Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Pride Cruise Review
Mexican Riviera

Robert Coe
Age: 55
Occupation: Insurance Agent
Number of Cruises: 9
Sailing Date: July 30th, 2006

We did the 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise this summer with my 80 year old mother, my my 21 year old nephew, my 28 and 12 year old sons, my older son's fiance, and her 9 year old son. We opted for the Mexican Riviera cruise, even though summer is not an optimal time for this route, as my mother did not want to fly a long distance, and we had cruised to Alaska the year befor. This was our first cruise on Carnival, I have always avoided them because I didn't like what I was reading in reviews. We tried Carnival this time only because they are the only cruise line traveling the Mexican Riviera in the summer. I must note, that we were pleasantly surprised with both the ship, and the weather.
Embarkation:  was a breeze, we flew into Long Beach, and had a pre-reserved shuttle take us directly to the port.  A porter claimed our luggage within minutes and even though the line was long, it moved fast, within 30 minutes we were through check-in, and on the ship. A few observations about the ship- it is only a few years old, and kept in good repair. The decor is a little over the top, but not so much as to be distracting. We all had balcony staterooms, and they were spacious, with good sized balconies, and more closet and storage area than I am used to on a cruise. The balconies were of a good size and very private. One thing noticeable about this ship, as opposed to most I have been on was that there was a broader range of ages than I have noticed on Princess or Holland American, we saw lots of families with children, probably more people in their 20's and 30's, as opposed to 50's and 60's on some of the other lines I have been on. While people were clearly there to have fun, it was a well behaved, and not unruly group of passengers. This ship is well designed and well managed. The pools were busy, but not crammed. The lunch buffet was always busy, but the lines at the various stations were always manageable, and I never had a problem finding a table. I felt that the service was among the best I have seen on any line I have cruised on. The whole staff was friendly and eager to help, the dining room staff, the bar staff and the room steward. The food was very good, I had planned on at least one night in the reservations only super club, but found the food in the dining room so good I never made it to the club. The shows were good, my 12 year old especially enjoyed the ventriloquist. The musical shows were well done with a talented and high energy staff. We did a variety of shore excursions, those who did the canopy tour in Puerto Vallarta were very enthusiastic, please note that this was booked on line, not through the ship, at a cost of $75.00 per person, as opposed to $115. through the ship. I did the Las Caletas tour through Carnival and found it to be a lovely sail to a beautiful spot. We had lots to do when we got there and had a very good lunch. It rained cats and dogs coming back in late afternoon, but it didn't interfere with anything. In Mazatlan I did Stone Island, it was an enjoyable day, and gave me more of a sense of real Mexico than anywhere else on the tour. My older son did the deep sea fishing, he was very unimpressed as there were more participants than fishing poles, and they were not even allowed to hold the poles, needless to say no one caught a fish. He said it was more of a chance to ride on a fishing boat than to really fish. In Cabo some people in our group did the land and sea tour which was fine, others did their own thing, which was also enjoyed. The ship had a nice gym, which several of the group used regularly. It had a video arcade which was much appreciated by the younger boys, and not appreciated by my pocketbook. Overall, for a group of mixed ages and interest, this was an ideal cruise on a great ship. Debarkation was easy and orderly, the only complaint was that our 1:50 pm flight out put us in an early departure group, and we ended up spending 4 hours at the airport, but other than that, debarkation was quick and easy. I would have no hesitation in recommending this ship, and the Mexican Riviera summer itinerary to anyone.

 

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