San Diego to Mexico - advice for newbies?
Ike
offered from San Diego, but haven't a clue. Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks,
Ike
J Carnaghie
A great getaway, and a lot of fun.
The Port of San Diego is very easy to
reach by AMTRACK. It's a nice walk from
the train station, provided you have
rolling luggage, otherwise grab a cab
and see how upset a cab driver can be!
(Short distance ride!)
The towns you will visit are all
well set up for "touristas" and the
ships on this route all have very nice
programs. Lots of fun and usually nice
and calm sailing. Temperatures in the
summer can be really hot.
Be sure to remember that most of
the tourist shops expect you to bargain
just a bit!
Cheers,
John
Ike
> Dear Ike,
> A great getaway
Thanks! That's just what we need - a getaway, with no internet or cellphone.
But what line, ship, etc. do you suggest? And what should we pay for a
basic outside room? Apparently the same room sells for many prices
depending on the agent from whom it's bought and proximity to sailing
date. And at one of the cruise review sites, every ship seemed to have
bad reviews. We'd like to find something that's better than La Jolla in
the fall.
Ike
Norvin (remove SPAM)
good sites to visit. I would suggest a 10 day trip if at all possible.
Check the number of ports on a 7 day vs a 10 day and the difference in
cost. Enjoy
jl...@aol.com
Norvin (remove SPAM) wrote:
> Ike wrote:
> > We'd like to cruise down the coast on one of the 7- or 8- night trips
> > offered from San Diego, but haven't a clue. Any ideas/suggestions?
Do your research, what lines go out of San Diego. Contact their
websites and they will load your mail box with information.
You found this group, so go back as far as you can and start reading.
It won't take long to figure out what's worth looking at. By the time
you've done that, you'll know what to ask.
For our first trip, I did the research and then went to a brick and
mortor T/A (travel agent with an actual office). Within ten minutes I
realized I knew more about the cruise than the T/A. Bottom line we
overpaid by about 15%, but it was worth it for the comfort factor as it
being our first cruise.
jl...@aol.com
groups. Just visit a travel agent that has cruise experience. There is
no way to use these groups to gather info for a quickie cruise. Pay the
extra bucks and let a T/A help…
Schmoe
Peri
> We'd like to cruise down the coast on one of the 7- or 8- night trips
> offered from San Diego, but haven't a clue. Any ideas/suggestions?
We did the 7-day Mex Riv on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas in
August of 2004, and had a great time. The ship was pretty unremarkable;
it's one of Royal's older (10 years old) Vision class ships that have
been retrofitted with a rock climbing wall, but the food, service and
accommodations were all fine.
We loved the ports, especially Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta, where we
hadn't been in over twenty years. Did a wonderful horseback riding
excursion with Randi's Happy Horses in the former and a zipline jungle
canopy tour in the latter.
I don't know when you're thinking of going, but there are a fair amount
of ships doing the Mex Riv these days. If you're anywhere out of peak
season, you should be able to find pretty competitive rates.
~ Peri
LeeNY
We did a MexRiv cruise on HAL Oosterdam last March, out of SD, and it
was great. Three sea days and a day each in Cabo, PV and Mazatlan. As
someone else mentioned, a great excursion in Maz. is a horseback ride
with Randi's Happy Horses - especially if you're an experienced rider,
because you're given a lot of freedom, if you want it. It was a great
opportunity to have several nice long canters on the beach (at least we
did...the rest of the group tried a trot a few times, but mostly walked
- their choice). We also booked a zipline tour in PV, independently of
the cruiseline. That was also an excellent, exhilerating tour, very
well organized and operated. I'd recommend this as well. In Cabo, we
hired a water taxi to bring us around the arch to look at seals, etc.
We were dropped at Lovers Beach for a few hours, and then he came and
picked us up at a prearranged time. The rest of the day, we just
wandered around town, shopping and eating.
If you look back on rec.travel.cruises to mid-March 2005, you'll be
able to read my full review - search "Oosterdam". Any questions, just
ask.
Lee
Ike
easy to get "help" from travel agents, but as mentioned elsewhere
they're usually motivated by which cruise is spiffing the highest and
talk frankly only with established customers. Armed, we'll look around.
Our intent is to make it a sort of regular getaway, and perhaps
eventually we'll develop a relationship with an agent.
For the last two decades we've done driveaways because to us the trip is
as important as the destination, but have fond memories of a lovely
Atlantic cruise more than 25 years ago.
THANKS!!!
Ike
Ray Goldenberg
> It's
>easy to get "help" from travel agents, but as mentioned elsewhere
>they're usually motivated by which cruise is spiffing the highest and
>talk frankly only with established customers. Armed, we'll look around.
>Our intent is to make it a sort of regular getaway, and perhaps
>eventually we'll develop a relationship with an agent.
>snipped....
>Atlantic cruise more than 25 years ago.
Hi Ike,
Your ideas about travel agents is at least 25 years out of date. <;+)
FWIW, I don't know any who only talk "frankly only with established
customers".
Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
number6
I've been researching this myself ... and come to the conclusion that
the Celebrity Mercury 10 or 11 day cruise is a best fit for me ... The
10 or 11 day cruises for any line generally have Acapulco as one of the
ports ... a must see IMO .. while the 7 or 8 day cruises don't travel
that far south ...
Go to www.7blueseas.com to search for a cruise ... It's my new favorite
for searching but buy from whoever you want ... when you find one that
interests you .. all sailings and the price for that sailing are listed
... makes choosing the most economical date easy ... There will not be
a wide difference from agent to agent ... especially now with
cruiselines getting firmer on price quoting from agents ... but a wide
difference in sailing date ...
You should be able to get under $100/day per person for an outside room
with that itinerary ...
As far as bad reviews go ... take them with a grain of salt ... with
all the competition a cruise line or cruise ship cannot afford to be
really be as bad as that often portrayed ...
Ike
> Hi Ike,
>
> Your ideas about travel agents is at least 25 years out of date. <;+)
> FWIW, I don't know any who only talk "frankly only with established
> customers".
>
> Best regards,
> Ray
> LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
> 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
> http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Our friend/source owned a number of offices on the east coast for
decades, selling out last year (not 25 years ago). It's easy to
understand why cruises spiff differently, and why commissions change the
focus of travel agents. We don't want an argument - we just want the
subjective information to come from customers, not agents.
Ike
Ray Goldenberg
>Our friend/source owned a number of offices on the east coast for
>decades, selling out last year (not 25 years ago). It's easy to
>understand why cruises spiff differently, and why commissions change the
>focus of travel agents.
Hi Ike,
I can easily understand why your friend/source is no longer in the
business. Most of the poor agents have been forced out of the
insdustry. Good riddance, as the industry certainly does not need
these types of travel agents, imo.
Ike
> Hi Ike,
>
> I can easily understand why your friend/source is no longer in the
> business. Most of the poor agents have been forced out of the
> insdustry. Good riddance, as the industry certainly does not need
> these types of travel agents, imo.
You're too defensive, and that opinion is wrong. "forced"? Our friend
helped shape your industry, and she sold her firm for eight figures.
We chatted again, and she confirmed that commissions and spiffs drive
recommendations, particularly in smaller firms. She suggested I ask you
this as a credibility check: is your commission on a $3000 transaction
the same number, regardless of ship, cruise, and date? If it is not, and
the cruises are similar, what criteria influence your recommendation?
Honesty counts, sir.
Whoever/wherever you really are, you have a good online reputation and
seem competent. So let's move forward...
Ike
Dillon Pyron
>
>Ike wrote:
>> J Carnaghie wrote:
>> > Dear Ike,
>> > A great getaway
>>
>>
>> Thanks! That's just what we need - a getaway, with no internet or cellphone.
>>
>> But what line, ship, etc. do you suggest? And what should we pay for a
>> basic outside room? Apparently the same room sells for many prices
>> depending on the agent from whom it's bought and proximity to sailing
>> date. And at one of the cruise review sites, every ship seemed to have
>> bad reviews. We'd like to find something that's better than La Jolla in
>> the fall.
>
>I've been researching this myself ... and come to the conclusion that
>the Celebrity Mercury 10 or 11 day cruise is a best fit for me ... The
>10 or 11 day cruises for any line generally have Acapulco as one of the
>ports ... a must see IMO .. while the 7 or 8 day cruises don't travel
>that far south ...
The Merc does get good reviews from people who aren't posting to bitch
about every little thing.
>Go to www.7blueseas.com to search for a cruise ... It's my new favorite
>for searching but buy from whoever you want ... when you find one that
>interests you .. all sailings and the price for that sailing are listed
>... makes choosing the most economical date easy ... There will not be
>a wide difference from agent to agent ... especially now with
>cruiselines getting firmer on price quoting from agents ... but a wide
>difference in sailing date ...
>You should be able to get under $100/day per person for an outside room
>with that itinerary ...
Remeber that with Celebrity you'll get the same price from any agent.
So pick an agent that you trust and that you can deal with
comfortably.
>
>As far as bad reviews go ... take them with a grain of salt ... with
>all the competition a cruise line or cruise ship cannot afford to be
>really be as bad as that often portrayed ...
As I said earlier, and in the past, some people will post a review
full of nothing but bitches. Other people will go on and on about how
great the cruise was with nary a hitch. Neither is reality based.
--
dillon
Science is when a beautiful theory is killed by
an ugly fact.
kai...@earthlink.net
were on the Ryndam & it was lovely - outside with a veranda - spent a
day at sea sleeping on it - heaven!
rvfulltime
Taking a Mexican cruise out of San Diego is a lot nicer than taking one
out of L.A. The docks are extremely close to the airport and to downtown.
Plus downtown San Diego has become quite nice to just walk around.
You made a good choice choosing San Diego over L.A.
Here in the San Diego papers, they've been advertising $599 for a 7
hight HAL cruise. I haven't looked at the fine print to see if local
residency is required. The most common trip is to stop at Puerto Vallarta,
Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Carnival Spirit bypasses these for an
8 night cruise to Manzanillo, Acupulco, and Ixtapa/Zihuatineo. I think
Celebrity has a 10/11 night cruise that stops at all of them. Last year
HAL had one that went into the Sea of Cortez stopping a Loreto and
another port instead of Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. I don't know if
they still do that route. If I was to do Mexico again, I'd go for the
longer cruise with more ports.
number6
rvfulltime wrote:
I think
> Celebrity has a 10/11 night cruise that stops at all of them.
The Celebrity cruises go to Acapulco ... a plus in my choosing ...
chri...@hotmail.com
700.00 for oceanview pp plus gouv tax on Celebrity Mercury clic on
link to visit ship
http://www.celebrity.com/plancruise/ships/ship.do?shipCode=MR&wuc=185980
Anelco Travel www.anelcotravel.com
2710 Toupin Blvd
St Laurent , H4R 1G5
Phone: 5143377426
E-mail: chri...@hotmail.com
San Diego Jimmy
On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 03:26:29 GMT, Ike <binar...@gmail.com> wrote: