Ensenada, Wine tour or jeep tour

[dapaddo]

We are wondering which would be better and if anyone knows the cost of the Jeep tour on CCL? It is listed as sold on ship only. Last time we were there we did the blow hole and winery but thought this time we might try the two winery tour. On that one does everyone get a bottle of wine? So all four of us gals would get a bottle? Thanks for any help.....

[mcjigs]

I was intersted in the wine tour and curious if anyone has done this tour in Ensenada, Mexico

[cs4225]

We did the Ensenada Wine Tour with the Sapphire Princess. We visited Dona Lupa Winery and L. A. Cetto. We were served pizza, cheese and bread to dip in olive oil to eat while sampling the wines. And yes the tour guide gave each person a bottle of wine on the way back to the ship.

[hula dancer]

Originally Posted by mcjigs

I was intersted in the wine tour and curious if anyone has done this tour in Ensenada, Mexico

Probably a bit late to help you but perhaps my answer will help someone else with the same question.

Four of us took Carnival's Wine Country Tour just a week ago. I only book ship sponsored tours if I'm concerned about the distance and getting back to the ship on time. My experience is that the ship's tours are always overpriced and usually have too many people.

This was not the case with the Wine Country Tour. First of all, it only cost $34 per person AND we EACH received a bottle of wine to take back with us. If there are 2 of you together, one receives a bottle of white, the other receives a bottle of red. (we've only had the white so far and it was quite good, looking forward to trying the red soon.)

The tour is via a modern, clean bus (with a bathroom). It is a 45-minute drive north through very scenic countryside. Our guide kept us well entertained the entire time. Our first stop was at a small local winery where we sampled their salsas & jams. Then we moved out to the garden for the wine tasting. We had very generous pours of 4 wines along with delicious freshly baked pizzas. The second winery was a huge operation with beautiful grounds. We sampled 6 wines and as we boarded the bus for our return we were each given a bottle of wine. We think this was perhaps the best tour for the dollar we have ever had. I would highly recommend it. If we find ourselves in Ensenada again we plan to repeat the tour.

Molly

[mcjigs]

Originally Posted by hula dancer

Probably a bit late to help you but perhaps my answer will help someone else with the same question.

Four of us took Carnival's Wine Country Tour just a week ago. I only book ship sponsored tours if I'm concerned about the distance and getting back to the ship on time. My experience is that the ship's tours are always overpriced and usually have too many people.

This was not the case with the Wine Country Tour. First of all, it only cost $34 per person AND we EACH received a bottle of wine to take back with us. If there are 2 of you together, one receives a bottle of white, the other receives a bottle of red. (we've only had the white so far and it was quite good, looking forward to trying the red soon.)

The tour is via a modern, clean bus (with a bathroom). It is a 45-minute drive north through very scenic countryside. Our guide kept us well entertained the entire time. Our first stop was at a small local winery where we sampled their salsas & jams. Then we moved out to the garden for the wine tasting. We had very generous pours of 4 wines along with delicious freshly baked pizzas. The second winery was a huge operation with beautiful grounds. We sampled 6 wines and as we boarded the bus for our return we were each given a bottle of wine. We think this was perhaps the best tour for the dollar we have ever had. I would highly recommend it. If we find ourselves in Ensenada again we plan to repeat the tour.

Molly

thanks for the info and it was to late, but the great news is we did it and loved it. Well worth the money! Thanks for the reply. ~mary~

[im4golf]

We are only going to be there for 3 hrs. 8-11. THey probably won't have any tours. Does anybody know?

[sassyredhat]

We are booked for this tour in Sept...Glad to hear good reviews.

Pat

[Jeff in Torrance]

We did the wine valley tour with Princess a couple of months ago. Very nice tour, and good value. And, we don't normally do tours on cruises. We drank one of the bottles in the main dining room, after paying corkage, of course.

[wrdexplr]

We did this tour at the end of May and were very pleased with it. I agree that most tours booked through CCL are overpriced and oversold, but this was a great price and we didn't feel like we were part of a herd.

We visited Casa Dona Lupe and L.A. Cetto. Casa Dona Lupe bills itself as an organic family owned vineyard/winery, and L.A. Cetto is more of a large scale commercial operation, so you get to see both sides of the Mexican wine industry.

Casa Dona Lupe is where you will be served the pizza, cheese, breads, olive oils and jam sampling. They gave us 4 "tickets" to use as part of the sampling, but we exceeded that and even got to try some of the wines that were not part of the initial offerings. Just be nice to your server and ask to sample some of the other things they have.

L.A. Cetto is literally around the corner, so there isn't too much additional time spent driving from place to place. They have a bullring up there with great views of the valley, so your guide will likely take you there so you can get some photos.

The free wine that you are given is not necessarily from either of the wineries that you visit. We wanted to ensure that we didn't purchase something we were getting for free, but the free bottles are really a "gift" from the tour operators and they basically just purchase cases of Mexican wine on their own and give them out. On our tour, there was only one variety, so my husband and I walked away with the same free bottle.

Overall, I would say that I would do this tour again, but I would want to see other wineries. It was a great value, and we felt safe the entire time. Our tour guide was Belen and she was great!