Mexican Riviera Questions

[Mrdell]

Hello All,

Three couples are planning a cruise next April on NCL Star to the Mexican Riviera which leaves from L.A. Can anyone tell us how close LAX Airport is to the pier, and on the return trip--Is a 12:00 departure flight late enough so as not to cause any problems getting to the airport in time from the pier. We live on the east coast and that is one of the latest flights.

Also, can anyone give us a little info about the Star. We have cruised NCL three times in the past but we were never on this ship. Is the Mexican Riviera ports similar to the Carribean or do the excursions differ at all. Thanks to all!

[STARFISH*4]

Hello All,

Is the Mexican Riviera ports similar to the Carribean or do the excursions differ at all. Thanks to all!

 

check out the ports of call...Mexican Riviera, also on ncl site the excursions that are available thru the ship you can get an idea there...

this will be our 4th Mexican Riviera cruise (feb 2011) and we again are looking forward to seeing the whales...going in april i believe you will have missed them:(but there are alot of COOL things to do in the MR...check them out!!

the STAR is a really NICE ship...we have ENJOYED our times on her quite a bit....she recently underwent changes and we decided we werent going to sail her again, but now just one last time before she moves to tampa!!

[roger001]

Hi. Try this link for the MR.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203&order=desc

[rsohn65820]

Also check out the west coast departure board here is the link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413 there is lots of information about the LA airport and transportion from the airport to cruise terminal and back again. Also there is information on hotels in San Pedro where the Star leaves from if you are needing a hotel pre-cruise. We also are going to be on the Star to Mexico in April. :D

[Stevie's Mom]

Hello All,

Three couples are planning a cruise next April on NCL Star to the Mexican Riviera which leaves from L.A. Can anyone tell us how close LAX Airport is to the pier, and on the return trip--Is a 12:00 departure flight late enough so as not to cause any problems getting to the airport in time from the pier. We live on the east coast and that is one of the latest flights.

Also, can anyone give us a little info about the Star. We have cruised NCL three times in the past but we were never on this ship. Is the Mexican Riviera ports similar to the Carribean or do the excursions differ at all. Thanks to all!

 

The pier in San Pedro is just a little over 20 miles from LAX. For info on transportation, parking etc go to http://www.sanpedro.com and click on cruise ship info.

[vcgeno]

From what I have read the Star is being moved to Florida and will no longer be traveling to Mexico so you may want to try another cruise line.

[rsohn65820]

From what I have read the Star is being moved to Florida and will no longer be traveling to Mexico so you may want to try another cruise line.

 

 

The Star will still be sailing to Mexico in April of 2011 and that is when the OP is going. We are sailing on the Star's last cruise to the Mexician Riviera 4/30/2011. There is already several people signed up for the roll call for this cruise.

[Clay Clayton]

You will get lots of varying info on whether you can make your flight or not. I would check out the West Coast departure board to read about it....however, I believe you will be fine...we were. Check out my review of Star..its from Nov 2008 and is titled something like "Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving on Star".

 

Its a fun trip, enjoy.

[bean24]

If you want to make a 12:00 flight I would arrange for transportation and not rely on a taxi. When we were on the cruise there was 3 ships in port at the same time and it took over an hour to get a cab.

[garycarla]

From what I have read the Star is being moved to Florida and will no longer be traveling to Mexico so you may want to try another cruise line.

 

I would assume the poster has looked up available cruises and has picked one they want??

[OceanDreaming2]

I would read some of the Star's reviews -- especially those of the Mexican Riviera http://www.cruisecritic.com/norwegian-ncl-star-mexican-riviera-cruises/rs/

 

If you can do express walk-off and have transportation prearranged, you should be able to make a noon flight. LAX is a zoo, though.

[fotog303]

When DW and I cruised out of San Pedro in January we took the 3pm flight because we didn't think we could have made the 1130 but we ended up checking in around 1015, so we would have made our flight. Now let me say this we had the reverse of a perfect storm... no problems anywhere, got of the ship fast, got on the shuttle pretty fast, no traffic... you get the picture I'm sure. If we had any problems along the way it would have been tight for that 1130 flight.

 

I would also keep in mind that airlines aren't keeping empty seats on planes like they use to so if you miss the early flight you might not be able to get on the later flight.

 

I know you didn't ask but ....

 

We stayed at the Crowne Plazza in San Pedro and took there free shuttle to the cruise port. Got a great deal on this hotel from priceline. I enjoyed killing time in San Pedro the night before but DW thought it wasn't the best area. I think just hates the night before a cruise... just wants to hit the fast forward button and get on the ship.

[Whippets]

We used Super Shuttle from the airport (LAX) to the port (San Pedro) and then back from the port to airport. We walked off with our bags, Super Shuttle was there waiting for us, they had about six vans lined up as a matter of fact. We got to the airport and was able to catch the earlier flight at 11AM instead of waiting until 1 PM on the flight we were scheduled on. Granted, many things could happen to not let all of this fall into place, like an accident on the freeway, etc. This was our experience on the April 25th Star sailing.

[Mrdell]

Thanks to all for the usefull information. This information really helps one get all their ducks in a row.

Thank You

[mousey]

IMHO there is a big idfference between Mexico and the Carribean. The main difference for me is that the water in the Mexican Riviera is cold compared to the warm Carribean waters. The snorkeling in the Carribean is way better than in Mexico. I love both Mexico and the Carribean but they are definitely two different types of experiences. I would jump at the chance to cruise to either location any time.:D If your cruise takes you to Puerto Vallarta I would suggest that you do what we did. We took a cab to the Nikki Beach Resort. We were able to use the pool and laid out on bed-type lounges with hugh pillows. We were given towels and umbrellas. It's right on the beach and we were able to parasail, swim in the ocean, and rent jet skis. We had a blast. It has a very European vibe with a great DJ spinning Euro-dance music. They have all kinds of really great drinks and food. All you have to do is buy $25 US worth of food. Not hard to do. We spent the whole day there and had a really great time. It was great to mingle with the beautiful people from all over the world. It was awesome. This was back in 2008 so I don't know if the $25 price is still the same.