We won a Carnival cruise to Ensenada...now what?

My husband and I have never been on a cruise and we've never been to
Mexico. We're thrilled and looking forward to February 10th almost more
than December 25th (almost). We're taking our kids, ages 15 and 10, and
we're thinking we'd rather spend a day at the beach rather than taking
any of the tour packages the ship offers.

Any sage advice from you veterans? Good places to eat onshore, great
beaches we ought to know about? Any things you wish you had known
before your first time on a cruise ship that you'd like to impart to us?

Looking forward to hearing what you have to share...

Thanks,

Kelly

I'm sure Carnival will make many suggestions, and I've never been on a
cruise to that interesting town, but my wife and I drive down there
fairly frequently. Our advantage, of course, is that we have a car - so
stopping in Puerto Nuevo for a lobster pigout is easy for us, hard for you.

Nevertheless, near the ship you'll find a marketplace with dozens (seems
like hundreds) of tiny places where you can buy fresh seafood of various
sorts, prepared various ways. They're all about the same and charge
about the same - just pick what looks good to you.

A bit further in you can find great seafood at El Muelle Viejo - one of
our favorites, on Gastelium. More formal and superb is El Rey Sol, on
Lopez Mateos. French cuisine, Mexican style. Don't laugh - for decades,
the best French restaurant in the San Diego area was in Tijuana (Tour de
France). We sent friends to El Rey Sol - they thought we were kidding
but came back very impressed.

The town itself is built for walking and shopping. There's really a lot
there to buy, and you can make many of your decisions on Olvera Street
8^) before you go. Much of the merchandise comes from Asia, of course -
sunglasses, rip-off watches/shirts/bags, etc. I don't know how carefully
trademarks are guarded on these cruises, but you should ask before
buying a Rolex or Gucci bag.

You are very safe in Ensenada. Law enforcement is merciless in its
protection of tourists. Though the government exercises only limited
control, restaurants self-police to minimize problems (which would be
bad for business). Such protections do not protect you against bad
judgment in the shops.... there is a very fine line between "art" and
"junk" -- spend some time walking before you do any buying.

Ike

Sparrowe wrote:
My husband and I have never been on a cruise and we've never been to
Mexico. We're thrilled and looking forward to February 10th almost more
than December 25th (almost). We're taking our kids, ages 15 and 10, and
we're thinking we'd rather spend a day at the beach rather than taking
any of the tour packages the ship offers.
Any sage advice from you veterans? Good places to eat onshore, great
beaches we ought to know about? Any things you wish you had known
before your first time on a cruise ship that you'd like to impart to us?

Hope not to disappoint--but beach is not a good option in Ensenada,
which is more of a commercial shipping port. Halfway decent beach at
Estero Beach, a few miles out of town, but it's a pretty poor offering.
Also, water temps in Jan/Feb are going to be in the low 60's, maybe
even high 50's. Enjoying the swimming pools on the ship are your best
bet in this place, at this time of year.

How B