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Ensenada with Carnival

lovebirds02

By lovebirds02,
in Mexican Riviera

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Drew B

Drew B

Posted
Posted

There isn't a section for Ensenada anywhere in the ports of call board, I don't believe. I did the Carnival horseback riding excursion and loved it. I thought it was a great value, and the ranch where you do the ride is gorgeous. The woman who runs it is an American expatriate, and she has a fascinating life in Mexico. Most importantly, the horses are healthy and well-cared-for. I was very afraid to find a depressing place with withered or abused horses, and that couldn't have been further from the truth.

 

You go in the morning, ride for about an hour and a half. They then serve you a tasty little lunch (and you can also buy cheap beer/margaritas), and they have you back to the ship early enough that you can still spend the afternoon in town shopping/exploring/drinking or doing whatever you want.

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JohnnyCruiser

JohnnyCruiser

Posted
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Sorry to post this here but Baja Mexico doesn't seem to appear on the "Port of Call" forums.

 

Any good suggestions for excursions or can you just get off and walk around? Anything a must see, eat, or do?

 

Thanks

 

Our first cruise to the Mexican Riviera diverted to Ensenada. We ended up on a sightseeing tour to La Bufadora.

 

Carnival does list their excursions in Ensenada on their website, which should at least give you an idea of what is out there.

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Kurbanfan

Kurbanfan

Posted
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It wasn't listed as one of the cities covered...but I did find a couple threads.

Thanks

 

That's cuz there ain't a whole lot to do in Ensenada. They have quite a few bars. Papas n Beers and Mango Mangos are the most popular. There is a great Taqueria called Taqueria Mexico Lindo across from Papas and 2 doors down from Mango Mangos. Family owned small hole in the wall. Great homemade food. Cheap food and beer.

They do have wine tours thru the ship. We had a nice time on those.

They also have a blow hole tour. My opinion waste of money.

Pretty much just shoppin and bar hoppin. Good luck!

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Family Man

Family Man

Posted
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That's cuz there ain't a whole lot to do in Ensenada. They have quite a few bars. Papas n Beers and Mango Mangos are the most popular. There is a great Taqueria called Taqueria Mexico Lindo across from Papas and 2 doors down from Mango Mangos. Family owned small hole in the wall. Great homemade food. Cheap food and beer.

They do have wine tours thru the ship. We had a nice time on those.

They also have a blow hole tour. My opinion waste of money.

Pretty much just shoppin and bar hoppin. Good luck!

That's a pretty good summary. We've been to Ensenada twice. The first time we went to La Boufadora (Blow Hole) and the second time we took the winery tour through the ship. We enjoyed both. Both times ended with drinks, lunch, and shopping in town. The next time, we may take the Fox Studio tour.

 

Papas & Beer and Mango Mango can get crazy! :D

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treatheart

treatheart

Posted
Posted
There isn't a section for Ensenada anywhere in the ports of call board, I don't believe. I did the Carnival horseback riding excursion and loved it. I thought it was a great value, and the ranch where you do the ride is gorgeous. The woman who runs it is an American expatriate, and she has a fascinating life in Mexico. Most importantly, the horses are healthy and well-cared-for. I was very afraid to find a depressing place with withered or abused horses, and that couldn't have been further from the truth.

 

You go in the morning, ride for about an hour and a half. They then serve you a tasty little lunch (and you can also buy cheap beer/margaritas), and they have you back to the ship early enough that you can still spend the afternoon in town shopping/exploring/drinking or doing whatever you want.

 

Drew B would you mind telling me about how they handle the 'strictly enforced' weight restrictions on this excursion? I am traveling with a friend who has been working hard on losing weight. She is now 5 lbs above the weight limit. It's not like they will weigh her at the ranch? We were wondering how strictly enforced it is or if we should just try another to find a different excursion.

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ioneroy

ioneroy

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We were in Ensenada, on the Paradise. Great 4 day.

Took the Fox Studio/Rosarita Beach tour. We liked it.

Took a bus from the terminal, about 1 hour up the coast. It was foggy, but really interesting, (we like to see the local country). Fox studio, well its ok, once. It's something I have wanted to see since I loved the movie Titanic. You don't see to much, just some inside sets.

Our bus driver gave us alot of history along the way.

Our lunch at the Rosarita Beach Hotel, was very good. To many condo's being built all around the beach. We really enjoyed the day, saw the Black Pearl in dry dock in Ensenada.

Came back and did alittle window shopping. Didn't buy anything.

Heard bad things about Ensenada, but we liked it. Water looked clean. Didn't see any garbage, like in Long Beach. The old women begging, with kids, anyway,. . . . I could go on. Fox Studio/Beach, its ok. ONCE.

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zandcruiser

zandcruiser

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The best value for your money in Ensenada is to not book through the cruise. They charge $50-70 for tours that aren't worth it. When you get there and leave the ship, right past the shop area there's a bus that takes you into town for $1 or $2. Take that. Then the same people that are taking you into town suggest a tour. It's $15 and a great value. They take you on a day tour to La Bufadora, the shopping area, downtown - where papas and bear, other bars, and main shopping is- and even include lunch. By far a good value and they teach you some great things/history about Ensenda that's really interesting. Then they even get you back to the ship on time. Best way to spend a days worth of sightseeing...

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louanne93

louanne93

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I also heard you can ride ATV's on the beach. I have seen a picture of someone from Cruise Critic riding an ATV. I know RCI does this tour in Ensenada but not sure Carnival does. You can check though. We are doing this in Cabo when we go in Jan.

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Bxngmelly

Bxngmelly

Posted
Posted
We were in Ensenada, on the Paradise. Great 4 day.

Took the Fox Studio/Rosarita Beach tour. We liked it.

Took a bus from the terminal, about 1 hour up the coast. It was foggy, but really interesting, (we like to see the local country). Fox studio, well its ok, once. It's something I have wanted to see since I loved the movie Titanic. You don't see to much, just some inside sets.

Our bus driver gave us alot of history along the way.

Our lunch at the Rosarita Beach Hotel, was very good. To many condo's being built all around the beach. We really enjoyed the day, saw the Black Pearl in dry dock in Ensenada.

Came back and did alittle window shopping. Didn't buy anything.

Heard bad things about Ensenada, but we liked it. Water looked clean. Didn't see any garbage, like in Long Beach. The old women begging, with kids, anyway,. . . . I could go on. Fox Studio/Beach, its ok. ONCE.

 

 

You liked the Studio Fox tour??? :eek:

 

Ha! We went once a couple years back. My mother begged my dad to stop because she loved the movie Titanic.

 

To tell you the truth. I was about 14 or 15 years old at the time (22 now) and found it pretty lame! I went back to the car to sleep! ;)

 

My mother was angree at me for a few days after.

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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Ensenada - well, it has been summed up pretty well here. I have heard great things about the wine tour. But DH does not enjoy wine like I do. So we will probably book the cooking tour just for something to do and then head back to the ship for time by the pool. We have already been to Ensenada twice. And we didn't book the Monarch for the ports. ;) The few reviews on the cooking tour have been good, so if we do anything at all besides hit the town for beer & tacos, it will be this tour.

 

Enjoy your trip!

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ioneroy

ioneroy

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Did I like it? Well, it was lame like you said, but it was kind of interesting, I guess the whole tour was nice for me, and my dh seeing the country side, you go up the coast, and Rosarita Beach, the hotel lunch was good.

Would we do it again? No, but I don't regret it. I am not a shopper, but like to look so shopping in Ensenada wasn't on our list. But I will say we found it to be very clean when we were their late September. Maybe the winery tour for us next time, heard lots of good things about it. Any comments about that tour? Anyone????

Or other recommendations?? :confused:

 

regards,

ioneroy :D

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