Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja: A Guide to the Ships & the Ports of Call (Cruising the...

Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja: A Guide to the Ships & the Ports of Call (Cruising the Mexican Riviera & ... | Larry H. Ludmer | All the Information in an Easy Read

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Cruising the Mexic...

	Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja: A Guide to the Ships & the Ports of Call (Cruising the Mexican Riviera & ... Larry H. Ludmer Hunter Publishing (NJ), 2005 - 280 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The author tells how to find bargain rates, when to book and makes you aware of considerations for disabled travellers, solo cruisers and being aboard with young children. And it's not just the big boats. Walking tours at each port of call are supplemented by detailed port maps Ports of call include: Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Catalina Island, Ensenada, Ixtapa & Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Loreto, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Santa Rosalia. Embarkation cities (such as San Francisco, Monterey, San Diego, Long Beach and more) are included.

A useful guide for a Mexican Riviera and Baja cruise

This book is a fine guide to cruising the Mexican Riviera and Baja California. It describes the main cruise ships, especially those on the Carnival, Celebrity, Holland-American, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean lines. There's advice on climate, what to wear, both in port and on the ship, and the costs involved. And there are good descriptions of the ports. Anyway, I was on a one-week cruise and found the book very useful. The cruise prices were very reasonable (it was the off-season, but the weather was fine). Do not expect to get seasick: I rarely noticed that the ship was moving. Yes, I liked the food. And the Lido deck. And even the art auctions with the free champagne.

As the book explains, cruises are often one week long, with stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. These leave from the Los Angeles area: mine started from Long Beach. It's fun being pampered and having all sorts of things to do on board.

Puerto Vallarta, about 250 miles south of the tropic of Cancer, is not a very rich city. But there are some things to do there. One can swim with the dolphins! Or, if one is really adventurous, soar over the jungle on a guide rope! One can shop for tanzanite, silver, leather, pottery, and ceramics. Or visit a tequila factory. There is a very unimpressive church, completed in 1987, with a fiberglass crown on top. And there is Mismaloya, where one can see plenty of iguanas.

In Puerto Vallarta, I liked the sculptures along the Malecon best. These include the "homeless whale," the "dancing dolphin trio," "Caballeo del Mar" (by Rafel Zamarripa), "Neptune and Nereida" (by C. Espino), "The Milleniums" (by Mathis Lidice), "Nostalgia" (by Ramiz Barquet), "Nature as Mother" (by Adrian Reynosa), the fantastic "Rotunda of the Sea" (by Alejandro Colunga), and my favorite, "In Search of Reason" (with the pillow-headed mother, two children, and ladder, by Sergio Bustamente).

In Mazatlan (about 15 miles south of the topic of Cancer), one can see cliff divers, the flying pole dancers (an interesting display of acrobatics), bullfights (not my cup of tea at all), more sculptures, and a tall natural lighthouse (a great landmark for the city). There is also a rather nice church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Cabo San Lucas is about 50 miles south of the tropic of Cancer. This is a true beach resort. It has some great scenery, and most folks take a boat trip to El Arco. There are a couple of nice little beaches there. These include "Lovers beach," which is a good swimming beach and "Divorce beach," which is right next to it but is very dangerous to swim at. One can also visit the glass-blowing factory. And across the peninsula, in San Jose del Cabo, one can visit Cacti Mondo, a big cactus garden. In Cabo itself, I also recommend an Italian restaurant with a terrific view, the Mona Lisa.

Do not miss the opportunity to see the Los Angeles area if you have time. Just to give you a tiny idea of what is there, let me mention two of the things that interest me: art museums and large pipe organs. Seven of the best art museums are the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the County Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Norton Simon museum, the Huntington Library, the Pacific Asia Museum, and the Armand Hammer museum.

What about pipe organs with over 100 ranks? There are at least seven of them: First Congregational Church, Los Angeles (5 manuals, 346 ranks), Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove (the sanctuary is not of crystal and it has no cathedra, but the organ is 5 manuals and 270 ranks), Westwood United Methodist Church (4 manuals, 153 ranks), Lake Avenue Congregational Church, Pasadena (4 manuals, 126 ranks), Disney Center, Los Angeles (4 manuals, 109 ranks), Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles (4 manuals, 105 ranks), and Royce Hall, UCLA (5 manuals, 104 ranks).

If you are thinking of taking such a cruise, get this book!

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All the Information in an Easy Read

My wife and I are experienced cruisers. We are cruising the Mexican Riveria in February.

Mr. Ludmer's comments about cruising, in general and preparing for a cruise are right on the mark.

The reason we bought the book is for the information on the ports. It is all right there, in an easy to read, easy to find format.

Of course we haven't been on the cruise yet. We always take a travel writer's opinions with a grain of salt, but we'd never criticise their observations. Everyone's likes are too subjective. Nonetheless, having the input of someone who's been there is very valuable. That's the way I feel about this book, a fun read, with information that, I'm sure, is well worth the price.

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A great resource for cruisers and vacationers

I just returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise. We followed the walking and taxi tours recommended by the author(actually tore out the pages for each port and took them with us) and had a wonderful time. We saw so many sights that our fellow cruisers missed. The author provides detailed information, along the lines of, "Exit the ship, turn left, walk two blocks... skip Museum A in favor of Museum B" etc. including advice regarding when to take a cab vs. walking to certain attractions. I found the directions to be very accurate for Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, and Zihuatanejo, although the map for Acapulco was not sufficiently detailed, so I suggest you pick up a city map if you're planning on walking there. Unfortunately this book does not have any restaurant recommendations, but we ate at several of the "authentic" local restaurants mentioned in the book "Mexico's Beach Resorts for Dummies" and were very happy with our choices. Finally, the author provides some useful information about cruising in general, including a checklist of items to take, and since this was my first cruise, I found this to be very helpful.

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Great Reference Book

This is a very quick book to read about the ports you will be visiting. I read it on the airplane on the way to my cruise. It made my trip to the Mexican Riviera a pleasant experience with many helpful hints and colorful pictures included.

Very Good, But.......

Generally found to be a very good book in regards to our trip but was in error on some specifics in our three ports; i.e. by walking left (per the author's instructions) we went in the wrong direction. Double check before you go but this book is a great reference.

reviews: page 1, 2

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