Boarding in Ensenada is a bit of a nightmare. You don't actually check
in at the pier because the pier facilities are small and limited.
Cruise lines usually do the check in process at a nearby hotel and use
buses to take you to the ship. Unless you arrive in Ensenada a day
early, the cruise line transfer might actually begin in San Diego at
the pier or airport. You are transferred by bus to the hotel in
Ensenada for ship check in, and then as mentioned from the hotel to
the pier.
The entire process breaks down when the transfer buses begin piling up
at the hotel and then especially at the pier where things bottleneck
going through security.
Last year I went through this for Mercury's repositioning cruise from
Ensenada to Alaska. Total time from boarding the transfer bus in San
Diego to actually boarding was about 7 hours. I was told this is
fairly typical. Here is the break down of the timing as I actually
timed it:
1) waiting in line for transfer bus in SD 1 hour
2) ride to Ensenada 2 hours
3) waiting on the bus to check in at hotel 1.5 hours (one bus at a
time was checked in)
4) actual check in 15 minutes
5) drive to pier 10 minutes
6) waiting on the bus to go thru security 1 hour (one bus at a
time was allowed to offload)
7) security process (due to lines building up) 1 hour
Friends of mine who stayed in Ensenada overnight, did the check in at
the hotel and cabbed it to the pier - from check in to boarding was
roughly 20 minutes.
To answer your question: boarding was still proceeding when the dining
rooms opened. I crossed the gangway at about 7pm and if memory serves
correctly they had open seating the first night to cope with the
boarding delays. I can't say whether this translates into how RCI will
handle things for your sailing, but Celebrity and RCI belong to the
same company.
Warren
On Aug 4, 1:24 pm, R&M wrote:
> Ensenada Embark Time?..rhapsody Of The Sea
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