A Grand Adventure! Grand Princess California Coastal Complete Photo Review 9/18-9/25

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED....

A few pictures of vintage San Diego police cars, officers, etc. Gives you an idea of what things used to be like back in the day.

Now would you look at this? I went to San Diego and within minutes I ended up in jail. LOL. This was the old jail that was used when the station was in operation and next to it was a list of people who had spent time in it over the years. I think there were some famous names there. All in all, lots of interesting stuff to see there. But time moves on and now, as the city modernizes, what used to be functional is now a museum.

It was a nice, warm and sunny day (what else is new for that area? I think they said it is like that like 90 percent of the time) maybe low 70s. Around 1230 we decided to try to find the pickup point for the Old Town Trolley, which we had planned to take for a tour around town today. Outside the Headquarters is a light rail line that will take you to the Gaslamp district, Convention center and it looked like, Petco Park, the home of the MLB San Diego Padres. More on that.....

As we walked around, trying to get our bearings, we came across this gem. Remember the movie Top Gun? One of my favorites of all time. Anyway, this is Kansas City BBQ, located right near the light rail, this is where one of the famous scenes was filmed. Wow is all I can say. Based on the movie, it looked like they were in a huge venue, this place seemed to not be all that big. We were still full from breakfast or else we would have gone in and gotten some lunch. Now I think of it, we should have gone in anyway. They say the food there is really good and lots of neat stuff to see inside. Maybe when I go back for that land trip.....

Anyway, we saw what seemed to be some waterfront village off past the mall, so we walked that half mile or so to check it out. Maybe we could find more out about the trolley there. That turned out to be Seaport Village, really nice looking some probably ridiculously expensive hotels and resorts there, and some restaurants and shops. Nice landscaping as well. We asked one of the maintenance folks where we could find the trolley and she guided us to the place where tickets could be purchased. We went over there and got our tickets for the hop on, hop off trolley, something like $40 or so a person. Good value. We had to wait a little while for one to show up and it was nearly packed already before we even got on, but we made it on barely and were set for our tour. While I waited for the trolley, I got a nice San Diego fridge magnet in the shop near the station.

Seaport Village

So, we were onboard and welcomed by our tour guide (forget her name now) and got the cheesy obligatory pre-recorded safety message as we got going. It was an open trolley, so easy picture taking and nice airflow all through the trolley. Probably 50 or so people on this vintage looking vehicle. I will say that Old Town Tours is a company that operates these historical city tours all across the country and I have done the one in Key West numerous times and also did it in St. Augustine, Florida many years ago. I think they have branches in other cities as well but they do a really good job showing people places like this for a good price. I think you can book this as a ship tour but why when you can just walk up to any station and buy a ticket right there?

We boarded around 1330 and first went through the downtown district, which currently is undergoing a bunch of construction but is bustling all the time. I think our guide said that the history of the city goes back hundreds of years and before it was built up, it was just a patch of land with wild animals running around and not much else before the first European settlers arrived around 1600. Tons and tons of land was purchased for really cheap a few hundred years ago and turned into what is now San Diego. It had spent lots of time being fought over with Mexican control of it for a while, until the mid or late 1850s. It is close to the Pacific Ocean, so good for shipping and rail lines were connected to the city in the late 1800s. The current population is 1.4 million and that makes it the 8th biggest US city nowadays. I think they say that the metro area includes Tijuana, Mexico which is only like 10 or 15 miles to the south and that makes the metro area much larger if you combine the two regions.

Downtown San Diego

We continued on, to the Gaslamp Quarter, which I had heard was a great place to hang out at, drink, eat, etc but we didn't have time to get off the trolley and check it out if we wanted to do the entire tour before it was time to go back to the ship. They said it was a hangout for military personnel for a long time and there was a bit of a red light district until the 1980s, when a bit of a renewal took place. It is on the national historical places list, and looks like a place to hang out at if you have time to explore. It is also just a couple blocks from the Convention Center and Petco Park.

This pic was taken as we exited the district, we were not stopped long enough to get any really good pictures of anything in the center of the quarter. Oh well.

More coming.....

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED......

As we exited the Gaslamp, we went past the Convention center and Petco Park. Also light rail stop, train shown here. Seemed to be another commuter rail line next to it as well. Don't know what that was. Lot of freight rail not too far from here too it seemed. Too bad the Padres did not play this afternoon as I would have liked to go to a game there. Again, maybe next year when the Phillies are in town. Anyway, we were then on our way to Coronado Island.

Convention center and light rail train

Petco Park, nice location.

Now, after a short hop up through downtown and up Interstate 5 (it runs through the city), it was time to go check out Coronado Island. To do this, you have to go over the Coronado Bridge, which is a pretty high bridge that takes you out to the island. Here is where a lot of rich and famous live and have lived, there is a nice beach here, nice architecture and of course, the Navy base that takes up about half the island. I think they talked about trying to grow oranges here years ago but I forget why it didn't work then.

We rode along Orange Avenue, and the guide said a lot of the stuff that is on this island now is because of Elisha Babcock, who bought land there back in the 1800s and wanted to make it a resort island. The hotel del Coronado was there, and many resorts have popped up since. Much of the land was sold to the US government because they wanted it for the Navy base and it is really a hybrid island now, half military installation, half resort. Kind of like a larger version of Key West. I think the Silver Strand is here also IIRC. It would take me forever to talk all about it here but that gives an idea of it at least. We did get a nice booklet that tells you all about the tour route and San Diego from the Old Town Trolley people as well, that was a good reference.

Orange Avenue.

Beachfront on Coronado Island

After we made a loop through the island and dropped off/picked up some people, we headed back to the mainland on the Coronado Bridge. High bridge, serious crosswinds up here. With the open windows, pictures were easy to take but careful to not drop anything out of the trolley or worse. Anyway, they say you can see Mexico on a clear day to the south, and great views of the island and downtown San Diego from here. This is CA-75 if you are interested. Not sure if there is a toll or not to cross.

More to come as we soon made our way over to Balboa Park.....

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED.....

Another view from the bridge.

We continued onto Balboa Park, which is in another section of town, historical stuff here and the San Diego Zoo I think. There are a few concert halls here that play for military audiences if I understand right, and since the park is right under the flight path to SAN Runway 27, they have to stop often due to jet noise or I think that is what they said. Planes are probably under 500 feet here, every couple minutes one buzzes the park. Neat. Also, a few museums near the trolley stop including one about cannibalism I think. OK..... Nice bridge that goes over the highway, but Balboa Park is large and it seems there is lots to do for everyone. Worth a stop sometime when I have more time to explore.

Some shots inside the park.

The famous hundred year old fig tree I think. Lots of history here, check it out sometime and lots of info about it on the internet to help you plan out your trip.

Next stop was Little Italy, high up on the hill overlooking everything. It is a fairly large land area, with great views of everything around although it is on the side of a hill. Lots of history here again, many famous Italian-Americans have been through here and a great cultural vibe. I think they said it is a little pricey to live here though. It has a lot of nice restaurants, museums, etc now. Again, you can get on and off the trolley here but due to time constraints, we just rode through instead.

Neat views of SAN from here, I think there is a famous parking garage that you can stand on here and almost touch the planes landing on 27 if I remember reading about that a while back. This must be why they have that displaced threshold that is so famous. Anyway....back on topic. I liked that they have the names and pics of famous Italian-Americans up on lightposts all through the neighborhood, some more recognizable and some a little more obscure. They said it rivals Little Italy in New York and South Philly in size and authenticity. I might check that out sometime in the future as well.

Awesome views from here.

After we left Little Italy, we headed to the Old Town part of San Diego. More in a minute...

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED......

We next stopped in Old Town San Diego. This is historical, and seems to go back a few hundred years. Nice church across the street from the trolley hub and plenty of shopping nearby, with a walking trail that has historical buildings and artifacts behind the shopping building. You also have to disembark the trolley here and wait for another one to board as they check everyone for tickets here. There are restrooms in the shopping area and the typical stuff, shirts, magnets, trinkets, etc. Didn't get anything here and since it was around 1500 by now, we were needing to get back to the ship fairly soon for the 1630 final boarding call.

Our trolley

Church across the street from the trolley hub

Walking trail behind the shopping and trolley area. Neat stuff to see, didn't go too far but was interesting to look at

We soon boarded another trolley to take us back to the city and were back in the downtown area by 1530. We passed by one of the Navy's warfare command buildings on the way back to downtown, San Diego is a huge military city.

On the way back to the ship, we headed along the waterfront, right past SAN and looking back up the hill at the areas we had passed through a while back. It is said that there is a curfew from I think 0000-0600, no arrivals or departures at that time and that for a single-runway, handling 600 operations a day is quite a feat. Lots of flights to all over the world from there though, so ATC does a great job moving traffic in a challenging environment. Anyway, shortly thereafter the trolley dropped us off right next to the ship, not a long walk to get back onboard. No need to worry about getting on the wrong bus a few blocks up after all.

We got off the trolley close to 1600 and got this nice picture of the ship. You can see how close to the street we really are. I think some cruises board in San Diego, so I figure this is a tight operating area but I guess they can handle quite a bit, up to departures which is why that huge terminal building is right there.

We have to pass through the terminal building adjacent to the ship, and security there is quick. Just ship card and driver's license works. We walked back to the ship and were back onboard shortly thereafter, although it is a little bit of a walk to get to the gangway. Lots of other people were along the way with us, so we were far from being the last people back. We got back onboard and after a late lunch, I went up top to check out our departure.

All pax were back onboard on time, and we were out by our scheduled 1700 departure time. Nice picture as we powered away from the dock in San Diego. Until next time.....later. Next stop Ensenada, Mexico.

Oh, that is not all from San Diego though. We had to pass the Navy base on the way out, and just awesome stuff going on there as we passed. That is coming right up....

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED...

So, we were making our way through the channel and out of the area. You go right past the Navy base here, and they were doing tons of training missions. I think they said that F-18s were based here along with helicopters (I do not know what type). Got to see a few F-18 landings here and lots and lots of helicopter takeoffs and landings along with training flight missions that got pretty close to the ship a few times. Neat. Lots of people checking this out as we passed. It was windy and chilly up here by this time also, nearing sunset. On the other side was the city, and SAN off in the distance. We got a good half hour or so of a military air show here, LOL.

As we made our way out, we had an armed Coast Guard escort

Coronado Island Navy airfield and hangars

Runway

The channel we were sailing through, the military installation and San Diego city in the distance. Oh, lots of ship security cameras up here as well, they know what you are doing all the time, haha. In other words, never think you are not being watched because you probably are.

One of the many helicopter passes that I got a close-up pic of. Really neat stuff here.

More in a moment....

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO CONTINUED......

I forgot to mention that a few small boats kept getting in our way as we sailed out through the channel. Accidental I guess but our huge ship had to keep blasting the horn and the Coast Guard and San Diego police boat had to get them to move out of our way. Come on though, you can't see a huge cruise ship coming right at you? Funny I saw a guy in a small motorboat get too close to us on departure from Miami once and the Miami-Dade police chased him right off also. I guess you always have to assume a boat getting too close to a cruise ship might be up to no good these days, so better safe than sorry.

I walked around up top some after departure and after my 4G coverage dropped off, I checked out the sunset. Nice sunset once again.

This was the internet cafe, in the Piazza on Deck 5 or 6 I think. Lots of computers to use here but unless you have to print something, why not just get the internet package and use your own device to surf the web from anywhere? Not many people in the internet cafe on this day or really on any day that I passed by there. They also had good music going on lido before sailaway and I did stop in the pool/hot tub before getting ready for dinner. It was nice and again, not crowded although there were a few other people there tonight.

Around 2000 it was time for dinner. I had a cold, but that didn't keep me from eating. LOL. As usual, we met up in the MDR with the usual crew, talked about the day, shared some pics that we took on our tours, and sat down for a nice dinner. I got some gnocchi and fried chicken for my entrees, cannot remember what the appetizer was if I even got one. I think it was shrimp cocktail, again. Dessert was some interesting fruit concoction. Dessert choices were not that great tonight.

I stopped back in the cabin after a while and my mom stayed in there for early bed. We had our usual evening turndown done when we arrived back. I think Princess is saying that in some cases, the cabin lights will be turned down after service to save power unless you ask them to leave them on. But ours were still always on low, and I never asked for it so maybe this ship doesn't really abide by that. The next day's Princess Patter, and we also had our tickets for the next day's excursion in Ensenada.

They had a deck party at around 2200 and while there was a decent crowd, it was not hugely popular from what I saw. Nothing against 70s and 80s music but that was all they played it seemed, haha. Used to more modern stuff at deck parties. Passed by that and played a little mini golf upstairs. I also went up to the sports deck on 16, aft but the hybrid basketball/soccer court was locked. It was windy on this night, maybe that was why.

I went to lido and shot some hoops at the little machine next to the ping pong tables and indoor hot tub that you put a quarter in and see how many 3 pointers you can hit in a minute. Played that for a while (hint, you don't need to put money in the game to play, it just won't record your score but you can keep score yourself without it) and figured I had enough so it was time to look for more stuff to do.

I walked around some and was still bored after 2230 (only night they did any late-night stuff except for the very last night) so I made my one and only trip to the casino. I played on a few different penny slots for a total loss of $20 (didn't like any of the machines to be honest and did not go back, it was never crowded in there anyway) and I was starting to get a headache and cough from the cigarette smoke in the casino so it was to bed sometime after midnight. I am not a huge casino player but I only played once on this cruise and did not spend a whole ton. Like I said before, alcohol and casino sales had to be pretty disappointing for them on this sailing as it didn't seem that either area was all that bustling for most of the cruise.

The deck party

So, that is it for an eventful Day 7 of the vacation, our day in San Diego. We still had two more days to go, and the next day would feature a stop in Ensenada, Mexico. We did some stuff in Ensenada that most people wouldn't think to even do, definitely not the usual stuff you think of, and will talk all about that day sometime in hopefully the near future. Again, thank you all for reading along with this adventure, hope you are enjoying it and sorry for the long delays in between posting of daily activities. Thanks for being patient and thanks for making this a good conversation among cruisers and not just a review. Happy cruising and have a good day.

Great San Diego pictures. I'm driving down next week, so it's fun to whet the appetite. Yes, the zoo is in Balboa Park. I'll be taking the grandkids there for another visit. For zoo people, it's the best on earth!

I know you're more of an aviation guy, but the other day we cruised out of San Diego on the Ruby Princess after our port call, and I was really thrilled to see submarines docked off the starboard side of our ship just before the channel empties into open sea.

Awww, so fun to relive memories of my time in San Diego. DH proposed to me in Balboa Park under the flight path, since I'm an aviation and cruise freak. Dear dad would take me in our boat as close to the cruise ships as he could without violating the safe perimeter. And Little Italy is where DH and I almost settled.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Great San Diego pictures. I'm driving down next week, so it's fun to whet the appetite. Yes, the zoo is in Balboa Park. I'll be taking the grandkids there for another visit. For zoo people, it's the best on earth!

Thanks. Wish I could have seen more of these areas that we went through on the trolley but we only had a couple hours and at least we got a good sampling of most of the important areas. Old Town Tours is awesome and it really is not that expensive for what you get. Have fun in San Diego. I know a lot of people who have at one time or another lived and worked out there and they loved it, they still go out there to see friends every now and then. I have been to a few different zoos and am not a huge fan of zoos in general, but we have the Philadelphia Zoo and Cape May Zoo not far from me and I have also been to the Buffalo Zoo and I haven't even been to any of them in a long time. It is noteworthy where to find it for those who would be interested in seeing it though. I am going to get Ensenada in here later tonight, have fun reading along. Who knew they make wine in Mexico?

I know you're more of an aviation guy, but the other day we cruised out of San Diego on the Ruby Princess after our port call, and I was really thrilled to see submarines docked off the starboard side of our ship just before the channel empties into open sea.

I wasn't looking for subs but it would have been awesome to see that as well. The views of the city behind the base are awesome and passing by Point Loma on the right side is cool also. I just wish I could have had more time there and seen the Midway. If I go out there next year I will be sure to check it out though. That and I will go into Kansas City BBQ for lunch as well. Thanks for reading along!

Awww, so fun to relive memories of my time in San Diego. DH proposed to me in Balboa Park under the flight path, since I'm an aviation and cruise freak. Dear dad would take me in our boat as close to the cruise ships as he could without violating the safe perimeter. And Little Italy is where DH and I almost settled.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

That is really cool, not only is it a spotters paradise, it is a really nice area to just spend time in as well from the looks of it. That is awesome about how your husband proposed to you right there. Believe it or not, there are a lot more cruise and aviation fans out there than most people realize. We just don't want to sound too geeky so we don't talk about it all that much with people. :cool: I have never had a chance to ride in a private motorboat around a cruise ship, that would be interesting. The closest is probably the little tender boats they send back and forth at ports with no pier. Little Italy did seem to be an interesting place. Again, wish I could have gotten off the trolley and walked around but I wouldn't have been able to see everything else on the tour and make it back to the ship in time.

Well, after a day in San Diego, it was on to the port of Ensenada, Mexico for our fourth consecutive port visit day. So far, we had been to Santa Barbara, Long Beach and San Diego and before heading back to home port of San Francisco, we had one more stop to make. So, that is where we will pick up. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

DAY 8: ENSENADA

What can I say about Ensenada? Really, I have been here before and it isn't the most exciting place in the world to see. However, if the ship is not registered in the USA, (as 99 percent of them are not) it must make a stop outside the USA somewhere during the voyage, so Ensenada it was on this trip. Ensenada is about a hundred miles south of the border, on the coast of the Baja California, and is one of the larger cities in Mexico both population-wise and land-size wise. However, there is actually more to this place than meets the eye if you do your research beforehand.

So, we got up around 0830, got some breakfast before heading back to the room to get our tour tickets and heading down to the theater to meet our tour group. We booked three excursions through Princess, and I usually don't like to book that many but we did this time due to not being familiar with some of the ports and remoteness of the ports. Today's tour featured a trip through the Mexican wine country. Yes, wine country. They do have one, and this area is the only place in the country wine is made. I will tell you why in a moment. Our tour met outside on the dock at 0915, so we had to be out there pretty early.

We had a nice airconditioned bus, and met our tour crew of driver Jose and tour guide Lilia. We were on our way around 0930, and first did a little of a tour of the city of Ensenada on our way out to wine country. I have been there before, so I recognized some of the places we passed, but the story of the margarita was told here. I forget where it was first made and by which American boxer but there is a story about it and it can probably be found by googling if you are interested. The city itself is the typical seaside town, relatively low crime, but a lot of poverty. You can see it with people on the streets trying to sell anything they can for a few pennies. Even Lilia joked with us that if she did not have the tour guide job, she would be off at the side of the road selling Chicklets or something.

Anyway, I know a little Spanish so I understood most of what she was saying during her "Spanish lessons," but it was kind of funny how she was doing it. Giving us history of the city and factual information, then reminding us there would be a test later on to see who gets to go home and who has to stay behind and sell Chicklets. LOL. She was cool though, born and raised in the area, proud of where she comes from, told us about herself and the area as we rode along. Our tour took us far out of town, to the north I think on Route 1, through little villages and into the mountains.

Today's tour would feature a wine tour and a visit to a few different wineries in the area. The story of wine was told to us in a way that made sense. She said that way back when, grapevines were burned nationwide and the only way that this small region in the Baja got around it was to tell the government that they also burned their vines but they actually did not and thus, they are the only area that still produces wine. Interesting. Bet you did not know that Ensenada was Mexican wine country. I forget how much wine she said is produced there now, but most is kept for consumption and sale in Mexico due to tariffs I think. She said that some of these wines actually won wine tasting championships in California years ago and it was totally unexpected. They sent the wine to the contest and had to be told later that they had won, and did they want to send a representative to claim the prize? Haha.

By around 1100, we had arrived at the first stop, which was the LA Cetto winery, the biggest winery in Mexico. I apologize for not getting any pictures up to this point, but I did get a whole bunch of the wineries we saw, and of our trip back to Ensenada city later on. We headed into the winery, which smelled like, wine of course and saw the entire operation. I have been to a few wineries back home but this is a huge operation. They have quite a few people working for them at peak times, and they said it was a hot summer and they lost a significant portion of their grapes due to the weather this past year. It is a family-owned winery however, which is nice as they do take care of their people and the product is of good quality. I forget our guide's name, but he was good and took us step by step through the place.

Outside the winery

Inside the winery. Huge storage tanks for the winemaking. Lots of wooden barrels around here as well. Live wine making and packaging going on in here. Real wine smell in here. Lots of people taking lots of photos here. Neat.

More coming....

DAY 8: ENSENADA - CONTINUED

More of the inside of the winery.....

More holding tanks as we passed outside the factory and to the shop, where we would be getting to do a wine tasting exercise. We sampled four different wines while inside the shop and were also informed that they produce olives here in addition to wine. I do not like olives so I was not interested but I heard others saying the olives were quite good. They offered wine for sale and pure olive oil (which I do like for cooking) in the shop for a competitive price, but we decided against buying anything (the prices are listed in pesos) as we really did not have any room in our suitcases for the trip home.

Wine tasting - no place to sit down though

A little before 1300 I think, we all gathered back up and headed to the bus to continue our tour. Part of the tour included a regular size bottle of LA Cetto 2014 red wine, which was cool. Each person got a bottle as we re-boarded the bus. I just tried some out a few days ago actually, and it was pretty good. As we headed out of the property, we got to see how vast and large the vineyards here were. Huge, and nothing but grapevines as far as the eye can see. You can see for miles here. Really nice landscape.

More coming......

DAY 8: ENSENADA - CONTINUED

Vineyard view as we passed through.

Bullfighting ring or maybe cockfighting, cannot remember. But we stopped here to get some photo ops of the entire area.

So, we were done at LA Cetto, and headed off to our next wine tasting experience, Casa de Luna. Really welcoming experience. The lady who owns this place personally greets everyone who goes there and makes sure that everyone has a good time. I got this pic of a random mountainside as we made our way to this place.

When you get to this place, you park outside, and go in through a rather cramped shop where you can get all kinds of stuff, think of a mini mart. So, after heading out of there, you get drink tickets, and you can sample a number of different wines set up at a few different tables. Obviously you have the opportunity to purchase more if you like your samples. They also had a few different types of homemade Mexican pizzas, one was Hawaiian pineapple, one was something very spicy, and one was just plain cheese if I remember right. Good to go with the wine.

Jalapeno pizza with some Chardonnay.

In the middle of the area, there was a guy doing Lupe dancing. Neat to see. Really got into it, explained the significance of the dancing after the routine to those who watched.

More in a second.....

DAY 8: ENSENADA - CONTINUED

More of the Lupe dancer....

As you can see in the background behind the dancer, the landscape and backdrop is really spectacular. They have tables to sit down with your food and wine at and enjoy the view. Bet you didn't know that this area even existed, huh?

I also tried some honey wine which was way too sweet and another red wine, which was good. Quite a line of people at the drink stations, lol. So, after filling myself with pizza and wine, and enjoying the show, we headed back to the bus and got a heartfelt goodbye from the owner of the property. I was really feeling lousy by this point (guess not laying in bed all day and resting and sipping on wine all day instead really does not help you get better, who knew) but we were headed back towards the city, sometime around 1400.

Mexican countryside on the way back to town

Ensenada has about a million people in a very spread-out area of 52,000 square miles and is one of 32 Mexican states. It takes about 13 hours to travel from one end to the other, and if you continue up the coastal highway, you will end up in California. Go the other way and I guess you will end up in the ocean eventually. We did our little language and history "test" and Lilia told us a little about herself, seems to be an interesting person. But she said she didn't feel like feeding and housing 50 people forever, so we had better get the answers right LOL. All in good fun.

We stopped at the corner where Papas and Beer is(the most popular drinking spot in town I think - was here last year, it is OK.) and let some people who wanted to walk around downtown off. There is a bus that takes you back to the port area for a couple dollars or it is walkable. Maybe a mile or so to the ship? Just know you will pass by about a hundred "pharmacias" that all seem to sell that blue pill and other potent stuff. In my experience, they are aggressive but if you let them know you don't want anything they will leave you alone. We arrived back at the port around 1500 or so but not before getting the story of how Ensenada got its name. The cities further up the coast had gotten the names of saints and things like that, so nothing left. They called it Ensenada, which I think they said means horseshoe. Cool. They have no fresh water sources, so they purify seawater and then sell off the salt. one ton every 8 minutes is produced and the government controls 50 percent of that. Lots of salt produced here so they say. There is also a 40 percent tariff on wine sold outside the country. Also, I had wondered about Pemex gasoline as I had seen the same stuff in Ensenada and in Cozumel. It is a national gasoline company, owned by the government in part or in full, cannot remember. So said our tour guide.

We got back to the ship, thanked Lilia and Jose for a good tour, left a nice tip, and went back through security, and saw the Carnival Imagination parked across the way. One of those vintage classic Fantasy class ships that people complain about but will miss when they are gone. They have charm that the mega ships do not have. Oh, and that flag there is 300 feet high and weighs 500 pounds, can be seen for miles around.

I did not bring any cold medicine with me for this trip, silly me didn't expect to get sick but I was really feeling it now, headache, cough, sneezing, etc. So, in the little gift shop where you can get magnets and stuff, they had a Mexican version of what seemed to be generic cough medicine. Got it for just a couple of bucks, and took it every few hours for the rest of the cruise. It did work, but not immediately. I will explain shortly....

Anyway, a little after 1500 we re-boarded and I got a pic taken of me boarding the ship at a port of call for the last time as tomorrow would be a sea day on the way back home.

We dropped our wine back off at the room (wait for elevator was not too bad believe it or not) and security allowed us to drop the wine in the room (did not have to check it) as we told them it was part of a tour package, sealed and we would not be drinking it onboard the ship as it was a souvenir.

We headed back to the lido buffet for some beef brisket, gumbo, spicy soup, chicken fingers and lamb stew pasta. The brisket was no good but most of the rest of the stuff was OK. After lunch, I headed back to the cabin around 1600 for a much-needed nap. More on the way.....

I have never taken that winery tour in Ensenada, but your pictures make it look like fun. Maybe I'll do that next time. I tend to just stay on the ship.

DAY 8: ENSENADA - CONTINUED

I got up around 1730 once again to take a look at our sailaway, and went up to lido to watch us leave Ensenada and see the sunset.

BTW....if anyone is interested in the dining schedule, it was pretty much the same every day and this is what it looked like in the Princess Patter.

A look out the cabin window, at Ensenada before departure

I passed through the International Cafe in the Piazza on 5 as I went to the elevator to go upstairs at sailaway and this was it at a not very crowded time.

There is quite a bit of shipping and cargo here, this is a look at the cargo port with sunset in the background as we sailed away.

A marina and the city behind it

Later Ensenada!

More in a moment....

DAY 8: ENSENADA - CONTINUED

More of the sailaway, this was taken sometime around 1800.

I want to say this was the dining room menu for tonight. This was the second formal night of the cruise. Lobster night, mind you.

Music and dancing on formal night in the Piazza on my way back to the cabin.

Unfortunately, the medicine was not having much of an effect on making me feel better yet, but it was making me drowsy so I took a nap around 1830 and well, slept through dinner. I told my mom to go to the mdr without me and I would try to go to the buffet later on to get something. I just did not feel like getting a shower and all dressed up tonight - lobster or not. I hate missing dinner but I did have a reason tonight. Anyway, I finally got myself up around 2130 because I was hungry and went to the lido to get a pulled pork sandwich at the grill and some pizza before they closed up at 2200.

Got some stuff from the buffet, which is open late but only one one side. It was OK - potatoes, fruit, beans, chicken I think and a piece of cake which was good.

Got me a pulled pork sandwich and pizza, really good. Almost made up for missing the MDR. Wait staff came around and got me refills on my soda also, which was good because I didn't feel like walking around too much tonight. Still feeling lousy.

There was not much to do around the ship after dinner, but my mom said there was a good Elvis show on Deck 5 in the Piazza and some 90s music on Deck 7, and she said she did enjoy the shows which were over pretty early once again.

I headed back to the cabin around 2300 and was in bed shortly thereafter, having had quite the eventful day in Ensenada. I got to do something off the beaten path here, which is always nice to do. However, it was time to rest and try to get better as we only had one day to go on this cruise. As I mentioned, our four port vists were done with now and it was just one more day at sea before getting back to San Francisco.

That is it for DAY 8: ENSENADA, hope you had a good time reading about my adventures there, and there is still a lot left to go when I talk about our last day at sea. I like to do a tour of the ship and talk about some highlights that I hadn't yet gotten to earlier, so be sure to check that out. Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!

I have never taken that winery tour in Ensenada, but your pictures make it look like fun. Maybe I'll do that next time. I tend to just stay on the ship.

It was my mom's idea. You can only go see a place like Papas and Beer so many times and we have both been to Ensenada before. The price was not too high (cannot remember exactly how much though) but the tour and experience was pretty good. Got to see stuff that most people probably don't even know exists in Mexico. I just hate staying on the ship in a port. Even if we just walk around and get a bucket of beer at a nearby bar like I do in Nassau or Key West or even Cozumel these days, I still like to get off and walk around instead of staying onboard the whole time. It was a fun little time.

That is really cool, not only is it a spotters paradise, it is a really nice area to just spend time in as well from the looks of it. That is awesome about how your husband proposed to you right there. Believe it or not, there are a lot more cruise and aviation fans out there than most people realize. We just don't want to sound too geeky so we don't talk about it all that much with people. :cool: I have never had a chance to ride in a private motorboat around a cruise ship, that would be interesting. The closest is probably the little tender boats they send back and forth at ports with no pier. Little Italy did seem to be an interesting place. Again, wish I could have gotten off the trolley and walked around but I wouldn't have been able to see everything else on the tour and make it back to the ship in time.

Yeah, growing up, I was the only one into that

stuff of people I knew, so it's fun to connect with others on CC.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Interesting fact about the Mexican flag in Ensenada weighing 500 lbs. DH and I have commented on that being just about the biggest display of patriotism we have ever seen in our port visits. We need some that size in the U.S.!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Great pictures of Ensenada and your excursion. Thanks for sharing.....:):):)

Bob

Being a wine buff, I was aware of the industry around Ensenada. I think that the L.A. Cetto wine that you mentioned won the award, and I don't recall which competition, was a Nebbiolo, and this was 5 or 6 years ago.

My brother-in-law likes to go fishing off Santo Tomas (south of Ensenada). He often stops off in Valle Guadalupe, visits a winery and brings back a bottle for me. Never great, but always drinkable, and, certainly, unusual.

For interested readers who live in Southern California, I have consistently seen Baja California wines in Total Wines stores. Even with the 40% tarriff, of which I had no knowledge before reading this post, they are reasonably priced--my recollection is in the low teens.

No Curtis Stone on the MDR menu?