hello cruise people... i'm a regular poster, 1st time to the cruise forum. because i need you help.

my folks have offered to take the 3 of us on a Mexico cruise next winter. I'd hope to fly to LA or San Diego and leave from there. Puerto Vallarta is the one city must be included.

Names of the companies/ships on this route and any general recommendations would be much appreciated, to get me started in my research.

thank you kindly, suze

Hi Suze - Ive seen you on the other boards so welcome to cruising! I would definitely go with Holland America and they have 7 and 10 day cruises out of San Diego both itineraries stop at Puerto Vallarta. The Oosterdam does the 7 day and Ryndam does the 10 day. If you check with vacationstogo.com they have those cruises listed with discount prices.

Go to cruise.com for a complete list of all cruises. Narrow it down to a few you like, and come back for help to pick "the one"

The Oosterdam is an excellent ship and includes PV. We had a great cruise on her six months ago.

Thank you everyone.

I'm trying to come up with the couple best options for my parents to choose from, since they'd be footin' the bill. I'm doing preliminary planning since "You're the travel expert" according to them(!) but I don't know the first thing about cruising. So again, thanks for the help so far & any other are suggestions welcome.

Suze - First of all how many days are you considering for the cruise? I suggested San Diego as it is much easier to get to and from the ship from their airport and there are hotels right there if you have to stay over. It is a much nicer port to sail out of as far as convenience goes. The other thing is your are closer to the warmer weather when traveling south. The first day out of LA can be a little chilly in the winter. What kind of accommodation do you wnat? Balcony, inside, outside etc. I suggested going to Vacationstogo.com because if you click on their cruise button you can put in any cruise line, ship etc and dates. When I looked for you they did have some great prices on the outside and balcony cabins on both cruises. Just post any more questions but I highly recommend Holland America for that cruise and San Diego as a port.

Hi suze;

I think you are from Seattle .

Since you have been to Puerto Vallarta many times, you will know what to do for the day when the cruise ship stops in Puerto Vallarta.

Actually, whether you go Holland American, Princess, Royal Caribbean etc. really does not matter.

What matters is that you get the cabin you want ,either outside cabin or one with a balcony if the three of you are going to be in one room.

To me the most important part of taking a cruise is the Ports of Call.

I don't care if the ships walls are lined with gold and they are servering lobster every night with all the free booze and Champagne you can drink.......

because if the places I want to see are not on the itinerary...then I do not go.

Just think of the places along the Mexican Riviera that you would like to see and then take that cruise .

I have done that cruise twice and made sure I saw all the ports of call that it was possible seeing.

Here are some of the ports of call:
1. Cabos San Lucas
2.Mazatlan
3.Puerto Vallarta
4.Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo
5. Acapulco
6.Huatulco
7.Cozumel(for Cancun also)

So you decide which ports are most important to you.

I have left from San Diego and from LA.
San Diego is easier!!

Percy

Percy, while ports may be the most important part of the cruise for you, not everyone feels that way. No way you would get me on certain cruise lines/ships no matter how fabulous the ports are.

We look first at where we prefer to go then at the ships sailing there. If there is not a line we like to sail doing this route, we choose different ports to get the overall cruising experience we prefer.

To be stuck on a ship that is a bad fit is miserable IMO and a total waste of time and money.

There are ships I enjoy so much I could care less where they sail to

kfusto you are so right. Several years ago we did a long cruise including the Amazon - we had wanted to do that itinerary for some time. Well, at the recommendation of a "expert" travel agent who specializes in cruises we booked with a line we didn't know. It was the nightmare of our lives. I can't begin to tell you how bad it was. WE have done over 50 cruises to most of the world and cruise line becomes number one in importance. After the Amazon cruise I had booked a cruise on the old Noordam - I kissed the deck when we got On!!!! WE don't care about "gold lined walls, free booze and lobster every night" We want a comfortable clean ship with accommodating staff and Holland America always delivers in that regard. Princess and Celebrity have been good as well. I recommended HAL due to the San Diego departure port and the itinerary for Suze

You guys are brilliant! I'm reading every word with appreciation.

I am in Seattle. They would fly out of Portland or Eugene Oregon.

2 separate rooms (one double, one single) both oceanview or balcony cabins. 7 days max. The trip is not 'til Feb 2009.

So the 7 day Oosterdam going to Cabo, PV, Mazatlan out of San Diego looks ideal at a glance.

One last question... will I get seasick?
;-) suze

You won't know until you try it on for size. However as a rule the lower and more amidships your cabin the less you feel the ships motion. Good luck.

The Fodors of the cruiseworld is

www.cruisecritic.com

There is a plethora of info there.
and you can register for free.
also, there is a firm called
www.cruisecompete.com

you plug in what you are looking for
& agencies e-mail you quotes.
I recently had 8 quotes & selected
one.
hope this helps.

Suze if you have seen many of my posts on cruising and seasickness you will see that I cannot recommend meclazene highly enough. It is the generic name but is sold as Bonine in the drug stores. I have been through the worst seas ever and it has worked every time. On the Antarctic cruise we had force 10 gales and the seas were incredible. I was giving it out to people who had patches on and other things but I was the saviour of the day every time.(Even the Doctor at our table who was wearing a patch got some and it worked) You do not get sleepy with it and the secret is to take it before you have a chance to get sick. Sometimes on the Mexican cruise the sea can be a bit rough around the tip of the Baja and as I remember it was when we were northbound. Anyway I would say take some along with you and chances are on that cruise you won't need it. As far as cabins go you would need two cabins and they don't have singles (unless you sign up for sharing) so it would cost a bit more so you could check the price of a suite as well and you could share that. Otherwise you will have to book two cabins but there are lots available that are ajoining.

kfusto

You are right about the cruise ship.

It is that I have never been on a cruise ship that I did not like, therefore for me...the cruise ship and the meals have always been good
therefore
I go on a cruise based on the ports I want to see.

Yes , everyone has different travel preferences, and they each have to decide what is best for them , as it is their money !!

Maybe I have been lucky but after many cruise I have yet to be critical of a cruise line because of accommodations or food.....now service and all those extra charges is a different story.

I know that suze looooves Mexico and I personally would like for her to see as many Mexican ports as she can that she has not seen before ( if any !!!)

Traveller69

Sorry about your Amazon experience.

Hi jacketwatch

Good Night all

Percy

Good Night Percy!!

Hello Percy and good morning

Thank everyone

I appreciate the reminder about Bonine, traveler 69, and details about cabin configurations. No I hadn't read thru any posts yet (but I will if we end up doing this!) as it is an entirely new and somewhat surprising idea for me to even be considering.

Percy, While you're right I do love Mexico, this particular trip is more about finding an appropriate one week vacation that would be good for my parents and I to do together, rather than me exploring the port cities in my usual style.

(Our other possible agendas are Oahu for a week or maybe even a cruise around the Hawaiian islands?)

Traveller69, jacketwatch, kfusto, Rhea58, FainaAgain, Percy and any other cruisers reading... THANK YOU.

Ahhh bless your heart suze you are welcome .

I hope you and your parents have a good time.

Really , I don't think you can go wrong no matter what decision you make as to cruise ship and ports.

Take Care
Percy

suze, I know that when I plan trips involving my mom (77) it makes a big difference in my choices as well. I think HAL would be a really nice fit for the trip you describe.

If you have to cruise with NCL American to cruise Hawaii, I really would not recommend it. They continue to have challenges with the ships on that route and also NCL IMO is not a very good experience.

Good luck

Yes, I have read not very good things about the cruiseline servicing Hawaiian islands. Thanks for verifying that.

Being a person who never does resorts, tours or activities when I travel, the cruise idea is a bit of a stretch for me... but I think I'm up to the task -lol!

If anyone has other experiences, I'm happy to hear them too. But this seems like a question that perhaps does have one clear-cut best answer.

gracias mi amigos, Suze