MND Local: Everything you need to know about Ensenada Bay Village, Ensenada’s coming cruise attraction

Ensenada is 1 of Mexico’s oldest cruise ports, dating backmost to 1965, erstwhile Stanley B. McDonald founded Princess Cruises and created the conception of the “Mexican Riviera,” with cruises from Los Angeles to Mexican destinations specified arsenic Ensenada, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.

Nor has Ensenada’s popularity arsenic a cruise destination ever waned. It remains the 3rd astir fashionable cruise larboard successful the state — down Cozumel and Mahahual (Costa Maya) successful Quintana Roo and up of chap Pacific Coast ports Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta — and has welcomed successful excess of 1 cardinal cruise vessel passengers successful 2 of the past 3 years.

The announcement for Ensenada Bay Village connected Dec. 5, 2025, was attended by galore dignitaries from Ensenada and the companies involved. (Carnival Corporation)

Based connected a caller announcement, that fig should lone proceed to rise.

Ensenada Bay Village task unveiled

Plans for Ensenada Bay Village — a caller shoreside larboard destination for cruise vessel passengers that’s being developed successful concern betwixt Carnival, Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group — were announced during a nationalist presumption astatine the Ensenada Cruise Terminal successful aboriginal December 2025.

The US $26 cardinal task is expected to instrumentality 2 years to complete, but volition invited up to 9,000 visitors per time and person a important economical interaction connected Ensenada, creating astatine slightest 350 caller jobs and bringing successful an estimated $120 cardinal to the section system each year.

“Ensenada Bay Village represents meaningful concern successful Baja California,” noted Baja California’s governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. “This task supports section jobs, expands tourism and highlights the civilization and earthy quality that marque our authorities a unsocial destination,” she said. 

What volition Ensenada Bay Village’s attractions be?

Ensenada Bay Village is going to beryllium a village-style larboard resort, steps from wherever ships are docked. Cruise passengers volition beryllium capable to bask not lone swimming pools, thermal springs and spa offerings but besides vino and food pairings, tequila tastings and activities similar zip lines, a scenic vessel thrust and a dune buggy rally.

By design, the colony — with architecture that evokes 18th-century mission-era California — is meant to entreaty to some kids and adults and beryllium family-friendly. Ensenada Bay Village is besides envisioned arsenic a complementary attraction, which possibly accounts for the information that, arsenic yet, determination person been nary controversies oregon complaints from section businesses that trust heavy connected concern from the cruise ships.

Will Ensenada Bay Village beryllium escaped for cruise vessel passengers?

Relaxing attractions similar swimming astatine Ensenada Bay Village volition beryllium steps from wherever cruise ships dock. As to however overmuch they cost, that remains to beryllium seen. (Carnival Corporation)

Costs to cruisegoers are arsenic yet unknown. Carnival has not revealed whether determination volition beryllium admittance fees oregon premium charges for the assorted rides and attractions. Nor is determination immoderate unreserved to denote this information, fixed that Ensenada Bay Village — based connected its two-year operation timeline — is not owed to unfastened until precocious 2027 oregon aboriginal 2028. 

What does Ensenada Bay Village mean for different cruise lines?

Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest cruise company, owning not lone Carnival Cruise Lines but also, among different subsidiaries, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. 

However, contempt Carnival Corporation’s ascendant marketplace stock successful Ensenada (it accounted for 71% of each cruise visits successful 2023-2024), its cruise lines are not the lone ones that sojourn the destination; Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney-owned ships are each predominant visitors too. Are their passengers besides invited astatine Ensenada Bay Village?

The reply is yes. “The destination volition besides invited guests from different cruise lines, reinforcing a shared committedness to inclusive tourism and determination growth,” Carnival confirmed successful a statement. 

However, that doesn’t needfully mean that pricing volition beryllium the aforesaid for passengers of different cruise lines — again, nary pricing accusation has yet been released — oregon that non-Carnival-owned cruise lines volition urge Ensenada Bay Village with the aforesaid enthusiasm arsenic they bash different section attractions.

That said, Carnival’s concern successful Ensenada is simply a reflection of conscionable however beardown its beingness is successful the port, and Ensenada Bay Village volition astir surely payment different cruise lines. 

Who’s processing Ensenada Bay Village?

Ziplines and dune buggy rally races volition beryllium among the attractions astatine Ensenada Bay Village erstwhile it opens — apt successful precocious 2027 oregon aboriginal 2028. (Carnival Corporation)

Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group are the companies processing Ensenada Bay Village, successful concern with Carnival, and the US $26 cardinal fig quoted for the task is considered a minimum investment.

Mexican-owned ITM Group is simply a specializer successful hospitality and cruise larboard improvement and management. More to the point, ITM has a past of collaborations with cruise lines, having partnered with Royal Caribbean Cruises since 2019 connected larboard projects nether the Holistica Destinations banner, a 50-50 task that includes cognition of the Port of Roatán successful Honduras. 

ITM was besides instrumental successful processing Puerto Costa Maya astatine Mahahual successful Quintana Roo, Mexico’s second-largest cruise port, though that concession was subsequently shared arsenic a Holistica Destinations concern and is present solely administered by Royal Caribbean.

Given this history, ITM Group was a logical spouse for Carnival successful Ensenada. So, too, was Hutchison Ports ECV, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, since this institution has the concession (acquired via the authorities of Mexico) for the Ensenada Cruise Terminal. The Ensenada Bay Village task would not beryllium imaginable without Hutchison’s participation.

What is the Baja California Sur connection?

ITM Group, notably, besides acquired the concession for processing the Port of Pichilingue in La Paz, Baja California Sur’s capital. Aquamayan Adventures, which shares the aforesaid proprietor arsenic ITM Group — entrepreneur Isaac Hamui Abadi — had plans to physique a caller US $50 cardinal cruise pier there, but aft biology protests, that project was scuttled successful 2022.

Still, Baja-based cruise ports bash look to beryllium connected the rise, with some Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas signaling robust visitant numbers successful 2025, and La Paz besides seeing beardown traffic. For example, Mexico welcomed 8.7 cardinal cruise vessel passengers betwixt January and October 2025, and was projected to decorativeness the twelvemonth with implicit 10 million, with the Baja California peninsula’s apical 3 cruise ports accounting for much than 2.5 cardinal of that total.

Chris Sands is the erstwhile Cabo San Lucas section adept for the USA Today question website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos question guidebook. He’s besides a contributor to galore websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.