Excursions for Baja Mexico cruise

Hey Cruisers

We are going on our first cruise in um . . . 10 days!!! We are so excited. However I am nervous about the excursions. We haven't booked any yet so I was wondering how important it was to have them prebooked? I see that several of you have gone on this cruise and wondered what you would recommend going to for each destination. San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada. But please reply quickly cause I have to book today! hee hee

Thanks

Hey Cruisers

 

We are going on our first cruise in um . . . 10 days!!! We are so excited. However I am nervous about the excursions. We haven't booked any yet so I was wondering how important it was to have them prebooked? I see that several of you have gone on this cruise and wondered what you would recommend going to for each destination. San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada. But please reply quickly cause I have to book today! hee hee

 

Thanks

You didn't say whether you were on RCCL or Carnival...but the excursions are generally the same...

The one I love and always recommend is the Winery tour in Ensenada...There's not a lot in Ensenada worthy of the whole day there and this tour takes you out of town to the much more pleasant countryside...The wineries are surprisingly good and the tastings extremely generous...Allow them to drop you off in town after the tour and go get some fish and shrimp tacos...and some margaritas at Papas & Beer...then shop your way back to the ship on foot...

Don't bother with the Bufadora excursions...they're fairly disappointing...

For Catalina, it depends on what you want to do...The inland bus tours will really let you see more of the island...The various water tours--submarine, glass bottom boats, water sports are interesting if you're into that...A lot of folks, though, just like to tool around Avalon on foot or in a rented golf cart...

San Diego is...well...San Diego...If you're from around here, just do whatever...If you're a "tourist", either hit the Zoo, Wild Animal Park or SeaWorld...or take the "Hop-on-Hop-off Trolley tour...

Have fun...

In Ensenada there is the two major things to do. The blow hole tour and wine tasting tour. The blow hole tour is a ride out to the blow hole where there is a flea market set up. If you never been to Mexico it's worth a look. Best way to do the blow hole is when you get of the ship there is a shuttle that will take you to the downtown area. They will also give you a tour to the blow hole for less than the cruise line. It will take about 4 hours for the tour out to the blow hole, look around, shop, and they will bring you back into town, where you can walk around or they will give you a ride back to the ship. The last time we went it was around $15 for the tour. The shuttle to and from the ship was $3.

The wine tasting tour is ok. A nice drive to two winerys.

In Catalina, we rented a golf cart and cruised around. Then walked around the shops downtown. You can parasail, glass bottom boat tour, or rent a jetski.

Just go and have a good time, enjoy the cruise. Don't try to do too much all at once. Save some for your next cruise.

If you are sailing on the Monarch RCCL, we did not prebook any excursions. Once we sailed we decided to book the semi-submersible tour in Catalina and a shopping/folkloric festival tour in Ensenada. No problem booking tours once we sailed. There is a form you can fill out and drop off at the excursion desk and the tickets will appear in your cabin.

If you do the La Bufadora tour, do it through the ship. I did this tour a few years ago with a local tour and thought we would never make it back, every few miles the bus would pull over and the driver would check under the hood, kind of scary, but we did make the ship.

Since I live near San Diego, we did not do any tours here. We met some family members and walked to the USS Midway Museum and enjoyed a self guided audio tour of a retired aircraft carrier. This is an easy walk to get to and is a great close-up look of an aircraft carrier with many planes and helicopters on the flight deck. Seaport Village is an easy walk also. The San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park with its many museums is also a must see.

On Catalina we just strolled around town and did the semi-submersible tour. The sea-life is not as colorful or as varied as you would see in more tropical waters, but we enjoyed seeing the Garibaldi fish up close, interesting, but won't be that exciting. I would be much more interested in seeing the interior of the island. These tours seem to be priced competitively and I wouldn't hesitate to book through the ship. I don't think you will get them any cheaper.

Anyway, this is a great cruise and the weather should be nice for you. Have a wonderful time!:)

Have done three Carnival Baja cruises (so no San Diego). Only once did we do an excursion and that was a ship-sponsored city tour of Ensenada. But after a couple of times in Ense-nada (as in the Spanish word for nothing), we don't even want to go into town anymore. After that, we just go to the marketplace next to the pier so that my hubby can buy a trinket for his mother. Then we return to the ship and hang there.

In Catalina, we walked around, looked at the art exhibit of buffaloes, did some shopping and that was enough. Many people rent a golf cart.

You can just get off the ship and sightsee on your own, go on an excursion booked through the ship, or book an independent excursion (either pre-book or book when off the ship). You can even stay on the ship. Just remember if you get off the ship, you would need to be back on by a specific time, or risk being left behind.

The comments in this thread are great! A few suggestions to add- You can stroll around Avalon Harbor to the "Casino". It's an easy 20 minute stroll along the waterfront. There's a small museum in the bottom floor, allow 30 minutes to see everything. (BTW, Wrigley owned Catalina a long time ago so that's where the Cubs did their winter training ). You can rent golf carts and drive around a fixed route over area roads. The route goes up into the hills above Avalon and loops back into town. The best way to see the rugged interior of the island is via a tram/bus tour to the airport. It's about an hour in each direction with a rest stop at the airport. You can see buffalo that are descendants of ones set free after a movie filming. BTW, all ships tender at Avalon- the harbor is too small and shallow to dock.

Ensendada: I recommend the blowhole (La Bufadora) more than the winery. The drive to the blowhole goes though the city, farmland, several villages, and rugged coastal mountains. It's a good way to get a sense of the good, bad, and ugly of Mexico. There's an open-air bazaar at the blowhole which is pretty unbelievable. Our group had a "pick the strangest/tackiest Mexican souvenir" contest. Picking the winner at dinner was hysterical (sorry about the digression).

The winery tour was OK, but the scenery is mostly arid mountains. You don't see as much of Baja on that tour. I don't recommend the mountain bike & winery tour offered by Carnival. The bikes were in various states of disrepair and they catered to the least experienced person (she had never ridden off-pavement). That dragged down the group when they had enough staff to split it up accoding to ability.

Last Ensenada comment- You're safe in any of the tourist areas, but don't stray too far even during the day. Leave valuables on the ship. Sadly, Tijuana and Ensenada have become unsafe enough for the State Department to issue a travel warning. I don't want to make you paranoid but it's "definitely not Kansas".

Have a great cruise!

Superexcited. When are you going? If you are going to be on the May 5th sailing of the MOS jump on over to the Meet and Mingle and join our fun little group. We are having an informal Meet and Mingle after muster by the pool bar. If not have a great cruise!

the Baja 3 and 4 dayer s are a great way to a quick cruise fix

while waiting for the next biggie :p ..IMO it sure beats hitting

vegas..

my niece conducts tours for school age childeren on Catilina so we

join in while we re there..not much in Ensenada..nice place to relax

though..we hired out a horse and carriage ride for an hr..then walked

the wharf area..

be warned as some have said..this is not a town to wandering around

away from the main tourist areas..

Hey!!! You guys are the best!! Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and advise. I am sorry I didn't leave any details about our cruise. Yes we are going MAy 5th on the MOS with RC. Simo I will try and find the other board so that we can met and mingle. We went ahead and book the Sea World thing for San Diego. We haven't ever done that so we decided what the heck. As for Catalina, I think we will just go with the flow and check out what is there when we get there. Anyone know what the weather is supposed to be like? I am thinking snorkeling or kayaking, but if it is cold probably not. As for Ensenada, we'll probably wait and see there too but I will take note and stay with the main stream of things.

Anyway thanks again!

:)

The Golf carts are super fun on Catalina and pretty cheap...... Blow hole is ok but over rated. However if you are going to do it, do it from the bus company that takes you to the city from the ship. Yes do it on your own. It is the same company. Less than $10.00 per person. The one I did even included a decent lunch.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=694632&page=14

Superexcited, here is the link to our meet and mingle. Come on over if you like.

I am thinking snorkeling or kayaking, but if it is cold probably not. :)

Weather varies a lot this time of year. Late May through June there is often a thick overcast we call "June gloom". But you're probably going early enough to miss it. It could be 80/sunny or 55/cloudy. I suggest checking the forecast right before you leave. They are pretty accurate 3-5 days out.

The sea temperature will be cold, 55-60 degrees. I believe the snorkeling places rent wetsuits.