Ensenada Bus to San Diego - Your Experiences

[takemewithyou]

As someone who worked for cruise lines in San Diego for eight years, I can only say avoid going to and from Ensenada at all costs. If you leave from San Diego, you will probably stay at the terminal all afternoon and arrive to find the ship not there yet. If you arrive in Ensenada for debarkation, you may face the problems earlier posts have stated. I have observed occasions when the immigration authorities did not have enough agents, and guests waited long periods in the sun to cross the border. You might get lucky and have the same experiences some guests report. Why take the chance?

 

Why take the chance?

Maybe because we want to cruise to Hawaii one way and enjoy Hawaii at the other end?! :)

Are you saying the southbound trip to board in Ensenada should be avoided at all costs?

We are on Millie to Hawaii 10/22.

[BILL-WI]

It cost me $200 to switch to an older ship (Millenium vs. Solstice) and I lost one night in order to avoid the Ensenada end to the cruise. I think the pricing is probably an effort to draw people to the Solstice cruise despite the Ensenada debarkation.

 

Right there with you....:D:D:D

 

BILL

[Kartgv]

Maybe this has been asked and answered, but I can't seem to get it. Can someone explain why Celebrity can't find another Mexican port just far enough south to qualify as a "far distant" port, spend the day (even if no one gets off the ship!), then carry the passengers to San Diego? The distance requirement can't be that huge - after all, there are ships doing round trips out of Bayonne that go no further than Saint John and Halifax, which according to Google Earth are a maximum of 167 miles (as the crow flies at least) from the edge of Maine. How is that situation different from the San Diego/Mexico scenario?

[Gonzo70]

Maybe this has been asked and answered, but I can't seem to get it. Can someone explain why Celebrity can't find another Mexican port just far enough south to qualify as a "far distant" port, spend the day (even if no one gets off the ship!), then carry the passengers to San Diego? The distance requirement can't be that huge - after all, there are ships doing round trips out of Bayonne that go no further than Saint John and Halifax, which according to Google Earth are a maximum of 167 miles (as the crow flies at least) from the edge of Maine. How is that situation different from the San Diego/Mexico scenario?

 

Because no ports in Mexico are considered to be distant per the PVSA. No ports in Central America, North America or most of the Caribbean (with a few exceptions in the Caribbean) are distant. Cartagena Colombia is probably about the closest distant foreign port, but this would make the cruise considerably longer.

 

Round Trip cruises only need to visit a foreign port (any foreign port), not a distant port like a one way cruise starting in one US city and ending in a different US city.

[3418ahl]

Just wondering....the Disney Wonder has this itinerary listed for April 29. How are they doing it???

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART

Sun Apr 29 Los Angeles, CA 4:00pm

Mon Apr 30 At Sea

Tue May 1 At Sea

Wed May 2 At Sea

Thu May 3 At Sea

Fri May 4 Hilo, Hawaii, HI Noon 7:30pm

Sat May 5 Kahului, Maui, HI 7:30am 7:30pm

Sun May 6 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 7:30am 7:30pm

Mon May 7 Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI 7:30am 5:30pm

Tue May 8 At Sea

Wed May 9 At Sea

Thu May 10 At Sea

Fri May 11 At Sea

Sat May 12 At Sea

Sun May 13 Ensenada, Mexico 8:00am 4:30pm

Mon May 14 Los Angeles, CA 9:00am

[Gonzo70]

Looks like a legal itinerary to me. Round trip cruise stopping at a foreign port. What do you feel is wrong with the itinerary?

[takemewithyou]

Doing this in October...so happy to read this...and I am not going to read any other reviews on this topic between now and then !!:D

 

Thanks

 

Woody

 

Woody, you were smart to stop reading after that one positive review of the trip south to Ensenada! :rolleyes::)

[TommyD3]

To answer a question asked earlier in this thread, there will be 78 busses needed to transport guests on May 6th, 2013 to/from Ensenada.

Just a few weeks ago when the Century disembarked there, the first of 45 busses arrived at the San Diego Airport at 8:50 am. The last four arrived at 1:35 pm. Needless to say a dozen or so missed their ourbound flights due to "rush hour" traffic which normally means a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait at the border (northbound). At one point a group from a bus jumped the line, threw open a secured barrier, and crossed into the US on foot via a bus lane. Pandemonium resulted, and one person was accused of assaulting a US Customs agent. It took 14-15 agents awhile to restore order.

David

 

I was one of the 1800 people bussed from Ensenada to San Diego about 2 weeks ago. I had been on the Century for 49 days starting in Perth Australia. I had read horror stories on Cruise Critic. I was VERY HAPPY with the results. We had an american driver who had to report to work at 11:00 PM the night before disembarkation. We had an american bus that was as nice as any I have ever been on. We had to wait for almost an hour on the bus at the border because of the traffic. When we reached the checkpoint we disembarked, were escorted in, showed our passports to the customs agent, and put our carry on thru an x-ray machine. Took less than 5 minutes. It was easier than going thru security at most airports - no magnetometers that require you to remove everything metal including your belt and shoes. I was VERY impressed. If you have the option of doing a round trip from San Diego or LA, obviously that is easier. But if you did like I did and actually circumnavigated the globe, you have no choice due to the Jones act. FYI the US requires the ship stop at a distant foreign port - defined as 1000+ miles before it can embark in Hawaii and disembark in Cali.

 

Tom

[fleckle]

...... We had to wait for almost an hour on the bus at the border because of the traffic. When we reached the checkpoint we disembarked, were escorted in, showed our passports to the customs agent, and put our carry on thru an x-ray machine. Took less than 5 minutes. It was easier than going thru security at most airports - no magnetometers that require you to remove everything metal including your belt and shoes. I was VERY impressed.......

 

As Robtulipe states, doing it in the opposite direction, San Diego to Ensenada, is much easier.

We have done it that way twice and would not hesitate to do it again.

 

The main differences doing it southbound:

 

Our wait at the border was only about 10 minutes.

We did not need to disembark the bus or show passports or anything else.

No encounter with customs agents; no taking our carry-ons off the bus.

No x-ray machine or metal detector to go through at the border.

 

Some of us stepped off the bus briefly while we were waiting at the border just to stretch our legs and snap a few photos. Others remained on the bus.

When we got to Ensenada, the ship was already there and ready for us to board.

 

The round trip cruises to Hawaii do not appeal to us at all because they are essentially just long trips out in the ocean that offer very limited time in Hawaii before turning around and heading back out to sea again.

 

The big appeal of the one-way cruise is that it enables us to have a real Hawaii vacation for as long as we like, where we get to pick the island/s where we want to spend our time.

 

But I would give up my extra vacation time in Hawaii for the opportunity to circumnavigate the globe, as you did!

Major difference in time and budget required to do that though. :)

[thmpsn]

I have gone both directions on several of my past cruises. I am booked on the Solstice in 9/2013 which ends in Ensenada. You ask why do it? Well I want to see the America's cup ships while we are docked for two days in San Francisco and I love the solstice class ships. I could change ships, but I won't. I have booked a hotel for San Diego so that we won't feel stressed about missing a flight on the last day. As I said, have done this both directions and although it can be a slow process, I don't have a problem with doing it again. I can only speak from my own personal experience which turned out to be fine each time I have done it. One must be aware that you cannot be guaranteed to catch an early flight home. So if you don't want to get a hotel room for that night and fly home early the next morning, just don't book an early flight home on the last day of the cruise. One must understand that getting to San Diego will most probably be a slow process.

Karon

[takemewithyou]

Fleckle, thank you for your post.

 

1. I think there is a difference between going south for an Ensenada embarkation and heading north to cross the border back to USA after an Ensenada diembarkation. The crossing from Mexico back in to the US being much more time consuming and thorough.....

 

2. I admit, I have some trepidation about the bus trip to Ensenada, and I am one who said I would never consider Ensenada for embarkation or disembarkation in the past......However, the lure of a one way cruise to Hawaii and the opportunity to spend some time in Hawaii after has made me reconsider.

 

3. Do I think everything will go perfectly? Probably not. But, I have no choice because of the PVSA if I want to have a one way cruise to Hawaii. I am hoping the memory of the bus trip to Ensenada will fade once I am onboard the ship to Hawaii.

[robtulipe]

I had been on the Century for 49 days starting in Perth Australia.

But if you did like I did and actually circumnavigated the globe, you have no choice due to the Jones act. FYI the US requires the ship stop at a distant foreign port - defined as 1000+ miles before it can embark in Hawaii and disembark in Cali.

 

Tom

Actually I believe in respect to the Passenger Vessel Service Act of 1886, Jones Act applies to cargo transport, you were legally entitled to disembark the Century in San Diego since according to that act you started your cruises or initially embarked the ship in Perth, a distant foreign port, and not Honolulu. Even though it was booked as three cruise it is all considered as one in respect to the PVSA because there were no time breaks inbetween and you were on the same ship for those three cruises . You had to get off in Ensenada because X scheduled your last cruise of that repositioning to end in Mexico because they didn't want to offer or arrange disembarkation for the few passengers doing B2B cruises.

This can also be a disadvantage for B2B cruisers in that they can't book two or more cruises B2B that start and end in different US port and don't call on a distant foreign port. For example you can't book a one way Alaska to Vancouver cruise followed by a repositioning to LA or San Diego on the same ship without a break in between even though each cruise alone meet the requirements of the PVSA.

[DAllenTCY]

There are two differences next May for the Solstice sailing from Ensenada to Seattle, from previous cruises that embarked there...and to which my friend Bill alluded. This time the ship is stayiing at the dock for the whole day, as opposed to sailing from San Diego to Ensenada.

In the past, since the ship requires 4-5 hours to make the 90 miles, some of the southbound busses actually arrived before the ship. Since there is no other option available, those guests had to wait up to 1 1/2 hours on the bus once they arrived.

In order to avoid such a circumstance, the first buses leaving from San Diego have to wait until several hours after the ship leaves. Therefore; 1500+ guests wind up taking a number and waiting until that number is called. Think of this....with 50 people on each bus, it takes at least 2 hours just to load the 45-50 busses (even more next year for the Solstice).

The other difference on the southbound trip is that luggage is piled into large trucks, and those trucks deliver your luggage with your "convoy". That means that fewer pieces of luggage are lost in transit. Northbound, you have to hope that your luggage is loaded on your bus between 2 and 4 am. That never works out well, especially with two airport terminals in San Diego. Many pieces wound up at the wrong place, and others were not delivered to hotels, as was the plan. Anyway, my point is that I would avoid the Honolulu cruise to Ensenada, but I would recommend the Ensenada to Seattle trip. Airfares from Seattle to San Diego are very reasonable if purchased in advance, especially on Alaska Air's nonstop flights.

Buses will load earlier in the day going to Ensenada (utilizing the same busses for the debark). My only concern is that some of the bus drivers could be looking at a 16 hour day.

David

[whitshel]

Legally in CA I don't think they can drive more then 8 or 9 at one time....

[DAllenTCY]

The California law is 11 hours after 10 hours of rest for a bus. These busses will be leaving and continuing in Mexico, where I do not believe there is a rule.

According to the information I have, debarkation bus drivers will report at 4 am at the Ensenada pier. They will then make their way to San Diego's Lindbergh Field and unload.

From there, they will line-up and wait to form convoys of 5 buses and one truck going back to Ensenada. The ship does not sail until midnight, so who knows how late the last bus may leave? Perhaps there will be relief drivers, but I it is a concern I have, as of now.

David

[fleckle]

Just wondering....the Disney Wonder has this itinerary listed for April 29. How are they doing it???

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART

Sun Apr 29 Los Angeles, CA 4:00pm

Mon Apr 30 At Sea

Tue May 1 At Sea

Wed May 2 At Sea

Thu May 3 At Sea

Fri May 4 Hilo, Hawaii, HI Noon 7:30pm

Sat May 5 Kahului, Maui, HI 7:30am 7:30pm

Sun May 6 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 7:30am 7:30pm

Mon May 7 Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI 7:30am 5:30pm

Tue May 8 At Sea

Wed May 9 At Sea

Thu May 10 At Sea

Fri May 11 At Sea

Sat May 12 At Sea

Sun May 13 Ensenada, Mexico 8:00am 4:30pm

Mon May 14 Los Angeles, CA 9:00am

There is no problem at all with doing this. It is a very common round trip itinerary offered out of California ports by a number of cruise lines, not only Disney.

 

Notice how it embarks and disembarks at the same port and does not transport passenger between two different US ports.

The Hawaii ports are only intermediate stops on this itinerary, not final destinations.

That is why the stop in Ensenada is sufficient to satisfy the nearby foreign port requirement.

[takemewithyou]

There are two differences next May for the Solstice sailing from Ensenada to Seattle, from previous cruises that embarked there...and to which my friend Bill alluded. This time the ship is stayiing at the dock for the whole day, as opposed to sailing from San Diego to Ensenada.

In the past, since the ship requires 4-5 hours to make the 90 miles, some of the southbound busses actually arrived before the ship. Since there is no other option available, those guests had to wait up to 1 1/2 hours on the bus once they arrived.

In order to avoid such a circumstance, the first buses leaving from San Diego have to wait until several hours after the ship leaves. Therefore; 1500+ guests wind up taking a number and waiting until that number is called. Think of this....with 50 people on each bus, it takes at least 2 hours just to load the 45-50 busses (even more next year for the Solstice).

In the past I have heard that Celebrity takes embarking guests in Ensenada to a local hotel to wait for the ship to start embarkation. You mention that if the bus arrives early, the guests have to wait up to 1.5 hrs for the ship to arrive......

So no more waiting at a hotel with snacks and beverages?

Any information on the Ensenada embarkation process would be appreciated. Our roll call has received conflicting info. Thanks.

I am on Millie in the Fall, not Solstice, if that makes a difference.

[MAXII]

To answer a question asked earlier in this thread, there will be 78 busses needed to transport guests on May 6th, 2013 to/from Ensenada.

Just a few weeks ago when the Century disembarked there, the first of 45 busses arrived at the San Diego Airport at 8:50 am. The last four arrived at 1:35 pm. Needless to say a dozen or so missed their ourbound flights due to "rush hour" traffic which normally means a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait at the border (northbound). At one point a group from a bus jumped the line, threw open a secured barrier, and crossed into the US on foot via a bus lane. Pandemonium resulted, and one person was accused of assaulting a US Customs agent. It took 14-15 agents awhile to restore order.

David

YIKES!

 

Woody, you were smart to stop reading after that one positive review of the trip south to Ensenada! :rolleyes::)

Definitely the right idea!

 

I was one of the 1800 people bussed from Ensenada to San Diego about 2 weeks ago. I had been on the Century for 49 days starting in Perth Australia. I had read horror stories on Cruise Critic. I was VERY HAPPY with the results. We had an american driver who had to report to work at 11:00 PM the night before disembarkation. We had an american bus that was as nice as any I have ever been on. We had to wait for almost an hour on the bus at the border because of the traffic. When we reached the checkpoint we disembarked, were escorted in, showed our passports to the customs agent, and put our carry on thru an x-ray machine. Took less than 5 minutes. It was easier than going thru security at most airports - no magnetometers that require you to remove everything metal including your belt and shoes. I was VERY impressed. If you have the option of doing a round trip from San Diego or LA, obviously that is easier. But if you did like I did and actually circumnavigated the globe, you have no choice due to the Jones act. FYI the US requires the ship stop at a distant foreign port - defined as 1000+ miles before it can embark in Hawaii and disembark in Cali.

 

Tom

Thankyou for this! I think a huge pack of patience and going in expecting stuff to not go to plan is more or less what hubby and I will do.

 

Thanks everyone - The itinerary really is the one we prefer. If things go wrong well, it won't be the first or last on our travels and we generally just go with whatever. My only concern was safety and security and so far, I am feeling okay. :)

 

One other question - the items you can take on the bus, do these include airport carryon size luggage or does that go in the hold too? I am assuming a small briefcase or purse plus airport carryon size case is okay and all regular check size items go in the hold. Thanks everyone.

[Bxc53]

We are on the 9-23-13 Solstice Ensenada to Honolulu. We had reservations about the Ensenada departure, but the rest of the itinerary won us over.

I expect there to be some bumps in the road (figuratively and literally :) ), but fully expect to be safely on the ship and raising a Margarita as we sail away from Mexico, bound for Hawaii.

[DAllenTCY]

Regarding luggage that you can take on the bus, on the northbound trip the bays are sealed at the Port of Ensenada. This may or not take place before you board the bus.

Most of the busses used were never intended for this type of use, and have smaller storage areas underneath than for instance a long distance bus. I would say you have a very good chance of not more than 35 guests on a 45 seat bus. Southbound is jus the opposite. Evey seat, on every bus is utilized for guests, and luggage is shipped via truck.

David

[dodger1964]

It's time to change these antiquated laws.

[kiwimum]

Looking back at all the reviews, Steve'n'Sue did not cross at Otay Mesa as there is no McDonalds within a mile of the border crossing. TJ has the McDonalds close to the crossing. Explains the reason why they had to drag all luggage across the border.

[Gonzo70]

It's time to change these antiquated laws.

 

How are they antiquated? Believe me, the cruise lines do not want them changed.

[thmpsn]

What I have done and will do again on our trip up from Ensenada is take a small tote bag carry on and NOTHING ELSE. I can put this on my lap or on the floor because the over head storage (if there is any) will not be large. It needs to be just large enough to put make up, documents, money, medications and night gown from the previous night in it. (I leave the expensive jewelry at home) Everything else goes in the checked luggage. I find doing it this way with just a small tote is very easy and convenient for me. Husband carries the same type of carry on minus the jewelry, makeup, and night gown. LOL

Karon

[Bestbubba]

Looking back at all the reviews, Steve'n'Sue did not cross at Otay Mesa as there is no McDonalds within a mile of the border crossing. TJ has the McDonalds close to the crossing. Explains the reason why they had to drag all luggage across the border.

 

That's interesting...never having made this transfer before, and coming from the UK, I have to say I don't know my Tijuana from my elbow so had no idea;) Our driver got lost constantly and when we arrived at the border there was another Celebrity bus ahead of us so I just assumed we were at the right place.

 

What I have done and will do again on our trip up from Ensenada is take a small tote bag carry on and NOTHING ELSE. I can put this on my lap or on the floor because the over head storage (if there is any) will not be large. It needs to be just large enough to put make up, documents, money, medications and night gown from the previous night in it. (I leave the expensive jewelry at home) Everything else goes in the checked luggage. I find doing it this way with just a small tote is very easy and convenient for me. Husband carries the same type of carry on minus the jewelry, makeup, and night gown. LOL

Karon

 

Karon, that is exactly what I did, then they told us we had to take ALL our checked luggage off the bus:(

 

Sue