Ensenada as Port of disembarkation

[sarleo]

I am thinking about a Hawaiian cruise that ends at the port of Encenada, Mexico. What are the options for transportation back home (to Philadelphia)? I assume I have to get to San Diego. Does Celebrity have any provisions? Thanks very much! :)

[rholbrook]

When we took the cruise a few years ago they unloaded the ship at Encenada at 6 AM and bused everyone to San Diego. When the first buses got to the border everyone had to take all of their luggage off the bus, go thru customs and then walk another block or so to reboard the bus. By the time we got to the border all we had to take was our carryon's. It took over an hour to clear customs. I don't know if it is any faster now to get thru customs. It was a real bottleneck when we went thru.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Gonzo70]

I am thinking about a Hawaiian cruise that ends at the port of Encenada, Mexico. What are the options for transportation back home (to Philadelphia)? I assume I have to get to San Diego. Does Celebrity have any provisions? Thanks very much! :)

 

In recent cruises Celebrity has bused people from Ensenada to the San Diego airport; the cost is generally included in your cruise fare. Be advised that this can be a lengthy and arduous process, but due to cabotage laws (the PVSA) the cruise has to end in Ensenada rather than San Diego - hence the reason for the ship not sailing with passengers to San Diego.

[BBsails]

I'm guessing that if you type Ensenada into the Search this Forum box at the top of the page a lot of information from past posts will appear. We are booked on a cruise that ends in Ensenada in 2013 and are not looking forward to that part of the trip one bit.

[Freecall]

We recently needed to get off in Ensenada and drove up to San Diego. It took about three hours in all. A fair amount of traffic at the border which accounted for a large proportion of this but we did not need to get out or have our luggage searched.

 

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[TommyD3]

We did this after a cruise on the Century in Mach 2012.

The whole process went MUCH better than other posts I have read.

We did have to get off the ship quite early and wait on the bus in line at the border for about an hour.

Other than that it was GREAT!

They left the large luggage on the bus.

We just had to bring our carry on with us.

When we reached the building at the border we got off and had our own line thru immigration.

Then we had to put our carry on thru an x-ray machine.

There was no scanner that we had to walk thru.

The entire process took less than 5 minutes.

Jeff Potts was the Guest Relations Manager on the ship who arranged it all.

He did an EXCELLENT job.

 

I hope this helps.

[cruzbynite]

We did this after a cruise on the Century in Mach 2012.

The whole process went MUCH better than other posts I have read.

We did have to get off the ship quite early and wait on the bus in line at the border for about an hour.

Other than that it was GREAT!

They left the large luggage on the bus.

We just had to bring our carry on with us.

When we reached the building at the border we got off and had our own line thru immigration.

Then we had to put our carry on thru an x-ray machine.

There was no scanner that we had to walk thru.

The entire process took less than 5 minutes.

Jeff Potts was the Guest Relations Manager on the ship who arranged it all.

He did an EXCELLENT job.

 

I hope this helps.

 

This is a fair representation. I did the same a few years back and I must say, X did an excellent job with all of the coordination. Once you get assigned a bus number, you stick with it because your large luggage items are on that bus.

[FrankinPA]

In recent cruises Celebrity has bused people from Ensenada to the San Diego airport; the cost is generally included in your cruise fare. Be advised that this can be a lengthy and arduous process, but due to cabotage laws (the PVSA) the cruise has to end in Ensenada rather than San Diego - hence the reason for the ship not sailing with passengers to San Diego.

 

This law is a bit confusing to me. I know that a foreign flagged vessel cannot convey people from one USA port to another USA port without visiting a foreign port during the trip. We are on the Century March 4 2013 and it starts and ends in San Diego after going to Hawaii but does stop for 5 hours (7pm to midnight) in Ensenada prior to docking in San Diego. I think we do not have to get off the ship in Ensenada from all the information I have.

 

So why do some people have to get off in Ensenada and others do not on Century cruises? Could not Century just always do a 5 hr port visit there and avoid all the hassle of busing people to San Diego?

[3418ahl]

Due to the passenger vessel services act, one cannot board in one US port and debark in a different US port without visiting a DISTANT foreign port in between. Ensenada does not qualify. The Jones Act, which applies to ships, states that a foreign port must be visited, so Ensenada satisfies this act.

 

We will be traveling on the Solstice, but will be on in Sydney, therefore can debark in Seattle.

[Algebralovr]

Due to the passenger vessel services act, one cannot board in one US port and debark in a different US port without visiting a DISTANT foreign port in between. Ensenada does not qualify. The Jones Act, which applies to ships, states that a foreign port must be visited, so Ensenada satisfies this act.

 

We will be traveling on the Solstice, but will be on in Sydney, therefore can debark in Seattle.

 

Double check that one. This last year, there were people who made the reservation to start in Sydney, AU, sail to Seattle by way of Hawaii and Ensenada. They were required to disembark in Ensenada in order to not violate the PVSA. It has to do with how the line codes the cruise, and the code each leg separately rather than all one cruise.

 

As for starting or stopping in Ensenada vs San Diego, it has to do with one way vs round trip. If it is a round trip closed loop cruise, it only has to stop at a near foreign port. If a one way trip, it cannot start and stop at two different US ports.

 

There has been some discussion from Celebrity about stoping further south to avoid the unloading in Ensenada. I'm interested to see if they pull it off in 2014 or 2015 for the Sydney to Seattle run.

[Cruise Junky]

This law is a bit confusing to me. I know that a foreign flagged vessel cannot convey people from one USA port to another USA port without visiting a foreign port during the trip. We are on the Century March 4 2013 and it starts and ends in San Diego after going to Hawaii but does stop for 5 hours (7pm to midnight) in Ensenada prior to docking in San Diego. I think we do not have to get off the ship in Ensenada from all the information I have.

 

So why do some people have to get off in Ensenada and others do not on Century cruises? Could not Century just always do a 5 hr port visit there and avoid all the hassle of busing people to San Diego?

 

Some are one ways which can't start and end in two different US Ports without hitting a foreign DISTANT port...Hence Solstice just ends in Ensenada to get around this.. a Return to the same US Port, IE San Diego must only hit a foreign port for a couple of hours..which is what Century Does.

[Cruise Junky]

Double check that one. This last year, there were people who made the reservation to start in Sydney, AU, sail to Seattle by way of Hawaii and Ensenada. They were required to disembark in Ensenada in order to not violate the PVSA. It has to do with how the line codes the cruise, and the code each leg separately rather than all one cruise.

.

 

They're ok if they board in Sydney. I think the issue was with the TA that was selling it as a Hawaii - Ensenada - Seattle cruise and then going on to Alaska.

[FrankinPA]

Some are one ways which can't start and end in two different US Ports without hitting a foreign DISTANT port...Hence Solstice just ends in Ensenada to get around this.. a Return to the same US Port, IE San Diego must only hit a foreign port for a couple of hours..which is what Century Does.

 

Thanks, now I understand.

[kiwimum]

All passengers, entertainers, shop staff are required to disembark in Ensenada regardless of their final destination. B2B passengers are not required to take their luggage off. The ship must sail from Ensenada to San Diego only with ships company aboard. Immigration will take place at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Celebrity makes arrangements for the transit. Luggage does not need to be unloaded. Hand carried luggage must be taken off. Wheelchair passengers will be cleared on the bus.

[bob278]

All passengers, entertainers, shop staff are required to disembark in Ensenada regardless of their final destination. B2B passengers are not required to take their luggage off. The ship must sail from Ensenada to San Diego only with ships company aboard. Immigration will take place at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Celebrity makes arrangements for the transit. Luggage does not need to be unloaded. Hand carried luggage must be taken off. Wheelchair passengers will be cleared on the bus.

Where did you get this information? This is the first time I have ever seen that.

 

We are on a b2b2b from Sydney to Seattle in 2013 and would be extremely upset if we have to leave the ship in Ensenada and go to San Diego to re-board while people who are boarding for the cruise up to Seattle are being boarded. Are you saying we would have to spend the night in a hotel in San Diego? This makes no sense whatsoever.

[DAllenTCY]

It is a same day transfer....off the ship in Ensenada at 7 am and back on in the afternoon in San Diego.

David

[3418ahl]

We cruise a great deal, always B2B, and I have NEVER been on a cruise where you were NOT required to disembark at the end of each sailing. They issue your reboarding passes the night before, and the procedure is painless, usually you are back on within an hour. Although we refer to it as B2B, they are all seperate cruises as far as the cruise line is concerned. This is only different when a line offers a cruise as both a 28 day and 2 fourteen days, for instance. We encountered this on HA. HOWEVER, as far as the government is concerned, they count as one cruise from where you originally embark to where you debark finally.

[3418ahl]

Originally Posted by kiwimum

All passengers, entertainers, shop staff are required to disembark in Ensenada regardless of their final destination. B2B passengers are not required to take their luggage off. The ship must sail from Ensenada to San Diego only with ships company aboard. Immigration will take place at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Celebrity makes arrangements for the transit. Luggage does not need to be unloaded. Hand carried luggage must be taken off. Wheelchair passengers will be cleared on the bus.

 

This was originally posted in another thread and was in error.

[bob278]

It is a same day transfer....off the ship in Ensenada at 7 am and back on in the afternoon in San Diego.

David

 

Not possible. People will be coming from San Diego to board in Ensenada and the ship doesn't sail from there until midnight.

 

I don't think we have to do any more than get off and pass through immigration, if that. With no more people than are staying on, they could easily handle us in the MDR or theater.

[fb0075]

Just off the phone with operations ---

 

Eric responded that B2b passangers will not be required to get off the ship mper his paperwork!

all others will disembark and be bussed to SAN DIEGO to catch flights after 2 PM

 

FRANK

[wwcruisers]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1360810&page=79

 

Anyone considering a cruise that ends in Ensenada should read some of the posts on the roll-call thread above (March 23, 2012, Hawaii to Ensenada -- starting with post # 1565, pages 79-81).

We were booked on a later round-trip Sand Diego to Hawaii cruise, and I was intently following this roll-call for information about some reported propulsion problems on Century. Some of their stories indicate the Ensenada disembarkation/transfer process went well. For others (depending on which bus they were on) it sounded like the Bataan Death March! :eek: Personally, after hearing some of these first-hand accounts, I would think long and hard about taking any cruise that began or ended in Ensenada. :rolleyes:

[3418ahl]

Originally Posted by DAllenTCY

It is a same day transfer....off the ship in Ensenada at 7 am and back on in the afternoon in San Diego.

David

 

Again, in error. This was posted by someone who later stated that they did not realize the ship was leaving from Ensenada. Those on board with a b2b will debark and reboard just as on any other b2b. If you check the Celebrity site, you will even find some tours in Ensenada for those staying with the ship.

 

I strongly suggest that anyone with any questions like this call Celebrity.

[CRUZBUDS]

Not possible. People will be coming from San Diego to board in Ensenada and the ship doesn't sail from there until midnight.

 

I don't think we have to do any more than get off and pass through immigration, if that. With no more people than are staying on, they could easily handle us in the MDR or theater.

 

I don't think any cruises re-board after dropping off there. Ensenada cruises are almost almost always re-positioning cruises and either leave from or arrive in Ensenada, not both.

 

 

Ships coming from Ensenada usually arrive in S.D. around 2:00 pm +/- and hour or so. We've taken the first cruise after an Ensenada stop several times. The latest we boarded in S.D. was about 3:30.

 

Once we took an airport shuttle home after the bus ride from Ensenada and another ship that had left Ensenada before ours was already in San Diego and boarding passengers.

[3418ahl]

I don't think any cruises re-board after dropping off there. Ensenada cruises are almost almost always re-positioning cruises and either leave from or arrive in Ensenada, not both.

 

 

Ships coming from Ensenada usually arrive in S.D. around 2:00 pm +/- and hour or so. We've taken the first cruise after an Ensenada stop several times. The latest we boarded in S.D. was about 3:30.

 

Once we took an airport shuttle home after the bus ride from Ensenada and another ship that had left Ensenada before ours was already in San Diego and boarding passengers.

 

This is a first for Celebrity, which is why a lot of misinformation was posted. It is easy enough to check. Just go to the Celebrity website and look at the Hawaii to Ensenada cruise on April 25 and the Ensenada to Seattle cruise on May 6. We are on it! Why post before you look???

[kiwimum]

I am in error with regard to this posting. The ship they are referring to is the Solstice which has a departure from Ensenada to Seattle. I was on the Century earlier this year on the same cruise and was posting with regard to what I experienced. The Century did not board passengers in Ensenada.