Disney Wonder 4-Night Baja Cruise: The Ports

The Disney Wonder 4-Night Baja Cruise ports included San Diego (embarkation / dismebarkation), Catalina Island, and Ensenada.

The night before our cruise, we stayed at SpringHill Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown/Bayfront, which is right across the street from the port.  They have a free breakfast buffet, and I was able to get a late check-out, which worked well for our cruise check-in time.  

On port days, if you plan to get off the ship, you need to make sure you have your key to the world cards (Magic Band+ will work too) for everyone in your party and appropriate photo IDs for adults.  Your belongings will be scanned as you go through a security checkpoint.  

Some people stay on the ship on port days, as pools and restaurants tend to be a lot less crowded, but I was happy to get off the boat and explore new-to-us areas.   You can book port activities directly through Disney Cruise Line or through third parties, or just wing it like we did. 

Our first port was Catalina Island.  I read that some people would rent golf carts to tour the area, but we would have had to rent a 6-person golf cart.  We decided to simply walk around instead.  It was pretty warm, as California was experiencing a heat wave.

We ate at a couple of places, did some shopping, and played mini golf.

At Ensenada, once we got off the boat, we went to catch a shuttle into Downtown.  It was $4 USD RT per person.  

We were originally just going to stay in Downtown and explore, but the shuttle is actually a sales pitch for tours, and we ended up getting sold on a tour to visit La Bufadora and the market.  I'm glad we went on the tour, as we saw some amazing places and experienced a lot in just a short amount of time.