Today we set sail on a cruise of the Mexican Riviera. Heather has cruised before but I never have and didn’t know what to expect. Since most of our travels are cycling-related, we really have only been on to other “real” vacations; one to Hawaii then another to Club Med in Cancun. We really enjoyed the all-inclusive aspect of Club Med. You can participate in lots of activities or you can just hang out at the beach all day. A cruise didn’t seem as attractive to me, but I was only going on perception, not experience. So I helped out with the research to find a cruise for the family. After reading many reviews and ratings online, we settled on an 8-day cruise of the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Spirit.

We flew into San Diego this morning on ExpressJet. We decided to not fly stand-by on Delta. We knew the ship wouldn’t wait for us if we missed our flight so we decided to book full tickets. The good thing is that ExpressJet has a non-stop from Boise to San Diego, our departure port. San Diego is also very convenient because the airport isn’t huge and is only a couple miles away from the port. Had we chosen a cruise out of Los Angeles, things would have been more hectic.

Our flight went smoothly and we took a taxi from the airport to port. When we arrived, there were lots of people and luggage everywhere. The cruise line had people who could take your bags so you embark with only your carry-ons. They would then deliver the rest of your luggage later on. We decided to forego that option and carry our bags ourselves. This was kind of a pain, especially for Heather with her huge duffle bag. It was kind of chore getting onboard with all the luggage, but by the end of the day, we were glad. We had our bags with us immediately when our cabin was available at 1:30 while some of the other passengers didn’t receive their luggage until 8 PM!

Getting on the ship was a process, involving passport checks, security screens and picture taking for later purchase from the ship’s photo shop. We walked onto the ship on a bridge that took us onto deck 2. Once onboard, I was surprised how nice was as far as roominess and décor. I was expecting hallways to be smaller and have a bit more of a “naval” look, but the interior of the ship was like a fancy hotel.

We went up to the Lido deck where lunch was available. The whole point of a cruise is to eat as much as you can and they start you out the minute you step onto the ship! The food at this first lunch was good, but not great, so my expectations were set pretty low early on. Once 1:30 rolled around we went down to our cabin and I was very impressed with our room. We chose an Oceanview room. Even though we didn’t plan on spending too much time in our room, we wanted to be able to look out and enjoy the scenery. We also didn’t have to choose between a smaller portal window or the picture window because on the Spirit, all exterior guest rooms have at least this sized window.

I was also impressed with the overall size and quality of the room. The bed and pillows were extremely comfortable and the bathroom was larger than I expected…at least for a ship cabin. Heather told me stories about her prior cruise, so I think I was expecting something the size of a phone booth. There was also ample closet space so you could unpack everything and keep luggage out of sight. This helped make it feel roomier as we’re so used to living out of our suitcases on most of our cycling trips. Hotel rooms typically don’t provide enough closet and drawer space to unpack everything.

After unpacking, we attended a mandatory lifeboat drill. Basically we gathered at our appropriate muster station, then were given instructions in case of an emergency. Then we went up to the upper deck to watch as we departed. Our ship was opposite another Carnival ship on the other side of the pier. From that perspective you could get a real sense for how big these ships are. It’s basically a huge building on the water. A building with about 3,000 people on board! We watched and took pictures as we left the port of San Diego and headed out to sea. The sun was setting on the Pacific Ocean and the views were stunning.

Then we went down to meet up with Heather’s mother, her sister and niece (18-months old). We chose the earlier dinner time so we wouldn’t be eating right before we went to bed. There’s one main sit-down dining room, called the Empire, where it’s open seating for breakfast and lunch, then you’re assigned to a table for dinner. As a family we had our table to ourselves, off in the corner of the dining room as requested by Heather’s mother (in case our niece had a fit). It worked out well as it was one of the quietest areas and we were up against a large portal window. This enabled us to watch a spectacular sunset, partly due to the smokes from the continuing fires around San Diego.

At the Empire room you order off of a menu and wait for the courses to come out. You could also choose to eat on the Lido deck, where food is served buffet-style. It’s available during most of the day, and they actually do have pizza and ice cream available 24/7! No going hungry on a cruise! Dinner was really good and I was impressed with the quality of the food. Maybe I chose the wrong things at lunch, but I was definitely happier about the food after dinner.

When we got back to our room we found that they “turned down” our bed. The sheets were turned down, there were a couple chocolate mints and most notably, there was an elephant made out of towels on the far corner! That was a nice surprise and made the experience feel very personal.

We checked out the workout facility and were suckered into a “tour” featuring presentations on the benefits of mud-baths, body wraps and other services. While I don’t mind them trying to promote their services, it felt like one of those time-share type pitches. What really got me was some of the claims made about treating diseases and symptoms. I guess since they’re technically not food supplements, they’re not breaking any laws, but it was still hokey.

Later we went to the show. The cruise director had an audience participation skit that was actually pretty funny. He’s definitely got the right personality for a cruise director. Then a older lady comedian came on and Heather and I didn’t find her too funny so we left. Heather, Jen and I went to the dance club but it was pretty empty that early. I decided to go to bed, while Heather and Jen went back to the dance club.