The Mexican Riviera,
referring collectively to about twenty cities and lagoons lying on the
western coast of Mexico, has become popular among tourists. The
Mexican government aggressively promoted the building of resorts along the
Pacific coast during the 1970's, dubbing the stretch between Puerto Vallarta
down to Manzanillo the "Costa de Oro," or "Gold Coast." But the entire
coast, known as the Mexican Riviera in the U.S. cruise industry, is famous
for pristine beaches set against stunning cliffs, coves and verdant jungle
landscape, charming beach towns, and endless water sports and recreation.
Getting there ...
It
is our first time trying a cruise vacation.We
booked the Norwegian Cruise Line 7-day Mexican Riviera embarking from Los
Angeles, with ports of call in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto
Vallarta. Because of the ideal warm winter weather, the easy transport
to LA, the perfect itinerary to cover Christmas holiday, and four other good
family friends' help, we finally convinced Woanyu to jump on board for this
cruise. We
began our long drive to LA before 6:30AM. It was a smooth drive
so we got to the port of LA right before
noon. With our early arrival and priority check-in, we were onboard
much earlier than our friends, though there was already a good-sized line when
we got there.
Day 1 (12/22) ...
Norwegian Star
After boarding the ship, we were led to Cagney's Steakhouse for our
complimentary lunch. Before we finished our lunch, we were informed
that our stateroom was ready,
and we were eager to see our home for the next 7 days. We also
took a quick look around the ship (mainly deck 12 and 13) to check out the
view and to see how we could entertain ourselves in the next few days.
Day 2 (12/23 At Sea) ...
Sunrise
At Sea It was a full day at sea, and it was quite easy to get
bored on board. We ended up in the library so that Linus
could do
some SAT practice.
I also spent quite some time on our balcony just to relax and gaze
at the ocean and horizon. Luckily, my boredom was paid off with
sights of dolphins and flying fish
jumping next to the ship.
Evening We had a VIP event (Drink with Captain) at Spinnaker Lounge, but
the captain did not show up. After waiting and having some
drinks and snacks, we decided the wait wasn't worth it and went to dinner.
We joined our friends for a nice meal at the Versailles Main Dining
Room.
Stardust Showtime: "Band on the Run" -- It's a show about the songs
and clubs of the 70's that Linus and Iris are too young to
recognize....
Day 3 (12/24 Cabo San Lucas) ...
Cabo San Lucas (aka "Cabo"), a city at the southern tip of the Baja
California peninsula, has been rated as one of Mexico's top 5 tourist
destinations. The beaches, surfing, and sport fish opportunities in
Cabo San Lucas have attracted a great number of Mexican natives and
foreigners to spend their vacations in large-scale tourist developments
there. We arrived in Cabo with nice coastal views of Cabo's
signature landmark El Arco ("The
Arch"), a rock formation at the tip of "Land's End," at around
noon. Since it is a small port, we
anchored off shore and
took a tender shuttle to land.
Mexican Outback and Camel Ride We signed up for the shore
excursion "Mexican Outback and Camel Ride", which took us into the
desert outback of the Baja Peninsula, heading to the beach for a
magnificent camel ride overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. It
was a bit weird to ride camels in Mexico (in fact, these camels were
imported from Texas), but it was still fun nonetheless (although I
thought the camels were slightly on the slow side). Since we could
not take our cameras on camels (except my GoPro), we had to buy photos
taken by the tour staff (really expensive...).
After the Camel ride, we were served with an authentic
Mexican cuisine with free shots of three different kinds of tequila.
NCL Holiday Extravaganza Show
Day 4 (12/25 Mazatlan) ...
Mazatlan is not only a booming resort town, but also the largest port on
Mexico's Pacific coast. It is a popular tourist destination, with its
beaches lined with resort hotels providing various surfing, sailing and
scuba diving activities. We arrived in Mazatlan in the early morning
on Christmas Day, and we were greeted by a
local chorus with
beautiful voices.
Huana Coa Canopy Adventure A series of
12 platforms with 9 ziplines pumped adrenaline through our veins with
tree-top views of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It may
look scary, but I actually felt very comfortable when I was flying
through the air. I bought a "GoPro"
for this trip, and it really shows its versatile and usefulness for this
type of action (see video here). Surprisingly, I did not scream at all, letting out only
a few yelps during an unexpected drop.
Afterwards, we visited a tequila factory and got more free
tequila to drink. This time even Linus took a few shots to feel the
burn of alcohol.
Stardust Showtime: "Magika" by Sander & Alison. Magic show
is always a popular event for any age!
Day 5 (12/26 Puerto Vallarta) ...
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the
Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. The American director John
Huston filmed his 1963 film The Night of the Iguana in Mismaloya, a small
town just south of Puerto Vallarta. During the filming, the US media gave
extensive coverage to Elizabeth Taylor's extramarital affair with Richard
Burton. The subsequent publicity helped put Puerto Vallarta on the map
for US tourists.
Las Caletas Hideaway Las Caletas was once the private home of
the famous film director John Huston, who considered it one of the
most beautiful places in the world. Today, it’s an exclusive tropical
beach hideaway where you can enjoy an extraordinary day of sun, fun,
and adventure. It was almost an hour boat ride (one way) to Las
Caletas and crew actually provided some
onboard show to
entertain us to kill some time. Linus and Iris were geared up to try their first
snorkeling experience. Iris took the GoPro underwater and got
very nice footage of their snorkeling.
Dinner at Teppanyaki
-- we made the reservation when we just got onboard on the first day
since there are only 12 seats for Teppanyaki. We used to have
Teppanyaki quite often when Linus and Iris were younger, but have not
had it for some time since the local Teppanyaki restaurant closed a few
years ago.
Stardust Showtime: "Marrambolla" featuring Acrobatic Duo
Maria & Dmitry
Day 6 & 7 (12/27 & 12/28 At Sea) ...
It was quite a challenge trying to figure out what we could do for two full days
at sea. We actually spent most of our time in our room watching TV and
movies. Our penthouse suite was quite comfortable and the balcony was
really a nice place for fresh air and ocean view. My daily routine was
something like this: taking sunrise pictures, going to gym, going back to room to
wait until 9AM to wake up Linus and Iris, having a late breakfast, taking a
short walk, feeling bored, coming back to room to watch TV or read Nook,
having a late lunch, taking another short walk (shopping), feeling bored
again, coming back to room to take a nap and watch more movies (or reading
on my
Nook), checking out sunset, going to see an evening show (magic show, comedy
show, etc.), having a late dinner, coming back to
room and feeling bored and tired, and finally going to bed (did I forget to
take a shower?) ....
On the last day, we tried the specialty restaurant "Moderno"
for dinner. It is an authentic Brazilian with steakhouse slow-roasted
meats including beef, pork, lamb and chicken – all served and carved
tableside. Since we already have had too much meat in the past few
days, it turned out grilled
pineapples were our favorite.
Day 8 (12/29 Los Angeles) ...
We arrived in the Port of LA at around 7AM. I could not sleep much
since I found there was another
cruise ship sailing beside us (at ~ 2AM). It was a serene feeling
to see a ghost-like ship in the almost total darkness. We entered the
port just before sunrise, and I sat on the balcony to enjoy the twilight
dawn and cool air.
Getty Center We went to visit the Getty Center on our drive
back to SF Bay Area. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the
public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture,
gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The Center
branch of the Museum features pre-20th-century European paintings,
drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and
19th- and 20th-century American, Asian, and European photographs.
In addition, the Museum’s collection at the Center includes outdoor
sculpture displayed on terraces and in gardens and the large Central
Garden designed by Robert Irwin.
Going Home ...
It is a 6+ hours drive with some occasional traffic on Highway 5.
It's time for Linus to share some driving load and
he drove the 2nd half (~ 3 hours) of trip back to the Bay Area.
Cruise vacation is a new experience for us. Although the shore
excursions were interesting and exciting, there was not enough time to fully
explore each port of call. If you're someone (like me) who
cannot sit still for a day, does not enjoy delicate cuisine (or
all-you-can-eat buffet), does not like shopping/party/gambling, and always
tries to find new things to explore (and take new pictures), then you may
get bored quickly onboard. If you like a slow pace and relaxed
luxurious vacation, then it would be a good choice for you.
It
is our first time trying a cruise vacation. We
booked the Norwegian Cruise Line 7-day Mexican Riviera embarking from Los
Angeles, with ports of call in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto
Vallarta. Because of the ideal warm winter weather, the easy transport
to LA, the perfect itinerary to cover Christmas holiday, and four other good
family friends' help, we finally convinced Woanyu to jump on board for this
cruise. We
began our long drive to LA before 6:30AM. It was a smooth drive
so we got to the port of LA right before
noon. With our early arrival and priority check-in, we were onboard
much earlier than our friends, though there was already a good-sized line when
we got there.
