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Mexico safety concerns?


docboy
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Hi everyone,

 

Family and I are thinking of taking the Mexican Riviera 7 day cruise from LA to Cabo and Puerta Vallarta this summer 2017. This will potentially be our 2nd time on this cruise :)

 

Question is regarding recent "safety concerns" issued by Dept of State for part of Mexico on Dec 2016. Has anyone just come back from Mexico's ports recently? Any incident where you think safety was an issue?

 

I can't make out if these US Dept State warnings are just ramblings from the new White House administration, or if it is something to be concerned about. I've been to many parts of Mexico, stayed in the tourist areas/resorts/excursions, and didn't really see anything concerning.

 

Thanks!

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That's not true. Only certain areas are off limits.

 

Puerto Vallarta and Cabo are not off limits.

 

 

Then explain why my husband had to get special permission( and swear to not get off in any Mexican port) before his leave was approved?

 

 

 

 

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We travel every year for two weeks to either Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta and have done so every year for the past ten years. We have never had a problem. As others have stated, use the same common sense as you would traveling in the US. The biggest risk is drinking too much tequilla or cerveza!:)

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Then explain why my husband had to get special permission( and swear to not get off in any Mexican port) before his leave was approved?

 

Military personnel are not restricted from cruises to Mexico. I know this for a fact. If anything, it probably had more to do with a clearance level. But that still doesn't make a lot of sense because these ports aren't in the listed restricted areas.

 

(Sorry, OP, for the side topic. )

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You should be more worried about your safety in Miami or L.A. than in Mexico.
I see no reason to believe that. While Miami and Los Angeles both have crime (crime indices of 53.89 and 54.67, respectively), comparable cities in Mexico do so as well, and indeed have worse crime (such as Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez, 66.10 and 63.30, respectively). If you want to talk about high crime, then you really need to point your ire at cities other than Miami or Los Angeles, such as Detroit, Oakland, Sao Paulo, Rio, or Caracas.

 

The Mexican Riviera, though, is ostensibly safe, comparable to San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and Boston. However, that's based on raw crime numbers, not based on the crime-against-foreigners, and especially the crime-against-Americans concerns that the US Department of State warnings seem to be predicated on. Such insights into the situation on the ground in these areas aren't made publicly available except through these warnings, so I'd not dismiss them so cavalierly unless you have hard data showing that crime-against-Americans in Mexico is substantially lower than overall crime in these cities you mentioned.

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All of the cruise lines carefully monitor crimes in port cities, especially those involving tourists. The last thing they need is an itinerary where their guests are in harm's way. Their reputation depends on the safety of their passengers. There have been cities where the cruise line will decide to no longer visit if there are problems. Use common sense, just as you would in any other unfamiliar city and be aware of where you are and your surroundings.

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It's off limits to military personnel. And has been for years. Yes even the touristy areas

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Perhaps the DH just didn't want to go to Mexico and made up the "off limits" as a ruse to not have to go ashore ;)

 

His restriction was probably more due to his specific duty assignment and, if it required a clearance, what level of clearance and any compartment issues. Not a blanket rule for any military. As a civilian working on government contracts where I had TS+compartment, I could travel, but I had to inform the compliance officer prior in order to get a security/safety briefing. Yes, even for the "let's go over to Tijuana for the afternoon" trips. I still have friends in the Marines stationed at Pendleton and they enjoy the occasional jaunt down to the Baja beaches for a weekend getaway.

 

No one knows the reason but your DH...

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Thanks for the posts everyone. I just wanted to double check to see if there any noticeable changes in safety to the "touristy" areas. Sounds like it's still good to go.

 

Anyone else come back from Cabo and/or PV recently?

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I have lived in Mexico for 5 years and have never seen a problem. We love Mexico and the Mexican people. I feel unsafe when I go to the states!

 

We have lived in Puerto Vallarta for the past 11 winters (8-10 weeks a year) and our only fear is drinking too much Tequilia, falling off the sidewalk, and being hit by a bus! According to local reports we are now finishing up one of the busiest main tourist seasons in history. In fact, we have never seen the streets and restaurants so consistently busy like this winter. There are about 50,000 other Americans/Canadians who also live around the Bay of Bandaras....and the main topic of conversation is "where have you eaten lately?" For those that don't know, PV is a foodie haven with so many amazing eating venues.

 

Hank

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Perhaps the DH just didn't want to go to Mexico and made up the "off limits" as a ruse to not have to go ashore ;)

 

His restriction was probably more due to his specific duty assignment and, if it required a clearance, what level of clearance and any compartment issues. Not a blanket rule for any military. As a civilian working on government contracts where I had TS+compartment, I could travel, but I had to inform the compliance officer prior in order to get a security/safety briefing. Yes, even for the "let's go over to Tijuana for the afternoon" trips. I still have friends in the Marines stationed at Pendleton and they enjoy the occasional jaunt down to the Baja beaches for a weekend getaway.

 

No one knows the reason but your DH...

 

 

I read the directive. Maybe it was just a command thing but it is definitely off limits. Not that it matter because we both find Mexico to be dirty, the people standoffish and nothing of interest to do there. And we hate the food

 

 

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....and the main topic of conversation is "where have you eaten lately?" For those that don't know, PV is a foodie haven with so many amazing eating venues.

 

Hank

 

 

People ask us what we do in port. They never believe us when we say, 'We eat!'

 

Last cruise we found amazing churros being made in a cart near the La Paz Mercado.

 

In the PV Mercado behind Sam's Club we found the Agua Fresca guy who makes the most interesting Agua Frescas. At the time he had the usual ones and some very unusual ones. Spearmint/Peppermint was not to our liking but the Fruta Roja was. He also had plum and guanabana. From the tortilleria we brought onboard tortillas and salsa. Princess doesn't seem to believe in spice.

 

We've found many great places to eat by asking locals where they eat.

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