Carnival Cruise Line Ports of call in Mexico
 Mexico, officially known as the United Mexican States is a
federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the
south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the
east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the
fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With
an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous
Hispanophone country on Earth. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the
capital city.
History
Campfire remains in the Valley of Mexico have been radiocarbon-dated to 21,000 BCE, and a few chips of stone
tools have been found near the hearths, indicating the presence of humans at that time. Around 9,000 years ago,
ancient indigenous peoples domesticated corn and initiated an agricultural revolution, leading to the formation of
many complex civilizations. Between 1,800 and 300 BCE, many matured into advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican
civilizations such as: the Olmec, the Teotihuacan, the Maya, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Toltec and the Aztec,
which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before the first contact with Europeans.
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 Ensenada- Baja Mexico
Ensenada (full name: Ensenada De Todos Santos, which means "Cove of all Saints" in English), or
Port of Ensenada for its port, is the third-largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California.
It is located 116 km (about 70 miles) south of Tijuana. The city had a 2005 census population of
260,075, with the municipality having 413,481.
Ensenada is also the municipal seat of Ensenada Municipality, one of the five into which the
state is divided. Ensenada is locally referred as La Cenicienta del Pacífico (The Cinderella of the
Pacific).
Located in the Bahía de Todos Santos — an inlet of the Pacific Ocean — Ensenada is an important
commercial and fishing port as well as a cruise ship port of call. There is also a navy base, an
army base and a military airfield, which functions as an airport of entry into Mexico
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Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the
coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km)
across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los
Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is 2,097 feet (639 m) Mt. Orizaba, at
33°22′29.7″N 118°25′11.6″W / 33.374917°N 118.419889°W / 33.374917; -118.419889
One of the Channel Islands of California archipelago, Catalina lies within Los Angeles County. Most
of the island is administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy.
The total population as of the 2000 census was 3,696 persons, almost 85 percent of whom live in
the island's only incorporated city, Avalon (pop. 3,127, with another 195 south of town, outside of
the city limits). The second center of population is the unincorporated village of Two Harbors, in
the north, with a population of 298. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements of Rancho
Escondido and Middle Ranch. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two
population centers. The island has an overall population density of 49.29/mi²
(19.03/km²). READ FULL
ARTICLE
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 La Paz, Baja Mexico
La Paz is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important
regional commercial center. The city had a 2005 census population of 189,176 persons, but its
metropolitan population reaches roughly 200,000 persons because of surrounding towns like el
Centenario, el Zacatal and San Pedro.[1] Its surrounding municipality, which is the fourth-largest
municipality in Mexico in geographical size, reported a population of 219,596 persons living on a
land area of 20,275 km2 (7,828 sq mi)
History
La Paz was first inhabited by Neolithic hunter-gatherers at least 10,000 years ago who left traces
of their existence in the form of rock paintings near the city and throughout the Baja peninsula.
On May 3, 1535, Hernán Cortés arrived in the bay by La Paz and named it Santa Cruz; he attempted to
start a colony but abandoned his efforts after several years due to logistical problems.[3] In 1596
Sebastián Vizcaíno arrived, giving the area its modern name, La Paz.
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 Cabo San Lucas
Mexico
Cabo San Lucas (Spanish pronunciation: Cape Saint Luke), commonly called Cabo, is a city at the
southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican
state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2005 census, the population was 56,811 people. It is the
largest community in Los Cabos municipality, and the second-largest in Baja California Sur, after
La Paz.
Cabo is known for its sandy beaches, several world-class Scuba diving locations, and the
distinctive sea arch El Arco de Cabo San Lucas. As a result, the Los Cabos Corridor has become a
high-end holiday destination with a number of resorts and timeshares along the coast between San
Lucas and San José del Cabo.
Cabo San Lucas has become an important vacation and spa destination, with a great variety of
sites of interest, and timeshares that have been built on the coast between San Lucas and San José
del Cabo. The distinctive El Arco de Cabo San Lucas is a local landmark. Cabo San Lucas has the
largest marlin tournament in the world. In the winter, pods of whales can be observed in the ocean.
They bear their calves in the warm waters there.
Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo are served by Los Cabos International Airport. The town is
also a popular port of call for many cruise ships. Cabo San Lucas has a small international
airfield, which handles air traffic for general aviation flights and air taxi
service. Read full
article
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Mexican Riviera Carnival Ports of call
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 Mazatlan Mexico
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio (municipality) for
which the city serves as the municipal seat Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at 23°13′N
106°25′W / 23.217°N 106.417°W / 23.217; -106.417 on the Pacific coast, across from the
southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer." The city was founded in 1531. By the
mid-19th century a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed
Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver
mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. They also influenced the music,
banda, which is an alteration of Bavarian folk music, and also started the Pacifico Brewery on
March 14, 1900.
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 Acapulco
Mexico
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific
coast of Mexico, 300 kilometres (190 mi) southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep,
semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history. It is a
port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California,
United States. The city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital
Chilpancingo and as well, Mexico's largest beach resorted city.
The city is best known as one of Mexico’s oldest and most well-known beach resorts, which came
into prominence by the 1950s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires. Acapulco is still
famous for its nightlife and still attracts many vacationers, although most are now from Mexico
itself. The resort area is divided into two: The north end of the bay is the “traditional” area,
where the famous in the mid 20th century vacationed and the south end is dominated by newer luxury
high rise hotels.
The name "Acapulco" comes from Nahuatl language Aca-pōl-co, and means "At the big reeds" or “At
the broken reeds.” “de Juárez” was added to the official name in 1885 to honor Benito Juárez, the
former president of Mexico. The seal for the city shows broken reeds or cane.
Read Full Artile
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 Manzanillo - Colima Mexico
Manzanillo is a city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The
city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port.
Manzanillo is Mexico's busiest port, as measured by total tonnage and volume of containerized
cargo. In 2007, the port moved 1.4 million TEUs and 18.0 million tons of total cargo. Port business
experienced a significant surge during the USA's West Coast Lockout in Long Beach, California, in
2002. The port is connected by Ferromex rail lines to Guadalajara and Mexico City.
The city is well known internationally for deep-sea fishing and the green flash phenomenon
during sunsets, as well as the warm waters of the ocean. The city is a destination resort and has
many hotels and self-contained resorts, particularly built on the small peninsula jutting out into
the Pacific from the city centre. Just south is the resort Las Hadas ("the fairies"), which is the
most famous of the city's resorts, having been featured in the movie 10 starring Bo Derek and
Dudley Moore. It is also a popular cruise ship port of call.
Manzanillo is also home to the Navy's Pacific Naval Force. Manzanillo also hosts the most
efficient port for tuna landings in Mexico.
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 Zihuatanejo / Ixtapa Mexico
Zihuatanejo is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Politically the city
belongs to the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta in the western part of Guerrero, but both are
commonly referred to as Zihuatanejo. It is on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km (approximately 145
miles) northwest of Acapulco, and belongs to a section of the Mexican Pacific Coast known as the
Costa Grande. This town has been developed as a tourist attraction along with the modern tourist
resort of Ixtapa, 5 km away. However, Zihuatanejo keeps its traditional town feel.[2] The town is
located on a well-protected bay which is popular with private boat owners during the winter
months.
Ixtapa is a beach resort in the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta, in the Mexican state of
Guerrero. It is located 5 km to the northwest of the municipal seat, Zihuatanejo, and some 240 km
northwest of Acapulco. In the 2005 INEGI Census, the population of Ixtapa was 6,406
The bay and its beaches
The town of Zihuatanejo’s main attraction is its bay, which is
well-protected from open ocean. It is a favorite place to moor boats from small private ones to
large yachts during the winter months. The bay’s width varies from between 950 to 1750 meters in
width and averages eighteen meters deep. It is mostly surrounded by beaches, most of which have
gentle waves.
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 Puerto Vallarta Mexico
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. The
2005 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 177,830 making it the sixth-largest city in
the state of Jalisco. The City of Puerto Vallarta is the government seat of the Municipality of
Puerto Vallarta which comprises the city as well as population centers outside of the city
extending from Boca de Tomatlán to the Nayarit border (the Ameca River). The municipality's
population in the 2005 census was 220,368.
The city is located at 20°40′N 105°16′W / 20.667°N 105.267°W / 20.667; -105.267
The municipality has an area of 502.19 square miles (1,300.67 km²). To the North it borders the SW
part of the state of Nayarit. To the east it borders the municipality of Mascota and San Sebastián
del Oeste, and to the South it borders the municipalities of Talpa de Allende and Cabo
Corriente.
Puerto Vallarta is named after Ignacio Vallarta, a former governor of Jalisco. In Spanish,
Puerto Vallarta is often shortened to "Vallarta", while English speakers call the city P.V. for
short. The city occasionally is spelled or pronounced as Porto Vallarta. In internet shorthand the
city is often referred to as PVR, after the IATA code (ICAO MMPR) for its international
airport.
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Mexican Ports in the Western Caribbean
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 Calica
Calica is a quarry and a port on the Quintana Roo coast of Mexico. The name is short for the
full Spanish name Calizas Industriales del Carmen, "calizas" Spanish for lime or limestone (cognate
to the English "calcite.")
The port is primarily used to dock ships for loading aggregate (gravel and sand) used for
construction. The Calica quarry was originally part of a joint venture between Vulcan Materials
Company and Grupo ICA, but Vulcan purchased Grupo ICA interest in 2001. The port facilities also
serve to dock cruise line ships to access the resort town of Playa del Carmen, some 10 km (6.2mi)
distant. The Calica site, with a port blasted directly into the limestone to accommodate deep draft
vessels need to ship the limestone to the US. All of the limestone from Calica approx. 6 million
tons annually is exported to the US.
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 Costa Maya
Costa Maya is a small tourist region in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco in the state of
Quintana Roo, Mexico. This municipality is south of Cancún on the border with Belize. The area is
generally undeveloped but has been growing quickly and rapidly after construction of a large pier
to accommodate cruise ships. The Costa Maya includes two small villages − Mahahual and Xcalak and
extends physically from Xcalak in the south to the southern border of the Sian Ka'an in the north,
a distance of approximately 100 km.
While Xcalak is approximately 60 kilometers (37 mi) south of the Costa Maya cruise port, the
fishing village of Mahahual is only about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) away. Cruise ships can easily be
seen from the village. Mahahual has soft sand beaches, grass thatched palapas, and a coral reef a
short distance off-shore, as well as several bars, restaurants, and shops. A new development called
New Mahahual is being created directly inland from the port. When ships are in port, the village is
busy with cruise passengers.
Costa Maya's port has a new and modern tourist shopping mall. The center has a central plaza
with saltwater pools and 'swim-up' style bars. There are several jewellery stores and many small
shops selling ubiquitous souvenir items. It is generally open only to cruise ship passengers.
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Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula,
opposite Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. Cozumel is one of the nine
municipalities (municipios) of the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a tourist destination for its
scuba diving and snorkeling. The main town on the island is San Miguel de Cozumel.
Diving and charter fishing comprise nearly all sources of income. There are more than 90
restaurants on the island and many hotels, some of which run dive operations, have swimming pools,
private docks, and multiple dining facilities.
Other water activities include para-sailing, kitesurfing, and a tourist submarine. There are
also two dolphinariums.
At the cruise ship docks there are several square blocks of stores selling Cuban cigars,
jewellery, t-shirts, tequila, and a large variety of inexpensive souvenirs. There are three
brothels located in southern area of the island - two of which (Platina's and California Club)
cater to tourists. Adult entertainment in town is limited and much of it has been shut
down. Read full articles
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View Other Carnival Ship Information
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Santa Catalina Island,
California
Cozumel Mexico
