The Coral Princess leaving Vallarta

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While I am very sad about Odile's destruction of Cabo, I was also very excited to hear that cruise ships are being diverted to Puerto Vallarta.

This morning I watched the Coral Princess enter the Bay of Banderas at 6am, all lit up and beautiful. As she left this evening, she tooted her horns. A familiar and welcome sound.

The ship set sail on Tuesday from Los Angeles and was originally scheduled to arrive in Cabo San Lucas but changed its itinerary due to damage caused by Hurricane Odile in Cabo.

Puerto Vallarta will exchange rings with the Coral Princess in a small ceremony attended by local officials, port authority and representatives of the tourism-business sector. The ceremony is traditional to welcome first-time arrivals of cruise ships at a port.

September was scheduled to welcome four cruises in Puerto Vallarta, however due to Hurricane Marie and Hurricane Odile, two cancellations took place. The Coral Princess was not originally scheduled to arrive in Puerto Vallarta and the final arrival for September will be Monday, September 29, leaving Puerto Vallarta one less arrival than scheduled for the month.

An estimated 40 cruises are considering skipping Cabo in their itinerary and replacing with additional stops or port time with Puerto Vallarta while Cabo cleans up from Hurricane Odile.

Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico’s leading tourism destinations popular with North American visitors for its picturesque Banderas Bay, colonial center and lush Sierra Madre mountains that surround the port of call. Today this world-class destination is a top choice amongst cruise lines for its wide array of activities, great weather year round and the calm and protected waters of its bay, one of the largest bays in Mexico extending over 62 miles of pristine coastline.

Coral Princess’ passenger will be challenged with choosing amongst the many offshore excursions on offer upon their arrival in Puerto Vallarta– from shopping at Galerias Vallarta across the street from the Marina or strolling around the historic downtown area bordered by a 6-mile long Malecon (boardwalk) home to hundreds of fine art galleries, jewelry shops, arts and crafts markets, tequila stores and over 360 restaurants. International visitors can receive a tax refund for certain goods they purchase in Puerto Vallarta before they board the ship.

Photo Courtesy of Laura Ghilardi Miller