Caribbean verse Mexican Riviara out of San Diego ,LA

[thesawch]

We did the western Carribbean in Feb and am in the process of booking our second cruise.I was thinking 7 day eastern or 7 day mexican riviera out of San Diego or LA.I am just wondering what peoples opinions of the Mexican Rivera in late January or early Febuary.Is the weather warm as the carribbean and are the ports like Cabo san Lucas and puerto Vallarta as fun etc.I never been ot the west coast and am from the flat plains of Canada so any advice is greatly appreciated.Thanks Thesawch

[dclark]

We have done MR three times. We used live in Long Beach, CA and grew up in socal. Having said that, I'd rather fly to FL thando it again.

No matter when you travel, the first and last sea days will be cold ! We cruised at the end of June and another time the first week of July both times those sea days were cold!

I was down there last New Years and the water was cold.In Puerto Vallarta, the water felt colder than the water in socal in winer- cold! I really wished I would have brought my wet suit. Mazatlan was the same way- you could tell just by looking at all the cruisers on the beach and noticing that no one was in the water!

In the summer, the water is much warmer and the weather is warmer and more humid, but those sea days are still cold.

I remember when we were in Mazatalan, my wife went back to the ship to get a coat. Mind you we are used to cold as it snows where we are and we were seeing single digit temps before leaving for our cruise.

[Cruising89143]

I just did this itinerary a couple of weeks ago out of San Diego. It was cold almost the entire cruise. PV was the only really warmer day. It was still a nice cruise. Like PV and Cabo. Did not care for Mazatlan.

[traveler/]

We did the western Carribbean in Feb and am in the process of booking our second cruise.I was thinking 7 day eastern or 7 day mexican riviera out of San Diego or LA.I am just wondering what peoples opinions of the Mexican Rivera in late January or early Febuary.Is the weather warm as the carribbean and are the ports like Cabo san Lucas and puerto Vallarta as fun etc.I never been ot the west coast and am from the flat plains of Canada so any advice is greatly appreciated.Thanks Thesawch

IMHO: Likely will be warmer in East Carib than Mexican Riviera( better in April/May). So, EC is a better choice than MX RIVIERA that time of year.

I also consider how many ports I will visit, the ship, and of course overall cost of the cruise.

These following comments are about RCL ships. We recently finished an interesting back to back cruise on Jewel of Seas from FLL, 6N West Carib, then 8N East Carib=14 nights. 6n= Key West FL, Cozumel MX, Belize City, Playa del Carmen MX. 8n= San Juan PR, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Tortola BVI, Nassau Bahamas. I counted Fort Lauderdale, so we visited 10 ports. The 8N cruise would be an excellent selection, and you would likely visit 5 ports and FLL. Jewel of the Seas is a beautiful ship.

If you want to select Mexican Riviera, be aware that on 22 Feb. 2009, Mariner of the Seas MR cruises begin out of Los Angeles. The Mariner is also a beautiful ship. I would wait for that arrival before booking a MX RIVIERA on RCL.

[gordyde]

Hubby and I live on the East Coast and have gone on 3 Caribbean cruises. Our 4th cruise we decided to try the MR on Carnival.

It was absolutely wonderful! We went in April and the weather at the 3 ports was wonderful! Everyone is correct though, the two days at sea are cool and very windy.

Just keep in mind these are two very different experiences. The water is not as clear and blue as the Caribbean and the islands are totally different.

But I enjoyed it so much we will probably do it again.

Next cruise in two weeks is from San Juan and the Souther Caribbean.

Can't Wait!

 

Gordyde

[Uncle Fester]

I am just wondering what peoples opinions of the Mexican Rivera in late January or early Febuary.

 

I grew up in Southern California, and have spent a great deal of time in Mexico. With that being said, I would go with the Caribbean in January or February. The temperature in L.A. in winter is usually in the 60's, but colder near the ocean. The California Current runs down from Alaska to the tip of Baja, so you're dealing with pretty cold water. Once you get south of Cabo, the air temperature will tend to go up, but the water temp will still be a bit cold. Save the Mexican cruise for early fall if you can. The weather will still be nice, and you can usually snag a good deal on fares.