Encenada on Carnival Elation.....Need advice.....please

[Deborah]

This will be our first cruise with Carnival. We're traveling with two 13 year olds. Leaving San Diego on May 24th. I've looked over the excursions offered at Catalina Island and Encenada. Does anyone have any suggestions about Encenada? The excursion I'm looking at is one where you can go to a "beach club" on Rosarita Beach. The excursion is booked and offered thru the cruiseline. I am hoping someone on this site is familiar with this particular beach excursion. At the end of the excursion description Carnival has a warning that this excursion isn't recommended for young children or families......We really, really wanted to spend the day on the beach and this was the only excursion Carnival offers for the beach. Please...if someone is familiar, would it be inappropriate for us to go with two 13 year old girls? Look forward to hearing from someone who's been there. Thanks!!

 

[Mbandy]

Unfortunately, Ensanada is not a great beach town.

I would suggest a trip to La Bufadora (The Blowhole) That is something that the whole family would enjoy.

 

[Luci]

Rosarito Beach is too far from Ensenada. It is not a safe beach for swimming. I used to go there years ago as a child and never went swimming in the cold ocean that has a lot of turbulence. You will be spending more time on the tour bus than on the beach.
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME.

The Bufadora is also a waste of time and money. They have tons of salespeople harrassing you to buy something from them. They are deperate for money. I have been there and it is no big deal either.

I heard that the Tequila factory tour is fun and very interesting in Ensenada. Your kids would learn how tequila is made which is very interesting because it has to do with the process of the plants and things that they use to make it.

The ship has a local bus at the Ensenada cruiseport where you pay a few dollars each to take you into town. It is a round trip fee. That is the best way to see Ensenada. Just try to remember where your bus will be waiting for you. I always just take the bus and walk around town and look at the things on sale. Then I go back to the ship to eat. Don't drink or eat anything in Ensenada unless you buy bottled drinks or packaged goodies.
I always buy me a bottled coke in town. Please don't give money to the kids or women beggars. They don't get to keep the money. They give it to a rich man that puts them there to work for him.

Catalina Island does have a beach. Just walk to the far end of the island near the old Casino building and you will find a nice beach. They charge a small fee but it is worth it. You will love sitting on the beach and the kids will love the ocean.
They have a Safeway store in town where you can buy sodas and goodies for the beach.

Enjoy your cruise. Luci

 

[Deborah]

Thanks for the information. I hope anyone who is thinking about taking their family to the Papas and Beer Beach excursion in Ensenada takes a look at UTube. Someone who's been there posted a very informative video. I won't be taking my teenagers there.

 

[bOB]

Ahhhh the days as a teenager........................
We used to jump in the car on Friday after school and drive down to Rosarita Beach for the weekend, then drive in shifts to get back sometime Sunday night, BUT that was many....... years ago, but Luci's right, don't waste your time. If you want to do an Ensenada tour of some nature, pick something closer in off the tour list. Really Papas and Beer isn't that bad, they have a nice outdoor seating area where you can have a cold beer and chips and dips and the kids can have cokes. Catalina, Don't bother with a tour, you can walk the town, or check this out to see if anything interests you. http://www.catalinachamber.com/seedo/index.asp . Didn't know that they had started charging for Descanso Beach but there is some small beach front off the sides of the green pier besides, there is too much free stuff on Catalina to pay for anything, which by the way used to have some great food at the hamburger stand. And don't miss Luau Larry's. Oh, and it's OK you can drink the water.......

 

[Luci]

bOB is right that it is okay to drink the water in Catalina because it is an American port.lol.

The cruise ship personnel say that it is the fresh salsa in Mexico that gets the tourists ill. You can eat the chips but not the salsa.
Luci

 

[Deborah]

I wish we could eat the food in Ensenada. I just watched a video of all the different types of restaurants there. So many things, especially seafood. They all look delicious and the restaurants they show look so clean. However, nothing is worth getting ill over. Thanks for all your help here. I've decided that our family will just go into the tourist part of Ensenada to do a little bit of shopping. We won't book any of the excursions there.

 

[Luci]

Hi Deborah, There have been many times that I have been to Mexico and have passed up eating their food in restaurants due to the fact that I once got so ill eating seafood that I chose to never eat in Mexico again.
Not everybody gets sick eating in Mexico but I DON'T want to be the one to get sick. It is the worse feeling ever. I felt I wanted to die when I got ill years ago. It will totally ruin your cruise if you take a chance and then get ill.
Your ship will have wonderful food. On your first night at dinner time they have fried shrimp with a sweet and sour sauce that is delicious.
You will just love it. Plus for desert they always have the chocolate cake with ice cream. It tastes like a brownie and is real yummy.
I forgot the name of it because it is not really a cake. The cake is served in a custard cup.

Have fun on your cruise. Luci

 

[Deborah]

I agree with you Luci. I have never been ill because of food poisoning, but I've seen people who have been. The only places we'll be eating is on the ship or somewhere on Catalina Island. In reference to the desert you're talking about, I've heard about that one. I think someone called it something like "molten cake". They described it as having a melted chocolate inside it and that it's served in a little dish/cup.

Your earlier post mentioned a beach on Catalina Island. Were you talking about a beach called Descondo Beach (sp)? I googled the beaches on Catalina Island and I believe the one you mentioned is Descondo. We plan on going there, after a stop at the Safeway store, to rent snorkeling equipment for the day. Thanks for all your advice. When do you take your next cruise and where are you going?

 

[Luci]

Hi, I think it is called the melting chocolate cake. It is so good and you can order it every night.

Yes, it is the Descanso beach. The beach near the pier is too dirty to swim in the ocean due to the oils from the boats.

I love going to the Safeway store to buy large bottles of Coke to take back to the ship. You will get a discount if you give them your telephone number or Safeway/Von's discount card. You save even more money. They have two Safeway stores on different streets right in town. Cruise ships allow you to take back bottles or cans of cokes.

I am retired and I cruise 4 times per year. I live in the Los Angeles area so I booked the month of Oct. for Halloween on the new Carnival Splendor.
I love new ships. I also booked for Dec. 6th on the Carnival Splendor again. I don't feel like flying to the east coast because of all the airport delays.

I most likely will book another cruise for this summer to cruise to Alaska. The month of Sept. I like to cruise to Canada/New England.

I mostly cruise for the ship experience and not the ports. I like to socialize on the ships. I consider them my summer homes.lol.

Have lots of fun on the ship's activities. Take some plastic baggies so you can take snacks back to your cabin. I always do that.lol. Luci

 

[Deborah]

Luci....I envy you!! I can't imagine being able to take one cruise a year let alone 4 of them!! Thanks for all the advice. We will be making a trip to both the beach you suggested and the safeway.

Enjoy all your cruises. Now is definately the time to book them. There are bargins just about everywhere you look.

 

[bOB]

If your going to eat on Catalina, the Busy Bee is a great place for lunch, killer Ahi burger or as mentioned, if you want hamburgers, go for Eric's on the green pier.

 

[Luci]

Hey bOB, don't forget to tell them to go eat Mexican food. There are Mexican restaurants in Catalina. It may be expensive tho.

The best thing to buy in Catalina is ice cream and candies for the kids. They have an ice cream place and a candy store.

You can eat all the hamburgers you want on the ship.lol. Lucy

 

[Babushka]

I took 2 16 yr. old girls to Ensenada last year and I wouldn't do it again. We took the bus from the ship to downtown for a few dollars each. When we were walking from the bus stop to downtown (only a couple blocks away) there were ALOT of soldiers on the streets...driving and standing. Maybe this was only a temporary thing...I've been twice before years ago and never saw this. The soldiers had guns and were standing literally just a few feet from us on the sidewalk and there was just no getting around them. They were leering and making comments to the girls and it made all of us extremely uncomfortable. Once we got downtown the girls did a little shopping. There are sooo many beggars there and they sometimes would follow us asking for money.

Someone mentioned not going to Papas and Beer. I do agree that if you go upstairs to the bar area things can get a bit out of hand. Some of the things that go on can be very offensive to some. However there is a good restaurant right downstairs that is safe and last time we went we had very good chicken nachos and we did not get sick. I wouldn't eat at the food stands around town though.

I personally think Ensenada is more of a stop for adults. There really is not much to do there. I have never gone to the beach or the blowhole but that's because it's been recommended to me that they really aren't worth the visit. This cruise is a great little get away if you just want to hang out on the ship but I don't think I'd ever go into Ensenada again. My girls did not like Ensenada at all but they had a wonderful time on the ship! I really do hope that your experiences are better than mine and that you and your girls have a wonderful time!

 

[Luci]

I was in Ensenada last year too and I didn't see any soldiers. I think the soldiers were there for that day to protect some important Mexican Political Gov. Official.
I keep reading in the news every week that Mexico is having a lot of problems with the drug lords. The Mexican Gov. has been sending some of their soldiers to protect
the people from the drug lords.

I think it is normal for young soldiers to flirt with young girls. They will not bother the TOURISTS. The town needs the tourist business.

I always feel safe when I see the soldiers. They are there to protect everybody. I have even seen soldiers in the Caribbean islands since the 1970's when I first started cruising. You will see them on the back streets.

I consider Ensenada a safe Mexican town if you stay on the Main streets where the stores are located. Many ships stop in Ensenada. If that port wasn't safe the ships would stop cruising to Ensenada.

If you see soldiers ask someone who speaks English and Spanish why the city is filled with soldiers. That is what I would do. Luci

 

[bren_2009]

I have been to Ensenada too and found it very unappealing and dangerous. It's dirty and the begging never stops. I just booked another cruise with my travel agent and one of our stops is Cozumel. I asked her about the drug lord problems and she said that wouldn't be in that area it's a problem in the northern part of Mexico and she said that Ensenada is having a problem currently and the travel agency does not recommend any travel to Enseneda.

 

[Deborah]

I've been watching the news and have decided that our family will be staying close to the ship in Ensenada. I've been told that there is a shopping area just off the ship. The Elation will dock there right? We won't have to use tenders in Ensenada right? If things escalate further with the drug cartels and it is unsafe for passengers, will Carnival skip the port? Is there an alternate place Carnival can take us in stead of Ensenada? Just curious. Worse case scenerio, we just won't get off the ship in Ensenada.

 

[bren_2009]

Yes, the ship docks and there are no tenders in Ensenada. There is shopping right near the port and and our dinner table friends did some very nice shopping while they were there.

 

[Babushka]

There is a very small shopping area right off the ship. If I remember correctly it's basically just a tent like structure with some souveniers, tshirts, liquor, etc. Even if you do decide to go into town there are no tenders...you just catch the shuttle bus right into town. I've even seen some people walk but it's not that close of a walk into town, I'd take the bus instead.

As far as the ship not going into Ensenada and stopping somewhere else, I don't know if there's anywhere else to go. Remember, even without going into town you should still have a great time on the ship and it won't be as crowded since the majority does go into town. Have fun!

 

[Luci]

Hi, Ensenada is well protected by top security at their port because their port is really a cruise port where many ships stop there on their way to Hawaii or returning from Hawaii. I once saw several cruise ships in port. ONLY CRUISE PEOPLE AND MEXICAN SECURITY IS ONLY ALLOWED NEAR THE SHIPS.

I consider Ensenada town a very secure port from the drug lords. It is known as a fishing village that turned into a town because of the cruise ships.
Most of the store owners speak English. I have never ever had any kind of problems in that port. I visit every year. I just walk around the main st. and when I get tired I walk back to the bus to take me back to the ship.

The drug lords are in Tijuana located near San Diego. That is where the problem is presently. I consider that town off limits for people.