Mexican Rivera Feb. 17 2012 - Anyone Going?

This will be our first cruise and first grown up holiday.  My husband and me with our 21 year old son and 13 year old son.  Our 21 year old son studied for 7 weeks this past summer in Central Mexico after completing his 3rd year of Engineering School.  He loved Mexico and I think this may be a way for all of us to experience it and have some adventure.  I think the teen club will be a lot of fun for our 13 year old, he is very social.

I am nervous and excited (as usual when it is the first time).  I am thinking we will start a new family vacation tradition.  We live in Calgary, Canada and Southern California is our usual holiday destination since the kids have been born.  Anaheim, Palm springs & San Diego.  I agree San Diego is awesome and we are going down a few days early.  First to take the youngest to Disneyland for a couple of days and then our 21 year old will join us on Tues evening and on Wed we will take the Pacific Surfliner from Anaheim to San Diego.  In all the years of going to SoCal we have never done that and this time, it is obviously better than renting a car to park for the duration of the cruise.  The only places in Mexico I have been to though is Tijuana and Mexicalli so I am really anxious to see the rest.  Our oldest finished his 3rd year of Engineering school last spring and then spent 8 weeks in Central Mexico taking option classes.  He toured around quite a bit.  He really loved it.  He is so anxious for us to experience it.  I thought this would be a great way to do it and see more than one place.

  I just gotta say that we went on this cruise a few years ago and it was one of my favorites if not my favorite. If your looking for a shore excursion. In Puerto Vallarta there is one called rythem of the nights and it is the best one we have ever done!! You take a boat to Las Caletas and have dinner at tables along the beach and then a renactment they put on...it is super look it up on the excusions. We would love to take this cruise again sometime soon.

Sounds good but I didn't see that one on the menu.  I have just been perusing the excursions everything looks great.  Especially the beaches. 

We live in Saskatchewan and have met many other Canadians on the cruise vacations that we have taken, it seems to be avery popular vacation option with Canadians. The last three cruises that we have taken have been in the Carbeen and we were hard pressed to decided on which tour to take becouse there was an enormouse selection of great choices. The selection of tours, on this cruise, for peaple that do not scuba, snorkel, or sit on a beach is much more limited that what we have experienced on our past cruise vacations. 

We are also getting more concerned with all the violence that is endemic in Mexico at this time! It will effect our behaviour onshore by making us much more careful than in the past!   

Saskatchewan, we are almost neighbours.  As I said my 17 year old spent a total of 8 weeks in central mexico this summer (7 studying and touring and a week on his own) he told me that he felt as safe in the neighbourhoods where he was or in the hotels as he did in our own Canadian neighbourhood.  Like all places it is a matter of staying out of the rough areas and back alleys and being careful after dark.  In our very safe Canadian city there was a student from Brazil who was shot and blinded in downtown Calgary.  He came from one of the most dangerous cities in the world.  This article I got from cruise critic, helps put it in perspective:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/21/TR3O1KLPOQ.DTL

Sorry, my son is actually 21, why did I say 17 (they grow that fast).

I will be on this cruise.  Went on one with Princess in Sept. 2 years ago.  It was extremely hot and humid in every port.  So we are trying our luck with Feb. cruise on Carnival.  Has anyone been to the Mexican Rivera in Feb. before?  How is the weather at sea during the travel days?  Can you walk the outside decks without thinking your on an Alaska Cruise?

What about the evening on the outside walkways?  I know lots of questions and hopefully someone with answers will reply.  Am I correct that you really need a jacket if you go on a whale watching tour, on a cataman?

Who knows maybe we will meet by accident while on the ship.

Papadewey

Never been but I checked some weather statistics http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/MMSD/1972/2/17/PlannerHistory.html?dayend=26&monthend=2&yearend=1972&req_city=Los+Cabos+International&req_state=&req_statename=Mexico

It looks like it would be an average high of 27-28C and low of 14C (sounds perfect for us Canadians). 

We will certainly recognoise you from your picture if we run into you on the ship