A few questions about the Mercury/Mexican Riviera/X-mas cruises

[Live the good life]

Our family of 3 and 4 other families/friends have just booked for the 10 night Mercury X-mas Mexican Riviera cruise...We will be visiting PV, Mazatlan, Acapulco, Cabos, etc...

 

Would be interested to learn about your experience on the Mercury or Mexican Riviera cruises, and/or X-mas cruises on Celebrity ships. This will be our first X-mas cruise... We were very pleased with the food and service on our past Millenium Mediteranean cruise, and music in Cova cafe...

 

Hope that this one will also have a live Spanish guitarist on the aft lounge of the ship at sail away time and afterwards like on the Millenium Med...(1) What kind of entertainment was offered on these Mercury cruises, (and especially during x-mas time)? (2)Was there a live band playing at the pool? Was there music in the main dining room? (3) Was the weather cold on the ship and at the port? Was the ocean water at the beach warm enough to swim? (4) Any tips on "must not miss" sites/beaches at the ports or on the hotels for day use at the various ports? The last time we were in PV and Mazatlan was over 10 years ago (we usually fly to Cancun every year), and can't wait to be back, especially coupling with a cruise experience!!! Thank you in advance for the infos!!!

 

Kim

[newtocc]

Although I've never personally been on Mercury, I know for a fact, that it is extemely hot, being the closest planet to the sun, I would dress accordingly!

 

Hope this helps!

[Live the good life]

Newtocc, we really enjoy looking at your "moving icon"...Hopefully we will get some more replies, especially on the "Spanish guitarist" at the aft bar of the Mercury...

Kim

[Live the good life]

Hope that there will be a Spanish guitarist on the aft bar at each sailaways...and X-mas music and decorations???

[ccletzgo]

Expect ALOT of children on board. !

[fahywray]

We are also going on Mercury for Christmas. This will be our first Celebrity cruise but we were on Vision of the Seas last year for Christmas to Mexico (we live near San Diego and hate to fly, just love to cruise so it doesn't really matter where we go). The weather was extremely nice in Mexico last year but the first day out and the last two back were quite chilly (bring sweatshirts, etc.) and the seas last year were very rough on the way back (18 foot waves). The ship was beautifully decorated and they had a special menu for Christmas day.

 

I, too, will be curious how things will be done on Celebrity as we had a wonderful time on Vision of the Seas.

[Live the good life]

Farywray...Good to know about the X-mas decorations/trees on board...Our teenage daughter is very excited about it...We are also excited about the X-mas music and ambience in general...

 

For those of you who have just returned from the Mercury Mexican Riviera, was there a guitarist playing Latin music? (seems appropriate for a Mexico destination)...

 

Were there 2 or 3 formal nights, and which nights?

 

Any recommendations for a nice hotel/resort that one can pay a fee to use for the day at the ports? (after some sightseeing)...For Puerto Vallarta, we will go to Krystal...We stayed there 15 years ago, and had special memories of it...

 

Thanks, Kim

[Tatka]

Our family of 3 and 4 other families/friends have just booked for the 10 night Mercury X-mas Mexican Riviera cruise...We will be visiting PV, Mazatlan, Acapulco, Cabos, etc...Kim

THis is off topic...but I am really interested how does Princess compare to X ?

 

Btw..we were meeting your ship while sailing on HAL Zuiderdam on 8/21/04.;)

[doree]

Newt.......too funny!!!!! Al and I are laughing our @#$#'s off on that one!!!! We will be on Mercury in Jan............we will dress accordingly!!!! LOLOLOL

Doreen

[Cruise Arizona]

My husband and I went on the Mercury last year at Thanksgiving. We didn't have out kids with us but due to the recommendations of families with children we have decided to take the kids with us on our next Celebrity cruise.

 

 

We picked up a couple of the daily agendas for the kids program and all of the activities looked really fun. We had breakfast with a couple from San Diego who had there kids in the kids room already at breakfast time. They said the kids couldn't wait to get there.

 

If they have a ship building regatta, be sure to get the kids involved in that. You get a limited amount of supplies and then are supposed to Beg, Borrow and Steal the rest of your supplies to build a vessel that will float across the hot tub with a can of coke in the cargo hold. A lot of people went to Walmart in Puerto Vallarta and bought supplies, but some people make their crafts out of found items from the ship like chopsticks and water bottles. One guy made an outrigger out of drift wood from Zijuantenjo. The kids that participated in this activity had a really fun time.

 

On our cruise they had several different kinds of entertainment including ad reggea band, a "Micheal Finestien" type pianist, a string quartets, and beach music guitarist/vocalist, and then the cabaret singers and production singers and dancers.

 

In Puerto Vallarta we went on the "Marigalante Pirate Cruise". This was a lot of fun, and can be a lot of fun with the kids if your not easily offended by a few slightly off color jokes and skits. There were lots of kids on this excursion and the "Pirates" made sure it was a lot of fun for them. We didn't snorkle, but those that did had to wear lifejackets and sign a releast that they were not alergic to jelly fish or benedry. There was an open bar, so most of the adults were having fun playing the silly games that the pirates led. During the stop several of the "pirates" helped the kids build sand castles and kept them entertained. Also, on the way back they had fun games for the kids to play.

If we take the Mexican Riviera Cruise again we would definitly do this one with the kids.

 

In Manzanilla, we took a cab to Las Hadas resort. Where we were told we could buy vouchers for meals and drinks and then get in to use the facilities.

We bought $50 in vouchers, but when we got in we found they wanted $5 for towes, $10 for pool side chairs, $15 for beach pagotas and beach chairs. We thought this was rediculous. So we found way over to the left the beach side bar where we orded chips and salsa and beer and could sit for free. Then later I saw several of the pool butlers saying "Oh, if you don't want to pay for a chair, it is ok, just use your vouchers for food and drink" But the initial expectation is that you use your vouchers for these things. The beaches were very nice and good for snorkeling.

 

I would recommend that you do a web search for hotels in each location and then find out what their voucher policy is for cruise ship travelers. I don't mind paying for food and drinks, but deck chairs and pagotas is rediculous.

It is very nice to be at the beach with a pool and facilities nearby.

 

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[PKB]

We sailed on Mercury last January. We booked our tours privately, didn't do any ship's tours. Frank in Mazatlan is great. Just walked off the ship and found a tour guide in Cabo. Also had a great tour in PV. Don't remember who it was at the moment. We went with another group in Acapulco, also private. In Manzanillo, you have to buy a bus shuttle transfer in to town. There are no taxis or tour guides allowed on the dock.

[Ine]

We did the Mexico cruise on Mercury. dep. Sept. 24 from San Francisco. So no Christmas, but we enjoyed the cruise very much.

 

No, I havenot seen any spanish guitarplayer, sorry.

During lunchtime there was a band playing at the pool and also during sail-off.This band played almost nightly in the nightclub, I can recommand them.

During dinner there was classical music by 3 or 4 ladies, who also played in the bar/coffeeshop (donot recall the name) before dinner. They played very well.

In another bar at night there was a duo male/female singing and playing, also very entertaining. One of the nights the "big-band" played in the same bar.

 

The weather in general can be fine, it cools of at night. Rainy-season is over. Of course you can make a whale-watach tour in PV, I recommend "open-air expeditions", which sails with Zodiac (www.vallartawhales.com) Or the trip in Jeeps - the Sierra Madre expedition, driving through the country and rivers, visit villages, see the daily life and a great bbq at a very nice beach.

In Cabo take a watercabtour for $ 10.- each, in 1 hour see Los Arcos, Lovers Beach, Seal Rock etc.

Mazatlan we found disappointing, but there is a tour that shows the city, the cathedral etc.

 

Ine