Sometimes a cruise itinerary is a plan, and sometimes it is just a starting point. Guests on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas are living that difference this week, on an eight-night Mexican Riviera sailing that left Los Angeles on Thursday, October 8 — and will end up visiting only one port, twice.
The ship, which carries about 4,269 guests, was originally meant to call on Catalina Island, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. Weather in the Pacific started rewriting that list before the cruise even began. An earlier change, prompted by Hurricane Rachel and a developing Simon, cancelled the Catalina Island and Mazatlán stops and moved the Cabo visit earlier, to Saturday, October 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Then Simon strengthened, and the plan changed again. Royal Caribbean told guests its meteorology team had continued tracking the storm, but the forecast had worsened enough that calling on Puerto Vallarta was no longer safe. Instead of heading there, Voyager turned back to Cabo San Lucas for a second, much longer day on Tuesday, October 13, staying from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. — a rare chance to see Cabo both in the morning light and after dark on the same trip.
That makes Cabo the sailing's only destination. It is an unusual outcome, even by hurricane-season standards: three ports dropped, one port doubled.
Royal Caribbean is softening the disappointment with onboard credit. Guests in inside and oceanview staterooms are receiving $50 per stateroom, balcony guests $100, and suite guests $250, with an extra $25 for each third and fourth guest in a cabin. The credit is non-refundable, so it needs to be used on board. The line is also discounting Cabo shore excursions by 20% for the second visit, to encourage guests to explore beyond what they saw the first time. Excursions booked for Puerto Vallarta were automatically cancelled and refunded to onboard accounts.
The caution is understandable given Simon's strength. The storm reached Category 4 intensity with winds reported around 155 mph before weakening, and by Monday afternoon the National Hurricane Center still listed sustained winds near 100 mph, with the system positioned west-southwest of Puerto Vallarta and a hurricane watch in effect for part of Mexico's Pacific coast. Keeping the ship in Cabo kept it well clear of that track, and no change has been announced to the scheduled return to Los Angeles on Friday, October 16.
What can other travelers take from this? October sits near the end of the eastern Pacific hurricane season, which is exactly why Mexican Riviera fares can look so attractive this time of year — and why flexibility matters. Cruise lines can, and will, swap, drop or repeat ports when safety requires it, and that is the right call every time. If you sail the Pacific coast in the fall, avoid non-refundable plans tied to a single port day, keep notifications on in the cruise line's app, and think of a repeated port as an opportunity: do the famous excursion first, then use a second visit for the beach, the food spot you missed, or a slower wander through town.
Voyager's guests did not get the itinerary they booked. They did get a long, full day in one of Mexico's most loved resort ports, some credit to spend, and a front-row lesson in why, at sea, the captain's weather call always wins.
Source: Cruise Hive — read the full story here.
