CRUISES: Cruising the Coast of Mexico.
Enjoying Carnival’s Capacity for Fun
Story and photography by Nancy & Eric Anderson
Our country surely is struggling with the economy. The glass is, what, half empty. Businesses are failing. But. But, the capability of the cruise lines to bounce back when they face problems should be a lesson to the long faces in America. Swine flu in the South? Easy, turn the ships around and sail North! A rush on the toilets and passengers quarantined to cabins? Answer: Tighten up rules for those sailing and have hand sanitizers everywhere. Indeed, for the economy to crash just as the cruise industry that no one could afford a cruise vacation these days? Solution: Cut charges – and then cut them some more. Our recent 8-day cruise down the west coast of Mexico with Carnival had us traveling with a full ship, 2,400 passengers on the Carnival Spirit with 700 of them being children.
That brings up an interesting point that demonstrates why cruises have gone in 40 years from vacations for just the retired wealthy to something for the entire family. Children’s programs! Says Stu Dunn, the ship’s cruise director standing on the stage one night in front of his passengers, and his words’ being received by thunderous applause: “Yes, we have 700 children on board but I’ll guarantee you haven’t had them screaming and shouting underfoot all the time you’ve sailed with us! That is why we are so proud of our children’s programs.”
Dunn has been with Carnival since 2001. Like several of the staff on board, he has a pronounced accent. “Are you Australian?” we wonder. “I’m more Australian than the first Aborigine!” he replies with a grin. Dunn, a former rugby football player, came to the cruise line as a fitness trainer handling ten or so private clients a week and gradually moved into the entertainment section. He had worked as an underground miner and in construction and clearly is fit.
“Did you ever wrestle or box?” we ask because, with his 250 pound frame and his Kojak-Yul Brynner haircut he does look like a bouncer in an upscale nightclub. “No,” he answers. “I have a medical condition – I am a wŭss.”
Asked what he believes makes Carnival special, Dunn replies, “Well, we give good value, we offer marvelous entertainment, and we have great children’s programs. Our 22 Carnival ships are not called ‘The Fun Ships’ for nothing. They have lots of room: we can let guests who want to let their hair down do so without impacting other passengers. For example, we can limit ‘crazy’ events, say a Caribbean party, to a place well away from those who might prefer, for example, afternoon tea.”
He’s right, of course. You want to dine elegantly you take your regular table in the Empire Room. It may have a mariachi band tonight. But you want to eat on the run; no problem – head for the La Playa Grill and serve your self. Want to watch a game on TV? The Champions’ Bar is right there.
The Ship
The 88,500 ton 2,400 passenger Carnival Spirit has nothing in common with the company’s first liner, the 27,250 ton 950-passenger Mardi Gras. That ship bought in 1972 from the Canadian Pacific ran aground on its maiden voyage in the early days of a cruise company, Carnival, that would become the largest cruise company in the world. The Carnival Spirit built in Finland at a cost of US$ 375 million was delivered to Carnival in April 2001 to head the company’s now popular Spirit class. Spirit has an overall length of 959 feet and a sign on its promenade/lido deck claims that 3 ½ turns around the deck equals one mile. Unfortunately that’s the same deck that houses La Playa Grill, the ship’s cafeteria-style restaurant, one that seems to open just to negate any inches lost in exercise. The cuisine in the more formal Empire Dining Room is particularly delicious so passengers have to accept some weight gain as inevitable and be prepared for tightened belts once the cruise is over.
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In fact Dunn addresses this issue the first night. On our cruise with 2,400 passengers, 1,230 had sailed with Carnival before, an impressive percentage but Dunn tells his audience he wants to explain something to the first timers. “You may wonder what cruising is all about,” he says. “Well, it’s essentially eating as much as you can. It’s said that eating five to six small meals a day speeds up your metabolism and you lose weight. So surely eating five or six big meals a day will work even better.
“To enjoy the cruise experience do something different. Step out of your comfort zone. Wear that Speedo. Make new friends. And friends don’t let friends…go hungry on a cruise! And remember, what happens on the ship…you lose sleep and gain weight.”
You probably will lose sleep. The days can be relaxing or busy but for us they tend to be busy because there is so much to see and do even when the ship is not in port.
The Entertainment
Large ships like Carnival Spirit in one respect score over all the small ships out there: they offer more amusement choices particularly with the Las Vegas-style shows they put on. We have to say the big stage cast, “The Spirit Singers and Dancers,” were the best we have watched and enjoyed on any cruise ship.
There were also detailed port shopping lectures that were helpful for those determined to spend more money but not much in the way of the history of this close neighbor of ours.
Photography is allowed, of course, in the dining rooms when the ship offers a mariachi band and of the stage production when Mexican performers come aboard for a special presentation when we are docked in Acapulco.
Shore Excursions
The question comes up always: Are shore excursions worth the price? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to hire a cab on the dock? There is no clear answer especially these days on the Mexican west coast. Although the classic ports of call open to cruises down the Mexican Riviera don’t have the murder problems of, say, the drug battlefield that is today’s Tijuana, the intermittent crime scene in Acapulco would make us hesitant to rent a car there and go off looking for some silver mine village in the mountains Still, if you have very specific expectations when you spend a day in a specific Mexican port it might be practical to hire a driver and cab. That way you can watch more than one of the cliff diving shows in Acapulco, can go parasailing on a beach in Ixtapa, or in Manzanillo spend some time at the legendary Moorish resort Las Hadas where the movie 10 was filmed with Bo Derek and some leading man but who cares about that?, a movie many guys remember and perhaps still fantasize about. If two couples wanted to hire a cab, prices can become very reasonable. Just spend time to negotiate a price, confirm it and verify the driver really understands English. If things go wrong don’t expect much help from Mexico Tourism. It is pretty nonresponsive even if you contact it well in advance of your visit to Mexico. And you can’t expect the ship to back you up unless you are shopping at one of the ship’s certified preferred port shops; nor can you expect the ship to wait for you if, in contrast to an organized shore excursion, your personal cab brings you back to the place of embarkation later than the arranged time. Even with the ship’s tour busses you have to be attentive to your bus number, driver’s and guide’s name.
“This is bus Number 10,” our tour guide announced. “This is the one you come back to in an hour. If you take that one over there [pointing] you’ll end up in Guadalajara!”
Some ports like Zihuatanejo are so uncomplicated you could spend the day just wandering the streets of the village and immersing yourself in an earlier era.
Ports of Call
Acapulco is the classic resort city on Mexico’s West Coast. It was the first coastal city connected by highway to Mexico City. Acapulco was popular from the 1960s until the Mexican government decided to build a resort at Cancun that outshone the older city. Acapulco has had problems beyond Cancun offering more. It has had spells where beach beggars almost ruined tourism till the city cleaned up its act. Then its gorgeous restaurants and its beautiful resorts like Las Brisas helped bring back upscale tourists but once again it has faltered. The Mexican police has had difficulties in dealing with drug gang wars resulted in many Americans deciding there were more interesting places – and safe ones – to visit in Mexico.
Most of the passengers we spoke to later on the ship said they found little to like in Acapulco, a sentiment we share, but it does have one huge world-wide attraction: the Cliff Divers. There’s no charge to watch this thrilling but brief display. Some passengers we spoke to who paid for dinner at La Perla restaurant with its high overview of the cliff and the divers said the meal was overpriced and unappetizing yet one other couple raved about the experience. If considering La Perla you might want to see what community writers like TripAdvisor have to say about it. Web opinions, including ours, are not necessarily gospel. For instance if you go to websites on Acapulco restaurants and list “romantic” and “expensive” as criteria up, comes Tony Roma’s and Hard Rock Café!
The signs on the main street are mostly in English: “Texas Ribs, Inter Jet, Total Liquidation Bikinis, Beach Disco, Beer to Go, VIPS Coffee.” We pass a hotel. Says the guide, “A general owned that hotel once. He forgot to pay the taxes for 30 years!”
But you don’t really go on land here to eat. If that was the aim, you’d stay on board and pay the extra $30 per person to have a special dining experience at the ship’s Nouveau Supper Club on the Sun Deck.
The draw is the cliff divers, a group whose skills and courage is handed down generations. It’s still the best show in town, every hour on the hour from noon and get there early for the best viewing position down below.
Zihuatanejo, a simple but contented fishing village, and its flashy resort sister, Ixtapa, on the other side of the bay come up as a surprise. They seem so genuine and authentic in their own way. Zihuatanejo was the haven Tim Robbins’ character escaped to in The Shawshank Redemption, the one he invited Morgan Freeman to come visit, and it looks the part: lots of small fishing boats and the delightful architecture of Mexico.
Punta Ixtapa, a former swamp, has been left as is by the government as a nature preserve to protect alligators and iguanas. The iguanas are fun to watch in the wilds. They are vegetarians and go crazy when their attendants throw them lettuces that seem to be their favorite food. Nearby lie charming resorts where days clearly pass in beach bliss for those fortunate to stay there. “Welcome to Miami Beach!” a well-entrenched American expatriate shouts to us as he sips his overflowing margarita.
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Manzanillo would be one place to consider taking a taxi. The port is a vast industrial complex that grew when a canal was dug through a lagoon to create what is now the largest seaport in Mexico. It is, in fact, the third largest port on the west coast of North America after Long Beach and Vancouver. It has other claims to fame including the celebrated Las Hadas built by a Bolivian tin millionaire to house his friends when they came to visit. He also built the airport. “We are famous for large resorts and small flea markets,” says our guide. “And we are the shellfish capital of the world.”
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The ship’s city tour takes passengers into the downtown part of the city and a walk past statues and monuments, past an elementary school full of innocent children and the Old Colonial Hotel with fascinating statues that recall Don Quixote. The tour then moves on to a pass-by of the resorts that lie distant among sentries of arroyo palms, tropical figs, almond and pistachio trees and flurries of bougainvillea. The contrast between the working port and the languid resorts is striking. But that is the contrast we see so often in this colorful neighbor of ours to the south.