Need help w/Diamond to Mex.Riv.

[mmsoko]

Looking at cruising on Diamond in February. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

How far is pier from LAX? Would we be better off coming into a different airport?

What's the easiest way to get from airport to pier? Taxi? price?

 

We're used to cruising the Caribbean this time of year, are we going to be disappointed with the weather.

 

Any tips on Diamond in general? How's the casino?

[Hucc]

We went on the Diamond Princess in February 2005 to the Mexican Riviera. Beautiful ship, and wonderful itinerary. Yes, you might be disappointed in the weather, because leaving out of San Pedro in February is a bit cool. You will very likely need to wear a windbreaker the first 2 days, and the last 2 days of the cruise. However, the chances of seeing whales right from the ship is quite high -- because this is the whale's migratory season and they go to that area to breed. It's pretty cool.

 

You will be fine flying into LAX. There is the Long Beach airport, which is a little closer, but I'm sure there will be less flight options available.

 

The casino is typical Princess cruise ship -- very tight. (Actually the tightest slots I've ever seen).

 

Be sure to check out the Shrimp Factory in Mazatlan for lunch if you're a shrimp fan.... So good there! And, Mangoes for drinks with a beach view (also in Mazatlan).

 

I don't recommend the Shrimp Bucket in Cabo, though. It was good, but a letdown after shrimp at the Shrimp Factory in Mazatlan. I think I saw a Shrimp Factory in Cabo on the main street, though.

 

Have fun.

[gopher's girl]

Hello! I was on the Diamond in January 2005. The weather coming out of California was cool, but the ports were HOT HOT HOT! Beautiful weather really. Take a huge memory card as you will take lots of photos. Puerta Vallarta is a good place for a tour, Mazatlan is pretty good for shopping and beach hangouts. Cabo is just beautiful. I will try to find my old threads on Mexico and attach them here for you. Casino was very tight for everyone I spoke with as well. Loved the dining room layouts.

 

We did an extra leg on our trip before we left, but coming home took a taxi right to LAX and it seemed very quick - maybe 15-20 min.

[sharpie13]

Here is the port link, it list the distances from the three nearby airports and approximate cab fares. Not being a fan of large airports I flew into Long beach (LGB) last year and took Supershuttle. For a few bucks more this year I'm taking a cab from LAX. Cab fare is around $55 from LAX to the peir

 

http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/travto.htm

 

The Diamond is a beautiful ship and has tons of things to do on it. Princess puts together a very comprehensive package with good shows and multiple venues. We had a blast at Skywalkers and Circuit Lounge. I was on the Diamond last year in Alaska and have booked a balcony for the Mexican Riviera in April 2007(Whoo-hoo, First time!). Last year we did Anytime Dining and it worked great for the itinerary. Generally we prefer traditional dinning and have booked early seating for next April. The casino is a typical cruise ship casino--makes your money disappear just fine, lol. Special places: the lap pool outside the lotus spa, a great place to get away and read a book, and the multi-tiered fantail pools, spas and bars.

 

Have a great cruise!

[gopher's girl]

This has a lot of discussion from people who were on the ship with me. Please don't be worried about the Norovirus chat, it happened but you will probably be fine :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=122358

 

This talks about the tours:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=130005