You Can Cruise Too!

Warning: This post will discuss our cruise this weekend and will offer very little as far as how to do fun things inexpensively. Sometimes my posts will be more about sharing than offering ideas and this is one those times.


For Christmas this year, Ben and I bought each other a 3 Night Cruise to Ensenada. It was a little bit of a compromise because while Ben likes to travel, after our last cruise of 7 nights, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to spend that much time on a ship again. Thankfully anything over 3 nights was probably out of our budget anyway.



We boarded the Carnival Paradise on Friday and set sail. We had a wonderful time. If you are someone who works too much or travel with someone who works too much, this is a perfect vacation! You see, we didn't have to sit in traffic, read maps or search out the least rundown motel. We just let the ship guide us and even though I am working hard on my Master's and I keep pretty busy, this trip was something Ben really deserved.





For those of you aren't aware, Ben has been working 6 days a week for months now and barely has time to relax. I took great pleasure in seeing him get to lounge, read his book, and eat at buffets (no cooking and no dirty dishes). If I could, I would try to make this happen for Ben as often as possible. He is an amazing guy who will do anything for "us".

Okay, back to the cruise....

In Ensenada we saw La Bufadora, which could be compared to Spouting Horn in Kauai, only bigger!

We were thoroughly harassed by vendors. It was incredibly annoying. They did everything just short of grabbing our arms and yanking us into their little stores. I have never experienced such pressure and I have been to other ports of call in Mexico. Nothing was this awful.

We did get to hold a baby tiger. Let me explain how that came to be. There was a organization with a booth set up that takes care of animals that are abandoned by their parents and they hand raise them. They make money for their cause by letting you take pictures with the animals. We contimplated sneaking him back on the ship but sound minds prevailed.

In the end, we had a wonderful time and I already itching to get back on the ship.

I do have travel advice for you! Cruises are going to cost money and may require some saving to cover the cost BUT if you have a flexible work schedule and can travel on the weekdays, you can get the best deals! For instance, if you look at Carnival's website you will find 3-4 night cruises for under $250 a person. Prefer a longer cruise, if your dates are flexible, you can find 5 night cruises for under $325 a person.
When you consider that all travel expenses are covered (gas, hotel, food, entertainment) you can definitely get your money's worth.