Thread: What do you think of the Mexican Riviera?

We are going in 2008. What is your opinion of this itinereary?

We love it - have done it several times.

I would have to say that we enjoy it, done it at least 10 times.
We have seen Cabo grow tremendously over the years.
It has been a long time since we took any of the tours but they keep adding more.

We are looking at whale watching at one port. I think that is a must for us. We have never done this so we find it important.

We live on the East Coast and have never been out west. For me I have been to Texas several times with my family to visit family but we have never gone to Cali. We are looking forward to this cruise. Jeff promised me if we did not do the Med we could do this in 2008. I am so happy we have it booked. Only bad thing is we are going in February and I think it will be cool but that is ok. We will take long pants and sweathers.

What do you guys like about this itinerary? What do you find to be a must?

Sorry but I prefer the Caribbean. Always good beaches and warm waters. I found the beaches on the Mexican Riviera to be rough with colder water. I'm not wild about Mexico but do love Mexican food. I doubt very much I would go back there, too many other places I'd rather be. The girls I cruise with feel the same. My favorite from that side was Costa Rica, I would definitely go back there, providing I could avoid Mexico. JMO

I don't know exactly which ports are in your itinerary, but here's my take:

Cabo san Lucas. We've been there twice as a port. Both times our ship tendered. The first time we walked around the shops. Really boring. The second, we walked around the boat marina. Nice walk, gorgeous boats. Found a guy to take us to the Arcos. Reasonable. Fun. Returned to ship for lunch, got into bathing suits. Then went to beach at Finisterra. Very scenic. We like Cabo and would try a different beach the next time.

Mazatlan. In the morning we went to a hotel beach. Nobody bothered us. The El Cid hotel was very unimpressive as was their beach. We returned to the ship for lunch, changed, then took a taxi into town. Interesting square, interesting architecture and very interesting theatre, which we toured.

Manzanilla. Went to a white hotel.Forget the name (near Las Hadas). Nice property on a hill. Many pools. Used their beach. Not worth visiting! Spent afternoon on ship.

Puerto Vallarta. Love that town. Spent the morning there. Returned for late lunch. Stayed on the ship. Best town to wander through.

Acapulco. Dirty. Interesting fort across the street. Did the divers at sunset. Visited a hotel beach (beach nothing to write home about). Enjoyable folkloric show on ship at night.

Zihuatanejo. If we were to vacation in Mexico, this is where I would like to go. Best beaches. After lunch, tried to walk through shops, but it was too hot.

Huatulco. Vacationed there twice. We liked it. Two towns. Very small. Enjoyed beach and pool at Barcello hotel.

Hope this helps you.

I have done this iteneray three times.

Once as a teen 25 years ago who was interested only in beaches and Para Sailing.

Once as a 10 year anniversary celebrant who was interested in just getting away from it all.

And once with 8 & 10 year old kids who wanted them to soak up Mexican culture and history.

You can do what ever you want with the Mexican itenerary. If you want to enjoy the beaches, there are beautiful ones in every port.

If you want to get away from it all, well only get off the ship in a few ports.

If you want culture, you can book tours that will provide your with lots of great Mexican cultural experiences.

First I have to say that the people of Mexico are very friendly and helpful, but there is always some one working for a tip or trying to sell you something.

The beaches are beautiful, the weather warm, but I think the Mexican culture is the best part. I love the food and I find the history of Mexico to be very interesting.

Get a really good guide book on Mexico...Like a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide. Also go to your cruise lines web page and research your excursion selections. You migh try even doing google searches for images of the excursions posted by other travelers.

Thanks Suzanne for the information on the travel books/guides.

We've done this (the 7-day, PV, Mazt., Cabo one) twice because it's easy to get to the embarkation port for us. That said, you can get warmer temps when you go south and just "beach" it. That's true that Los Angeles can be in the 50s or 60s in February, and may be rainy. It can also get in the 80s if the Santa Anas are blowing.

My hubby was taking Spanish classes for our first cruise, so he loved trying it out in the stores and on the cab drivers. We watched "Night of the Iguana" before we went so the hotel where Liz and Dick had their tryst was one of the places we checked out. In Mazatlan, we negotiated with the cab driver to take us on a tour. In Cabo, we walked around.

The second time, we mostly grabbed a cab in the same two ports into the city and walked and shopped. I got sick with an allergic reaction to the trash burning in PV both times so the second cruise, the hubby and our daughter went into Cabo while I stayed on the ship. Personally, I think if we go this route again, I would want to stay on the ship more.

I enjoyed it enough to book it again for this year. We did this itinerary in April 04. In PV and Cabo we just did shopping and sight seeing. In Mazatlan we did Randi's Happy Horses and loved it. We tend to cruise more for just the sake of cruising vs. ports of call. The west coast ships have some of the best crews out there.