Ensenada port adventure review

[juju12345]

I just got back from San Diego cruise to Cabo and Ensenada. I had a little trouble finding info on Ensenada while planning so I thought I’d do a quick review for anybody going there.
I don’t normally book excursions (I’m more of a wander around, get a taxi to beach etc type) but with Ensenada it seemed easier to book excursion through Disney.
We booked the City & Shopping excursion (en01). They have adult only or family excursions so we did the family one- we have 3 kids- age 3,5, and 7. Price reasonable at $24 adult/ $20 children.

We met at 9:15am and boarded a bus to the first stop which is the civic and cultural center- beautiful architecture and historical buildings. The tour guide was awesome and very enthusiastic. We spent about 40 minutes there. Adults got included margarita and kids could have Coke which they had never had before so they loved it!

Then we went to shopping area and guide gave us recommendations on places to eat and shop. We went to a little place called Sports Bar and had a fish taco, chips with guacamole and salsa and cheese dip, a huge strawberry margarita and virgin strawberry margaritas for the kids. Total was $27. We had about an hour in this area which was perfect amount of time. My kids did a little haggling and bought a Coco guitar. Vendors around everywhere but they were not very aggressive.

Next was a winery. Sampled 4 types of wine and learned the history of the place. Prices ranged $11-$19 per bottle and I believe you can bring back 3 bottles per person. They also had samples of cheese, bread with olive oil, and chocolates for the kids. I had been worried that kids would be bored and misbehave but they enjoyed the tour even though it’s geared to adults really. They gave the option to be dropped off at waterfront to shop or walk around there (also a big playground there) or go to ship and we just went back to ship. Tour was a little over 3 hours long. If you do this tour, bring cash for food, vendors, and tips for tour guide. Now that I’ve been once, if I went back I would just get a shuttle to the downtown area and explore on our own but I think it is a great option for first timers who want to see the city.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Thanks for the review, we’re doing this cruise next year. I was wondering...did they say anything about using filtered water for drinks? The only time I’ve been to Mexico I got horribly ill, I think from a blended margarita. I’m hoping Disney excursions make sure all drinks offered are safe to drink. Did you have any concerns?

 

[mike314]

Great review, was also looking at Mexican cruises

 

[bcwife76]

Thanks for your review, it IS hard to find info on Ensenada! We are on the 5 night Cabo/Ensenada cruise that leaves next Sunday! We actually debated between the tour you booked and a tour to La Bufadora, which is what we ultimately ended up settling on.

How was the weather on your cruise? Was it a bit cooler coming back up from Cabo? How was the water ie. was it choppy at all?

 

[JRV]

Thanks for your review, it IS hard to find info on Ensenada! We are on the 5 night Cabo/Ensenada cruise that leaves next Sunday! We actually debated between the tour you booked and a tour to La Bufadora, which is what we ultimately ended up settling on.

How was the weather on your cruise? Was it a bit cooler coming back up from Cabo? How was the water ie. was it choppy at all?

We just got off the wonder last Sunday, north of Cabo the weather was cold. It was so windy you really could not sit up on deck 9 and 10. The seas were nice...not flat but not too bad.

I love La Bufadora!!! As we live in San Diego we have taken numerous day trips down there over the years. There are a lot of little shops that sell good knock off designer items (purse, wallets sunglasses...etc)

 

[GPaLarry]

We will be with bcwife76 next Sunday headed for Mexico. Our Cabo excursion is the ultimate luxury sail & snorkel...promoted as "posh Cabo cruising." First time I ever payed to feel "posh." Thought it was reserved only for the British?? We'll see, when I get back, if my life has changed.
Next, in Ensenada, we are going on the Craft Beer & Brewery Tour. Now this one, although it is not mentioned, is probably not very posh....abbreviated pub crawl comes to mind. One of the breweries we visit is the Grumpy Goat...that is more like me...posh, not so much.

 

[Jodster23]

Thank you for this! We are doing the three night cruise from San Diego to Ensenada in May and none of the excursions looked super kid-friendly. We have a 2 and 4 year old so I was thinking we should wing it and hopefully find a great restaurant near the port... (This will be my first trip to Ensenada since my college days... LOL!)

 

[pixiedustedme]

Thanks for your review, it IS hard to find info on Ensenada! We are on the 5 night Cabo/Ensenada cruise that leaves next Sunday! We actually debated between the tour you booked and a tour to La Bufadora, which is what we ultimately ended up settling on.

How was the weather on your cruise? Was it a bit cooler coming back up from Cabo? How was the water ie. was it choppy at all?

Was your La Bufadora excursion via DCL? Would you recommend it? What was La Bufadora like?

 

[bcwife76]

Was your La Bufadora excursion via DCL? Would you recommend it? What was La Bufadora like?

Yes it was through DCL. NO I would NOT recommend it. The 'blow hole' for want of a better phrase was fun but it didn't really seem like the highlight of the trip. You watched it for maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the time....well we started out at an old casino, walked the grounds and went inside and were given a tour. Then we had a choice of rum punch or pop and some snacks (actually I think we paid for the snacks). This was about 45 minutes tops. Then a 50+ minute bus ride. Once you get to LaBufadora you have to walk through a straw market with people yelling at you from all sides to buy their stuff, it takes at least 10-15 minutes to walk through before you get to the view point, then you have to walk through all that again. They gave us at least 90 minutes at LaBufadora which was about 40 minutes too much. We didn't want to buy anything, but we did eat some delicious food. Probably the best churros I've ever had in my life (can't ever eat them at the Disney parks again!) and some of the best fish tacos EVER. And the food was cheap for the most part. Back on the bus where we got stuck in traffic and then at one point, went through a police check point where cops armed with automatic machine guns came on looking for a 'missing girl.'

We were supposed to be back by 12:45 and it was 2:20 and my husband was PISSED because today was the day we had earmarked for seeing Capt Marvel (hadn't worked out time wise during the rest of the cruise) which started at 2pm.

Can I say again I would NOT recommend this excursion??? There were over 200 people on this excursion, probably because it was the cheapest one. I wish we had chosen something else.

 

[darnheather]

I absolutely love that your kids had never had coke! I wish I could have said the same with mine but as soon as they met family that was all over. Sounds like a great little tour for the price. Thank you for the write up.

 

[fredandkell]

Yes it was through DCL. NO I would NOT recommend it. The 'blow hole' for want of a better phrase was fun but it didn't really seem like the highlight of the trip. You watched it for maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the time....well we started out at an old casino, walked the grounds and went inside and were given a tour. Then we had a choice of rum punch or pop and some snacks (actually I think we paid for the snacks). This was about 45 minutes tops. Then a 50+ minute bus ride. Once you get to LaBufadora you have to walk through a straw market with people yelling at you from all sides to buy their stuff, it takes at least 10-15 minutes to walk through before you get to the view point, then you have to walk through all that again. They gave us at least 90 minutes at LaBufadora which was about 40 minutes too much. We didn't want to buy anything, but we did eat some delicious food. Probably the best churros I've ever had in my life (can't ever eat them at the Disney parks again!) and some of the best fish tacos EVER. And the food was cheap for the most part. Back on the bus where we got stuck in traffic and then at one point, went through a police check point where cops armed with automatic machine guns came on looking for a 'missing girl.'

We were supposed to be back by 12:45 and it was 2:20 and my husband was PISSED because today was the day we had earmarked for seeing Capt Marvel (hadn't worked out time wise during the rest of the cruise) which started at 2pm.

Can I say again I would NOT recommend this excursion??? There were over 200 people on this excursion, probably because it was the cheapest one. I wish we had chosen something else.

Did you happen to see or speak to anyone who went on the kayak excursion to La Bufadora? That is the one we are considering and I am wondering if it is a better experience than the one combined with the shopping, which we have no interest in.

 

[bcwife76]

Did you happen to see or speak to anyone who went on the kayak excursion to La Bufadora? That is the one we are considering and I am wondering if it is a better experience than the one combined with the shopping, which we have no interest in.

No sorry, I didn't hear anything about that excursion. The only other one I heard about was a jeep exploration which apparently was nothing as advertised either, and people went to Port Adventures to complain about it.

 

[juju12345]

Thanks for the review, we’re doing this cruise next year. I was wondering...did they say anything about using filtered water for drinks? The only time I’ve been to Mexico I got horribly ill, I think from a blended margarita. I’m hoping Disney excursions make sure all drinks offered are safe to drink. Did you have any concerns?

Sorry just saw your reply to my post. I actually didn’t even think to ask about filtered water in the drinks. The restaurant we went to wasn’t with the Disney guide but is in a touristy areas so probably using filtered water but you are right- that is a good thing to ask! We didn’t get any stomach bugs thank goodness!

 

[juju12345]

Thanks for your review, it IS hard to find info on Ensenada! We are on the 5 night Cabo/Ensenada cruise that leaves next Sunday! We actually debated between the tour you booked and a tour to La Bufadora, which is what we ultimately ended up settling on.

How was the weather on your cruise? Was it a bit cooler coming back up from Cabo? How was the water ie. was it choppy at all?

Sorry just saw your reply. The weather for second week of March was in the 60s to low 70s. In Cabo it was windy but nice beach weather. The pools on deck were heated nice but on sea day it was just too windy and cool to go on deck much. We did get a little pool time on the cruise but very hit or miss Not warm enough for me to sit on balcony at all so that extra money for that was a waste for us. The had said overnight was 12 ft waves but I don’t know if that’s a lot or not but I wore a patch behind the ear and was fine and none of my family noticed much waves. I know in Cabo our table mates said their Disney excursion had a boat ride included that was cancelled due to choppiness. They didn’t get any money back which I thought was odd- the boat was only part of the tour but still.