You can say that again! Although, in the last few years I've started looking at the Mexican Riviera the way I suspect a lot of cruisers near Florida ports look at the Caribbean--just someplace to go; the ship is the real destination.
I do think the new 7-day Coastal cruises just might fill the void. San Diego and Santa Barbara are beautiful cities and even though I live an hour from one and an hour-and-a-half from the other, I never go there. And I can't remember the last time I was in San Francisco. Then there is the added plus of no beggars, aggressive vendors or petty thieves; and no stifling heat and humidity.
I will still try to get to Hawaii every few years, although I wish they would bring back the 15-day itinerary; 14 days is too long for only four ports (Ensenada dosen't count) and I really liked Kona. And maybe they'll consider bringing back the 14-day round-trip cruises from L.A. to Alaska that they did in the mid-70s.
We're going back to the Caribbean for the umpteenth time in Nov for 20 days and other than getting off the ship to walk around the towns & stretch our legs there isn't much to draw us to see on any of the islands. We've seen all the rain forests, did all the shopping we want to do, seen the monkeys, birds, lava pits & houses, banana plants, sugar fields, etc & snorkeled at all the best places various times. Although living in Fl there are more islands to go to, after a while they all look the same & if it weren't for the ship being a vacation in itself it wouldn't interest us in the least.
I hoping that the hurricane damage (most likely) in Princess Cays forces them to go to Nassau for a while since it's been 13 years since we were last there.
If were were on the west coast we'd be on a Hawaii trip at least twice yearly.
I think there are a couple of 15 day trips scheduled. (?)
