I visited the same three ports (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas) on two different ships one year apart. Both times I had a balcony stateroom. The first cruise was on Holland America's Oosterdam out of San Diego in April 2007, the second cruise was on Carnival's Pride out of Long Beach in April 2008. The first time I researched and chose HAL because of its reputation and the fact that it left from San Diego. The second cruise I went on Carnival Pride because that was the ship my group was on. I can't compare everything. Some things on both cruises were very similar, but there were subtle differences.

Hotel for the 2008 Cruise

Hotel: We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Long Beach the night before the cruise. The hotel is in a nice area, and our overnight stay included one week free parking and an excellent breakfast. In the morning we walked down by the harbor and looked across at the Queen Mary and the Carnival Pride. Around noon we walked back and took a short taxi ride to the ship. Read more