CruiseStar
The Mexican Riviera just got a weather rewrite. Hurricane Rachel and Tropical Storm Simon rolled through the Pacific in late September and early October, and cruise lines have spent the last week swapping ports, adding sea days, and in one case rebuilding an entire itinerary from scratch.
If you are sailing the Pacific side in the next week or two, check your line's app before you finish packing. Itineraries are still moving.
Virgin Voyages
Brilliant Lady
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What happened
Rachel and Simon churned up the Pacific coast and the Mexican Riviera in late September and early October 2026. Cabo San Lucas has been closed to cruise traffic since about September 30 because of rough seas and residual swell, with no firm reopening date announced when the itinerary changes were confirmed.
Cabo is a tender port. Big ships anchor offshore and small boats ferry everyone to the marina, so swell that a docked ship would shrug off can shut the whole operation down. That is why one closed port ripples across so many sailings, and why the fall storm season on the Pacific side deserves a spot on every cruiser's radar.
Brilliant Lady: two sailings, two different fixes
Virgin Voyages' Brilliant Lady has had the bumpiest ride of the bunch. On the October 3 sailing from Los Angeles, the ship lost its Cabo San Lucas call. Virgin told guests the storm itself had moved away from the route, but the leftover swell was strong enough that tendering would not be safe or comfortable. The fix: Ensenada on October 4 instead, the old Cabo day turned into a sea day, and Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta kept on the schedule. Cabo shore excursions booked through the line were automatically cancelled with full refunds to the original form of payment.
The next sailing needed a bigger rewrite. For the October 10 departure, also from Los Angeles, Virgin dropped all three Mexican ports (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta) and rebuilt the week around California and Baja: Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Ensenada, returning to Los Angeles on October 17 as scheduled. It is the third consecutive Brilliant Lady sailing touched by the storms, and Virgin warned guests to pack a light jacket because California in October is not the Mexican Riviera.
Carnival: three ships, same ocean
Carnival felt the storms across the fleet:
- Carnival Radiance dropped its October 9 Cabo San Lucas stop and sailed straight back to Long Beach, arriving October 11 on the original schedule.
- Carnival Panorama cancelled planned calls at Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, substituting Ensenada.
Carnival
Carnival Panorama
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- Carnival Miracle skipped its October 1 Cabo stop while on a Panama Canal repositioning voyage.
- Cunard's Queen Elizabeth skipped its October 1 Cabo call and continued south toward Guatemala.
What to do if your sailing is next
Storm season on the Pacific side runs through the fall, and these changes landed with very little notice. A few habits that help:
- Check the cruise line app the morning you sail and again the night before every port day. Port swaps can post overnight.
- Build a flexible port plan. Keep a backup excursion or a happy "stay on the ship" day in your pocket for tender ports like Cabo.
- Book excursions through the cruise line when the forecast looks iffy. When the line cancels the stop, its own excursions are refunded automatically.
- Pack for the actual forecast at the replacement ports, not the brochure version of the original ones.
Our free port day planner can help you sketch a backup day ashore when the itinerary shifts mid-voyage.
Will I get a refund if my ship skips a port?
Port taxes and fees for missed ports are typically refunded, and cruise-line-booked excursions for the cancelled stop are cancelled with a full refund. Check your line's policy for anything beyond that.
Can a ship change the whole itinerary?
Yes. The ticket contract lets the line alter ports or routes for safety and operational reasons, which is exactly what happened here.
How do I know if Cabo is open again?
Watch your cruise line's app and guest communications. The closure had no announced reopening date as of this writing.
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Brilliant Lady
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