I’ve always thought that a California Coastal cruise was a poor choice compared to the various other destinations that cruise ships travel to. I am probably biased after living in California for more than 20 years of my life, but overall it seemed not exotic enough for the cost. This cruise has changed my thinking.

Although the itinerary is basically up and down the I-5 corridor, California is really long, and you can always count on traffic slowing you down. A coastal cruise zips up and down the coast like a giant water shuttle and gets you close to where you want to be.

California hotels can be expensive, especially in Los Angeles. It was more cost effective for us to board this Princess ship than to stay on land for seven nights!

Since you are on a boat, you get to see the cities from the water side instead of the land side. We always like those views. See our Blog about Boats if you want to read more about why I like boats so much!

Ports of Call

San Francisco

In the early hours of the morning, we drifted slowly into San Francisco Bay. We got up a few hours before the sunrise and stood on the outside decks, as the Golden Gate Bridge appeared from the clouds. We stood on deck 18 as the boat cruised under the bridge, with only about 25 feet of clearance. Modern marvels abound! The captain blew the ship horn a few times, which plays the Love Boat theme. This is apparently a Princess trademark and always made Corey laugh.

We headed off the ship in late morning and walked about five miles around the city (China Town, Union Square, North Beach, and the Embarcadero). We did some shopping, stopped for pedicures, and a late lunch at Sotto Mare. I’ve had a hankering for some good clam chowder, but the cioppino feast for two was delicious! (As I write this it’s important to know that I still haven’t been able to quench the desire for New England clam chowder and hope to spot some on a menu soon.)

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara gave us the opportunity to get some chores out of the way (booking flights and hotels for future plans) before jumping on a tender boat to go ashore. Once on land, we walked through “funk town” and enjoyed looking at the trees, architecture, and quaint plazas. We stopped at Secret Bao for a glass of California sparkling wine and a snack. Corey ordered pork belly and I opted for the peanut butter and jelly. It was so good, I wish I had taken a picture before I devoured it!! The weather was slightly chilly, but pleasant overall.

San Diego

After an evening and morning at sea we approached San Diego at around 10 and quietly crept toward the cruise ship terminal downtown. Sailing into San Diego never disappoints! We docked alongside two other ships. We spent the morning enjoying the sunshine on parts of the ship that were sheltered from the cold wind.

Onshore we walked through Little Italy, just as people were finishing work and the Friday night scene was getting into gear. It felt strange to grab a drink at busy/noisy establishments since we’ve been hunkered down the past few years. So great that everything is outdoors or open air with the temperate SoCal climate. We drank some local microbrews and cocktails, then met up with our friends, Deandra and Derrick to finish up the night at a fun, “classy dive bar” with a large patio called Home & Away.

Ensenada, B.C., Mexico

Ensenada is the only port where we scheduled an excursion. Earlier in the week we had reached out to Baja & Pacific Tours, based on great reviews on TripAdvisor. Adriana responded quickly via WhatsApp, provided us with great suggestions, and took care of all the reservations. This allowed us to get appropriately lost in some vineyards, on our schedule, without the hassle of driving ourselves. Everything worked out great with her service and the provided driver.

Adobe Guadelupe

We drove for about 40 minutes and through olive tree orchards on our way to the first winery, which was one of the few that opened at 10 (thanks for the tip, Adriana). Beautiful outdoor tasting garden with chirping birds perched all around in the trees.

We had a rose and three good reds, all with different styles. It was a pleasant tasting. Based on our experience I would recommend anyone to make this a stop on their journey through Valle de Guadeloupe.

Finca la Carrodilla

This winery was perched in the foothills with a beautiful patio overlooking the vineyards up and down the hillsides. Although the sun was hot, the tasting area is in the shade, and the wind was quite brisk. We know that wine grapes in hot areas like the wind to keep them cool, but the winery had blankets for the cold humans. We ordered 2 different tastings and shared them all. Again we were impressed with the reds (like the merlot and syrah) but thought the chenin blancs were underwhelming. We found in Vivino that we had previously had a chenin from this winery and did not like it at that time. But we would try the reds if we see them again.

Conchas de Piedra (lunch) / Casa de Piedra (wine)

After two wineries we drove to Conchas de Piedra for our lunch reservation. It is a restaurant operated by the owner of Deckman’s, and located on the grounds of the Casa de Piedra winery. As you may guess from the restaurant name, they specialize in unique Mexican shellfish preparations. We ordered a feast of oysters on the halfshell, chocolate clams (named for the brown shells), aguachile, mangrove cockles, and a mixed seafood tostada. We paired these with a flight of all three sparkling wines (labeled as Espuma de Piedra), meaning we ended up enjoying another wine tasting with our lunch. Although at other wineries, we found the still whites uninteresting, here we preferred the blanc de blanc (50% chardonnay and 50% sauvignon blanc). The food was outstanding and a real highlight for the day.

Tres Valles

With food in our bellies, we made it to our final tasting. Tres Valles had a funky outdoor space, with metal sculptures and nice stonework. They poured a white blend and four different reds. Like the other wineries, we preferred the reds. Winemakers in this region are using unconventional blending to highlight what their grapes have to offer (cabernet and grenache, for example). We picked up a bottle of the San Mateo red (syrah and petite sirah) and look forward to enjoying that either in Vegas or on our next cruise. Thanks to Jake for giving us a wine skin to protect the bottle during air travel!

We had to take note of our time to ensure we would get back to the boat on time. It took about 30 minutes to drive back through the valley and town to the cruise terminal. Our driver, Angel, wanted to show us “his city” from the top of the hillsides, but we had to take a rain check. We arrived right at final boarding call and were the last two guests to board. There is no prize for this feat. It was a very pleasant day that cost $340 all in for the private driver, 3 reserved tastings, lunch with a bubbles pairing, two bottles of wine (one for us and one for Angel), and all gratuities.

Back on Board

We scampered to our rooms and changed into our swimsuits to enjoy the final sail away in the Wake View pool, located high on the aft of the ship. It wasn’t quite warm enough but I was determined to enjoy the pool. We got a final glimpse of the Ensenada hills as we sailed out. Ensenada was a nice town and we would return to explore it further. Maybe we could plan a trip together! 🙂

We had two sea days that were great for swimming, relaxing, and of course eating. We walked around the decks and explored. It’s so neat to be on a brand new ship! Everything is shiny and pretty. No rust or scuff marks anywhere. What a juxtaposition from our stay at the Best Western Plus in San Pedro (Los Angeles port), which was a solid building but had balding carpet and other evidence of wear and tear (but the service was friendly and they had a shuttle to the cruise terminal). Because this was the fourth passenger sailing of the Discovery Princess, the crew were all welcoming and seemed to be excited about being on a new ship. And Princess seemed to have taken some top staff off other ships such as the cruise director (DuVaul) and the entertainers. All Princess ships currently use medallions (farewell plastic cards!) to open your stateroom door, order drinks, and even locate friends or family on the ship. The technology onboard was helpful and interesting, but also felt a little like Westworld: they know where you are spending time (and money) at all times.

There was a full schedule of happenings around the ship. Lots of live music, comedians, performers, magicians, plus all the usual stuff (trivia, ping pong tournaments, casino, art auctions…).

We would sail on Princess again, although we may never have the opportunity to sail on a ship so new. Our next scheduled cruise is on one of Royal Caribbean’s oldest ships, so will be neat to compare value, layouts, venues, etc. The Vision of the Seas is also in the smaller class which tends to be my preference.

We will be sure to post about that adventure soon. Until then we are bronzing poolside in Vegas.