never used it. Water was rough,cold, brown, cloudy, and too many jellyfish. Like nothing we have seen in the Caribbean. The scenery was spectacular, but if you are going for the beaches, you made the right choice in the Caribbean.

[robmab]

We faced the same dilemma when booking our cruise a few months ago and we ultimately decided that we'd been to the Caribbean so many times that, even if the MR ports weren't as good, at least there would be some sense of adventure to going somewhere new. We know the beaches aren't as picturesque, but are looking forward to the rock formations in Cabo and the cliff divers in Mazatlan. And I've heard such good things about Mariner that I know we will enjoy the ship.

 

Hope you enjoy the Freedom. Maybe consider MR for your next one? :)

[Mollypuss]

We faced the same dilemma when booking our cruise a few months ago and we ultimately decided that we'd been to the Caribbean so many times that, even if the MR ports weren't as good, at least there would be some sense of adventure to going somewhere new. We know the beaches aren't as picturesque, but are looking forward to the rock formations in Cabo and the cliff divers in Mazatlan. And I've heard such good things about Mariner that I know we will enjoy the ship.

 

Hope you enjoy the Freedom. Maybe consider MR for your next one? :)

 

Not the next one.....that is going to be the Oasis for March 2010. I cannot wait to get on that ship. We have several groups going with us. But, I would like to eventually try a Mexican Riviera. My husband grew up in S. Cali, so we might combine a family reunion/Mariner cruise.

 

Thanks again for all of the info!!!

[akcruz]

I know you already booked the Freedom which you will very much enjoy, but just another thing to think about which is what tipped it for us this year. August is the beginning of hurricane season which will affect the caribbean cruises much more than the mexican ones. We usually cruise in eiter June or November but to get in a family cruise this year the only time we could go was August. Besides, been to the caribbean enough for now, looking for some new places to explore.

 

Of course, with the swine flu now, the eastern caribbean may just be the way to go :eek:.