Posted on 02/26/2012 11:54:47 AM PST by Kartographer
Twenty-two Carnival Cruise Lines passengers were robbed of valuables and their passports during a shore excursion in the Mexico seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta, cruise officials said late Saturday. The passengers were robbed Thursday during a guided trail excursion, according to a statement released by the cruise line. The cruise line did not provide details of the robbery, saying only that there were no injuries and the tour was suspended on future sailings under further notice.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Mexico has nothing that I need.
Isn’t the booze pretty expensive on cruise ships? I’ve never been on a cruise.
But...but cruises and the resorts are supposed to be safe! Guess their next trek into the Mexican conntryside will be in arorred Humvees.
Where is the Frito Bandito when you need him??!!
I really think we need a complete tourist boycott of Mexico, I think that would get them straightened out PDQ.
Actually I don’t really recall.
There is no problem taking your own booz. But you should check first.
I’ve taken two cruises. One was a Mediterranean cruise that went up to Turkey, and the other was Hawaii. Both were very nice.
Until they (the Mexican government) recall all of the illegal invaders they encouraged to come up here, I’ve no use for anything Messican. I avoid buying anything from that armpit-of-a-country, including their vegetables.
If you take your own booze it will be confiscated. Your baggage is searched before you get on, and once you get off, for contraband. That includes contraband you bring with you, and that which you purchase there. Booze will just be taken, because that is where the profit margin for the cruise line is. Real drugs will get you a visit from the local DEA.
I took the family on the Carnival Cruise to Mexico back in 07 ... it was a nice cruise. Loved Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo. Not impressed at all w Aculpolco. Surprised this happened in PV.
Actually, I have and would. I don’t take cruises to eat or for their historical value. I do so because I enjoy traveling to places I have never been and to meet people of other cultures. You are free to your opinion but you cannot tell me what I would or or would not like. That is nuts.
Yes, booze is costly by the glass. If you like to drink mixed drinks (gin and tonic, scotch and soda) you can buy bottles in the duty-free store on board and in your room, mix up what you want, put it in a plastic soft drink bottle which you carry around. Classy? No, not at all. But $1 a drink instead of $4.50 a drink.
Cruises have a lot going for them, but as this thread indicates, when you step out of the 99% controlled environment of the boat, things good and bad can happen. I worked on a cruise ship for about ten months, as a musician. Some of it I enjoyed a lot, some was quite boring, some was oppressive. Overall, it’s like being in a pretty high end hotel with utterly inane activities but decent food and drink. If you keep your booze costs down you can cruise for $150-$175 a day, about the same range as a good, not incredible hotel.
Where and when you get off the ship, you’re certainly marked as a tourist unless you are Western-style cities in Europe like Oslo, Stockhom, Copenhagen, etc; Those were fun. The Caribbean is pretty safe...no deep culture to speak of, just beach and sun. West coast of Mexico I flat out would not go, or, if I did, I wouldn’t get off the boat. West coast Mexico cruises are in general pure flaming drunkfests, they are usually only 3-4 days, with a youngish party crowd who can’t take the time off from work. 7-8 day Caribbean cruises are fine. That’s probably 75% of the whole cruise industry. That is not to say you cannot get into sticky situations in Antigua or St. Thomas or some other islands in that area, but trouble is rare in that zone AFAIK. Cozumel is fairly OK, but you will see soldiers with M-4 rifles guarding the piers. Me, personally, I have sub-zero interest in 95% of Mexico.
By the way, this is fairly new in Puerto Vallarta which was once the tropical jewel getaway zone. Many cruises have stopped doing the 3-day drunkfests to Ensenada because of crime and the unruly crowds. They better get this under control pronto in P-V or lots of tourist money will just stop coming.
Same here. I live on 3.5 acres and Mrs 40 and I grow most the vegetables we eat in our ample garden. I'll go hungry before I'll eat anything from Messico.
Thanks for all the info, A S D.
A lot has changed since I lived and traveled in Mexico in the late 60’s. I don’t think I’ll go back.
Thank you for that update. I just couldn’t remember one way or the other.
I also don’t remember how this was treated on our Med cruise. My Dad and I boarded the ship at Athens, Greece, on a non U.S. flag ship.
But it could have been the same. It probably was.
In fact, I remember my Dad and I would have a couple at the bar before dinner. Therefore, it sounds to me we boarded dry.
For some reason, the captain of the ship, who was Greek, took a shine to us and would also join us for a couple. I think he liked us because we were from the Panama Canal, and he had been through there several times on ships as captain and loved to hear stories about it.
Thank you again.
“A lot has changed since I lived and traveled in Mexico in the late 60’s.”
Man, that could be the understatement of the new year 2012.
PM me if you have any other cruise questions. Other posters were correct as to bringing your own on board. No way, it will be confiscated. The security going on a cruise is effectively 100% identical to going on an airplane....I am not sure they grope you, but they closely go through your luggage and make you take your shoes off. I don’t think they are as goofy with 3oz of shampoo, that type of thing. My last cruise was in 2005 and things have tightened up a tad since then that I do not know about.
I did not mean it as an insult to you. I was just giving you some healthy advice how not to be robbed of your money.
Good. I now encourage you to go on a Caribbean cruise and make sure it stops in Haiti.
Enjoy yourself.
I was there last week (Oaxaca, in Southern Mexico), had a great time, went up to some little mountain villages and ate some fantastic food. The people were really nice; I left my laptop (and some jewelery and other things) in a taxi, and it was all returned to me that evening.
We have cruised a lot and we always take our own alcohol. I pack several bottles of wine in our luggage and it's always been left alone.
They're lots of fun.
And going in port in Mexico and getting robbed at gun point, lends to a festive, friendly atmosphere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
