rental car to Ensenada or cruise line?

[Majesty Fan]

Hubby and I are taking a Hawaii cruise from Ensenada Mexico and are wondering how long it would take to get there by rental car? Or is wise to go by the RCI transport?

Lexi

[Splinter]

You will find it virtually impossible to find a car rental company that will allow you to take a car across the border into Mexico from the USA. It is easy to get lost in Tijuana, and you would also have to purchase Mexican insurance. Take the shuttle (this is why we would never take RCI...both Princess and HAL stop in Ensenada but you then go by ship back to LA or San Diego...don't know why RCI doesn't do this too as it is much easier for the passengers).

[10splyr]

Splinter is absolutely correct: no car rental agencies will allow you to take cars rented in the US to Mexico, and even if they did, the traffic is awful and the car might not survive:( . Use the ship's transfers. Eliminate the hassle and less stress.

[10splyr]

There are probably two reasons that RCL still leaves from Mexico: the original contract they negotiated to allow them to sail to Hawaii required them to make at least one stop on foreign soil, thus Ensenada, and since that requirement has now been altered somewhat, RCL's contract probably hasn't expired. That's my guess.

[Splinter]

This has nothing to do with a contract. By US law, all cruise ships that are foreign registered must have at least one foreign port if they travel from one American port for embarkation to another (or same) American port for disembarkation. RCI is the only one left that does it this way as far as I know. Both HAL and Princess stop for 4 hours (Princess) or 30 minutes (HAL) in Ensenada to meet the requirements, but still take you back to your original American port (San Diego or LA) for disembarkation. There is really no reason that RCI could not do the same.

[wrp96]

Majesty fan is booked on a one-way Hawaii cruise not a round trip. The one way Hawaii cruises have to either start/end in Ensenada to avoid violating the Passenger Services Act; a short stop won't work because Ensenada is not a distant foreign port which would be required if the cruise was between two different US ports. RCCL's round trip Hawaii cruises from San Diego do start and end in San Diego making only a brief stop in Ensenada, just like HAL and Princess.

[tinkerme1]

Wrona, your information may be incorrect. Our Serenade cruise, rt from San Diego to San Diego is stopping in the middle of the night for one hour in Ensenada before traveling back to San Diego. Since we are leaving and returning to San Diego, this would require a stop in a foreign port, which we are doing. We just don't have to get off the ship there, thank goodness.

 

I don't see why RCCL cruises, on a one-way basis, couldn't do the same thing. I personally think it is "cheaper" for RCCL to unload passengers in Ensenada, rather than travel and pay port fees in San Diego. As a passenger, I would definitely be willing to pay more to get off the ship in San Diego!:D

[wrp96]

Wrona, your information may be incorrect. Our Serenade cruise, rt from San Diego to San Diego is stopping in the middle of the night for one hour in Ensenada before traveling back to San Diego. Since we are leaving and returning to San Diego, this would require a stop in a foreign port, which we are doing. We just don't have to get off the ship there, thank goodness.

 

I don't see why RCCL cruises, on a one-way basis, couldn't do the same thing. I personally think it is "cheaper" for RCCL to unload passengers in Ensenada, rather than travel and pay port fees in San Diego. As a passenger, I would definitely be willing to pay more to get off the ship in San Diego!:D

 

No I am correct. The Passenger Services Act treats round trip cruises from US ports (like your round trip Serenade cruise) differently than one way cruises between 2 different US ports (like Majesty Fan's one way Ensenada to Hawaii Rhapsody repo would be if it started in San Diego instead of Ensenada).

 

Under the PSA a roundtrip cruise from a US port has to make a stop at a foreign port. Any foreign port will do. That is why it is okay to only make a short stop at Ensenada on the roundtrip Hawaii from California cruises. Since your Serenade is a roundtrip cruise starting and ending in the same US port, it is fine making just a brief stop in Ensenada.

 

However, under the PSA a cruise between two different US ports must stop at a distant foreign port. Ensenada does not qualify as a distant foreign port under the PSA. The nearest distant foreign ports on the West Coast are Fanning Island in Kiribati (2 days sailing time the other side of Hawaii from the West Coast) or down almost all the way to South America. That is why the one way cruises between Hawaii and the mainland must either start or end in Ensenada - that way they are not between 2 different US ports, but instead are between a foreign port and a US port which is fine under the PSA.

 

So for Majesty Fan's one way Hawaii cruise to be able to start in San Diego instead of Ensenada, it must either sail down to South America or across the ocean to Kiribati - making it a much longer cruise. So that is why it starts in Ensenada instead of San Diego.

[gratefulguy]

So, the score so far is 9,183 to 2,449!

Thanks to both for getting this issue aired-out and settled--hope all your cruises are great ones!

[wrp96]

So, the score so far is 9,183 to 2,449!

Thanks to both for getting this issue aired-out and settled--hope all your cruises are great ones!

 

Celia and I get on great. I really wish I was getting to cruise with her on her Serenade cruise.

 

It's just that the PSA (commonly referred to as the Jones Act) is confusing especially when people don't differentiate between round trip and one way cruises.

[dougp26364]

No I am correct. The Passenger Services Act treats round trip cruises from US ports (like your round trip Serenade cruise) differently than one way cruises between 2 different US ports (like Majesty Fan's one way Ensenada to Hawaii Rhapsody repo would be if it started in San Diego instead of Ensenada).

 

Under the PSA a roundtrip cruise from a US port has to make a stop at a foreign port. Any foreign port will do. That is why it is okay to only make a short stop at Ensenada on the roundtrip Hawaii from California cruises. Since your Serenade is a roundtrip cruise starting and ending in the same US port, it is fine making just a brief stop in Ensenada.

 

However, under the PSA a cruise between two different US ports must stop at a distant foreign port. Ensenada does not qualify as a distant foreign port under the PSA. The nearest distant foreign ports on the West Coast are Fanning Island in Kiribati (2 days sailing time the other side of Hawaii from the West Coast) or down almost all the way to South America. That is why the one way cruises between Hawaii and the mainland must either start or end in Ensenada - that way they are not between 2 different US ports, but instead are between a foreign port and a US port which is fine under the PSA.

 

So for Majesty Fan's one way Hawaii cruise to be able to start in San Diego instead of Ensenada, it must either sail down to South America or across the ocean to Kiribati - making it a much longer cruise. So that is why it starts in Ensenada instead of San Diego.

 

You are not totally correct. In 2007 RCI has cruises sailing RT to Hawaii out of San Diego and LA with only a brief stop in Ensenada. I know for a fact that our Sept. 28th cruise is RT out of LA with only a brief stop in Ensenada. For further proof, the itenerary for Vision of the Sea's Alaska cruises out of Seattle had only a stop in Victoria, BC as their foreign port. I'm pretty sure the Victoria is closer to Seattle than Ensenada is to LA and prehaps even San Diego.

 

Here is a copy of Serenade's Hawaiian itenerary for 2007. As you can see it begins and ends in San Diego with a brief stop in Ensenada and no stop at Fanning Island or any other foreign port

 

05-Oct San Diego, California 5:00 PM Boarding

 

06-Oct Cruising

 

07-Oct Cruising

 

08-Oct Cruising

 

09-Oct Cruising

 

10-Oct Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii 10:00 AM Tendered

 

11-Oct Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii 11:00 PM Tendered

 

12-Oct Kailua Kona, Hawaii 7:00 AM 9:00 PM Tendered

 

13-Oct Hilo, Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked

 

14-Oct Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 7:00 AM Docked

 

15-Oct Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 2:00 AM Docked

 

16-Oct Cruising

 

17-Oct Cruising

 

18-Oct Cruising

 

19-Oct Cruising

 

20-Oct Ensenada, Mexico 1:00 AM 2:00 AM Docked

 

20-Oct San Diego, California 7:00 AM Departure

[tinkerme1]

Celia and I get on great. I really wish I was getting to cruise with her on her Serenade cruise.

 

It's just that the PSA (commonly referred to as the Jones Act) is confusing especially when people don't differentiate between round trip and one way cruises.

 

Wrona, thanks for the kind words and the explanation of how the PSA works. I'm not totally convinced, but then again, you have given some very insightful information. When we took the one-way cruise from Honolulu to Ensenada, the Captain of the ship actually said that it was a negotiated stop in Ensenada and disembarkation instead of the Jones Act. Everyone in the theatre asked the Captain to forward our "displeasure" with this way of disembarking. Maybe this is why we are seeing more r/t Hawaii itineraries. Thanks again for your explanation. I wish you were sailing with us to Hawaii next year too!

[wrp96]

You are not totally correct. In 2007 RCI has cruises sailing RT to Hawaii out of San Diego and LA with only a brief stop in Ensenada. I know for a fact that our Sept. 28th cruise is RT out of LA with only a brief stop in Ensenada. For further proof, the itenerary for Vision of the Sea's Alaska cruises out of Seattle had only a stop in Victoria, BC as their foreign port. I'm pretty sure the Victoria is closer to Seattle than Ensenada is to LA and prehaps even San Diego.

 

Here is a copy of Serenade's Hawaiian itenerary for 2007. As you can see it begins and ends in San Diego with a brief stop in Ensenada and no stop at Fanning Island or any other foreign port

 

Doug, if you read what I wrote, the round trip cruises only have to make a stop in any foreign port. That is why the roundtrip Serenade cruise is okay making only a brief stop in Ensenada and the roundtrip Vision Alaska cruises out of Seattle are okay only stopping in Victoria. It is only the one way cruises between two different US ports, that have to stop at a distant foreign port.

[Splinter]

Special legislation was required (passed by Congress) to allow the NCL Hawaii to mainland one-way cruises. For all other cruise lines, the PSA still is in effect. It is considered a pilot program and is time limited.