By José Antonio Pérez
Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich Arellano announced launch of Cruise & Maritime Voyages by the end of the year will provide the first cruise ship departure from Puerto Peñasco to tour the Sea of Cortez, showing the world the best beach tourism destinations that Sonora has to offer. Currently, this is the only company projected to depart from the Peñasco port.
John Dennis, vice-president of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, presented the project to the governor, indicating the company is set to begin operations in the Sea of Cortez in December, 2019.
Governor Pavlovich underscored the significance of the cruise ship to two of the most important ports in Sonora, that being Puerto Peñasco and Guaymas, as this will undoubtedly boost tourism and the local economy.
To ensure the project’s success, the governor affirmed, tremendous work must be done on planning, while incorporating the hotel industry as well as the convention and visitors bureaus for promotion.
Cruise Maritime Voyages Vice President John Dennis detailed following a year of negotiations, operations will begin in Sonora on December 7, 2019.
The decision for the cruise ship to begin from Puerto Peñasco, he explained, is due to the amount of tourists who already make their way to the area where, in addition to its beautiful beaches, offers a variety of quality hotels and a number of tourism sites.
He added, since negotiations began, the Sonoran government has facilitated measures to ensure this cruise through the Sea of Cortez become a reality.
Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, President of the Puerto Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCV), emphasized this cruise will not only be the first for this Sonoran port, but rather the only one currently projected to set sail from Puerto Peñasco, as those that currently travel in Mexico begin in other global ports.
He added, this cruise will be the only one to navigate solely in the Sea of Cortez, as other boats of this kind that have visited Sonoran coasts have not yet made their way to Puerto Peñasco.
The projected cruise will offer six trips in the Sea of Cortez, with a duration of 11 days each, beginning December 7, 2019 through February 11, 2020.
Cruise and Maritime Voyages is Great Britain’s leading independent cruise line, backed by nine years of cruise ship operations from among a selection of 13 ports within the United Kingdom.
Those present at the recent announcement of Governor Pavlovich included Economy Secretary Jorge Vidal Ahumada, General Coordinator from the Tourism Promotion Commission Armando Ceceña Salido, Deputy General Coordinator of the Tourism Promotion CommissionHéctor Platt Mazón, and Luis Núñez Noriega, Sonora Port Administration Director, along with hotelier and Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau member Oscar Palacio Soto, Humberto Souza, on behalf of Puerto Peñasco mayor Ernesto Roger Munro, Jr., and Luis Alberto González González, Promotion Director from the Tourism Commission.
Cruise data
Cruise & Maritime Voyages will be the only cruise ship to depart from a Mexican port, launching from Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
Operations to begin December 7, 2019 and go through February 11, 2020
6 eleven-day trips are scheduled for the season
Route: Sea of Cortez, beginning in Puerto Peñasco, with an itinerary to include Topolobampo, Mazatlán, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, and Santa Rosalía, returning to Puerto Peñasco
Astoria ship capacity: 500 passengers, 250 cabins
Cruise & Maritime Voyages has received various awards, among these:
Favorite Cruise Line Specialist – Wave Awards 2018, as voted by readers of World of Cruising.
Best Ocean Cruise Line operator for groups 2018, as voted by the readers of Group Travel Organizer magazine.
Best cruise line 2018, as voted by readers of Group Leisure & Travel magazine.