Year 5, Day 260 “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 1/15/2026, Day 10 of 22 day California Zephyr cross country trip, followed by a California coastal drive, and then a 14 night Mexico Cruise – Day 3 of 3 night Ensenada cruise from Los Angeles on Quantum of the Seas – Ensenada, Mexico7am-4 pm. It’s a port day so the Windjammer Buffet is open at 6:30am. I stepped out on our baloney after a nice hot shower to catch my first look of this new port. First impression – it is cold. Let me go grab a sweatshirt. Hey we are in Mexico. It is always warm isn’t it? 53 degrees Fahrenheit here this morning. We are used to going to Cozumel. It is 73 there this morning right now. We are 2,238 miles from home and it is 19 degrees in Science Hill, Kentucky. So I will stop complaining and grab that sweatshirt. I am keeping the shorts on though.
You always know the day when you step in a ship elevator and look at the floor. Even if you take the stairs all the time. Check out an elevator on the Quantum to see the day written in two languages.
We reserved a Royal Caribbean excursion Ensenada by Open Top Bus and meeting at the Pier at 9:30am. The cost of the excursion purchased in advance a few months ago was $69.98 for two adults.
At this port you can walk directly from the ship to the city. We are in the Port of Ensenada which is the second-busiest cruise port in Mexico. Cozumel is the busiest.
We departed the ship at 8:45am. The sun is warm. There are many lines on the pier for earlier excursions. We took a few pictures and also had a few taken by the ships professional photographers. We haven’t had any professional pictures taken this cruise. We each get one free on every cruise as a diamond plus perk.
There are also a lot of Mexican seagulls welcoming us. Do you think they understand English?
We signed in at one of the booths. We elected to sit outside in the top of the bus. A backpack sniffing dog sniffed us as we left the port gated area. The bus is not full. It has a cracked windshield.
Lots of Americans and Canadians live here illegally on all these boats. Our guide says they are all very welcome to move here. There are also whole communities with US and Canadian citizens here in Ensenada.
The white horseless carriages are so cool. I have never seen them before. They are unusual.
The waves here can be over 60 feet high. Ensenada exports a high volume of Bluefin Tuna. Bluefin Tina is really expensive. The bus ride is pretty cold. So glad it is a sunny day.
Here’s something funny. I met a man in the Crown Lounge this morning. He said that as a teenager, this was where he came to party. He also came here to drink. He said you don’t want to be a parent to teenagers in Southern California. They all head here to party. The bus left at 9:45am and took us for a short ride to the center of the old city. This is where the city originated. Not a lot of people speak English in this local area. In fact the bus driver did not speak English.
We were dropped off in the middle of the tourist shopping district about 10:30am. The bus was coming back to pick up at 11:50am. We walked around a little bit, bought an Ensenada hoodie, and walked back to the ship. Shopping in the tourist area is not really our thing any longer It used to be. I find the more you travel the less you want souvenirs. The walk back to the ship was nice and really short. We will be coming to this port again on this trip. We will just walk into town that time. It is less than a ten minute walk and flat.
The weather is very strange. Fog rolls in and then it rolls out and the sun is shining brightly again.
Quantum of the Seas has a Deck 13. Most Royal Caribbean cruise ships do not have a deck 13. This is probably influenced by market considerations. In China the number 4 is unlucky, leading them to skip 4 and 14 on some ships but not 13. Our dinner companions for these 14 days are Ron and Dalene Cosgrave from Canada. What amazing stories we are hearing from them about farming and Wagon Racing https://www.facebook.com/share/1FcgfHAkx6/
Ended the evening in Two70 watching Starwater. It was like a 55 minute modern dance. Very unusual. Lots of people walked out in the middle of it. We lasted almost to the end and decided to leave.
Have two more itty bitty ducks for my kitchen window.
Royal Caribbean announced Points Choice today. Good news for us. We have our first Celebrity cruise booked for next year.
A Taste of Italy dinner menu: Day 3 of 3 Ensenada, Mexico.
Today’s Cruise Compass: Day 3 of 3 Ensenada, Mexico
Thought for today.
Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4atjHcO 4Nelko Label Maker Machine with Tape: This handy little label maker will make you go label craaaazzzzzy!
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