What line, what cruise, what ship? Any ideas? We are thinking of trying to go on the cheap this summer just to show the kids the boat. Is Mexico the place to go for deals or Carribean. Am pretty new to this.

Would like some fun activities for the kids, 12 and 17. Would like some good food. More interested in the boat than the ports. But fun ports would be nice too. Cabo, Alcapulco, PV maybe? Thanks for you help.

Heavens:
I am not positive, but I don't think there are many cruises to Mexico (especially the Mexican Riviera) in the summer months.

I would suggest you try the Caribbean. I think your kids would enjoy it more.

Where would you be flying or driving from?

I'm doing Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas from LA. It's a 4 night cruise and the fare is very reasonable. It sails from Mondays and returns Fridays, and of course there are tons of things to do in LA before and after the trip. It stops in San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada, Mexico.

If that trip is too short, check out Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas. It's a 7 day cruise going to Cabo San Lucas, PV, and Mazatlan from San Diego, and it does run through the summer.

Some friends and I were looking into a Mexican cruise like you describe, and for the early part of August. We have finally opted for the Caribbean, BUT you CAN do the Carnival Pride out of either LA or SanDiego. There is also a RCCL ship (forget which one) that does the same ports but in reverse order. It leaves from San Diego if the Pride leaves from LA. If the Pride leaves from SD, then the RCCL ship leaves from LA. (does that make sense?)

The cruises are both 7 days in length. I think that summer time might be a good time to do this cruise as I took mine on a spring break a few years ago, and thought the Pacific was breezy and cool for the "at sea" days during the spring!

The ports are Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, and Mazatlan. There are a few days at sea as well. I think the Pride might be the better choice as it is a newer ship and probably more activities. The RCCL ship is an older one, but still pretty nice.

Have a nice time if you decide to go!

Sorry, thought I posted that info. Want to leave out of CA, preferably San Diego. Would like seven days b/c I think the 3 and 4 day trips might be the party boats? Don't want that.

Want a nice cruise, good food, cheap, easy, relaxing, fun activities, a few good ports, good food, cocktails, maybe a few other teenagers, good food, oh, I said that.

Princess sounds good. Or Royal Caribbean. Is there much difference?

If you check availability, I don't think Princess does a Mexican Riviera cruise in the summer. But I could be wrong. Royal Caribbean does, and the ship is probably not too bad. I cruised on Royal Caribbean, on a sister ship to the Mex Riviera one, in the Mediterranean and had a nice time (but the food wasn't anything to write home about). I think Princess has better food, service, and is a bit nicer overall than RCCL.

If you go to travelocity, they will give you a pretty detailed listing of ships doing Mex Riv cruises this summer. Carnival Pride looked to be a very nice newer ship, and for a good price. My friends and I had almost decided to do the Pride, but then changed our minds and we are now booked on the Caribbean Princess in the western carib for August.

Here is a website that gives you all of the cruises leaving out of San Diago, and the itineraries.

http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandie...dulesearch.asp

Just put in your possible dates and it will narrow down the choices for you. We did the Mexican Riveria with teens and had a great time. When you decide where and when, post again for ideas for shore excursions. We'll be glad to help.

I have never before heard that the shorter cruises are party boats, but I'll let you know when I return from the cruise I mentioned before. I think most any cruise can be a party boat, depending on who's on it.

I just did a search on Orbitz and the 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise I told you about in my earlier post seems to suit your needs best, as it's less expensive and leaves from San Diego. Your other option is Carnival, which has a similar itenerary but costs about $165 more per person. Also that one leaves out of LA. I'm sure you will enjoy either. Please let us know what you decide.

That Port of San Diego link doesn't necessarily have totally accurate data as to which ships will be there on any particular day...I know because the cruise I am embarking on in October is incorrectly listed.
You might want to rely on the cruise lines or cruise discounter sites.
I do think you choice will be mainly between Carnival and RCCL, however and, frankly, I disagree about the "differences" between these two companies. IMO Carnival's entire outlook (let's just badger you on board until you spend more money) is vastly different from RCCL's regardless of the neweness of any ship. Many think RCCL's food is so-so although that's subjective as well..who knows where these people eat when they are at home.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Heavens, I assume you have made your plans by now, but I said I would post back a report on my cruise, so here it is in case you or anyone else can benefit:

We sailed from LA on May 24 on the Monarch of the Seas for a 4 day cruise. You asked if the 3 or 4 days cruises were party boats. Absolutely not, at least no more so than any of the 6 or 7 longer cruises I've been on. We stopped in San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada Mexico. Our favorite stop was Catalina, but we also enjoyed the excursion to La Bufadora in Ensenada.

I do not have any kids, but several parents I talked to raved about the children's program. This will be good for your 12-year-old but I'm not sure the 17-year-old will benefit from that. However, there's still the pool, the rock climbing, and plenty of other activities on board. Also the evening entertainment was very good, especially the "dueling pianos." I thought all of the shows and contests on board were suitable for kids over 12, with the possible exception of the scavenger hunt. However, they did advise that this is slightly on the adult side beforehand.

One last bit of advice that might help you or someone else planning a cruise. If you have a US passport, make sure to bring it. I realize they will take a birth certificate w/photo ID, but you will not believe how much a passport will expedite the process. When we were leaving the ship, there was a huge line of around 300 people waiting to disembark. They made an announcement that if you are holding a US passport you may go to another line. We walked past these 300 or so people who apparently did not have passports, and finally got to the line for passport holders. There were maybe 20 people in that line, and we were through customs within just minutes. I'm guessing our passports saved us about an hour of waiting in line. Of course, this only works if everyone in your party has a passport, otherwise those without one still have to wait in the long line. I am not saying this will be the case with every cruise line at every port, but this was our experience.

Thanks PM. Great info here.

Was it a Carnival boat?

How was the food?

Sorry, I failed to mention it was Royal Caribbean. We thought the food was great. There were a lot of first-time cruisers on that ship, as it was a short cruise this was their chance to see if they liked cruising. All of the ones I met said they loved it. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you and your kids will have a blast. If you have any other questions I will be happy to answer.