San Diego embarkation

There are many threads about long lines at SD but mine stretches to Ensenada! We are booked on the Carnival Spirit to Hawaii on April 20, 2008. The ship returns from a Mexican cruise at 8 AM, unloads and then sails EMPTY to Ensenada. In the meantime, we are directed to check-in at the SD pier that afternoon & then be bused to Ensenada to catch the ship for a 9 PM departure. I miss the logic unless someone at Carnival also owns the bus company. I have asked my agent at Vacations to Go if some arrangement can be made to board before the ship leaves SD. She is unable to comprehend my concern and can only suggest rebooking with another cruise line. Unfortunatly, this is the only cruise which will encompass our aniversary and also allow and extra vacation in Hawaii after debarkation.

Unfortunately due to a law known as the PVSA, you cannot board in San Diego. It has nothing to do with Carnival owning a bus company. Carnival cannot transport you between San Diego and Hawaii without stopping at a distant foreign port. Unfortunately the closest "distant" foreign port for a Hawaii cruise is 2 days beyond Hawaii. So instead of making it a much longer cruise (4 to 5 days longer), they bus you the couple of hours to Ensenada.

If you do not want to be bused down to Ensenada, then you have to take a roundtrip Hawaii cruise from California OR fly to Hawaii and take one of the 7 day roundtrips on NCLA.

Being bussed to Ensenada can be a nightmare or it can be fairly smooth. Remember, you are crossing the busiest international border crossing we have. They will bus you and your luggage to the pier in Ensenada where you will board the ship. Apparently you have no option with your schedule, but we always book the RT from here in San Diego or from LA and avoid Ensenada. Even if it does not go smoothly for you at least it is at the beginning of the cruise and you have 4 or 5days at sea in which to de-stress. We just did a 15night RT from here in October on Serenade of the Seas - our 4th RT Hawaii. Have fun and enjoy:)

It is quite common for ships to stop at Ensenada enroute to or from SD or Los Angles & Hawaii. Check the April 3 Holland America Zaandam or Princess Diamond on April 1. Although both are round trips, they make a short stop in Ensenada to comply with the commonly called "Jones Act".

Yes, this is done by both HAL and Princess (and Celebrity too I believe) but only for round trip cruises. There is no way around this rule. A major reason we will not take RCCL or Carnival for this route. We also love the round trip cruises from San Diego or LA for Hawaii, where we stop in Ensenada for 1-4 hours only, and avoid doing it one way. Flying is the worst part of cruising, and we miss it entirely this way.

It is quite common for ships to stop at Ensenada enroute to or from SD or Los Angles & Hawaii. Check the April 3 Holland America Zaandam or Princess Diamond on April 1. Although both are round trips, they make a short stop in Ensenada to comply with the commonly called "Jones Act".

The difference is the Zaandam and the Diamond Princess are roundtrip cruises so they fall under different rules. Your cruise is a one-way so falls under the more restrictive provisions of the PVSA.

Splinter, RCCL only starts/ends the one way cruises in Ensenada (which Celebrity also does). They have roundtrip Hawaii departures from both LA and San Diego in the Fall and Spring.

The difference is the Zaandam and the Diamond Princess are roundtrip cruises so they fall under different rules. Your cruise is a one-way so falls under the more restrictive provisions of the PVSA.

 

Splinter, RCCL only starts/ends the one way cruises in Ensenada (which Celebrity also does). They have roundtrip Hawaii departures from both LA and San Diego in the Fall and Spring.

Wrona.......this spring Radiance is doing the PC ending up in San Diego, then sailing to Ensenada to pick up pax for a 10 day cruise to Hawaii and then a 10 day return to Vancouver before they start their Alaska cruising season. For some reason Serenade is not doing Hawaii this spring.

In the fall Radiance is doing two R/T San Diego to Hawaii and back and Serenade is doing one trip out of LA.

And after Radiance does those two RT Hawaii cruises in the fall, she sails from San Diego through the Panama Canal to FLL and we will be onboard. That trip will mean we have sailed all Radiance Class, having done Jewel, Brilliance and Serenade already. Serenade was last October RT San Diego/Hawaii - no planes, no hotels, just take the shuttle from house to pier - love it:)