Crime In Mexico: the good, bad and the pretty cool

by Chris Owen on
Mexico just can’t seem to catch a break. The news is filled with accounts of gruesome murders, mass graves and brutal drug lords. Regardless of the fact that these incidents are isolated and not a country-wide crisis, tourism suffers. People get things stuck in their heads that are sometimes difficult to shake off. Travelers have a hard time associating a happy holiday vacation with death and crime.

The bad
“Crime and violence are serious problems and can occur anywhere. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well” said the U.S. Department of State in a renewed travel alert for Mexico issued Friday.

Certainly, it is appropriate for the U.S. government to issue a warning when at least 177 bodies have been taken from interstate buses, tortured and slaughtered in recent weeks. Survivors say women were raped first then killed and some victims were burned alive. This all in an area a little over an hours drive from Brownsville, Texas.

This particular problem does not look to be going away any time soon. Not that Matamoros, Mexico was on the top of very many travel bucket lists, but the problem runs deep.

“The killings have galvanized an unusual if belated consensus, even among conservative commentators and politicians, that parts of Mexico have indeed been lost to criminal gangs such as the Zetas and the Gulf cartel that control (and are battling each other to dominate) the northeast” said the Los Angeles Times on Monday asking “What does it mean, they ask, when the federal government cannot keep the nation’s highways safe from brazen predators?”

Good question. Bad news for that part of Mexico.

Over in Mazatlan, Mexico though, things are looking up. The Pacific Coast city of Mazatlan, avoided by cruise lines as being unsafe, brings to our attention that they are a “rising star for A-List spotlight this spring”. In a statement Gadling received Monday, GoMazatlan.com, the voice of Mazatlan, tells us the pretty cool:

“Hollywood starlet Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) and her beau Eduardo Cruz vacationed in this vibrant destination over the weekend, where they were immersed in Mazatlan’s rich culture, fabulous cuisine and warm hospitality amid a romantic coastal backdrop. The couple strolled through Old Mazatlan’s charming shops, outdoor cafes and art galleries, visiting the 19th century cathedral and iconic Angela Peralta Theater before hitting the beach along Mazatlan’s oceanfront malecon boardwalk. The pair also joined the state governor for dinner, enjoying renowned seafood and authentic specialties”

The good
Well that sure sounds safe. Strolling along a boardwalk, being immersed in culture, both things travelers do. Mazatlan also continues to distance itself from crime issues, branding itself as a premiere travel destination with a variety of events throughout the spring and summer. Internationally acclaimed dancers take the stage this weekend, April 29 – May 5, as part of the Jose Limon Dance Festival. The world of golf returns May 5 – 8 to compete in the Canadian PGA’s Mexican PGA Championship. Later in June, surf pros from around the globe hang ten on Mazatlan’s big waves for the Quiksilver Surf Clasico Mazatlan.

“Tourism is very important to Mazatlan and its residents. The destination plays host to nearly 2 million visitors per year from all over the world and the number has increased steadily for the past five years” said Julio Birrueta, spokesperson for the Mazatlan Tourism Trust.

So basically, if they got rid of the drug lords and associated rapings, killings and so on, Mexico would be a great place to visit country-wide. Until then, Mazatlan, among other safe destinations, looks good.

Photo courtesy GoMazatlan.com

Related Stories


Annual bloggers cruise features new ship, old host

by Chris Owen on





John Heald, the popular senior cruise director for Carnival Cruise Lines, is doing it again hosting for the fifth time his John Heald Bloggers Cruise. Fans of the unflappable John Heald’s blog with over 10 million views since it’s launch in 2007, will sail on the new Carnival Magic in March 2012.

The seven-day western Caribbean voyage will sail round-trip from Galveston, Texas, March 4-11, 2012, visiting Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.

Like other theme cruises, this one gives up-close and personal time with a celebrity.

Unlike other theme cruises, that celebrity is John Heald.

I met Heald almost 10 years ago on the then-almost-new Carnival Victory and have no trouble imagining him as the big draw for a theme cruise. His easy-going demeanor and quick wit are party-pleasers that I can see many enjoying.

The new 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic brings together fans of the senior cruise director for a week full of fun activities, exclusive giveaways and receptions plus a boat load of memories. Sure, Kid Rock, he is not, but expect a whole lot of fun and some surprises along the way too.


Gadling will be on board Carnival Magic for the ships inaugural sailing May 1, less than a week from now. Stay tuned for all the details on what makes Carnival Magic a great new ship as well as some featured posts off the ship when we go ashore.

Flickr photo by jonworth

Related Stories



Budgeting tools turn travel dreams into reality, even cruises

by Chris Owen on
If the high price of air travel has you concerned about your upcoming summer vacation, its not without good reason. Prices are going up. If you worry about that vacation because of the incidental expenses, you are not alone. Those add up. Even if you’re heading out for a road trip, hiking or camping, unknown expenses are tough to budget. Still, there are some good resources you can turn to for relief.

People who are smart about money will tell you to have a budget and stick to it. They will also tell you that the answer to your budget worries lies in the answers to two questions:

How accurate is your budget? and Can you cover the total cost?

That’s easy enough for them to say, but how do you know how much things cost in places you have never been before?


BudgetYourTrip.com might just some answers for you. At this free online tool, users can sign up and create a budget. They enter their travel expenses by category and location, and can view charts and graphs of their budget too. Now here’s the good part; the expenses are then anonymously combined with expenses from other travelers. All of the expenses for each location are then computed using fancy math and statistics. Those numbers are then broken down by category and displayed for everyone to see as average daily costs for each city.

On a sample vacation, BudgetYourTrip showed us that a week in Tokyo could be done for $376.56 which works out to $75.31 per day. Not bad really.

A good budget for travel is one we have to get right, from the beginning, or we’re just fooling ourselves. An accurate picture of all expenses and an honest look at your available funds to pay for it are the foundation for any plans that follow.

Another good tool, reviewed by Gadling’s Amy Chen earlier this year is the Mint.com money-management tool.

“You can create plans for saving toward retirement and buying a house” Amy notes, adding “but I’ll be primarily using the site for its Travel Goals, which help you set — and stick to — realistic travel budgets”

Tools like these can help point us in the right direction when planning travel. Web-based social applications can help too. Getting to “know” others who have been there and done that will open doors to first-hand information that few tools can provide. A good example of how valuable that information can be is found in all-inclusive or nearly-all-inclusive vacations.

All-inclusive land vacations are easy, everything is included. Cruise vacations, on the other hand, have an all-inclusive nature to them as much is indeed included in the price. But while incidental cruise expenses can be tricky, they don’t have to sink the vacation.

Cruise lines have all the answers for what is and is not included in the price. There really are no hidden fees here but to say “It’s a great deal because everything is included in the price” is just wrong. Savvy cruise travelers know to stop by the CruiseCritic.com message boards for the very latest information. I made a bet once with a travel agent that I could find out the answer to a question faster than she could by simply logging on to CruiseCritic.com, asking the question in the right place and waiting a few minutes. I won that bet easily.

There are dedicated sites for all kinds of travel too that offer similar quick and accurate information. Twitter (#travel, #cruise), Facebook travel groups and other social tools can also provide similar real-time information.

Flickr photo by Public Domain Photos

Related Stories


Adventure cruise line prepares for inaugural season

by Chris Owen on
Getting ready for opening day is a big job for any business. No matter how experienced, knowledgeable and prepared workers may be, there are always unexpected things that come up. If your business is active, adventure cruises in the wilderness of Alaska the unexpected could mean life-threatening emergencies far from the nearest emergency room.

InnerSea Discoveries (@InnerSeaD) is preparing for its sold-out inaugural season. Sailing active, adventure cruises in Alaska the small 5-ship line looks to be perfect for “the active, outdoor person who is more experiential based” InnerSea’s Dan Blanchard told Gadling recently. On a typical “un-cruise” the line hopes to “pull the curtain back on the natural world and let people see it” says Blanchard which means actively engaging the wilderness.


As opposed to a standard Alaska cruise which pretty much floats on by the best stuff, InnerSea Discoveries passengers get up close and personal with the land of the midnight sun. That exposure promises to add a delicious element of risk, the unknown and uncertainty as each voyage will surely take on a flavor of it’s own. It also bumps up the need for emergency training.

In addition to customary training and certification, InnerSea Discoveries’ crew members are getting Wilderness First Responder training this week in Seattle from the Wilderness Medicine Training Center. While crew members will become certified, the training is far from a typical classroom setting.

To get prepared, the line’s first mates, second mates, expedition leaders and expedition guides are taking part in the hands-on training that covers everything from trauma to wilderness CPR. All good stuff to know on a small ship that does not include a full-size medical center with operating rooms, doctors, nurses and suckers for the kids.

CEO Blanchard himself is prepared too. After sailing across the Pacific for two years in a 42-foot sailboat, Blanchard realized cruising is “a lot more than a port to port experience.” Passengers on Innersea Discoveries can engage in a variety of off-ship activities, most included in the price, or stay on board and do nothing but enjoy the majestic Alaskan scenery.

I doubt many will.

Flickr photo by leakytyr8

Related Stories


Cruise ships on the move as traveler demand changes

by Chris Owen on

It was not all that long ago that cruise lines were boasting massive deployment to European waters for 2012 and into 2013. Now, it appears those waters across the pond might not be quite as attractive as at least one cruise line thought. Royal Caribbean is bringing one of their ships back to the U.S. On the other hand, some lines are expanding even beyond Europe as Celebrity Cruises heads to Australia and New Zealand and Carnival Cruise Lines hints at plans to court the UK cruise market. Let’s take a look.

The big news is that Royal Caribbean will redeploy Navigator of the Seas, scheduled to cruise in the Mediterranean, to the Caribbean for the 2011-2012 cruise season and sail out of Port Everglades, Florida.

“We are responding to vacationers’ demand for more Caribbean options this coming winter (and) spring,” Royal Caribbean spokesman Harry Liu told USA Today.

That’s good news for the U.S. cruise market as Navigator of the Seas will offer a unique series of five- to nine-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries between November 20, 2011 and April 14, 2012 when she goes back to Europe.Disney Cruise Line, who will complete the process of doubling it’s fleet soon, will move out of Vancouver after just one season. Sailing from Seattle next year, the line appears to be reacting to “the cost of flying” says the Regina Leader-Post who notes “Flying costs, especially with Disney’s high proportion of children, are important”.

Also, Celebrity Cruises plans to have six ships in the Caribbean during the winter of 2012-13, down from eight this coming winter. Celebrity is sending Celebrity Solstice to Australia and New Zealand and Celebrity Millennium will go to Asia for the first time calling in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Halong Bay.

Even All-American Carnival Cruise Lines which has had a minimal presence in Europe is looking to the UK market for new passenger sourcing.

“We have a desire to source more people from the UK because of the common language we share,” Carnival chief executive Gerry Cahill told TTGLive.

Indeed, with new Carnival Magic debuting on May 1, 2011 and next-up Carnival Breeze coming out next year, the line will have plenty of experience and hardware in the area. Still, no announcements have been made on exactly how the Funship line will go after UK passengers.

“The UK market is a key priority for us, but how we try to attract it will be decided at a later date,” Cahill said, adding “There are a lot of options, and basing a ship in the UK could be one of those options.”

Flickr photo by Heroiclife

Related Stories