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You are on the right path from my perspective with a DIY day in Ensenada. I would add Bar Anadaluz and Hussong's Cantina to your selection. Both play a historic role in the city and both believe they invented the margarita. My money, for what it's worth, my money is on Bar Anadaluz. Remember that La Guerrense has both a cart and a restaurant. The more authentic experience (and cheaper) is to eat off of the cart. Another good spot for lunch after a tostada from the cart might be Muelle 3 (Pier 3) if you want something by the harbor. A walkable cerveceria would be Wendlant to try one of the bigger local beer companies. Another alternative would be to get a cab and visit the Valle de Guadalupe for some wine tasting and lunch. The bottom line is to do your research on the web and don't let some local steer you into a location where they may be getting a commission. I am sure others here will have ideas as well. BTW - anytime you contact with someone (e.g., taxi driver) make sure to agree to everything up front such as time, number of stops, etc and of course price!

I would do ATVs in Cabo and Jet skis in Mazatlán. The ATV rides in Cabo are north of the city along the highway to Todos Santoa on the Pacific coast. It's really a pretty area. For jet skis, I would simply take an Uber or - if you must/want - a "pulmonia" to the Zona Dorada (golden zone) north of the port. Jet ski rentals can be found in front of the hotels and restaurants there. What I like about this location is that Isla de Vendados or Deer Island provides some amount of protection from the waves.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Water taxis won't help you get to Centro which isn't all that far of a walk from the tender port. By the "main area" you may be referring to Medano Beach? The beach is walkable from the tender port but is on the opposite side of the harbor and is quicker to reach by water taxi. As a benefit, the water taxi will likely take you past the arch - assuming you negotiate that first as part of the overall price.

Yes, I have been on that flight before. On my first search, I simply pulled google flights to see what showed up which didn't include that flight and only a daytime departure which might provide better connecting service to points east and south on AA. I just went back and can see that the San Diego "red eye" exists in January but is more than twice the price of AS flight to MCO. I learned how to adapt to these flights working as a consultant many years ago. Again, what works for you may be different than what works for me as we all have our own physiology which probably influences our preferences. Again, I never made the claim that Brightline is the answer for every situation but does add something new to Florida travel that can possibly benefit cruisers. I will think it might even be more valuable for cruising when the planned extension to Tampa is made.

I think that checked baggage really isn't necessary for many considering that the "carry on" dimensions and weight limits for Brightline are very generous. https://www.gobrightline.com/terms-of-service#baggage The time difference also depends on whether or not I have an additional flight connection or not. It can also depends on the time when flights depart from your home city and arrive in FL For example from my home airport of San Diego, the only "red eye" nonstop flight to Florida on one of my preferred carriers is Alaska to MCO. The FLL and MIA flights on AS and AA are during the day which wastes even more time from my perspective. It also depends on the fare difference to fly into MIA. If I fly into FLL for a Miami cruise, I might pay this amount for a taxi/Uber depending on the time of day. Bottom Line - I never said it works every time, only that it adds new options for some situations. I think you are probably right. Perhaps it will be a station in the future. The future expansion is also planned to go west to Tampa which will also add another cruise option for MCO flights. Maybe. In looking at the policy, you really only need to check oversized or overweight bags. Most normal bags - even those checked in on planes - can be brought on board. We will see. I also think that if the baggage policy isn't correct, Brightline obviously can tailor their offering based on "lessons learned." At least Brightline completed their planned project.. My home state of CA has given academics plenty of fodder to discuss how train projects can really "go off the rails" by spending billions for nothing.

This is going to be an interesting subject going forward. In looking at the consular pages for Spain and Italy, it seems that to stay longer than 90 days one must get a long term stay via in Schengen country. With this visa in hand, it's necessary to obtain your long term visitors resident card within 30 days of arriving in the country that provided the initial visa. This probably won't be a big deal to me, but I can easily see how it could become an issue for some. The recommendation on some of the web pages I read was to always leave a bit of a buffer in your available visa time to deal with logistical issues or problems in traveling. Here is a link to the Schengen Visa Calculator: https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en BTW - It's kind of interesting playing with the calculator as it looks at both the 90 day and 180 day windows to determine your available time in Europe. Waiting one extra day changed my result from 57 to 90 days! It's understandable from a rules perspective, but kind of crazy at the same time...

The recent opening of Brightline rail service to MCO enables new options for people boarding South Florida cruises from Miami and Ft Lauderdale: https://www.gobrightline.com/. I believe the addition of Brightline may provide a viable option to consider when cruising from South Florida. From where I live, the flights to MCO are usually cheaper than going to MIA for non-stop service. The only disappointment for me as a cruiser is that Brightline didn't build a station enabling ready access to Port Canaveral. This seemed like such an obvious stopping point - at least to me. In addition to Brightline, Tri Rail offers service between MIA and West Palm Beach (actually Brightline serves West Palm Beach too) as another alternative. I have used Tri Rail in the past when visiting friends in Florida to keep them from needing to dive either to MIA or FLL. It really isn't too bad a service from my perspective and would consider using it in conjunction with a cruise as well.

Are you kidding me? Do you really want the airlines regulated like the power or water company? That would destroy innovation, choice and only serve to raise prices. Since you have grandkids, I would think you remember the era the of federally controlled airlines. This stifled competition and innovation. Remember that Southwest started as a Texas only airline if memory serves me correctly as they really couldn't fly as they wanted to outside the state. BTW - the notion of the "public utility" really only is relevant if a natural monopoly exists for providing a product or service. The airline business doesn't really qualify for this type of regulation. Air Traffic Control is an example of a "natural monopoly" as it would be harmful and dangerous to have competing ATCs covering the same airspace.

I actually switched from Qantas to AA. I had a call center agent make the change and the miles credited back almost immediately as I was watching the transaction on the website while the agent made the change from one flight to the other.

I really like this write up. I was also planning on a trip to the Blue Mountains in early November following our cruise and this fits in perfectly as to what I was thinking. Thanks for posting! My gut suggests that going on a weekday would be best to avoid a bigger crowd.

I also prefer Spring and Fall as others have stated with a bias towards Spring for the longer days. You statement regarding wildlife would push me towards New England/Canada even though my own preference would likely be towards Italy as I really enjoy the Med during the early summer. I guess the scenery in both locations depends on what you like. An interest in seeing Fall foliage would of course push you towards the leaf season. Logistically, the North American trip would also be easier. Good luck with your choice! It's interesting that you are trying to decide between what in my mind are quite dissimilar cruise destinations and experiences. The AC rules in Italy are a consequence of the War in Ukraine and the desire for conserving energy. Interestingly I was just in Spain and no similar rules are in place. https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/italy-limits-air-conditioning-to-25oc/

Your decision is completely understandable. I didn't realize when responding that you had any firm plan. The drive and scenery can be nice if the weather is cooperating. Have a great time and enjoy your visit to Ensenada!

Nice to hear that the AA program has at least one benefit that is superior to UA and DL. I found this link regarding airline holds of reward travel. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/award-ticket-holds/

I can't recommend any, but it is highly likely you'll need to fight your way through all the vendors trying to sell you tours of one kind or another. My personal opinion is that the blowhole is way overrated. The drive is getting longer and longer as traffic increases and really all that is there is a long tourist walk full of vendors of one form or another with the blowhole at the end.

I don't think you are going to experience any safety issues here. It is one of the main stops on the highway that runs down Baja. It also has a fishing harbor. One of the big draws here are the remnants the French activities in the region based on mining. The town includes some metal structures which I think Gustav Eiffel had a role in. I would love to see more cruises heading into the Sea of Cortes. I think you are lucky to be on this cruise. I am sure you will find something interesting in town for less than $169.00 BTW - I looked at this cruise for December 10th. This is one of the best Mexican cruises I have ever seen from my perspective. I know it is expensive with the cruise line mark up, but the Copper Canyon railway is incredibly beautiful.

Have they considered renting a mobility scooter? This would seem to be a help both onboard and in the ports. I would expect the lines to have some kind of accommodation for passengers traveling with a mobility scooter.

My only attraction to the cruises from LA is the price and ease of access from where I live. I personally prefer the Caribbean over the classic Mexican west coast cruise to Cabo, PV and Mazatlan.

A slight nuance on this information. Frequent travelers to the US from selected other countries, including the UK, are eligible for Global Entry: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/eligibility To your point, I recently went through immigration at Chicago's ORD and was amazed to see how far back the potential queue went prior to entering the immigration hall - at least a couple of hundred yards or so. Fortunately, I came through at a relatively quiet time and everything was manageable and the Global Entry the wait time was effectively zero.

Actually in my case I put the other seats on "hold" before cancelling my existing reservation. At least with AA, the miles credited back with 45 minutes and the hold period was about a week. I am not sure what the policy would be on another US airline like UA or DL.

@dargor5 Interesting case when your home country is somewhat outside of the mainstream in the US. Have you considered applying for US citizenship as a long term solution. I don't know how long you have had your "green card," but going through the naturalization process seems like your best bet for the "long haul." If you are still interested in renewing your Venezuelan passport in the US this link at least describes the process: https://passport.today/venezuelan-passport-renewal-usa/ Naturalization information is found here. You really don't need a lawyer to fill out the forms if you have a good command of English: https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/citizenship-and-naturalization

I really like that route and am looking for something similar for next fall in 2024. We did something similar in the opposite direction in the Spring and really liked the weather crossing as opposed to a more northerly routing which we have also done. good luck and welcome to CC!

It is not surprising that opposition to cruising is increasing in today's world. Much of this opposition is based on the general trends that we see in society at large where individuals will glue themselves to the street with religious fervor in the name of "sustainability" and other such notions. All of these calls for reduced tourism will only creates shortages and thereby results in higher prices. Cut off large ships by fiat (i.e., creating a negative shift in supply) and the result is simply higher prices. Sadly all of these coming restrictions will fall most heavily on the less well to do if mass tourism is restricted by government policy/intervention. It will also impact negatively those whose livelihoods are dependent on tourism as well. This type of "higher price" effect has certainly been the case in California where extra mandates and restrictions related to "sustainability" have raised the price of everything from electricity to gasoline to food to housing. The sad thing is that all of these efforts really have no material impact on anything and only serve to benefit the connected and wealthy at the expense of the working poor. Bottom lime for me - I am going to travel and not worry about any of this until I get priced out of the market.

While most things about FF programs have gotten progressively worse over time, one benefit that I think is quite prevalent is the ability to cancel award tickets without penalty. Where this comes into play is with today's dynamic pricing for award tickets, one can sometimes find much better deals closer to your date of travel. This worked out for me recently where I was able to convert an existing premium economy reservation (which was already discounted off the average mile price) to business class seats for less miles and fees by checking back on my reservation and rebooking. Is this something that others do as well? It seems to me that dynamic pricing for award travel has really changed the process of claiming award travel. "Back in the day" before dynamic rewards it was really a case of finding the seats once and being done with it - at least for me.

Regardless of the terminal, Alaska offers good service from San Diego and are only exceeded in flights by Southwest. The OneWorld benefit is a plus for those in that FF alliance program. I think Alaska is up there as a domestic airline, but I think JetBlue is a bit better in terms of cabin comfort. It's too bad their service is so limited at SAN.

Thanks, it really isn't a proper visit to NZ, but I am looking forward to it none the less. I really would like to come back for a more extensive visit when I can. I am sure. I would only tackle this one with the ship's tour which is likely to be super expensive. It's definitely something to consider.