Mexico has ambitions beyond simply welcoming cruise ships for the day. In late September, the country's tourism secretary Josefina Rodríguez Zamora and navy secretary Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles announced a push to turn Puerto Vallarta into a homeport — a place where cruises begin and end rather than just a stop along the way.

The centrepiece is a new cruise terminal, to be managed by Mexico's National Port System Administration (ASIPONA). Plans call for three berths for cruise ships, separate areas for passengers getting on and off vessels, plus commercial and entertainment space. The development spans 95,000 square metres and forms part of the wider Puerto Vallarta Port Development Masterplan. Detailed timelines haven't been shared yet, but officials say homeporting would keep more cruise money in Mexico, since passengers flying in for a sailing tend to arrive early or linger after disembarking.

Why does this matter now? Because Mexico's cruise business is booming. Between January and July 2026, the country welcomed 7.5 million cruise passengers across 2,405 ship calls — up 16.2 percent on the previous year — generating a reported $650 million in economic impact, a 17.3 percent jump. Puerto Vallarta sits alongside Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas as a busy Pacific port, while Cozumel, Costa Maya and Progreso handle heavy Caribbean traffic.

The catch, according to local reporting, is that Mexico currently lacks the infrastructure to base large cruise ships domestically. Most Mexican itineraries are run from US ports like Los Angeles, Galveston or Miami, meaning the pre- and post-cruise spending from passengers happens north of the border. A dedicated homeport terminal in Puerto Vallarta would let travellers fly directly into Mexico, board there, and add a few resort days on Banderas Bay either side of the sailing.

For holidaymakers, that could reshape how Mexican Riviera cruises work. Instead of a fly-cruise via the US, you could pair a week at sea with time in Puerto Vallarta's old town, its beaches and the Sierra Madre foothills behind it. Nothing changes overnight — the terminal is still at the announcement stage — but if it's built as described, expect cruise lines to start basing ships in the bay within the next few years.

Story via Cruise Industry News.