Two questions regarding our Sea of Cortez cruise

[SheriAZ]

We are leaving San Diego on Feb.23rd. I can get the average temperature on line for the port, but what is it like on the water? We have 4 sea days and I'm trying to decide what to pack. Will I need cool weather clothes for evening and shorts for the day? And if we have a beach excursion will the water be freezing cold?

 

I'm having a hard time choosing excursions for Manzanillo and Zihua/Ixtapa because none of them thrill me. DH has a bad back, and I don't swim well, so we are limited. Can anyone recommend a sight seeing excursion? We are booking through the ship.

 

I guess that's more than two. Thanks in advance.

[riffatsea]

I am just a bit confused??? Neither Manzanillo or Zihuatanejo are in the Sea of Cortez!!Soo wondering if those are truly your ports??

My DH is not a swimmer so we are not doing any tours in Zihua. It looks beautiful and warm so we will probably jut do a beach day there. I have also learned from these boards that there are resorts in town that you can visit for the day. Otherwise since it is a tender port, you might just want to stay on the ship.

In Manzanillo we are doing a private tour to some of the inland villages as we are interested in local art/artisans. My friend enjoyed the ships tour that went to the colonial towns of Colima/Comala.

Hope you find something fun to do!!!!

[SDPadreFan]

I'm a little confused by your question. In the subject line you mention the Sea Of Cortez but you ask about Manzanillo and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. The "Sea Of Cortez" is the inland waterway north of Cabo San Lucas and stretches all the way northward to San Felipe. It is also known as the Gulf Of California.

 

I'm guessing you are actually going on Carnival Spirit which is the only ship I could find leaving the west coast on Feb 23 that has 4 "at sea" days.

 

First I'll deal with the "at sea" days. On the evening of departure from San Diego, it will be cool on deck so a light jacket would be good. The first full day "at sea" will be cool in the morning as you steam southward towards Cabo. Around mid afternoon or so, it should start to warm up on deck, so from that point on you will be just fine in shorts. After your last port visit in Manzanillo, you will start to head north. At this point, the ship will then start heading into the prevailing winds and currents. On your "3rd full at sea day", the weather should still be warm. But it will get windy up on deck so there might be a little "wind chill" factor. For the most part, however, you should still be fine. Again - north of Cabo, it will start to cool down and the wind will make it seem colder. Your 4th and final "at sea" day will probably be cool/cold and definitely windy so for the most part you will stay inside the ship. It's possible the area around the fantail pool will be okay because it is somewhat protected from the wind.

 

For ideas on your ports of call and a review of the ship, take a look at my review. We just got back on Dec 5th. Still have to finish up my comments on the last 2 "at sea" days and final comments on the ship but I hope to have those done today.

 

Here is the review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1102028

 

Forgot to mention, the water temps will be just fine in the ports of call. It will also be hot and humid in Acapulco and then getting better for the ports north of that.

[SheriAZ]

I'm very embarrassed. I thought our cruise was the Sea of Cortez. We are going on the Spirit on the 23rd and to Manzanillo, Acapulco, Zihua/Ixtapa

[katlady]

On a side note if you ever see a cruise that included La Paz that is on the Sea of Cortez and it's wonderful there. However, when you get into port it doesn't look like much. We took the bus to the beach and the water was smooth, clear, and warm. Don't worry about the mistake with Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez it's an easy thing to do. :) It took me a while to determine Mazatlan was on the Pacific Ocean the map was confusing me.:rolleyes:

[lstrong]

Best ship's tour we ever took was Carnival Spirit's tour to pyramids/volcano/Colima. It was an all-day type of bus tour with fabulous narration, terrific lunch and I highly recommend it if still offered. (BTW - we rarely take ship's excursions). Laurie

[SDPadreFan]

Best ship's tour we ever took was Carnival Spirit's tour to pyramids/volcano/Colima. It was an all-day type of bus tour with fabulous narration, terrific lunch and I highly recommend it if still offered. (BTW - we rarely take ship's excursions). Laurie

 

I agree about the tour, it is supposed to be good. We didn't go this time because we just went to Las Hadas for the day. It is a bit of a stretch however to call those mounds - pyramids. They are certainly nothing like the Castillo at Chichen Itza. Interesting yes, pyramid, not much, but I guess it does have the shape.

[Nancyquilts]

I'm very embarrassed. I thought our cruise was the Sea of Cortez. We are going on the Spirit on the 23rd and to Manzanillo, Acapulco, Zihua/Ixtapa

Welcome to "senior moments". It gets worse.:D