CALIFORNIA / MEXICO 4-DAY CRUISE
HENRY NOWICKI 12 FEBRUARY 1999
The three and four-day cruises are becoming more popular and I thought I would try one as I had to be in Los Angeles to obtain some visas for a future trip. The Viking Serenade (Ref 1) of Royal Caribbean International filled the bill and I drove to the Los Angeles port near Long Beach to embark Monday at mid-day. Now driving to the cruise port in Los Angeles (18 miles southeast of LAX and 25 miles south of downtown) is much more of a job than accessing the ports in such places as San Diego or Honolulu which have their cruise ports located right downtown; however, there is a parking concession which charges $36 for the four-days and is situated right next to the ship so it was not too bad. The cruise port terminal is very functional and a quick boarding was appreciated.
The day was beautiful and sunny and the Viking Serenade was pleasant in every respect. I had not attempted such a short cruise and was expecting a quick return but the few days aboard seemed much like a week as the pace was faster and pulling into a port everyday sure made it seem longer. I just completed a two-week cruise that only had one more port!
The departure from Los Angeles (Ref 2) was quick and unceremonious as the ship edged out of the cargo piers on all sides. The large Vincent Thomas Bridge to the north of the cruise port lent a nice touch to the scene. Early nightfall made Santa Catalina a stark silhouette once we cleared Point Fermin. It was not at all clear why we were heading south for San Diego only to return north to Santa Catalina before heading south again to Ensenada. Undoubtedly there are good reasons but they are not apparent. Perhaps I should have asked.
Activities aboard the Viking Serenade were very much as most all other modern cruise ships. The only adverse criticism is that there seemed to be a hole between about 5:30 and 8:30PM when there was no real dance band available for those at the late sitting. Again, it seems for those ships that do not employ dance hosts, there seems to be no incentive to have decent dance programs.
The ship arrived early into the great harbor of San Diego (Ref 3) for a full day in one of the attraction-loaded resort cities of the world. I had just spent quite a few weeks in this attractive city so I did as little as possible just walking around town a bit and enjoying the sun and the ship. The departure, as always, was extremely pleasant exiting the bay and passing Cabrillo Light on Point Loma. Another nice sunset.
The next day found ourselves at the tiny port of Avalon on Santa Catalina (Ref 4), a fairly long and narrow island lying a few dozen miles offshore from Los Angeles. Tenders, small boats that transport passengers between ship and shore, were employed and the operation seemed to have gone very smoothly. This also was a time for a bit of exploring although the number of attractions are few and the water at 52 to 55 degrees farenheit was too cold to go for a plunge. Incidentally, the pool aboard the ship is heated which somewhat surprised me. In any event, I had a little ride in one of the electric golf carts that are rented for approximately $30/hour. See the referenced map for an idea as to how limited the road and trail network is in the Avalon area.
The last full day was spent in Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico (Ref 5) located some 75 miles south of the border at Tijuana. This growing city (a new cruise port is under construction) greatly benefits from the need for foreign cruise ships to load and unload US passengers and visit a non-US port so that they can comply with laws that restrict carriage of US citizens between US ports directly. Ensenada normally experiences very dry weather conditions but this time it rained continually and discouraged even this intrepid voyager from walking through ankle deep muddy puddles. Good drainage is not one of Ensenada's strong points.
So, all in all, this was a most leisurely trip. Happily, the ship was interesting enough to take up the slack and I have to pronounce it a success.
If you would like to discuss anything about the four-day type of cruise, please send an email to the adress below. If you would like to read of some recent travels, mostly on cruise ships, then click above on (Ref 6).
Comments are welcome and may be directed to
WaikikiWeb@webtv.net for items of mutual interest.
References:
- 1.
Viking Serenade Ship Profile.
Viking Serenade Ship Review.
Viking Serenade 4-Day Baja Mexico Itinerary.- 2.
Los Angeles World Cruise Center.
Worldport LA.
LA Cruise Terminal Map.
LA/San Pedro Cruise Ship Harbor.
Los Angeles Port Brief.- 3.
San Diego Travel Information.
San Diego Port Brief.
Local Guy Guide.- 4.
Santa Catalina Guide.
Santa Catalina Map.
Avalon Map.
Avalon Road and Trail Map.
Santa Catalina Port Brief.- 5.
Mexico General View.
Ensenada Travel Directory and Map.
Historical Background.
Ensenada Travel Planner.
La Bufadora Map.
Ensenada Visitor Information.
Ensenada Port Brief. - 2.
The Tropics Shoreline
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