Golf on a Cruise Ship?

Okay, so you mastered the pseudo net catching golf simulator on the upper deck of your cruise ship. And your mind has started to wander to the well kept long green fairways and smooth curvaceous rolling hills next to the blue sea with a distance view of a slight fluttering flag pole on the horizon as you browse through the latest issue of top courses of Golf and Conde Nast Travel Magazine. Plus dreaming of the Top 30 Private Golf Course in Mexico. Get me signed up for tee time, pleeeeeease!

Our ports of call that we will be visiting are no strange to this recreational sport. In fact I came across an interesting website that you can book your tee time called Internet Golf. You gotta check it out. You can book this all over the world. Wow!

Don't forget to also look at the Carnival Cruise Line Shore Excursion as they had a couple of golf shore excursions as well for the ports of Acapulco and Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo.

Now that you have done some homework, take a quick jog up to the gym on deck and stretch your muscles and tone up a bit because were gonna anchor soon enough. In the mean time, here are the golf courses that this Lady Cruise found for you …I’ll see you after your golf shore excursion and my wonderful aromatheraphy massage….Oh and if you want real golf advice email my buddy Steve. He's the pro and you can find his email on the side bar of this cruise blog. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get to my Spa treatment .....aaaah, I so deserve this, hmmmm!

SAN DIEGO

• Home of the 2008 US Open Torrey Pines Golf Course


• Tom Fazio’s designed The Grand Del Mar


• Johnny Miller’s designed Poway’s Maderas Golf Club


• Arnold Palmer designed Carlsbad Four Season Resort Aviara Golf Club
  

ACAPULCO

• Club de Golf Acapulco


• Mayan Palace Golf Club


• Fairmont Acapulco Princess Golf Course


• Fairmont Pierre Marques Golf Course


• Tres Vidas Country Club
  

Additional Website links for Acapulco golf
All About Acapulco
Acapulco Golf.com

IXTAPA/Zihuantanejo

• Robert von Hagge designed Marina Ixtapa Golf Club (Club de Golf Marina Ixtapa)


• Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Palma Real Golf Course (Campo de Golf Palma Real)
  

Interesting Reading by Shane Sharp -Sister Cities of Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo Provide Top-Shelf Resort Golf off the Beaten Path

MANZANILLO

• Robert von Hagge designed Isla Navidad Golf Course


• Peter Dye designed Las Hadas Golf - La Mantarraya Course
  

Photo provided by Las Brias Manzanillo Las Hadas

San Diego Here We Come! … By Karen

Our Mexican Riviera Cruise will be here sooner than we think…and how exciting!! Since we depart from San Diego, some of you may want to come into town a day or so early to assure you don’t miss the ship or to just visit the area.

As you probably know, San Diego is a real tourist town with lots to do and see. The Cruise Terminal, Airport and Train Station are all within a mile of each other, so it’s a bustling place. There are many hotels in this vicinity and plenty of restaurants. Shops of all sorts from a big mall like Horton Plaza to quaint theme areas like Seaport Village & the Gas Lamp District are all within a good walk of the cruise terminal. But, there’s more.

If you have a couple of days to spend, you might want to visit the San Diego
Zoo, Balboa Park or take a tour of the general area. Did you know the USS Midway is a museum here? The famous Del Coronado Hotel can be reached by tour bus or the Old Town Trolly and Old Town San Diego has shops and restaurants not far away as well.

To give you an idea of what’s available, here are a few additional websites you might want to check out: Trolley Tours, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, San Diego Grayline. If you aren’t staying on a pre or post cruise package with Carnival, you can also refer to Diana’s article on San Diego Where Do I Stay? You will have an endless option for motels & hotels with various price ranges. Enjoy the planning!!!

Read All About It!

Astounding, intrigue, brilliance, superb, dramatic, informative, descriptive… whatever your choice in words one cannot create a more relaxing world than that of a best-selling novel, an informative resource book or a comprehensive short story collection to curl up with.

I recently visited some book websites such as Barnes & Nobles, Amazon and Borders. There is this incredible black hole resource that seems to continue forever. As I surf the web I found novels, travel books, reference guides and even maps just to mention a few. Defintely worth a peek!

As we prepare for our cruise, you will see that half the journey is the anticipation of the trip. To help you get into the mood check out some of the books that are available at your local bookstore or simply go on line as I have. I've listed a few of my findings below. You might want to check the reviews at one of the book websites to see if this is of interest to you:

• "Mexico" by James A. Michener
• "Sisterchicks in Sombreros" by Robin Jones Gunn
• "Mexico,A Love Story: Women Write About the Mexican Experience" by Camille Cusumano
• "Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico" by Tony Cohan
• "On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel" by Tony Cohan
• "What Time Is the Midnight Buffet?: Tales from the Cruise Adventure of a Lifetime" by Chesterh
• "My Several Journeys-Book Two" by Elizabeth Mulford
• "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World" by Eric Weiner
• "Make the Most of Your Time on Earth" by Rough Guides
• "The Smart Traveler's Passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers" by Erik Torkells
• "Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo" by Lynne Bairstow, Juan Cristiano
• "Cruising the Mexican Riviera and Baja :A Guide to the Ships and the Ports of Call by Larry H. Ludmer
• "Eyewitness Travel Guide: Mexico" by DK Publishing
• "Moon Acapulco, Ixtapa, and Zihuatanejo" by Bruce Whipperman
• "Destination Mexico : Planning a Cruise to Mexico" by Carolyn Mehaffy/Bob Mehaffy
• Frommer's Portable "Acapulco. Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo

Now it's your turn to share...know a good book? Write a comment and let us know...