Anyone happen to know if this is only available during the Halloween on the High Seas cruises?
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/ensenada-mexico-halloween-day-dead-celebration/
Thanks!
We wouldn't recommend this excursion.
We did this Port Adventure last month. When we reserved the excursion, it seemed like a really fun and convenient activity to do in Ensenada. And the obvious connection to the movie Coco and the seasonal connection to a Halloween on the High Seas cruise made the decision even easier to make. We had high expectations that this excursion might redeem Ensenada for us after a previous cruise there left us feeling disappointed.
But, I’m sorry to say that we were mistaken. This excursion was a very poor value. The entire experience is very poorly developed and executed. Here’s what happened:
- Boarded bus to drive across the street from the cruise terminal to the city’s public cultural center
- Due to a conference happening in the building at the time, our tour guide hushed us to keep from disturbing the conference. It made us feel like intruders in the space rather than welcome guests.
- The guide rushed through brief descriptions of the building and it’s historical significance. We went outside and he did the same for various monuments around the building as well.
- We were led to a corner of the grounds where tables were set up for the Dia de los Muertos crafts and face painting.
- The children, and some adults decorated basic (cheap) spider and skeleton crafts as well as fairly nice sugar skulls. The decorating paint pens were just barely adequate for the number of guests.
- There were some refreshments of a cinnamon chocolate drink and Dia de los Muertos sweet bread. Not bad, but probably not something that most gringos would be used to.
- The children were lined up to break a couple of piñatas. The guides sang the “dale, dale, dale” piñata song. After the piñatas were felled, they also handed out somewhat good-sized bags of authentic Mexican candy to everyone. Again, most gringos would probably not be used to some of the candy flavors.
- We re-boarded the bus. Some of us were dropped off at the cruise terminal.
- Others stayed on the bus to be taken to the downtown area for shopping. We opted not to take advantage of that. The last time we were in Ensenada, we didn’t feel like the area was very family-friendly. Many of the stores are pharmacies heavily pushing Viagra and other similar drugs, complete with mildly explicit marketing aids. It left our teenagers amused/embarrassed and our younger children confused. We didn’t feel the need to repeat that unpleasant experience.
On a positive note, I would say that the experience did have a somewhat authentic feel to it. The main guide was apparently an Ensenada native. And we did get the sense that the activity was pretty representative of a typical in-home party associated with the Day of the Dead. But frankly, on a
Disney cruise with our young children, I’m not sure a truly authentic, homey experience is what we really wanted. In a way, and especially for the really high price paid for the excursion, we expected more of an idealized and more highly-produced version of the activity.
To put it into perspective, we also did the Salsa and Salsa Port Adventure in Cabo San Lucas. For just a few dollars more per person, that excursion included a beautiful setting overlooking the ocean, multiple delicious salsas that we learned to make ourselves, an open margarita bar, delicious fresh tortilla chips and other foods, and a really decent Salsa dancing lesson that even my two left feet thoroughly enjoyed. That excursion was very nicely developed and produced. It included enough food and drink to keep everyone satisfied. And the entertainment value was very high. And it still seemed to be a pretty authentic experience to enjoy local customs.
We sent
DCL feedback about the Ensenada Port Adventure. We told them the excursion needs a lot of development help or the price needs to be lowered significantly. Better yet, we indicated that, for us, they would be better off not visiting Ensenada as a port at all until it becomes a much better destination for young families. We still loved our cruise. It was great to pair it with
Disneyland for a fun land and sea adventure. (Even though it would be so much more convenient if the cruise could be out of a place like Long Beach instead of San Diego.)
For a much better value in Ensenada, I recommend the Taste of Mexico activity.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/ensenada-mexico-taste-of-mexico/ With that one, you get an actual meal. And making the salsa there was delicious as well.
As for whether or not this Day of the Dead activity is only for Halloween on the High Seas cruises, I'm to really sure. But I would guess that it is. But even if it is available in the Spring, I still would not recommend it.
