First day
We finally arrived at Long Beach Airport, picked up our bags, and saw a lady from Carnival Cruise Line holding a sign that said “Shuttle to the Port.” I spoke with her and was able to catch the shuttle. My daughter and I were the only ones on the huge bus, which was kind of cool.
When we arrived at the port, we handed off our luggage to the nice porters and were immediately directed into a line. The line corresponded to your scheduled appointment time to arrive at the port. By some magic, we were within about 30 minutes of our appointment time and were sent through the shorter “on-time” line.
We walked through several different areas. They checked our IDs, security dogs walked past us and the bags we were carrying, and eventually we were able to board the ship. It was about 1:30 when we got on, and we were able to go to our cabin almost right away. I thought this was so cool because we didn’t have to sit around waiting somewhere with my backpack.
I was exhausted, so I immediately took a nap and told my daughter to wake me up in an hour. She did, and we went to explore the ship. Our cabin was on Deck 9, so we only had to go up one level to get to the food. We grabbed something to eat and then sat back and watched a movie on the Lido Deck. It was really great. This cruise wasn’t so crowded that I couldn’t find a seat — it was so much better than the last cruise I took. We went back to our cabin after the movie and we decided before we went to bed we would hide a few ducks so we did an then it was off to bed. I Will update more on the next day later this week.
***UPDATE***
woke up this morning, got ready to leave for the airport, and,surprise,my flight was canceled! I tried to find another flight to LAX, but there weren’t any that would arrive in time to make the cruise ship departure. I contacted Delta support, and they were amazing,they booked us on a flight to Long Beach instead. Thank you, Delta!
Now I just need to figure out how to get to the port. I had purchased an airport transfer through Carnival, but I couldn’t find a way to change the shuttle, so it looks like we’ll be taking a Lyft from the airport instead. Luckily, I bought travel insurance since I figured there might be a bit of chaos along the way.
Wish us luck
Hi everyone! I wanted to share my excitement and plans for our upcoming Mexico mother‑daughter cruise. My daughter and I haven’t had a real vacation in ages, camping doesn’t exactly count since it’s a lot of work, so this feels long overdue. The weather should be perfect, warm but not too hot, and since school is still in session, I’m hoping for smaller crowds.
My last cruise wasn’t quite what I hoped for, so I’m giving it another try to see if timing made the difference. My daughter has never flown before, so she’s thrilled that we’ll fly to LAX tomorrow before boarding.
I chose a Mexico cruise because I’ve visited before and always enjoyed it. It’s a convenient port and keeps our flight short, perfect for a first airplane experience. We’re sailing for six days on Carnival Cruise Lines, visiting Cabo San Lucas for two days and Ensenada for one.
Years ago, I took my two boys on a Mexican Riviera cruise when they were 8 and 18, and they loved it! This time, I’ve planned two excursions for my daughter, camel riding and zip‑lining. When she wasn’t too excited about the camel idea, I added horseback riding (I’ll admit, the camel ride might have been more for me!).
I’m looking forward to making new memories, relaxing, and spending quality time with her. With everything planned and paid for ahead of time, I’m hopeful for a smooth and fun‑filled trip. I’ll share updates when we return!
If you’re thinking about booking your own cruise, check out my downloadable checklist for must‑pack items for a cruise vacation, you might find a few things you didn’t think of!
I used Costco Travel to plan my trip the excursions where the best price Costco Travel
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