I just got back from a FAM (familiarization) cruise. Companies offer these cruises to travel agents at great discounted prices. Usually FAMs are offered within 2-4 weeks (or less) of the trip. This was only my second FAM and I have been in the business for 13 years. I like to plan my trips 12 – 18 months out. This one was offered nearly 6 months in advance.
The shipline is company from the UK. It seems they are trying to capture the Mexican market. Their offer was a 7 day cruise from Puerto Vallarta > Mazatlan > Acapulco > Cabo San Luca > back to Puerto Vallarta. – $599 pp for an Ocean View Cabin. LOVE it. I jumped on this and paid for the entire cabin – I was going with or without a roommate. Our major ship lines have cut out Acapulco 8-10 years ago – allegedly due to crime. I eventually got a roommate – someone I didn’t know but, she was referred to me. It worked out fine. Anyone, who knows me KNOW I had to spend a couple of days in Puerta Vallarta BEFORE the cruise and wished I had made arrangements to stay a few days afterwards. My roomy felt the same way.
A couple of days before we were to leave for this cruise the UK ship line sent out another offer for a 14 day cruise leaving from Puerta Vallarta going to Acapulco, through the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Columbia and ending in Montego Bay, Jamaica! There were other ports stops along the way, I just can’t remember them all. $799 for a Ocean View Cabin. DAMN!!! Had I seen that before I bought this other cruise from Puerta Vallarta, I would have selected this one. My roomy was so juiced she even offered to pay my fare if I consented to go. No way, I am planned out all the rest of this year.
Well, first crack out of the box, we didn’t get our cruise documents until 4 days BEFORE the cruise. That’s different. You usually get documents within a month before a cruise. There were instructions for us to notify them within 14 days of the cruise for any issues that needed to be handled. Oh well……… Ok, so we board the ship at 4:30pm. 2nd crack outta da box – no ramp to get on the ship. They had STEEP stairs – kinda like rock climbing. Otherwise, entry seemed normal. We get to our cabin on the deck 7 and was pleasantly surprised. It was a little larger than most ships – maybe by a foot. On a ship, that’s a lot of space. The bathroom was sorta, kinda normal. The shower stall had a curtain and the space was larger than most – good. The toilet, however, was directly in front of the door – which for a 69 year old Big Girl, made it challenging. You big girls know what I mean. We gotta lean way over to get up. Well, the door was right there to greet my head. mmmmmmm AND, the threshhold to the bathroom was another rock climbing experience. Everything else was “normal” – large window, mounted TV, drawers and 2 closets. The configuration of the beds was a little off. Roomy kept hitting her shins on the bed having to walk around the bed to go anywhere. We had it changed to a nice configuration that opened up, what seemed to be more space. We’re rolling now. Acapulco here were come…
