Ensenada to San Diego

[sharke]

Has anyone taken the Pacific Northwest cruise that disembarks in Ensenada, Mexico? If so, how did you get from Ensenada to San Diego? The cruise line has a transfer, but we were wondering if anyone used a private tour/driver etc. We're making this cruise on Mercury in October.

[tamara01]

I would really use the ships bus. It is much easier. Traffic is horrible at the border and it takes hours sometimes. People walk, ride bikes, etc. to get in to CA. We were on the bus and went right through customs, etc. It really wasn't that bad, bus was comfortable enough and the time went by pretty fast.

[walkabout07]

I almost booked that trip... BUT I could only find round-trip tours from San Diego to Ensenada (some even had stops in Tijuana and included lunch for less than $60), but no tour company seems to do it FROM Ensenada. I couldn't find a car rental that starts in Ensenada. The Mexican ABC bus might work to the border and then Gray-Line from there (but with luggage it may be a major hassle - and still no sightseeing with suitcases in tow). The really sad part is Celebrity is not offering any "tours" of Ensenada (or Tijuana or the "buffalosnort"). All they offer is an $85 trip to San Diego airport. So, even though you "go" to Mexico - you wont get to shop in Mexico or get out and see anything. You just have to spend 3 hours driving through to San Diego. :mad:

[guitarboy53]

The bus ride doesnt sound all the great to me. I guess there is something called the Jones Act that says a ship flagged in a country other than the US must make at least 1 port of call stop outside the US. Kind of silly but what are ya gonna do!??! :)

[walkabout07]

Isn't Canada "out of the country" - why does this boat have to go "out of the country" twice? I'm pretty sure the schedule includes a Canada port (or is it two?) The Hawaii trips on Princess only have to leave the country (USA) once.:mad:

[sharke]

Thanks, everyone. Just what I thought. We're basically screwed. :rolleyes: Guess we'll take the bus but I just hate the the idea of it being our only option. I'd really like it if they offered a half day tour of Ensenada or at least some touring option and then a drop off in San Diego. I'll keep checking for other options.

[wrp96]

Isn't Canada "out of the country" - why does this boat have to go "out of the country" twice? I'm pretty sure the schedule includes a Canada port (or is it two?) The Hawaii trips on Princess only have to leave the country (USA) once.:mad:

 

The problem is the difference between a one-way cruise and a roundtrip cruise.

 

Mercury starts in Seattle. They can't do Seattle to San Diego one ways without stopping at a distant foreign port due to the provisions of the Passenger Services Act, that is why the cruise ends on Ensenada instead of San Diego. The same thing can be seen of one-way Hawaii cruises - they have to either start or end in Ensenada to avoid violating the PSA. The nearest distant foreign port on the west coast is way down in Central America, almost all the way to South America.

 

On a roundtrip cruise like the Hawaii cruises on Princess, they only have to make a stop in a foreign port to satisfy the PSA. Since the cruise begins and ends in the same US port, there is no requirement that the foreign port be a distant foreign port.