Royal Caribbean invited to come see the biggest cruise ship ever sail from Los Angeles, and I couldn't have been more excited to go, except maybe for the travel required.
I live in Florida, and this trip meant I'd have to fly cross country for just a 3-night cruise to Mexico aboard Ovation of the Seas. As someone that cruises over 10 times per year, I clearly love any excuse to go on a cruise. But flying 5 hours each way isn't what most people would necessarily consider ideal.
Short cruises less than 5 nights are typically "getaway cruises", where most people are within a short distance of the embarkation port and use it as a way to escape work or school and enjoy a quick holiday.
I often recommend to our readers three and four night cruises should be used to augment your cruise schedule, not be the focal point.
Nonetheless, I accepted the invitation to attend, excited to try something new. I'd never sailed on Ovation of the Seas or visited Ensenada, Mexico.
I think I made the most of this trip by doing a few things smartly.
I picked the right flights
In planning this trip, I wanted to ensure things went as smoothly as possible.
Air travel is wonderful when everything goes the way it's supposed to, and to that point, I made sure to book flights that would have the best chances of doing just that.
For my flight from Orlando to Los Angeles, I booked the first flight of the day, which departed at 7am. There was a 10am flight too, but I picked the 7am flight for one important reason.
Being that it's summer in Florida, thunderstorms, lightning, and other severe weather typically starts up every day here, but later in the day.
Travel experts recommend taking the first flight of the day to lessen the chance of a weather related delay. My plane was already in Orlando, having arrived the night before, so it was ready and waiting.
I also opted for non-stop flights so that I wouldn't have to worry about connections and delays there.
For my return flight, I picked the 11am flight home because it was the only non-stop flight that wasn't too early to make, or would require me to spend all day in the airport.
My flight home was delayed by 2 hours because of a staffing issue on the airline's side, but in the grand scheme of air travel, I think I did pretty well.
The other smart decision I made was I flew in a day early for my cruise.
Not only is flying in one day early critical to ensure air travel delays don't cause you to miss the flight, but it made my trip four days instead of three.
Having an extra day meant I got to visit family, explore more of Southern California, and acclimate to the time zone change.
Flying for a short cruise is worthwhile for a new itinerary
I believe there's an x-factor with choosing to go on a short cruise, and that's where your cruise is going.
I'd never been to Ensenada before, nor had I sailed on Ovation of the Seas. The opportunity to try something new I think makes the appeal greater.
When I took my first European cruise, I was hesitant to fly that long of a distance. But the allure of visiting new places intrigued me, and that made the decision easier.
Likewise, I wanted to experience Ensenada, even though I know it's not well-liked by cruisers.
My plan was to simply get tacos and beer in town, and enjoy authentic food that I can't get at home.
I succeeded in this plan, thanks in part to my YouTube viewers that recommended a few places. Plus, I thought Ensenada was perfectly fine in the same way walking around downtown Cozumel is. I wouldn't mind coming back to try something else outside of the city, but realize I'll need a plan.
I'm not saying Ensenada is a reason to book a trip like this. Rather, it helps when you're going somewhere "new to you" and that incentivizes the rationale for going.
I'm glad I went, but it helped things went well
Having been back at home for a few days, I'm happy I flew across the country for a short weekend cruise. In retrospect, it greatly helped things worked out just as I had hoped.
First and foremost, I had good weather the entire trip.
Even in Los Angeles, the weather was lovely and quite hot. I was surprised by this, because this time of year is notorious for "June Gloom" that usually brings clouds, fog, and chilly weather.
On each day I was in town, it was hot, and any clouds in the morning gave way to sun by lunch.
Likewise, the weather in Mexico was sunny too.
We had more clouds than sun on our sea day, but truthfully I've had much worse weather (i.e. rain) on Bahamas cruises.
I think the thing that made this trip tolerable more than anything was the fact my flights were mostly on time.
We left right on time flying to the west coast, and my return flight was only delayed by two hours coming home.
A delayed flight home might seem like a problem, but I was able to land a bit later and go right to sleep. The time zone change back to east coast time combined with an early wake up to leave the ship meant I was pretty tired. So the delay set me up for bed time.
Of course, I would have preferred an on-time departure to go home, but I like to find the positive whenever possible.
I'm glad I flew cross-country for my first time on Ovation of the Seas, even if it was just for 3 nights. But it greatly helps if you can maximize your trip with smart decisions (and a little luck) along the way.
