Cruising is a lot of fun and doesn’t have to be to faraway places. If you live in the western United States and don’t feel like flying cross country to jump on a ship you can still get to warm sandy beaches. The Mexican Riviera is a wonderful escape from the winter weather and for us in Boise, the inevitable inversions that occur every winter.
We recently enjoyed this wonderful getaway to the Mexican Riviera. The cruise is a seven day round-trip out of Port of Los Angeles. Generally, airfare in and out of Boise can be complicated but finding a non-stop flight makes it even more so. Thankfully flights in and out of LAX are a little easier to find. To find your best option, check with your Boise Travel agent about booking your flight along with your cruise. There are many advantages to using a travel agent!
If you don’t like lines then travel is not for you. Inevitably you are going to be in a line, whether it is for boarding an airplane, crossing a boarder, or boarding a ship, lines are a part of travel. I will admit freely that lines make me grumpy; however, when there is a fabulous reward at the end of it, like, say, a cruise I tend to handle them a little better. (Just saying) HELPFUL HINT: If you hate lines like I do, reward yourself when you get on board to a great snack in the main dining room away from the crowds! I don’t drink so the buffet is as wild as I get.
Once on board the ship you have several options available to you. I highly recommend exploring the ship. If you haven’t made dining reservations for specialty dining now is the time to do that. If you have made specialty dining reservations it is recommended that you confirm them as soon as you board. More and more people are becoming “foodies” and specialty dining space is limited. Helpful Hint: Be sure to check out the ship lounges. Some of them are located in spectacular spaces on the ship and during the day are great places to hang out if the weather isn’t favorable enough to hangout outside. If you are not up to exploring the ship, and you don’t feel like a snack (or a drink) be sure to check out the on-board entertainment. We tried shuffleboard for the first time and had a blast. It’s trickier than it looks! If games aren’t your thing, try the pool, the library, or the spa! HELPFUL HINT: The spa books up quickly. If you are interested, be sure to visit the spa and check out what services they have and make a reservation! Many activities aboard the ship can be booked before you leave for your vacation. Be sure to consult with your travel agent!!! Booking early can make all the difference!
Most cruise lines will visit the same ports but not always in the same order. On our trip the first port of call was Cabo San Lucas. Cabo is a desert. A beautiful, sunny desert! The bay is not deep enough or large enough to allow cruise ships in to the dock area so the ships must tender passengers to the docks. This can be a long process.
HELPFUL HINT: Be sure to ask your travel agent which ports require tendering. This will be important to know when booking shore excursions. Better still, ask your travel agents to book them for you! Once on shore there are plenty of things to do! On this particular trip we chose to go sea kayaking but the list of things to do is plentiful. Just walking around the dock area in Cabo is a lot of fun. You have to make your way past a lot of very nice people trying to get you to go on an excursion but once that dies down the dock area is beautiful and has plenty of shops to peruse and places to eat. After all, you don’t go on a cruise to lose weight! We had plenty of time to go sea kayaking and walk through the shops around the dock before making our way back to the ship. I would gladly return to Cabo anytime!
Our next stop was to beautiful and tropical Mazatlán! Here, unlike Cabo, Palm trees rule! The port area is large enough for the cruise 
ship to dock. Even though tendering is not required, you are in a working port so you will need to take the free shuttle from the dock to the visitor’s center. Here is where most shore excursions will pick you up. It is required to take the shuttle so allow just a little extra time. I recommend strolling through old town Mazatlán to get a better feel for the richness of this area’s history. Shopping is plentiful and if you want a beach experience that’s an option too! I would have liked just a little more time at this port of call to do more exploring.
The last port of call on the Mexican Riviera cruise was Puerto Vallarta. I think they saved the best for last. The dock area was pretty close to the main center of Puerto Vallarta so neither tendering nor were shuttles needed. You could catch a cab right outside the dock. The cabs right in the dock area are more expensive but if you don’t mind walking down the road just a little bit you will find cabs willing to negotiate a better price. I would have liked a little more time at this port as well. We chose to go 
Zip Lining and the ride to the zip line was spectacular but lengthy. One fantastic side benefit was the drive took us through the old town of Puerto Vallarta. We didn’t get to stop and look around but it was spectacular none the less (I’m a sucker for architecture and cobblestone streets!). Zip lining was above and beyond expectations. Being a travel agent in Boise, where it is a desert; leaves me extremely enthusiastic about the green canopy of this tropical paradise. If zip lining is not your thing there are many other activities to do in Puerto Vallarta. The beaches are stunning, shopping is fabulous and we visited with some passengers who hired a water taxi and explored the bay. So there are lots of options to fill your time. The hardest part is getting back on the ship in time to leave!
All in all the Mexican Riviera is a beautifully diverse area to delight just about any temperament. It’s the perfect getaway from the winter time blahs and I will admit it, I was humming the theme song from “The Love Boat” the entire time!
If you find yourself in need of a sunny getaway, contact us, your land and sea specialists and your Mexican Riviera experts. We can help you get to sunny and warm destinations.
