Dear bluewatersun,
I'm a friend and traveling companion of Paddlin Gramma, who is out of touch until next week on a packpacking mountain climbing adventure in Colorado, and who asked me to watch her posted ad. If you are willing to fly to San Diego about Halloween or sometime in November, you sound like a person she would enjoy. I have made many trips and cruises to Europe, Mexico, and around the USA with her and have found her to be a responsible honorable traveling companion. She is a multlingual world traveler familiar with western Mexico, very light drinker who would probably spend more time at the shows, ballroom dancing, lectures or even a good movie or book than the casino. I have a job aboard a ship at this time so can't go with her myself. Her ad is close to yours.
The Celebrity Mercury is listed around $800 for ten days but Travelzoo sent me an email today listing it at $599 till August 4.
Goodluck, happy guy