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More cruise lines cancel calls to Mazatlan after shooting
Carnival Splendor is back after months of repairs after the disabling fire of last November. There will be no call in Mazatlan though as Carnival Cruise Lines, along with Norwegian Cruise Lines canceled calls to Mazatlan last week. The shooting of two men in the parking lot of a hotel is to blame.
The two men shot were not tourists or cruise ship passengers but the hotel is one frequented by tourists on a regular basis and that was good enough reason to divert ships.
Carnival Splendor spent an extra day in Cabo San Lucas on it's seven-day Mexican Riviera itinerary that returns today. Carnival will decide on future calls after a full assessment of the situation.
Norwegian Cruise Lines decision was much more final, canceling all future calls for the rest of the season.
Right at a month ago, Mazatlan and Mexico government officials were doing all they could to get more cruise lines back after a series of violent acts forced them to cancel calls.
"We highly value our long-standing relationships within the cruise industry, and are dedicated to ensuring that Mazatlan remains among the top cruise destinations on Mexico's Pacific Coast. Mazatlan has hosted nearly 1.5 million cruise passengers since 2008 and is widely regarded as one of the safest destinations in Mexico." said Julio Birrueta, spokesperson for the Mazatlan Tourism Trust at the time.
On future calls to the area, Carnival said "Until we are able to obtain all of the facts and fully assess the situation, no decision has been made regarding future calls" in a statement.
Flickr photo by ccharmon
Filed under: North America, South America, Mexico, United States, Cruises, Caribbean, Travel Security
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brenda Feb 27th 2011 4:51PM
Too much violence going on in Mexico. Glad to see that some cruise lines are taking it seriously and not going there. It is a shame what is happening and I know that Mexico is going to lose a lot of money but it is not safe to travel there.
chris Feb 27th 2011 5:41PM
Its a shame the americans and the media cast mexico beaches as unsafe....99% of the countries violence is on the border towns of mexico/u.s border...cartels are killing each other...not american tourists!
Tom Feb 27th 2011 10:02PM
To CHRIS: You must either live in a dream world (maybe drug-induced), or you don't pay attention to the news.
Drug-cartel violence has expanded way beyond just the US - Mexican border cities.
US citizens have been kidnapped/killed in Cancun, Cozumel, Mexico City, and most recently in Acapulco and Pacific-Coast tourist cities.
Did you not hear/see that US tourists were recently shot in their taxis as a display of cartel dominance?
murray Feb 28th 2011 3:09AM
There is no place in Mexico that is safe right now. Death is random as well as directed toward a target. Collateral damage happens anywhere there is some beef between these diablos. We have a third world country for a neighbor that has a aa higher death rate than Afghanistan. Anyone who believes their trip to Cancun or Cabo is just too bitchin to worry about safety in a tourist mecca in downright stupid. I am real sorry to say that Mexico is not the fun safe place it was when it got it's reputation for unforgettably great trips that fostered outrageous stories about how cool it is to do. Yah, go to Mexico and whoop it up come home and plan to take more friends along next year. That's how it was. Wake up young people, it's not that way any more. I was raised walking the streets of Juarez without an adult when I was twelve. I had friends in Zaragosa. One an old man, an Ysleta Indian taught me to lay block when I was eleven. There was a roadside cantina with a combined motel and whorehouse I had my first beer in. The owner Rosa called me Leche and teased I could only have milk but gave me the beer when my older friends insisted. For over seven years, till i moved to Phoenix she always called me Leche when I walked in the bar. To me Mexico was second nature, the air stunk around the bridge where we crossed over the Rio Grande driving into Zaragosa but that was just a smell, the smiles on the other side of the bridge were the same as at home or school. Mexico was a good place to be then. That was in the early sixties. Back in 2004 I drove to a small town deep in Baja to live there. The first thing I felt uncomfortable with was the military stops every 60 to 80 miles. Some seemed cool, some not. At night the stops where downright creepy. Dudes exchanging conspiratorial looks, pushing me away from my car. And in town the people were not so nice as I remembered. Having to be told I couldn't help my friend sweep her patio because she would be reported for having an American doing a job a Mexican should be getting paid to do was a special moment. We seem to be good for our money but not much more. Your life? Not a concern. All cruise lines should stop Mexican stops till Calderon breaks the grip the druglords have on that country. We should put economic sanctions on Mexico till such time that is done. And Americans that smoke pot should stop buying pot that has been compressed (a sure sign it was smuggled from Mexico). This is serious stuff. Beheading people right in our own back yard. Remember how deplorable it was when the Middle East Beheadings were in the news? People are being beheaded in droves less than ten minutes from American soil. We need to be more alarmed. Period.
Lee Feb 28th 2011 4:19PM
Americans are being targeted in Mexico -- and murdered. These murders are occurring in taxis, at airports, and on the streets. Rich Americans are fleeing Mexico for their lives. For these reasons, I am not about to take a Panama Canal cruise that ends in Acapulco. All of the cruise lines should quit calling at Mexican ports until the army kills or captures all of the drug cartel criminals.
DJ Feb 27th 2011 6:14PM
Why would anyone in their right mind plan a trip to anywhere in mexico. Besides all you have to do is go down to a local home depot parking lot and see all the ILLEGALS waiting for a pickup for their jobs that they are taking from American citizens.
pg Feb 27th 2011 6:27PM
You must be an idiot....not sure what kind of job you have....but would you do there job...which more than likely is very low paying...and hard work...especially out in the fields picking cucumbers and strawberries....and if you take a really good look...how many americans (whites) do you see out in the fields....
M.O. Mar 3rd 2011 6:57PM
Dj honestly, sure illegals should be restrained. Yet we do miss all the free federal and state taxes they brought in. It is people like you that complain yet hire them to save paying an American minimum wage. They don't get as medicaid as everyone thinks. Do you know that statistics are the the highest states with medicare recipients are the south? And guess what they are WHITE folk. Give them a work visa for 5 years, then don't allow them back for 10 yrs. And please please tax them and don't give the tax back! throw out the illegal's that commit proved federal crime, punish them, not with giving them free housing! (jail) get them where it hurts. In Illinois, I am not sure in other states, have them making the medicaid glasses or any healthcare device we might need. Deport them and their immediate families if they commit another crime. I don't care if their child is born in the U.S.A., when they are old enough to support and come into the U.S.A. then welcome. Do the raids at factories. Give severe penalties to those that import illegal's. Not only with jail, but take all their possessions away. After all they bought it all with illegal money. Fingerprint Fingerprint Fingerprint!!!!
We are the one that are loosing the free taxes. YES YES I know there are going to be many responses to this comment but do your research before you post. DJ there are many jobs landscaping or farming, you have any friends or maybe you that will apply? If so I can guarantee our produce price will go sky high. I am not talking about just Mexico, but Guatemala, Cuba, they are all pegged as Mexicans. This is not humane some will say, well it is not humane that many of my fellow Americans are loosing jobs, houses, their way of life!! biggest thing is lets follow China, restrict how many children Medicaid recipients have. These are just a few ideas I have, might not be ideal but we have to speak out.
Yikes! Feb 27th 2011 6:18PM
People get killed in San Diego and Los Angeles every day. Sure hope the cruise lines cancel those ports too!
Bruce Feb 27th 2011 7:03PM
IMO, Mazatlan is the least interesting of the ports down that way anyhow. Cabo is neater by far. I'd consider it lucky to get the port change. I honestly can't think of anything that interesting in Mazatlan -- a nice day to just stay on board and have the ship to yourself. Mexico is a wonderful country with great people. I'm sorry to see it getting such a bad rap. Just avoid border towns, I guess, is the answer for now.
ajschrod Feb 27th 2011 7:32PM
What is wrong with the Mexican police? Surely the locals and cops know by sight who does or doesn't belong there, and since tourists ARE absolutely necessary, keeping out the undesirables should be their no.1 prority!
stormint Feb 27th 2011 8:54PM
My wife and I travel as much as possible but with the current unrest in Mexico we won't be going back anytime soon. I applaude the cruise lines for taking a stand. Lost $ is the only thing mexico will understand. If the US would legalize pot it would help to dry up some of the revenue that the Mexican cartels get from the US - I know - some of you think that's crazy but look at prohibition - who got rich and who got shot? Without prohibition we would have had Capone or Moran or the St Valentines day shootings and after booze was legalized again I ask you, what happened? Things got quiet. Are you afraid to eat Italian in Chicago today? Of course not - but you would have been when Capone and Moran were around. Change is good - gang killings are not.
Ed Feb 27th 2011 8:55PM
MEXICO IS JUST SCREWING ITSELF, GOOD...
Joan Feb 27th 2011 9:57PM
I've been on 27 cruises...stopped in many ports and Mazatlan was the one and only place I was robbed..no one did anything about it.. not the police , not the cruise line. If the Mexican government doesn't do something soon about all the crime, against it's own people as well as tourist, they will see a great decline of tourism and this will hurt the economy even more.
Larry W. Bruce Feb 27th 2011 10:50PM
I'm glad to see some cruise lines are not putting their passengers and crew in harms way by avoiding certain vacation destinations. As tourists we should withold our travel dollars until safety and security become a necessity and not a luxury.
PA Mike Feb 28th 2011 1:18AM
I spent a week in Mazatlan last summer with my wife an 2 kids. It was a great vacation! We walked around and shopped in that same neighborhood where the port is as well as many other streets downtown. Never had a problem. The cab drivers and locals were very nice and we had a memorable week. It's a shame shootings occur and they are tragic but that happens in many American cities as well. If a shooting happened in LA would you stop going to all of Calif? Mexico has some gorgeous cities and small towns still worth traveling to. Border cities I agree are not safe but many others are well worth seeing. Hope to get back down there later in '11.
Viki Feb 28th 2011 2:36AM
Norwegian Cruise Lines has reinstated Mazatlán as a port of call.
My husband and I have lived in Mazatlán for a few years, and we absolutely love it! I wish the media would not sensationalize everything. We feel as safe here as we did in the states.
The problem with the drug cartels has worsened in the past few years, but the police are doing everything they can. It is harder to get a handle on than you might think. But the odds of getting injured or killed in a shooting here is very, very slim. None of us "gringos" who live here can remember a tourist ever getting killed who wasn't involved in the drug trade.
And there is plenty to do here! Our historic central district looks like the French Quarter in New Orleans... It's beautiful, with lots of plazas, parks and museums. We have Carnaval (next week!) and a Motorcycle Week. You can zip-line, go four-wheeling, ride horses, swim, walk or bike our beautiful boardwalk, take a tour-boat ride out by the islands to see sea-lions, dolphins, and whales. There are TONS of great restaurants and nightclubs.
Those of you who are skipping Mazatlán are missing out!
Julie Feb 28th 2011 7:09AM
Who needs to go to Mexico? I see enough Mexicans in the U.S. to last 1,000 lifetimes!
Kat Feb 28th 2011 12:37PM
Hmmmm this just does not make sense to me. Yes there are problems in Mazatlan due to the "drug war" but there are problems and violence all over the world that affect innocent bystanders much more than in Mazatlan. In fact there has been 10 times more violence happening in Acapulco than in Mazatlan including violence against cruise ship passengers and other tourists. Multiple tourists have died and been extremely injured in Acapulco do to the drug war but to my knowledge aside from one small incident there has not been a single innocent tourist killed or terribly hurt in Mazatlan!!!!!!!
Want to know the real reason cruise ships are pulling out of Mazatlan? Because Mazatlan charges higher port fee's than the other Mexican ports of call and only because the cruise ship terminal in Mazatlan has more amenities and is more functional than the other terminals in Mexico!!!! That's all there is to it folks!!!!
If this were not true then why are the cruise ships not pulling out of Acapulco and other Mexican port cities where there are more reports of fatalities and violence than in Mazatlan?
On top of that people should look at the statistics of shootings, rapes, murders etc. in other places around the world especially the USA before placing such a bad reputation against Mexico because if you do your research you will find Mexico is a MUCH safer place to live and visit than most cities in the USA!!
I am Canadian so should I not visit the USA because of the recent and horrible shooting in Arizona?
I'll even bet that most of the people posting negative comments on this article have not even been to Mexico before!
I live here full time in Mazatlan, Mexico and feel safer here than I do in my home town in Canada that has a population of 400 people and I have NEVER seen anything that is drug cartel related or been uncomfortable or felt unsafe here in Mazatlan! Believe me more than half of what you read in the news is BS!
You really want to know what is going on in Mexico and have the right to express your opinion?
Well I invite you to come on down to sunny, beautiful Mazatlan, Mexico and enjoy a cold beer, mouth watering food, extremely friendly people, miles of sandy white beaches along the Pacific Ocean, amazing and rich culture, in-expensive cost of living and fantastic weather!!!!
Until then please do not be so harsh on the beautiful country of Mexico and it's people that you obviously know so little about!