In April of 2007 my honey and I went on a cruise that started in Long Beach, stopped on Catalina Island and ended down in the Baja part of Mexico. This was our first cruise.
Everyone told us we would love it and wouldn't want to take a vacation any other way. Cruises are not our favorite.
While there were lots of fun things to do on the cruise, shows, food all the time, shopping, gambling, dancing, drinking, movies and even exercise we didn't find that there was a ton to do. First, we do not really drink, and drinks were between $4 and $10, even for soda. Second, we are not really "clubbin'" type people, maybe the clubs would have been more fun with people we knew. Third, the food that was available all the time was pretty nasty. If you want good food on a cruise then it is best to go to the dining room (which are only open at certain times).
The nighttime shows on the cruise were a lot of fun. We had free drink tickets the ship had given us because our room was re carpeted while we were on the ship. Sure the lady looked at us like we were crazy when we ordered "Roy Rogers" instead of a Margarita or something, but who doesn't like Cherry Coke?
We find that when we go on vacation we like to be free to roam and plan our own activities. On a cruise ship you can only do activities that are sightseeing when you dock. Also, you do not really have the time to check out the best places to see because you are only docked for a few hours.
Catalina Island was very touristy, probably because it really is a hot spot for tourists. Most of the shops were geared toward knick knacks and beach towels. We took a tour of the city and stopped at the botanical gardens (it is more of a cactus garden, the climate is very dry) and walked around for a while. We climbed the hundreds of steps to the monument for Wrigley and took all sorts of pictures, of the view, gardens, and artsy aspects of the monument. Most of Catalina's houses are built into a 1 mile square radius and it doesn't take very long to get around the city. We walked around the city, took pictures of cool houses then made our way down to the beach. While on the beach we watched people then grabbed a bite to eat at the pub (they had cheap burgers-before our vegan days). About 3 hours into our time on Catalina we hoped on the boat back to the ship and took a nap in our room.
Baja was a little bit more interesting than Catalina because we booked 2 tours. The first tour we went on took us to the blowhole (what is behind us in the picture). The blowhole is one of the few like it in the world. Water is forced into a crevice as the waves break and shoots up hundreds of feet into the air. You could hear the sound of the blowhole at least 1/2 mile away from it. On our way to see the blowhole we passed many tents of merchants who were pitching their product (very aggressive). We stopped to look for belts and purses on our way back to the bus -- ended up finding the purse, but the belt was not the right size. When looking for anything from one of these merchants it is important to be firm and walk away if you do not get the deal you want. They will say things like "I have never sold that purse for less than $75" or "let me go in the back and talk to my manager, {comes back} my manager said I could sell it for this, no lower." The truth is I got the purse for $35 and there was no manager in the back. After our walk through the "tent market" we hopped on the bus and were whisked away to a winery in downtown Ensenada. After a tour around the premises (lasted 5 minutes they were in the process of relocating) we were offered wine samples. Apparently, wine from the Baja is some of the best wine available (I did not like it and my honey REALLY didn't like it). After the tour and tasting, we were given the choice of walking around Ensenada or taking the bus back to the ship. We walked around, a lot of businesses were closed, and I found a really cute nativity scene which I did not buy. The most exciting part of our trip to Ensenada would be the blowhole tour; however, seeing the original "Black Peal" from the Pirates of the Caribbean docked in our port was incredible. Who gets to see that?
Overall, we had fun together in Mexico. My honey and I always enjoy each others company and this was a new experience. We would go on another cruise sometime if we had friends who came along too. My tip for cruises, bring a group of friends.
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