Our Christmas Cruise Traveling to Puerta Vallarta and Saving Money

My wife and I booked our first cruise for Christmas after much deliberation. The cost,what do the rooms look like, are we going to be sleeping by the anchor or the engine? Thank goodness for the internet because we were able to cross-reference the rooms that were available with rooms that had a video of them that were placed on the internet. We were able to look at the rooms and figure out if we were going to have to travel with one suitcase or the usual five. Just kidding, I pack three and carry two more. The next item on the agenda is to get the passports so we can explore the island.We discovered that if you do not have a passport and something happens and you have to fly back to the United States then the situation becomes quite complex. The Consulate comes into play and probably a lot of other costly expenses that could be avoided. Two different sources highly suggested a passport so off we go to get pictures, fingerprinted and we are to be made ”legal”.

We secured a room for only $500 down and payments were allowed which I thought was great in this day and age. Furthermore, the booking agency said that they would arrange a group and offer discount prices if we were able to get enough people to sign up for the cruise. This was great and we are already planning our 2015 cruise which will be deeply discounted because of the group AND we discovered that the cruise lines are double the price in the winter. Thank goodness for ”senior status” and discounts.

My wife has researched our cruise and it turns out that it will be a seven-day cruise leaving Los Angeles and we will be in Puerta Vallarta on Christmas Day. To me that is amazing. I always wanted to give my wife something special and now we are both excited. Oh and with the groups, they offer discounts and special “perks” like extra money to gamble with. Furthermore, we discovered that we can order room service and it doesn’t cost any extra. That’s awesome because we can avoid the crowds and focus on what we want to do instead of standing in line for meals.

My wife and I have traveled 40 of the 50 states and now our first cruise and we are going to book another as well. I wish all the luck to each of you and any advice for first time cruisers would be appreciated.

Thanks again!!