Los Angeles residents have a brand new solution to cruise to Mexico.
On Could 31, Royal Caribbean repositioned the huge Ovation of the Seas to the Port of Los Angeles for Mexico cruises.
“We’re right here in a giant method,” stated Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice chairman for gross sales, at a Q&A on a preview crusing of the brand new route for media and journey brokers. She meant that each actually and figuratively.
The 4,182-passenger Ovation of the Seas is the primary Royal Caribbean Quantum Class ship primarily based in Los Angeles — and in addition the biggest ship ever to sail out of that port primarily based on capability. (At 168,666 gross tons, it is simply barely smaller than the 169,116-ton Norwegian Encore, additionally primarily based there.)
Launched in 2016, Ovation of the Seas is considered one of Royal Caribbean’s 5 Quantum Class ships and contains facilities like indoor skydiving, bumper vehicles and the North Star commentary capsule that lifts passengers 300 toes above sea degree.
The Mexico itineraries out of Los Angeles on Ovation of the Seas vary from three to eight nights in size and go to ports reminiscent of Catalina Island, California, and Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
This repositioning additionally marks a significant West Coast growth for Royal Caribbean, which beforehand solely sailed the three,368-passenger Navigator of the Seas from Los Angeles to Mexico. Navigator will proceed crusing from Los Angeles till October 2026.
“After we say West Coast is the ‘greatest coast,’ we’re popping out robust,” Freed stated.
This October, Quantum of the Seas (one other Quantum Class ship of the same dimension to Ovation) can even start to sail from Los Angeles to Mexico. The marginally smaller 3,602-passenger Voyager of the Seas can even sail from Los Angeles beginning in October 2026.
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Freed additionally introduced the two,143-passenger Serenade of the Seas will sail from San Diego to Mexico beginning in October 2026 for the winter season. This can mark Royal Caribbean’s return to San Diego after a protracted absence. The three-to-seven-night itineraries will embrace stops in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, in addition to La Paz, Mexico, which can be a brand new vacation spot for the model.
Royal Caribbean initially deliberate for Ovation of the Seas to sail out of Tianjin, China, this summer season, but it surely finally determined to maneuver the vessel to Los Angeles as a part of this West Coast growth.
Ovation of the Seas sailed from Japan earlier than arriving in Los Angeles on Could 31. After its first summer season season crusing from Los Angeles to Mexico, Ovation of the Seas will relocate to its Asian dwelling dock in Singapore from October 2025 to March 2026. From Could to September 2026, Ovation will return to its typical summer season season crusing to Alaska, however this time from Seward, Alaska, and Vancouver, British Columbia, as an alternative of Seattle. In September 2026, Ovation will return to Los Angeles, the place it’s going to stay till April 2027.
Royal Caribbean is not the one cruise line increasing its presence in Los Angeles. Virgin Voyages will launch its first Los Angeles sailings in 2026 on board the brand-new Sensible Woman, which might accommodate 2,770 passengers.
In 2024, Carnival Cruise Line started crusing considered one of its latest ships, Carnival Firenze, from the Port of Lengthy Seaside, just some miles from the Port of Los Angeles.
The West Coast cruise market to Mexico is definitely heating up. Hopefully, that can imply all types of offers for potential passengers to reap the benefits of … or at the least extra handy crusing dates for extra vacationers.
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