Friday, May 4 – Ensenada
I checked outside for the sunrise a little late this morning. However, I didn’t missing anything, as there were no clouds in the sky, and thus sunrise was nothing more than an orange ball rising above the mountains. There is nothing really special about cruising into Ensenada, until I noticed all the seals. I was able to get a few good pictures of the seals. There must be more than sixty seals that had hauled out on the rocks near where the ship docks. These are wild seals, not trained seals like at Sea World.
After taking a few pictures I headed back to the cabin to shower and dress. Then it is off to the buffet for breakfast. After that I grab my travel camera and head out for my 9:15am wine tasting tour. First we stopped at some hotel that was originally run by the mob back in the days of prohibition. Well, it was close and across the street from the dock, but other than that it was not that interesting. Then we drove though the shopping district before stopping at the old winery (it is no longer used for making wine). This group was more than twice the size of the Santa Barbara group. The tour guide spoke perfect English (she grew up in the United States) but she was not as knowledgeable about wine as the Santa Barbara tour guide was. I felt the wine tasting was disorganized. In short the Santa Barbara tour cost seven times as much ($155 vs. $24) and was ten times better. I guess you get what you pay for.
One note, the tour guide correctly stated that each passenger (over the age of 21) is allowed to bring back one liter of an alcoholic drink. She then said that Princess was considered a common carrier and as such you could bring back five or six cases, as long as you were honest about it on the customs form. I figured she just misspoke and I pointed out two her that five or six cases would be 60 to 72 bottles. She acknowledged I was correct. I said nothing more. If a couple shows up at the customs station with three bottles (2.25 liters) properly declared, most likely (but no guarantees) the customs agent is going to let it go. If you show up at the customs counter hauling five cases of wine behind you, I assure you, you are going to hear something a little more complex than just, “Have a nice dayâ€.
The end of the tour consisted of one hour of shopping time. I told the tour guide I would walk back to the ship. On the way I bought a belt, a wallet and some vanilla. I arrived back at the ship about fifteen minutes before the bus. I dropped everything off in my cabin and got my good camera and tried to get more pictures of the seals. The guards would not let me near the seals, but I still got a few good pictures.
The travel agent that died really liked ducks. Now there is a lot of duck stuff that the live travel agent (the owner of the agency) would like to get rid of. I was given several small plastic ducks to give to the kids. So I took my Princess tote and about a dozen ducks and went on a small kid hunt. In about one hour I had given out all the ducks I was allotted and the Princess tote that I was given as a returning passenger. The way I see it, one, I don’t need the tote (I have several from Royal Caribbean) and two, I’ll get another one on my next Princess cruise anyway.
Most of the kids I was able to sneak up on and surprise them with a small duck in my hand which I was clearly trying to give them (and they took it). However, one little boy saw me coming and ran up to me with his hand open. Before he could ask for money I stuck the duck in his hand. Boy did he have a surprised look on his face. His mother just laughed (she got the tote).
Then back to the ship to join the group for a farewell to the travel agent (and friend to many in the group) who died. The group of people I was with are great. I would love to cruise with them again (though I already have already done my two cruises for this year and already have 2013 booked, I am hoping to go to Europe in 2014). However, my favorite lines are Carnival and Royal Caribbean (and they seem to prefer Princess and HAL). I will remain loyal to my regular travel agent, but I think the two of them (the owner who is still alive and the one that died) are great. If I go with this group again I'll certainly book with her. Other than the person I wanted to meet dying, this was a very enjoyable cruise.
That said, I think the service on Royal Caribbean is better than the service on Princess and I think the food on Carnival is on par with the food on Princess (even though Princess is supposed to be a step above both).
For example, though I told the room steward I would eat late, several times he came into the cabin before I left for dinner. Also, there were things on the desk that were in my way, so I moved them to the table behind the desk. He kept moving them back. Also, I felt that guest services were understaffed. I also do not like the lack of forward observation areas on this ship. There are two decks and one of the decks is blocked off most of the time. And even when that is open, access to the observation deck above the bridge is even more limited. I also don’t like the fact that you cannot get your own drinks in the buffet and if you want silverware (so you can eat on your balcony), you have to take it from a table that is not being used. Finally the lack of energy on this ship subtracted a bit from the overall atmosphere in my opinion.
That said, the overall layout of the ship and the especially the cabin is better than the Royal Caribbean or Carnival ships. At least in my opinion the layout of the ship was very logical. I understand from one of the members in the group that has been on this ship several times, Princess added more seating in the atrium during the revitalization (done earlier this year) which apparently was badly needed.
The cabin is divided into two parts. The closet and bathroom are separate from the sleeping and sitting area. I really like the layout of the cabin; though I wish the shower was bigger (it is bigger than the standard Royal Caribbean shower but not as big as the standard Carnival shower). To be fair, I’ve also been on NCL twice, and although the shower size is generous, I don’t like the layout of the bathroom (I have not been on the Epic). The cabins on the Caribe Deck (deck 10), which is what I am on, have big balconies that are about one third covered and two thirds open. The balconies above me (the Aloha and Baja decks) have smaller balconies that are completely covered. The mini suites below me have completely exposed balconies (don't even attempt to join the balcony club if you are in a Dolphin Deck mini suite). Also, the self service kiosk, where you swipe your card to get a printout of your onboard account that Princess offers is better than an interactive TV (in my opinion) and much better than having to get in line at guest services.
So, I certainly would like to cruise with these people again, and I am sure I’ll cruise with Princess again. However, I still intend to spend most of my time on Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships.
The itinerary was good except that I would like the first and last days to be sea days. Also, I would like to see Monterey substituted for Santa Barbara. Another one that would only work (but only in the summer) would be San Francisco (it would be a late arrival, like noon to 8:00pm) followed by a sea day, then either Seattle or Vancouver, then Victoria and two sea days back to Los Angeles. Or it could begin in San Francisco, visit Monterey, sea day, Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, and finally a sea day back to San Francisco. Unfortunately Mexico is having some problems right now and it is not a real popular destination for most cruise passengers. I just read that Princess will homeport the Grand Princess in San Francisco year round starting in May 2013. So, there may be some interesting new itineraries soon.
Well, it is late now, or early, depending on your point of view, as it is 12:10am on Saturday (meaning it is disembarkation day). So, I better get some sleep (as I have to drive home). I didn’t get my pictures sorted nor did I finish proof reading this, so I’ll have to do that later today so I can get my review posted in a timely fashion. So, see ya later.
The Pub lunch menu ...