San Diego, California

This morning, Majestic Princess is docked in San Diego. From the starboard side of the ship, I can clearly see the USS Midway aircraft carrier which is now a museum. I am organizing my photos and video clips from yesterday while drinking coffee at World Fresh Marketplace on Deck 16 aft.

This morning, we have an excursion booked through the ship’s Shore Excursion desk: “An Exploration Of San Diego’s Culinary Roots”.

Per the instructions on the tickets, we met outside of the cruise terminal at 11:30 where we, along without about 10 other guests, boarded the motor coach for a drive to Barrio Logan, one of the older neighborhoods in San Diego. We were dropped off at Salud!, a local authentic taco joint.

Salud in Barrio Locan

We were seated at an outdoor patio where we could enjoy the perfect 75-degree weather today. We were given a choice of Mango or Watermelon drinks. I ordered the Mango and Rickee had the Watermelon and both were delicious. We each had a choice of pork, chicken or veggie taco. I ordered the pork and Rickee had the veggie. And, even though the photo is not much to look at, we both agreed that these were the best tacos we had ever eaten!

Veggie taco and Watermelon drink

After our tacos, we took a short drive down the street to a local Mexican coffee shop, Por Vida, where we each ordered a Mexican Mocha, which was sort of like a combination of hot chocolate and coffee topped with whipped cream.

Rickee tries the Mexican Mocha at Por Vida

After finishing our coffee drinks, we re-boarded the coach for a drive to a strip shopping center where we found Texcoco, an “authentic” Mexican restaurant.

At Texcoco our group sat at one long table where dishes were served family style, and the dishes were perhaps a little too authentic for our tastes. A platter of stewed cactus, corn fungus (yes, that is what our server said the dish was!) and refried beans was followed with a huge helping of braised “lamb”. I put lamb in quotes because it tasted more like mutton than lamb. I did not try a single dish here that would compel me to return to this place. And, when they passed around a plate of fried grasshoppers, that was it for us! I guess I am not as adventurous as I thought I was.

Our last stop on this tour was Old Town San Diego, which is a bit touristy, but we found it quite interesting. We were able to do some souvenir shopping here.

Old Town San Diego

Old Town is a fun place just to walk around and see the local shops and businesses. Rickee found a candy store where she purchased some homemade fudge.

We spent one hour at Old Town before boarding the coach for the return to Majestic Princess. I would rate the tour about 6 out of 10. The guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant, and the tacos at Salud! were excellent, but I think on a return to San Diego, we would just walk over to the USS Midway for a tour of the aircraft carrier.

When we arrived back at the pier, Princess greeted us at the terminal with a choice of lemon water or cucumber water, Rickee’s favorite. That was a nice touch.

For sailaway today, we went up to Deck 18 aft where we watched as the Captain backed the ship out from her berth. A harbor patrol boat with a machine gun mounted to the front circled Majestic Princess to keep smaller watercraft at a safe distance.

The Lido Deck with San Diego in the distance.

On Deck 18 aft, you can find a lot of murals painted on the walls providing some great photo ops.

Murals painted on the walls of Deck 18 aft

This evening we joined a group of other journalists for dinner at Bistro Sur la Mer, located on Deck 7 midship. Once again, I will cover our dining experience in my video review, but suffice it to say, a great time was had by all.

Tomorrow, Majestic Princess will be docked in Ensenada, Mexico.