Ncl no longer stopping at Ensenada?

[Bridgetocaptain]

Just received an update on our November itinerary to the Mexican Riviera that we’re no longer stopping in Ensenada. It’s not clear if this is being permanently removed as a destination or if this is just for our sailing. 
 

Personally I won’t miss Ensenada one bit, but the trade off is: 10 hour stops in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta (an earlier day in PV leaving by 6pm), and an extra sea day. 10 hours in port feels like a long day when you arrive at 8am!

[johnrich]

We got the email as well. Are you on the Bliss Thanksgiving cruise?

[complawyer]

bridgetocaptain. like you, i wouldnt be devastated not stopping in ensenada.

 

on the plus side, you needn't spend all that time in either mazatlan or puerta vallerta.

 

give you more time to chill and relax on the ship. a few hrs in each should be sufficient, unless there is an overwhelming shore excursion you want to take.

 

personally, i would love an extra sea day

[Joldevlin]

December on the Joy and it has been removed as well.   

[ChiCruzr]

April '25 on the Joy is also no longer going to Ensenada.

[roger001]

Ensenada was a worthless stop , my opinion.   I don't mind long port days.  You can still stay on the ship and relax.  

[yakcruiser]

From what I have been reading lately Ensenada is not a very safe place to be these days.

[kaysha2004]

I got the same email from my TA for the Bliss Nov. 10-17, and she tells me that NCL won't refund the port taxes and fees for Ensenada.  I'm pushing back.  With thousands of passengers now not stopping there, they are keeping a ton of money illegally.  Anyone else going to push back?

[julig22]

1 hour ago, kaysha2004 said:

I got the same email from my TA for the Bliss Nov. 10-17, and she tells me that NCL won't refund the port taxes and fees for Ensenada.  I'm pushing back.  With thousands of passengers now not stopping there, they are keeping a ton of money illegally.  Anyone else going to push back?

No, they are not going to illegally keep a ton of money. Port fees and taxes for missed ports have been discussed ad nauseum on this site. If they have collected fees in excess, you will get a refund, probably as refundable OBC on your shipboard account. Fees and taxes are not allocated to any individual port, it is an estimated fee. If NCL underestimates, they eat the extra. If they overestimate, they refund the passengers.

[kitkat343]

2 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

I got the same email from my TA for the Bliss Nov. 10-17, and she tells me that NCL won't refund the port taxes and fees for Ensenada.  I'm pushing back.  With thousands of passengers now not stopping there, they are keeping a ton of money illegally.  Anyone else going to push back?

When they cancelled the DR to help the environment on our cruise, each passenger received 10 OBC on their statement in the middle of the cruise.  I'm no expert on this, but if as I've read on the boards NCL is estimating taxes and fees they may refund you during the cruise.  Best of luck to you.  

[dobiemom]

4 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

I got the same email from my TA for the Bliss Nov. 10-17, and she tells me that NCL won't refund the port taxes and fees for Ensenada.  I'm pushing back.  With thousands of passengers now not stopping there, they are keeping a ton of money illegally.  Anyone else going to push back?

 

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

No, they are not going to illegally keep a ton of money. Port fees and taxes for missed ports have been discussed ad nauseum on this site. If they have collected fees in excess, you will get a refund, probably as refundable OBC on your shipboard account. Fees and taxes are not allocated to any individual port, it is an estimated fee. If NCL underestimates, they eat the extra. If they overestimate, they refund the passengers.

Since the time in both Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta are extended (3 and 2 hours respectively), I’ll bet any port fees from Ensenada will go towards the those ports.

[roger001]

From when I first lived in S. Calif in the mid '50s, Ensenada was always a quick weekend destination for hordes from S. Calif.  It quickly became a part of the US almost with so many visitors and land and housing purchases from those S.Calif folks.  

[zqvol]

17 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

I got the same email from my TA for the Bliss Nov. 10-17, and she tells me that NCL won't refund the port taxes and fees for Ensenada.  I'm pushing back.  With thousands of passengers now not stopping there, they are keeping a ton of money illegally.  Anyone else going to push back?

You need to do some research about how port fees are calculated precruise. They are just estimates. If they under-estimate the fees for the total cruise NCL eats the costs. If they over-estimate the overage is refunded. You have to look at the total, not on a port by port basis.

[rj59]

My Halloween 5-night on Bliss is still showing Ensenada. I suspect the issue is that Ensenada can only handle 2 ships at a time, as can Mazatlan and perhaps Puerto Vallarta. Carnival added Firenze to the Radiance and Panorama that stop there, and Navigator of the Seas also stops there twice a week. You also have more cruises to Hawaii r/t from California that have to stop in Ensenada as a foreign port. It will probably get worse, since Royal is adding Quantum and Ovation to Mexico for the non-Alaska months, so the lines will be scrambling to arrange ports, along with the few berths in San Pedro--hard to imagine Bliss/Encore and Ovation/Quantum in San Pedro at the same time. Radiance and Navigator have to go there twice a week as the only foreign port option for 3-4 night cruises, as do Hawaii trips, but 5-7 day trips have other options, like overnighting in Cabo. The same sort of situation will come up in Alaska, with Juneau restricting ship visits and other cities trying to do the same, while more ships and lines are going to Alaska (including Virgin in 2026). Smaller ports with fewer ships is one big thing that attracts me to Baja Mexico over the Caribbean, where there can be 10 ships or more in Cozumel or Nassau, but it's going to be a big logistical headache going forward (Virgin will be doing sailings from San Pedro too).  

[pettygirl]

5-night on Bliss the first week in December 2024 is also still showing Ensenada, too - curious!

[ChiefMateJRK]

Do people actually want to visit Ensenada?  Why?

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

I think a number of cruiselines have canceled it. I was looking at similar 7 day trips out of San Pedro and Long Beach and same thing..no more Ensenada. IMO it's not really worth getting off the ship for tbh and I'm someone who is more about ports than the ship. I do wish they added an extra day to CSL, PV, or even added in San Diego.