Ensenada is one of Mexico’s oldest cruise ports, dating back to 1965, when Stanley B. McDonald founded Princess Cruises and created the concept of the “Mexican Riviera,” with cruises from Los Angeles to Mexican destinations such as Ensenada, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.
Nor has Ensenada’s popularity as a cruise destination ever waned. It remains the third most popular cruise port in the country — behind Cozumel and Mahahual (Costa Maya) in Quintana Roo and ahead of fellow Pacific Coast ports Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta — and has welcomed in excess of 1 million cruise ship passengers in two of the past three years.
Based on a recent announcement, that number should only continue to rise.
Ensenada Bay Village project unveiled
Plans for Ensenada Bay Village — a new shoreside port destination for cruise ship passengers that’s being developed in partnership between Carnival, Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group — were announced during a public presentation at the Ensenada Cruise Terminal in early December 2025.
The US $26 million project is expected to take two years to complete, but will welcome up to 9,000 visitors per day and have a significant economic impact on Ensenada, creating at least 350 new jobs and bringing in an estimated $120 million to the local economy each year.
“Ensenada Bay Village represents meaningful investment in Baja California,” noted Baja California’s governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. “This project supports local jobs, expands tourism and highlights the culture and natural beauty that make our state a unique destination,” she said.
What will Ensenada Bay Village’s attractions be?
Ensenada Bay Village is going to be a village-style port resort, steps from where ships are docked. Cruise passengers will be able to enjoy not only swimming pools, thermal springs and spa offerings but also wine and cheese pairings, tequila tastings and activities like zip lines, a scenic boat ride and a dune buggy rally.
By design, the village — with architecture that evokes 18th-century mission-era California — is meant to appeal to both kids and adults and be family-friendly. Ensenada Bay Village is also envisioned as a complementary attraction, which perhaps accounts for the fact that, as yet, there have been no controversies or complaints from local businesses that rely heavily on business from the cruise ships.
Will Ensenada Bay Village be free for cruise ship passengers?
Costs to cruisegoers are as yet unknown. Carnival has not revealed whether there will be admission fees or premium charges for the various rides and attractions. Nor is there any rush to announce this information, given that Ensenada Bay Village — based on its two-year construction timeline — is not due to open until late 2027 or early 2028.
What does Ensenada Bay Village mean for other cruise lines?
Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest cruise company, owning not only Carnival Cruise Lines but also, among other subsidiaries, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line.
However, despite Carnival Corporation’s dominant market share in Ensenada (it accounted for 71% of all cruise visits in 2023-2024), its cruise lines are not the only ones that visit the destination; Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney-owned ships are all frequent visitors too. Are their passengers also welcome at Ensenada Bay Village?
The answer is yes. “The destination will also welcome guests from other cruise lines, reinforcing a shared commitment to inclusive tourism and regional growth,” Carnival confirmed in a statement.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that pricing will be the same for passengers of other cruise lines — again, no pricing information has yet been released — or that non-Carnival-owned cruise lines will recommend Ensenada Bay Village with the same enthusiasm as they do other local attractions.
That said, Carnival’s investment in Ensenada is a reflection of just how strong its presence is in the port, and Ensenada Bay Village will almost certainly benefit other cruise lines.
Who’s developing Ensenada Bay Village?
Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group are the companies developing Ensenada Bay Village, in partnership with Carnival, and the US $26 million figure quoted for the project is considered a minimum investment.
Mexican-owned ITM Group is a specialist in hospitality and cruise port development and management. More to the point, ITM has a history of collaborations with cruise lines, having partnered with Royal Caribbean Cruises since 2019 on port projects under the Holistica Destinations banner, a 50-50 venture that includes operation of the Port of Roatán in Honduras.
ITM was also instrumental in developing Puerto Costa Maya at Mahahual in Quintana Roo, Mexico’s second-largest cruise port, although that concession was subsequently shared as a Holistica Destinations partnership and is now solely administered by Royal Caribbean.
Given this history, ITM Group was a logical partner for Carnival in Ensenada. So, too, was Hutchison Ports ECV, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, since this company has the concession (acquired via the government of Mexico) for the Ensenada Cruise Terminal. The Ensenada Bay Village project would not be possible without Hutchison’s participation.
What is the Baja California Sur connection?
ITM Group, notably, also acquired the concession for developing the Port of Pichilingue in La Paz, Baja California Sur’s capital. Aquamayan Adventures, which shares the same owner as ITM Group — entrepreneur Isaac Hamui Abadi — had plans to build a new US $50 million cruise pier there, but after environmental protests, that project was scuttled in 2022.
Still, Baja-based cruise ports do seem to be on the rise, with both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas recording robust visitor numbers in 2025, and La Paz also seeing strong traffic. For example, Mexico welcomed 8.7 million cruise ship passengers between January and October 2025, and was projected to finish the year with over 10 million, with the Baja California peninsula’s top three cruise ports accounting for more than 2.5 million of that total.
Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.
Source: Mexico News Daily
