Pros and cons on the Mexican cruise

[Dznypal]

DH just said how fun a cruise would be again even though we just got back from a great trip to the British isles
Seven been both east and west Caribbean so we’re maybe thinking of mexican riveria

So I’m really looking for a lot of advice and tips

 

[Tikibear]

We’re going on our second Mexican Riviera cruise in April. Cabo and Puerto Vallarta were great. Mazatlan fun. We’re disappointed that they’ve substituted Ensenada for Mazatlan. We’ve done Ensenada on previous DCL cruises and found activities were far from the ship requiring a paid tour and those tours didn’t sound that interesting. We spent that port day aboard ship. That was very relaxing. The Wonder is a beautiful ship. Just the right size so you’re not overwhelmed but you have room to spread out.

 

[Dznypal]

thanks for the info and have a great time

 

[auntlynne]

Been there. Done that. Some ports were even repeated on a Panama Canal cruise.

I love a cruise - so I’m not anti that. I love Alaska - 5 cruises so far, it hing for another. I like the water of the Bahamas and Virgin Islands. ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) are nice stops for me.

And I love Hawaii - but not the water of the Pacific (too cold).

I am not a fan of the ports on the Mexican Riveria. Same goes for Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Cabo San Lucas’ rocks are very photogenic, but I am not a fan of tender ports. I had fun on an ATV in Puerto Vallarta. I think Mazatlan was off the table due to violence.

If there are excursions (or beach / resort visits) that look good to you, it’s a cruise - many aspects will be identical to what happens anywhere Disney takes you.

(Not trying to talk you out of it. This is my take on it.)

 

[LAS2AMS]

We’re going on our second Mexican Riviera cruise in April. Cabo and Puerto Vallarta were great. Mazatlan fun. We’re disappointed that they’ve substituted Ensenada for Mazatlan. We’ve done Ensenada on previous DCL cruises and found activities were far from the ship requiring a paid tour and those tours didn’t sound that interesting. We spent that port day aboard ship. That was very relaxing. The Wonder is a beautiful ship. Just the right size so you’re not overwhelmed but you have room to spread out.

LOL, this is the first time I’ve ever heard somebody say they’re disappointed Mazatlan replaced Ensenada.

Mazatlan is a historic beach community. On non DCL cruises most people don’t even get off at Ensenada. It was built up because it’s the only foreign port that can serve 3/4-day itineraries from LA/SD.

 

[Lillebelle]

We've done like three Mexican cruises and never gotten off the ship

For us it's mostly a convenience thing (SD is the closest port for us by far) and they're usually on the cheaper side. But we cruise for the ships, not the ports.

 

[CamColt]

We did the Mexican Riviera back in 2005 and enjoyed it. The only downside for us was not going to Castaway Cay.

 

[holula]

I did a b2b 4/3 which visited Cabo and Ensenada.

The cruise had a lot of first timers which made the character lines super long (probably less of an issue on a 7 night!) but I really enjoyed it especially the sail into Cabo.

 

[tvguy]

We've done like three Mexican cruises and never gotten off the ship

For us it's mostly a convenience thing (SD is the closest port for us by far) and they're usually on the cheaper side. But we cruise for the ships, not the ports.

That was my mom. I have no idea how many cruises she took that included stops in Mexico, but she never stepped foot in Mexico in her life. The Mexican port days were her sleep in days, long, leisurely breakfast and lunch in the MDR.

 

[JM_97]

I wish Disney did the Mexican Rivera during the summer

 

[brentm77]

LOL, this is the first time I’ve ever heard somebody say they’re disappointed Mazatlan replaced Ensenada.

Mazatlan is a historic beach community. On non DCL cruises most people don’t even get off at Ensenada. It was built up because it’s the only foreign port that can serve 3/4-day itineraries from LA/SD.

I think you got it backwards - @Tikibear was saying they didn't like that Ensenada had replaced Mazatlán.

Yes, Ensenada is a very disappointing port for most people. It becomes a "sea day" for much of the ship, I think. I've done it on another line, and this time we will be staying on the ship when we sail there on DCL in May.