Why does the Sapphire spend so little time in Cabo San Lucas?

[pmlx3]

We're sailing in Feb. and are surprised how little time the ship is in Cabo San Lucas (7-2). We were hoping to take a boat out to El Arco and wander around town a bit. Is there enough time to do this on our own, or would it be better to book the boat tour with Princess? Do people on Princess sponsored excursions get off the ship first?

Thanks.

[cynbar]

You should be fine going out to Los Arcos on your own and then walking around town, the water taxis are very close to where the tender will let you off and the town is also close. We were on the Diamond last year and heard that the early departure allows the ship to make it back to LA on time -- I think about everyone agrees that the time at Cabo is too short, it's a great place! Yes, the people on Princess sponsored excursions get priority in tendering, but we saw some of the other passengers mixed in. Have fun.....

[BigBit]

We're sailing in Feb. and are surprised how little time the ship is in Cabo San Lucas (7-2). We were hoping to take a boat out to El Arco and wander around town a bit. Is there enough time to do this on our own, or would it be better to book the boat tour with Princess? Do people on Princess sponsored excursions get off the ship first?

Thanks.

 

To answer your title question, I believe that it is in order to make it back to San Pedro on time for disembarkation, so that they can turn the ship around on a 7 day rotating schedule. It is better with Sapphire than it used to be with Sea; with Sea Princess, we left Cabo at 12:30!

 

This is a frustration with that tour. You really have little or no time to see Cabo...

[rwl3]

I agree, this was frustrating on our last cruise. For our next trip, we picked a cruise that would be there for the whole day. I don't understand why Princess does this on most of their trips.

[Coral]

I agree, this was frustrating on our last cruise. For our next trip, we picked a cruise that would be there for the whole day. I don't understand why Princess does this on most of their trips.

 

Princess isn't the only cruise line that does this. We also had a short stop on the Sun Princess several years ago and looked at the other lines and they also had short stops (RCCL and Carnival did at the time).

[Fblack]

I am on the Sapphire in two weeks and have been on 15 other Mexican Riviera cruises. For some reason, the Sapphire spends two days at sea as it heads down and stops at Cabo last. Many other cruise lines stop at Cabo first. Then you get almost a full day.

[seastar2]

On the Dawn for a 10day in Marcha nd we are in Cabo from 12:30-6pm..same time frame just a later arrival...I have been reading good things about this port and wish We were there longer....:D

[cruiseman111111]

The Dawn Princess could spend longer in Cabo, it would be nice, but there is not reqally that much to do anyway.

 

Jim

[suziehmkr]

It really does depend on the itinerary. We sailed on RCCL down there a couple of June's ago and because we stopped there first - we had an entire day there. My father was surprised we had so much time there - since his previous cruises have all had short stops.

[Tom O.]

The ships that go to Cabo first have all day there, but have only a half day somewhere else. For example, the RCL ships that stop first at Cabo are there from 10am to 6pm, but their last stop, Puerto Vallarta, they are only there from 8am to 11am! I would much rather have only 6 hours in Cabo than only 3 hours in Puerto Vallarta.

It is just not physicaly possible to spend all day at your last port.

The only way I know to have a little more time, is to start out of San Diego instead of the L.A. area - 100 miles less each way. That would give you 4 more hours in your last port.

It is the nature of these Mexican Riviera trips that they spend a lot of time at sea. This makes a little less desireable for some, but it means a bargain for those who love the sea.

Tom

[rapsodyme]

We went on the snorkel and sightseeing catamaran when we had a short day at Cabo and were almost a half hour late getting back. I think the crew on the catamaran partied more than the passengers did, made me a little nervous but the ship was waiting for us as they had booked the tour. There were about 20 of us and I was sure glad to see her, all the passengers on board were watching for us as I guess they announced why they were late leaving.

Please excuse spelling, my brain is already asleep

Hope this helps

Lois

[suziehmkr]

The ships that go to Cabo first have all day there, but have only a half day somewhere else. For example, the RCL ships that stop first at Cabo are there from 10am to 6pm, but their last stop, Puerto Vallarta, they are only there from 8am to 11am!

 

Actually, this can vary also.... our ports in order were:

 

Cabo 9a-6p

Mazatlan 8a-5:30p

PV 8a-11p

 

We were there until 11pm and none of our ports were shortened. Two things can factor into this... we boarded and disembarked in San Diego, which helps - but not by THAT much. We were in PV for an extended time. Even if you look at it that way, we could still have left at 7pm (-4 hours) and still had a full day in PV if we were going all the way back to LA instead of SD. And the last two sea days this ship hauled bootie back to SD. It was VERY cold and you could not even use the pool decks. I don't know if they had left PV sooner, if we would have been able to spend more time on deck at the pool because the ship would be going slower.... and I actually may have enjoyed that since we came back to the ship at dinner time in PV because of a few too many margaritas! ;) I think it really just depends on the cruiseline and their *reservations* in port. They have to pay for every hour that ship is in port and perhaps some cruiselines are opting for shorter port times in Cabo due the cost...

[Tom O.]

Yes, there are lots of variable factors. One is the cruising speed of the ship. A difference of just one knot means a difference of 2 hours per thousand miles. It is about 1000 miles from Cabo to L.A. so if a particular ship has a cruising speed 1 knot faster than the average ship, it can stay an extra 2 hours at Cabo (Cabo being the last stop). If Puerto Vallarta is the last stop, the distance to L.A. is even greater (about 1500 miles I believe) so that faster ship could stay an extra 3 hours in P.V. If a ship is 2 knots faster, that would give an extra 4 hours in Cabo or 6 hours in P.V.

Another factor is the weather and currents. If a ship is going against a strong current, the speed will be much less than their advertised cruising speed. If the sea is rough that will slow down these ships as well.

I have gone on several multiple day fishing trips out of San Diego fishing off the coast of Baja, 90% of the time there is a strong current running against us while going north back to San Diego, and it can be very rough on these small boats.

Tom

[mrmac]

The Princess ships have to leave early from Cabo to make it back to LA as was stated by several people above. But they have 2 sea days before of relative calm coming south with the wind to PV. Carnival Pride can stay in Cabo (it's last stop) from 7-4 because it is faster than the other ships. If PV is last in the itinerary, there are usually 2 windy, cool and rough days at sea (in general) coming north. Leaving from San Diego instead of LA gives the cruise at least 8 more hours to play with, not 4. So more port time. Take your pick. Luckily, we now have lots of choices!

[Pam in CA]

Something else to factor in, in addition to the ship's speed, is that the faster the ship goes, the more it costs to get from point A to point B as the ship burns more fuel. I'd rather have a few hours in Cabo since it's a port I'd go back to several times, than pay more for my cruise.