Carnival Panorama Skips Mexican Ports as Hurricane Polo Nears
Carnival notified booked guests a day before embarkation; shore excursions booked through the line for Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan will be fully refunded.
Updated October 10, 2026
Carnival Cruise Line changed Carnival Panorama’s eight-night Mexican Riviera itinerary for a second time after Hurricane Rachel forced the cancellation of the remaining planned port calls and another visit to Ensenada.
The ship returned to Ensenada on October 1 after first visiting the port on September 28. Carnival also offered guests a $300 onboard credit per stateroom for the additional disruption. The ship’s return to Long Beach remained scheduled for October 4.
Two hurricanes altered the cruise
Carnival Panorama departed Long Beach on September 26, 2026. Its itinerary was first changed because of Category 5 Hurricane Polo. Carnival canceled scheduled calls at Puerto Vallarta on September 29 and Mazatlan on September 30.
Those two visits were replaced by a call at Ensenada from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 28. The original revision retained planned visits to La Paz on October 1 and Cabo San Lucas on October 2.
Hurricane Rachel later forced Carnival to revise the voyage again. The line dropped the remaining planned calls, including La Paz and Cabo San Lucas.
Ensenada was the cruise’s only destination.
“We are now planning to return to Ensenada on Thursday for a second visit, so you can have additional time ashore,” an officer told guests in a message delivered through the ship’s public address system.
“We do understand that everyone was looking forward to visiting the ports of call that we had on our original itinerary and we truly wish circumstances were different,” the officer continued. “After carefully considering every available alternative, this is the safest option.”
Initial change followed Hurricane Polo
Before the cruise departed, the National Hurricane Center’s 8 p.m. Advisory 22 placed Polo 380 miles south of Cabo San Lucas. Maximum sustained winds were 175 mph, and the hurricane was moving west-northwest at 10 mph.
Carnival’s initial guest advisory said its Fleet Operations Center was monitoring the storm in the Eastern Pacific. The first itinerary adjustment was necessary to “remain a safe distance from the storm,” the line said.
Carnival notified booked guests about that change on September 25. Guests who purchased Carnival shore excursions for the canceled destinations were due to receive full refunds to their onboard accounts. Excursions for the replacement Ensenada call were made available to book.
Royal Caribbean International also altered Navigator of the Seas’ West Coast itinerary because of Polo. That ship departed Long Beach on September 25, 2026, on a revised cruise that dropped Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada and added Puerto Vallarta.
The 133,500-gross-ton Carnival Panorama entered service in 2019 after construction at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard in Italy. The Vista-class ship accommodates 4,008 passengers at double occupancy and carries approximately 1,450 crew members.
