11 Day Mexican Cruise
March 7-18, 2026
Simon is the naturalist aboard this 11 day Princess cruise aboard the Ruby Princess that starts and finishes in San Francisco. He will be doing several on-board programs, as well as looking for seabirds and sea mammals as we sail down the Southern California and Mexican coasts.
This cruise leaves San Francisco at 4 PM on Day 1 and has several days at sea as we sail south along the coast of Southern California. We will look for seabirds and sea mammals along the way and may even find a stray land bird if it lands on the boat. The Ruby Princess docks at 4 Mexican ports (Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatland and Cabo San Lucas) where you can spend time exploring the cities, taking advantage of the cruise ship’s excursions or simply do your own thing. Simon may be doing some land birding, so if you’re interested, talk to him ahead of time. The ship sails back north again along the Southern California coast with more chances for seabirds along the way.
Itinerary of the Ruby Princess
Day 1 - Leave San Francisco
Day 2 - At sea
Day 3 - At sea
Day 4 - At sea
Day 5 - Manzanillo, Mexico
Day 6 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Day 7 - Mazatlan, Mexico
Day 8 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Day 9 - At sea
Day 10 - At sea
Day 11 - At sea
Day 12 - San Francisco
You will have to call Princess Cruises to make your reservation on this cruise and make your own flight reservations to San Francisco. All of this can be arranged and coordinated with Princess Cruise Lines and not with us in the Ventures Birding Office.
Princess Cruise Lines: 1.800.774.6237
Sea Birds & Mammals We Could See
Sea birds: Red and Red-necked Phalarope, Pomarine, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers, Rhinoceros and Cassin’s Auklets, Scripp’s, Guadalupe and Craveri’s Murrelets, Sabine’s, Heermann’s, Western and California Gulls, Red-billed Tropicbird, Laysan and Black-footed Albatross, Fork-tailed, Leach’s, Ashy, Black and Least Storm-Petrel, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed, Flesh-footed, Sooty and Black-vented Shearwater, Cocos and Nazca Booby, and Brown Pelican.
Mammals
Blue, Gray and Minke Whale, Pacific White-sided, Common, Risso’s and Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Harbor Porpoise, California Sea Lion, Guadalupe Fur Seal and Northern Elephant Seal.
