This simplification and augmentation for Sea Magic IV prepared by SwingCha

THE ORGANIZER
Sea Magic IV: http://www.michelledance.com/cruise-mexico2007.html

THE CARRIER
Princess Cruises
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita 91355
Telephone: 1800/PRINCESS
http://www.princess.com 

THE BOAT
http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=174
Golden Princess/Bermuda, 2001
109M tons; 950 feet - 2,600 passengers;1,100 crew, Eighteen decks
Highest score for cleanliness and sanitation inspections. Passenger rating: 5/5.
All day eating in Horizon Court
Afternoon tea
Complimentary room service
Princess will add to your account $10 per person per night for its payroll subsidy.
You may choose to not pay the $100, a lesser amount or even a greater one.

THE DOCUMENTS-plus
http://www.princess.com/answer/bring.html [edited]
Carry, DO NOT PACK, cruise documents, Passage Contract that limits the carrier's responsibilities and liabilities for lost items, passport, and proof of medical insurance. 
Also CARRY VALUABLES: jewellery, electronics, cameras, medications, etc.

THE ATTIRE - Short pants and jeans are not permitted in the dining room.
Two FORMAL evenings, April 23 and May Day, i.e., cruise days 2 and 10.
DAYWEAR Aboard: Short pants, jog suit, sweater, all-weather coat, low-heeled, rubber-soled shoes. Ashore: footwear for walking, clothing for religious sites, protective head covering, and an umbrella.

THE PREVENTION of a CURE
EvelynVogtGamble (Divamanque) advises “Whenever I travel, I always double up on the Vitamin C and Co-enzyme Q-10, I also carry a supply of Echinacea and Golden Seal (non-prescription herbal remedies [Echinacea is North American] -  Co-enzyme Q-10 a supplement that studies indicate helps to bolster the immune system) and begin taking them at the first sign of any sort of
illness.”

THE TEMPERATURES
“Mexico” day times in April: 84°F-67°F and May: 86°F-70°F [ridiculous! It's a very big country.]
	TEMPERATURES			  	 High 	 			Low               
Acapulco 						 88°F				73°F
Zihuatanejo: probably similar to above
Cabo San Lucas 				26°-29°C = 79°-84°F 		18°-21°C = 63°-67°F
Puerto Vallarta 				26°-29°C = 79°-84°F 		17°-19°C = 63°-67°F

THE VOYAGE
Embarking from Noon, Pier 35, sailing at 16:00 of 22 April 2007
Debarking from  08:30, Pier 35, 2 May 

THE MONEY
I know this is a cashless cruise; but shall I take some?

Yes. About a hundred dollars in small bills will be more than enough. You should find a liquor you like, or for a gift, to get as Mexico doesn't tax potable alcohol as is done here.

Current exchange rate fluctuates, very little, around 11 pesos for a dollar making the peso worth about 9¢. You will get ripped off by vendors on the exchange rate but it won't be much. For in-store credit card purchases, the exchange rate will be fair with as much as four percent levied against you by your bank. Credit cards are commonly accepted. The US Dollar is NOT legal tender in Mexico but, unless there's some significant change, US currency is commonly accepted. Vendors will complain about having to take dollars to a bank to exchange them for real money but it's more of a friendly con than a serious complaint.

THE Pacific Coast ports ITINERARY Number 5710
DAY 	PLACE			Note		Arrive 	Depart	   Time   	   
   1	Pier 35							16:00
   2	Pacific Ocean		FORMAL ATTIRE
 3-4	Pacific Ocean
   5	Acapulco, Guerrero				Noon	 23:00	 11 hours   				http://acapulco.com/en/
   6	Zihuatanejo, Guerrero			07:00	 15:00	  8  hours   				http://zihuatanejo.net/
   7	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco			09:00	 18:00	  9  hours   				http://puertovallarta.net/
   8	Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur		09:00	 18:00	  9  hours   				http://cabosanlucas.net/
   9	Pacific Ocean
  10	Pacific Ocean		FORMAL ATTIRE
  11	Pier 35						07:00	08:30 debarkation begins

About ACAPULCO
Ibeefa says to “check out the museum in the fort, opposite the cruise terminal . . . definately worth checking out.”

About ZIHUATANEJO
http://www.zihuatanejo.cc/ixtapa-zihuatanejo/historia.htm
“No tour or guide needed: Take the 12-peso public buses to Petatlan. Same with Las Gatas, Troncones & Barra de Potosi. People pay huge fees to go to Las Gatas getting exactly what I get at 1/10 the cost. Same for Ixtapa Island. Cruises are mostly of the Booze type. Go to Barra & rent your own kayak. No guide needed. Hectors Snorkel trip are a good deal. have him take you to Manzanillo Beach
	“Good Latin music at Bandido`s . . . Lots of local people there . . . not just tourists . . . so a nice mix of fun loving people.
	“Eric Reid a wonderful Musician is playing Mondays, Wednesdays & Saturdays at Daniels one of the very best Mexican owned restaurants on The "Walk" Great food, service, prices (unlike some Yankee owned places where you need a bank loan to eat) & now great music! Check it Out!”

HISTORY of ACAPULCO
One of Mexico's most popular and beautiful seaside resorts (on three sides of its bay the towering Sierra Madre del Sur reach down to the shore), Acapulco enjoys a romantic and glorious history.
    Acapulco was inhabited by the Nahua people (the predecessors of the Aztecs). Recent discoveries have surfaced in the form of petroglyphs which might indicate settlements as early as 3000 BCE.
    There are theories about early encounters and commerce with Chinese culture as early as 412. Although there are Chinese records of this, physical evidence is scarce. The Chinese name for Acapulco, Ye Pa Ti, means the “Place with Beautiful Waters”.
    The name Acapulco, although its origin is elusive in the Nahoa language, means “The place where the reeds were destroyed”.
    Acapulco was conquered by the Spaniard Hernán Cortés when the Aztec Empire fell in 1521. Conquered, but not colonized, Acapulco was turned into a shipyard where Cortés built ships to invade other places, such as Pizarro’s incursion to Perú. Spanish settlements and colonization began in 1550 and it was until then when the Nahoa people were enslaved and displaced from their more than 1000 years homeland.
    Since 1571, Acapulco continued to be the most important commerce and trading port for Europe with the Philippines and other Asian and South American ports for the next 400 years. During that time, the Fort of San Diego, now a museum, was built to defend the city from attacks by pirates, Sir Francis Drake among them.
    Acapulco played a key rôle in gaining Mexico's 1810 independence from the Spain. There is a recorded Independence movement by Acapulco’s indigenous people as early as 1531. During the Mexican war of Independence, the Fort of San Diego was one of the most difficult positions to liberate from the Spaniards. It even became an obsession to Morelos, one of the most important Independence Generals.
    Acapulco began its transformation to a vacation destination in the 1920s when the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII, visited the bay on a fishing expedition and the Highway from Mexico City was completed in 1931.