New Embarkation city!

[suekel]

Starting in 2019, Princess will be sailing out of Puerto Vallarta

https://www.puertovallarta.net/news/cruises-depart-vallarta-2019?utm_source=Puerto+Vallarta+Mailing+List+AddThis&utm_campaign=e08703c7f7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_29_11_33_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5aafa86847-e08703c7f7-58666789&mc_cid=e08703c7f7&mc_eid=4691ded812

[Dudleydog73]

Hmm, not available as a embarkation port on Princess.com for any cruises available which includes all of 2019.

[suekel]

They just announced it. Give them time!

[Dudleydog73]

They just announced it. Give them time!

 

Not doubting you but usually port schedules and ship assignments are done way ahead of time, but will see how this goes.

[Georgie562]

I'm wondering how accurate or true this article is?

 

It doesn't give much info, no ship, no when in 2019, no itineraries. With 2019 being 5 months away they definitely need to hurry if this is true. I'm sure there will be some cancellations coming with this if true.

[SimonaD]

That’s surprising... flights to PVR tend to be on the high end. Not very appealing to us west coasters.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

There's one cruise that they'll be giving away since the ship will be sailing empty. :D

[suekel]

I think not. I know there is talk of a new cruise line that is starting up in Mexico only visiting Mexican ports trying to reach a new demographic. I'm thinking Princess saw that and said why not? Personally, I love PV and could easily visit there for a week before or after while tacking on the cruise. I think it sounds wonderful! I've always found flights to PV to be very reasonable, no more than flying to SFO or like the article says fly into Guadalajara and take a bus over.

[Kamloops50]

Could be the same set up as in the Baltic. There they have multiple ports for disembarkation and embarkation.

[Pam in CA]

Always follow the money. Princess hasn’t embarked or disembarked cruises out of Mexico since they stopped going to Acapulco decades ago.

 

There are no Princess cruises embarking or disembarking in Puerto Vallarta on any released itinerary through Spring 2020. While itineraries can change, home ports rarely do once itineraries are released.

 

Puerto Vallarta has been on again/off again on Mexican Riviera itineraries for years due to drug wars and potential danger to passengers. I doubt Princess would invest millions in a port that: a) has no market to launch, sustain and grow; b) is politically unstable; and c) is difficult and expensive to get to and leave from.

 

Princess ships sail from ports where they can fill the ships on a continuous basis and charge premium fares. When you see frequent low or sale pricing, expect ship redeployment and reduced number of berths 2-3 years down the road.

[land lover]

Lots of ex-Pats in PV and many UK & Canadians too....wonder what the ports would be? Interesting, if the "hearsay" is true....

 

Just curious Pam..... what years was PV off the itineraries?

[suekel]

Ok fine. The Puerto Vallarta newspaper is lying. Sheesh, just give them a chance to get it up and running...And, I believe it's mostly Mazatlan that gets removed since that is the state of the Sinaloa Cartel. I've been going to PV for 30 years, it is very safe and always has been.

 

Maybe we should wait and see what happens?

[ccrain]

Could be the same set up as in the Baltic. There they have multiple ports for disembarkation and embarkation.

 

This could refer to the Fall/Winter 2019 schedule. The Royal is the only ship that 'stops' regularly in PV on MR cruises. Grand is doing HI and MR out of SFO, Star is doing HI and MR out of YVR and LA. Coral is doing Antarctica. Island is doing SA. Crown, Regal, Sky and CB are out of FLL. Emerald is doing Panama Canals. Everyone else is either in Europe or Oceania/Asia.

 

So this might be the Royal doing an embark/debark in PV much like some of the Baltics mentioned above.

[suekel]

Here is a 2nd source

https://heraldodemexico.com.mx/opinion/saldran-cruceros-desde-puerto-vallarta-corporativo/

[Dudleydog73]

A second source which is in the Opinion section, also lacking any details of ship, timeframe when the port will open, etc. Reading the piece it looks like they are "hoping" for a port for Mexican nationals to cruise from that doesn't involve flight to Us ports and/or having to obtain visas.

 

It is interesting that Princess is not announcing this anywhere...

[land lover]

Here is a 2nd source

https://heraldodemexico.com.mx/opinion/saldran-cruceros-desde-puerto-vallarta-corporativo/

 

If PV gives incentives..the cruise lines will listen....nothing stated in this article though...

 

The reason RCI pulled their 3& 4 day cruises in 2008 that they had run for 20 years, was because of ridiculous port fees. Which have double in the last 5 years or less. Mexico...needs to get real on port fees. Even fees to fly into the country insanely high for what you get....

[neverbeenhere]

The a good portion of the middle class in Mexico could afford to cruise if the opportunity was available. If you add in the US and Canadians readily available in PV, a ship could fill a number of times a year at a reasonably high fare.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I’m actually on hold for customer relations at Princess, I’ll ask the girl when she comes back on if she has heard anything.

Their hold music is awful!

 

thanks OP for sharing the article.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Host CJSKIDS

[Host CJSKIDS]

Ok, this is the first the customer relations person heard of the news and they couldn’t find anything in their current emails.

 

They did say that nothing will be changing for 2019 like the article stated because they already have their embarkation ports/ cruise ships all set up for both 2019.

 

Of course who knows, stranger things have happened!

Edited July 30, 2018 by Host CJSKIDS

[SimonaD]

Fake news?

 

 

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[voljeep]

Pretty sure Ruth came over to Princess from Carnival Corp where she was an integral part of the crack ***** marketing promotion team...;p

 

Cruise tourism will see a major push in Mexico starting in 2019 when cruises will begin departing from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and sailing through the Pacific Ocean. The project is being nursed by Princess Cruises, headed in Latin America by Ruth Leal, in an initiative with very positive reception by the Tourism Secretary, Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, and the Communications Secretary, Gerardo Ruiz Esparza.

Edited July 30, 2018 by voljeep

[neverbeenhere]

Someone with better Spanish than my mas cerveza, por favor Spanish could give one of the folks a call for an interview.

 

 

headed in Latin America by Ruth Leal, in an initiative with very positive reception by the Tourism Secretary, Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, and the Communications Secretary, Gerardo Ruiz Esparza.

[4cats4me]

If I’m going to go to all the trouble of flying to Puerto Vallarta, then I’m going to stay there for a week instead of boarding a cruise ship when I can do that in Los Angeles or San Francisco

 

 

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[skynight]

Could be the same set up as in the Baltic. There they have multiple ports for disembarkation and embarkation.

My thoughts also. Take on passengers in both L.A. and P.V. for the 7 day cruise. Guadalajara is within driving range and Mexico City is a short flight or long drive. No schedules would have to change, only allocation of cabins.

[capriccio]

Always follow the money. Princess hasn’t embarked or disembarked cruises out of Mexico since they stopped going to Acapulco decades ago.

 

 

Just a small clarification: not decades - maybe almost a decade :D. They were still sailing out of Acapulco in January 2008 when we embarked there on a Panama Canal cruise. Maybe the 2008/2009 season was when they dropped Acapulco?