5 Reasons Longer Cruises Rock

If you can get away for more than a week, chances are you'll love a longer cruise. I took a 10-night Mexican Riviera cruise in December, and there were several aspects that made it an even neater vacation than the 7-night Mexico cruise we took the year before (when you live on the West Coast, Mexico is a popular cruise destination).

You might think, "Of course, it was better--it was longer!" but that's only one of the 5 reasons I'm going to give you. Here's why I recommend the longer cruises (more than the usual 7 nights) if you can get away:

1. Price

When it comes to booking cruises, I'm a Travelocity junkie and I'm always surfing their site for good deals. The Mexican Riveria cruises already tend to be quite affordable, but I noticed this year that you could sometimes find 10-day cruises for the same price as 7-day cruises. That's why I originally booked it. We got a balcony room for about $1,000 ($500 a piece), which isn't bad at all for more than a week.

2. More Port Destinations

With extra days, your cruise will visit extra ports, often ports that are a little off-the-beaten path. The 7-day Mexican Riveria cruises tend to hit the same three ports: Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta. With extra nights, you get to see those places but a couple more as well (we went to Ixtapa--beautiful!--and Acapulco).

3. Arriving in Ports on Off Days

This was something I really appreciated since I could compare my 10-night trip with the 7-night one from the year before. We ended up landing in the typical ports on different days than the 7-night cruises did, so the crowds were a lot smaller (there was always at least one other cruise ship in port when I was on the 7-night cruise). As a non-shopper, I appreciated that fewer people had turned out to hawk their wares on the docks.

In addition, our ship was a little smaller (fewer people can get away for 10 nights, so they don't need as big of a ship), so lines for tendering and everything seemed shorter.

4. Fewer Children (fewer people overall)

I don't have anything against kids on board, but if you find yourself grimacing because there are always a few horsing around in the hot tub, you might appreciate the longer cruises. If you sail during the school year, you'll find fewer parents willing to take their kids out of school for more than a week.

5. They're Just Longer!

Longer cruise = longer vacation = longer time to work on your tan = longer time away from work. 'Nuff said!

Book yours now:

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