Mexico Itinerary changes - Sapphire Princess

FYI... Rumor has it that Princess is considering dropping Puerto Vallarta as well as Mazatlan on the three Mexican Riviera cruises on the Sapphire Princess at the end of this year. Apparently she will overnite in Cabo and also visit Ensenada instead...

I think it's getting to the why bother stage on Mexican Riviera cruises.

FYI... Rumor has it that Princess is considering dropping Puerto Vallarta as well as Mazatlan on the three Mexican Riviera cruises on the Sapphire Princess at the end of this year. Apparently she will overnite in Cabo and also visit Ensenada instead...

Lets hope not that would be terrible! PV is awesome and MZT is a quaint spot (not a fan of where the ships dock there though).

She would probably be best doing California coast cruises instead. Those are selling like hot cakes!

I vote for Vancouver - Hawaii 10 Day Cruise. Hawaii to Vancouver - 10 Day Cruise. Vancouver to San Diego - 7 Day Cruise. San Diego to Vancouver - 7 Day Cruise... REPEAT.

I vote for Vancouver - Hawaii 10 Day Cruise. Hawaii to Vancouver - 10 Day Cruise. Vancouver to San Diego - 7 Day Cruise. San Diego to Vancouver - 7 Day Cruise... REPEAT.

Those would be good ones also!

I always thought Cabo was the nicest of those three ports and I like Ensenada too. If the rumor mill is right, then it sounds like a good decision to me. I would also like to see Princess do a lot more West Coast cruises out of L.A. I think the ports of call from San Diego to Victoria are spectacular.

I always thought Cabo was the nicest of those three ports and I like Ensenada too. If the rumor mill is right, then it sounds like a good decision to me. I would also like to see Princess do a lot more West Coast cruises out of L.A. I think the ports of call from San Diego to Victoria are spectacular.

Those are great. I would like to see Huatulco instead of Ensenada though... RickEk, thanks for the info!

Rumor appears to be true - people are reporting the changes:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29403416&posted=1#post29403416

I too would like a stop in Huatulco instead of Ensenada if that is the new plan. We have enjoyed many cruises down to Mexico with stops in PV, Mazatlan, and the 1/2 day in Cabo so an itinerary change is OK with us..just not Ensenada if that can be helped. A stop in San Diego would be preferable..JMHO. And to note the water going North is bumpier and lumpier that going south along the West Coast...

why call it a "Mexican" cruise??? I love the west coast cruises, but crave the warmer weather of Mexico. Most of these coastal cruises are just to cold for us from Vancouver:(

if they remove PV then I'm done altogether with West Coast cruises. Cabo is my LEAST favorite, since there is no charm nor culture -- basically it's an extension of Southern CA as far as I'm concerned.

I loved Maz and PV, but of course understand fully why Maz was cancelled, but i'm not up to date on why PV is being cancelled. if it's for the same reasons as Maz, then that's a real shame.

And I do not ever want to go to Ensenada, especially after my friend jusrt got back from there and reported that there was a dude on the corner trying to sell 3-week-old puppies to people. DISGUSTING... animal cruelty

I absolutely love Puerto Vallarta and was planning on a Princess Mexican Riviera cruise next year but probably not if they cancel PV. I have not heard of any issues there, did something change?? I am not a huge fan of Cabo -- don't get me wrong, it's ok just not PV. And Mazatlan is right up there with Acapulco in the disgusting ick factor. But really, Ensenada ...that's better than PV? NO it is not. What a shame. Might be looking for a different itinerary...

PS -- kind of like Manzanillo and Ixtapa -- would be nice if they could add those.

I had been planning to book the Mex Riv as my first cruise, but after tons of research found that more and more often cruise lines are cancelling those ports due to local unrest. As such, my friends and I choose a Caribbean cruise instead. While we love Mexico and have been on land vacations, it would be a waste to spend so much and not see much of it.

Lets hope not that would be terrible! PV is awesome and MZT is a quaint spot (not a fan of where the ships dock there though).

MZT is not my favorite place to dock either but beats Vancouver, beautiful but don't go if two or more ships are in port same time. I vote to keep mexico personaly always enjoyed the ports, we were there Thanksgiving and still felt safe.

Rick,

thanks for the info, as always. But, I agree with Cruise Junky: if they drop both MZ and PV what's the point? I was never a huge fan of MZ, but loved PV.

As an alternative, I'd also like to see Manzanillo and/or Ixtapa, but who knows if there's any chance of that, at least this year. Huatulco would be nice, but I'm pretty sure it's way too far south to include in a 7-day RT from LA.

I'm mostly bummed because my parents have booked one of the December trips. It's only their second cruise ever, and their first on their own, and I know they'll be very disappointed. I hope we know for sure before Final Payment date so they may be able to change their plans.

Really disappointing.

I do not understand the thinking of Princess. PV is great, I do not know where

the violence is except maybe getting hit by a taxi. Substituting Ensenada is a joke,

why not Manzanillo. I would like to see Huatulco but it is too far. People cruise

to Mexico because they want warm weather.

Since I live 40 miles n. of Ensenada, I can tell you it is not that warm in the winter.

This is a huge mistake, if they want to eliminate Mexico for cruising then just

reschedule the ships to Australia.

Greg

I do not understand the thinking of Princess. PV is great, I do not know where

the violence is except maybe getting hit by a taxi. Substituting Ensenada is a joke,

why not Manzanillo. I would like to see Huatulco but it is too far. People cruise

to Mexico because they want warm weather.

Since I live 40 miles n. of Ensenada, I can tell you it is not that warm in the winter.

 

This is a huge mistake, if they want to eliminate Mexico for cruising then just

reschedule the ships to Australia.

 

Greg

Might have stemmed from the Canadian guy that was stabbed 25 times this week.

Uhhh ???

The only thing remotely attractive about doing the MR is Puerto Vallarta :confused:

Srpilo

Might have stemmed from the Canadian guy that was stabbed 25 times this week.

Hmmm... maybe, but he was a resident.

http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110608/canadian-killed-mexico-110608/20110608/?hub=EdmontonHome

Hmmm... maybe, but he was a resident.

 

http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110608/canadian-killed-mexico-110608/20110608/?hub=EdmontonHome

Totally agree with you. He wasn't a tourist, I just find it fishy that they made the change today after this was on the news yesterday.

Puerto Vallarta is my favorite Mexican port. I would have no interest in a cruise that spends 2 days in Cabo and a day in Ensenada. I don't understand where Princess feels Ensenada is a "safer" port than Puerto Vallarta. It is close to the border city of Tijuana. My understanding is that most of the current violence in Mexico today is occurring close to the border.

If PV must be dropped, I would rather see one day in Cabo, and one day in La Paz. Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo is probably too far to go on a 7 day cruise, but that would be a nice option as well.

This will definitely end our cruising south from LA now also. Agree with above poster with this shouldn't be called a Mexican Riviera Cruise any longer, since it isn't. It is just a Baja cruise now. Boy, I have no desire to ever go to Ensenada ever again. This is really too bad. I do feel sorry for the people in these areas that depend on tourism.

The Mexican Riviera cruising [for us] was about the ship. We would take different lines from different ports [L.A., San Diego, Long Beach], which allowed us to drive to the dock. It's so convenient and made for a nice 7 day vacation away from everything.

We really didn't care where the ship was going as long as we were onboard. Being on a 5 Star floating hotel, with the food, entertainment, relaxation and the opportunity to meet new friends is a good enough draw for us.

We're going on the Pacific Northwest cruise in September and look forward to booking another one, while onboard.

I hope Princess figures this one out, there's a lot of folks who feel the same way we do and even those who still like the Mexican Riviera and the adventures that it offered, barring any violence. :rolleyes:

Wow, nowhere left to if they drop PV. Manzanillo is REALLY limited in what to do. Ensenada is really uninteresting with weather similar to San Diego so people wanting warmth and sun and swimming won't be getting it.

I wonder if this is the end of all MX cruises for a while. I love Cabo but going on a ship for a week just to go to Cabo would be a total waste.

Maybe they need to redo the itiniary as So Cal to Cabo:

LA

Santa Barbara

SFO

Down to Cabo

San Diego

LA