More cruise lines cancel calls to Mazatlan after shooting

by Chris Owen on

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

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Breaking: Cruise crew member dead in Cozumel

by Chris Owen on

While foul play has not been ruled out, the drowning death of a Royal Caribbean crew member in Cozumel brings the safety of Mexican ports of call back into focus along with the broader issue of cruise passenger safety in general.

The body of Monika Markiewicz a musician on Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas. 32, was recovered from the ocean off the southern part of the island Saturday. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning but Markiewicz also suffered a blow to the head. Police are investigating.


“Tragically, we recently became aware that the crew member was a victim of a violent crime while ashore in a remote area in Cozumel,” said Royal Caribbean spokesperson Cynthia Martinez. “We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of our crew member.”

The topic of Mexican ports of call is a hot issue with cruise lines and Mexican government officials alike. The tragic death of a crew member in Mexican waters, regardless of the reason, brings safety back into the spotlight.

Cozumel is a popular port of call for cruise ships, far removed from the drug gang violence in Mazatlan, a center of Mexican drug cartels. Cruise lines, always vigilant regarding the safety of passengers and crew recently and dropped calls to Mazatlan due to crimes against passengers and crew members.

Disney Cruise Line, Princess and Holland America dropped Mazatlan as a port of call on Mexican Rivera cruises last month. Mexican government officials responded with a cry of “no fair” saying their ports were safe, meeting with cruise line officials and promising a safe experience for cruise passengers.

“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.

Newly relocated Disney Wonder, bumped to the West coast when new Disney Dream took over in Florida was scheduled to visit Mazatlan on a series of seven-night sailings through April. Instead, that time will be spent in what is believed to be a safer Cabo San Lucas.

Just last week, cruise lines returned to Mazatlan after they believed safety issues had been addressed. The Mexican government bolstered its tourism police force with a special unit of plain-clothes security personnel in the main tourist areas, including shore excursion sites.

Still, crime involving tourists is an ongoing problem in Mexico. Tourism officials have been accused of attempting to minimize the issue. The US Department of State has urged caution visiting Mexico issuing a Travel Warning in September of last year saying “It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico.”

A cruise line crew member being found dead, for whatever reason, is indeed cause for concern in an ongoing look at the safety of ports around the world.

Last week, chaos and demonstrations in Cairo, Egypt sent cruise lines sailing in a different directions and land tour operators cancelling booked tours.

Cruise lines are modified itineraries for ships calling in Egypt and Tunisia, canceling all port calls in these two countries. While unrest/chaos continues in the area, cruise lines are playing it safe by keeping ships and passengers out of harms way.

Most recently, citing a “changing political environment” Disney Cruise Line as well as land tour operator Adventures by Disney is dropped Tunisia from all land and sea tours. They are just the latest of a growing number of cruise lines and tour operators to pull out of the troubled region.

“We continually evaluate our itineraries, and the decision to modify this itinerary was made in part due to the changing political environment in Tunis and the recent Travel Alert issued by the U.S. Department of State for Tunisia,” Disney spokesperson Christi Erwin Donnan told USA TODAY.

Indeed, cruise lines constantly monitor the situation at every port they call on, most commonly skipping ports for weather related reasons. More difficult to monitor but equally important, changing political environments and crime ashore too are a cause of concern regarding the safety of passengers and crew.


Narco-tours in Mexico

by Jamie Rhein on

Yesterday Brenda wrote a post about the safety of traveling in Mexico. Here’s another travel option for Mexico if you like to flirt with danger just a tad. See if your taxi driver is a narco-tour guide. A narco-tour is when a taxi driver in places like the beach resort town Mazatlán drives you past the homes and hang outs of the famous drug cartel folks. You know, to see how people with drug money wealth live. Some of the places are of the drug big shots of days gone by since they’ve been killed. Hey, it’s not easy being a drug lord.

According to the New York Times article, there are more than one narco-tour destination. Taxi drivers in Matamoros and Culiacán have also jumped into narco-tour action. So far mostly Mexican citizens have taken these tours that the Mexican government isn’t too fond of–not because of the danger, per se, but because it puts Mexico in not the best light.

Reading about the narco-tours reminded me of the taxi driver led Anna Nicole Smith tours in the Bahamas. With a taxi, a person can come up with all sorts of ways to entertain a country’s visitors.

One of the taxi drivers interviewed for the narco-tour article sees the tours as similar to the ones you take in the United States to see sites such as Al Capone’s hangouts. Think of all the Wild West gangster types who draw tourists to places in the U.S. like the Billy the Kid Museum in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. He has a point.

Budget Travel: Mexico

by Brenda Yun on

Spring Break is upon us, and for most college kids, March means two things: basketball and getting your color back on some tropical beach. When I think Mexico, I think drugs and girls gone wild, but there’s something about Mexico that really draws a crowd in March and continues through the summer until late October. As Mexico continues to rank among the top spring break hot spots (this year being no different), what is a Gadling guide to budget travel without a little love the country across our southern border?

According to an MSNBC Travel article published earlier this month, Cancun is the most popular party place, followed closely by . Cancun, oft coined as the “Party Capital of the World,” has long had a reputation of being a hot party-all-night atmosphere, so it’s natural that this year the city is seeing no change in the flock of tourists to its beaches.
The same goes for Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Los Cabos. In fact, according to L.A. Times travel blogger, Jen Leo, roundtrip flights between Los Angeles and Cabo San Lucas are a mere $220 each.

A typically fun Mazatlán is now drawing a record number of spring breakers because it’s now the final destination of the “Maz Party Bus” that leaves from various college campuses in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. For just $299, StudentCity.com is providing an unbeatable package that includes roundtrip transportation to Mazatlán on a luxury motor coach complete with bathrooms, reclining seats, TV’s and DVD players (two nights are spent on the bus), a five-night stay at a resort in Mazatlán, and two free meals per day at participating restaurants. The price is pretty tough to beat.

But Mexico is not just fun and games, you know. Budget Travel and the L.A. Times both love Mexico’s cultural cities like Oaxaca, which rarely see the likes of Cancun partiers, and traveling to this shopping and chocolate haven can be just as cheap as getting to the Mexico’s beaches. Even the neighboring towns of Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta see low numbers of tourists and have some pretty awesome, high-quality silver jewelry for pennies. If you want to escape the rowdy ruckus of Mexican parties and tequila shots, just hop on a local bus, travel along the coast, and you’ll find an untouched beach that you could very well experience all for yourself.

Let’s face it though: Mexico is the type of travel destination best experienced with others. It’s not for the solo traveler, nor for the early to bed, early to rise types. Traveling with friends is both the key to happiness in Mexico as well as the key to saving money, too — lots of it.

Photo of the Day (6/23/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on


File this one under: Mazatlan Food Porn.

This shot comes from my own gallery of Mexican goodies and was taken moments before satisfying my personal street food craving in Mazatlan. While fried bananas covered in condensed milk and caramel is hardly frightening, one can never tell what exotic belly dance type effect foreign food will have on the bowels while vacationing. I survived! Today’s self-promoting POTD also comes with a reminder to check out this gallery of Weird Things People Eat Around the World and this plug on avoiding side effects of bad street food.

Bon appetite!