mexico security...

[wizard-of-roz]

I think if they did a west coast LA or SF to Oregon, Washington and BC and return to LA in spring up to early fall would be great.

 

I agree!

[wizard-of-roz]

Dh and I are booked for a round trip out of L.A. It goes to Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego and a short stint in Ensanada. Dh and I won't be getting off the ship for the last one. :(

It's kind of hard to find but the Princess site has it. One on Sept 24-Oct 1st and the next Oct 1st to 8th.

 

We'll be onboard with you. I can't wait to see the Golden Gate bridge from "under" her, instead of "on" her!

[wizard-of-roz]

I just read an article that said many cruise lines are canceling port stops at Mazatlan, because of security problems. HAL will be stopping at Manzanillo instead. I would rather ships just spend more time in Cabo instead. In fact, I would love it if the ship would just park in Cabo's bay, and stay several days until it was time to head home. I usually won't even get off the ship at the other ports.

 

Oh! Yeh!

[Sauvignon]

I think if they did a west coast LA or SF to Oregon, Washington and BC and return to LA in spring up to early fall would be great.

 

but you can drive that... and see more

[wizard-of-roz]

We didn't find stoping in Cabo particularly comforting the last time. There were so many cops armed with some pretty scary weapons. We asked one about a hair dresser someone had told me about just off the port, and he told me the address was two blocks up, but not safe for Americans. My husband has some interesting pictures with several of those guns pointed at someone in an alley..I assume the person was doing something wrong. It made us so uncomfortable, compared to the time before we had been there, that we went back to the ship..and the port itself was lined with many police holding the same scary guns.

It might have been to make us feel safer, but all it did was make us wonder why they felt they had to.

 

It can definitely be intimidating to see these guys with their rifles. They've had their presence in the Baja Penninsula since we first started coming down in the 70's and 80's. Did it make me feel safer? I don't know. I watch where I go, I don't go out and about, where the other tourists are not and I stay away from dark streets, I keep to my hotel or walk along with other tourists.

The vendors and the locals are wonderful people and they will bend over backwards to make you happy. I will keep going until our government says we can't!

[wizard-of-roz]

I feel very sorry for the hardworking mexican people who will suffer as a result of the cruise ships pulling out. On the other hand, I understand why the cruise ships do not want to risk an attack on a passenger.

 

It's definitely understandable, just heartbreaking for the locals who depend on us!

[wizard-of-roz]

I hope Princess doesn't abandon the 7-day cruises out of Los Angeles like NCL and RCL are doing. There are some of us who like them, and/or want choices in cruises that are within a day's drive.

 

I wish that Princess would offer some Partial Panama Canal Cruises from LA, instead of more Hawaii. They used to do it. I think Sapphire is too wide, but there are others which could do it. We did that Itinerary before, and I'd do it again. I know there are cruises that go LA --> FLL, but again, unless you want to fly, you have to go for about a month, and that's a long time and a lot more $$$.

 

I was on the Sapphire's Christmas Cruise to Mexican Riviera this year. I met many multi-generational groups who had done this for multiple years. Many of those groups seemed to include a widowed grandmother, who probably spearheaded the trips. This year there is no such cruise. Sapphire is doing a Hawaiian Christmas Cruise, at more than twice the price PP. I wonder if they will be able to fill the ship (that will be two ships to Hawaii for Christmas), especially at prices that are more than double the previous (shorter) cruise.

 

Just sayin...and I do have a dog in this :)

 

I agree! And, not only do I have a dog in it, I have a dog on it!!!!!!! ;)

[sassyredhat]

We on the west coast really are really starved for itineraries...I would dearly love to see a 14 or 15 day itinerary that during the winter went south making a stop in Mexico, a couple in Central America, Panama City, touched into south America and returned.

 

Yes ! For medical reasons, I can't fly so this would be a great change for us.

Pat

[wizard-of-roz]

i live in Las Vegas to and i think the statement that you made is very exagerated, There have been a couple instances where a tourist was shot, like at New York New York, however you cannot compare the violance of this city as bad as it is to what is going on all over Mexico.

 

i went to Mexico myself on a cruise a couple years ago, just to Ensenada and Cabo- however with the increasing violance and drug cartels spreading everyone, it is not a safe place to go any longer IMHO.

 

Talk about exaggeration's. Mexico is seeing an upsurge in their crime...this is true...but, then so are most inner cities in the U.S. and that's not opinion, it's fact.

I will NOT stay away from Vegas, New York, L.A. or cruises that, hopefully, will be going to Mexico. You need to be very careful EVERYWHERE you travel.

[wizard-of-roz]

Tell that to my dead cousin

 

 

That's awful. Sorry to hear this. I always get "goosebumps" when we leave our hotel in Las Vegas to go exploring. I'll NEVER do that again, at night! But, it won't stop me from going.

[Piperpals]

Would love to see a round trip Hawaii out of Vancouver (or even Seattle) like Holland America does in the spring. I think that would be a seller.

[BajaSteve]

i live in Las Vegas to and i think the statement that you made is very exagerated, There have been a couple instances where a tourist was shot, like at New York New York, however you cannot compare the violance of this city as bad as it is to what is going on all over Mexico.

 

i went to Mexico myself on a cruise a couple years ago, just to Ensenada and Cabo- however with the increasing violance and drug cartels spreading everyone, it is not a safe place to go any longer IMHO.

 

 

The majority of violence in Mexico is within the drug cartels. Not so in the US. The 2010 crime statics show that the murder rate in Northern Baja is not much higher than in LA. Southern Baja (Cabo) is just a fraction of that. Most of the violence is in the northeastern areas of Mexico and the tourist areas are relatively safe.

[red4u2]

Talk about exaggeration's. Mexico is seeing an upsurge in their crime...this is true...but, then so are most inner cities in the U.S. and that's not opinion, it's fact.

I will NOT stay away from Vegas, New York, L.A. or cruises that, hopefully, will be going to Mexico. You need to be very careful EVERYWHERE you travel.

 

The majority of violence in Mexico is within the drug cartels. Not so in the US. The 2010 crime statics show that the murder rate in Northern Baja is not much higher than in LA. Southern Baja (Cabo) is just a fraction of that. Most of the violence is in the northeastern areas of Mexico and the tourist areas are relatively safe.

 

I respect everyone's opinion on this matter, but i disagree with the both of you, I have friends that are from Mexico and have family's there and the violence has spread all over, including the tourist areas.. I dont believe that the cruise lines would all be pulling out if the danger wasnt real, but everone has to read the local papers and educate themselves and then make the desicion that is best for them and their familes.

[HollyK]

We are about to go to Mex for our 6th year on a land vacation. This year (and the past two) we will be in PV; the previous 3 years we spent in Zihua. I have never felt unsafe in either place even though we stay in condo's, not in places with armed guards 24/7. And we are hardly kids.

I've/we've lived in Vancouver most all of our lives. Vancouver is infamous for it's drug trafficking and driveby's where entirely innocent peeps get hurt or more. So should we now not go to Vancouver either?

Everyone has Karma. When your time is up - well it is. Meantime enjoy all you can see and experience in the world. You're along time dead.

That's MHO.

[BajaSteve]

I respect everyone's opinion on this matter, but i disagree with the both of you, I have friends that are from Mexico and have family's there and the violence has spread all over, including the tourist areas.. I dont believe that the cruise lines would all be pulling out if the danger wasnt real, but everone has to read the local papers and educate themselves and then make the desicion that is best for them and their familes.

 

 

My views are bases on facts, not opinions. The following data shows that Baja California (north and south), Cancun, etc. are relatively safe when compaired with the US.

 

 

(From BajaNomad Web Site)

Listed below are the names of all Mexican States in order of lowest to highest murders that are drug related from 2009 to 2010. A two year period. These figures according to the BBC, are official Mexican Government figures.

 

Note, Baja California Sur ranks equal third with Compeche for the LEAST deaths.

 

State... Number of Murders

 

Yucatan 2

Tlaxcala 4

Baja California Sur 10

Campeche 10

Queretaro 13

Zacatecas 37

Aguascalientes 46

Puebla 51

Hidalgo 52

Quintana Roo 64

Tabasco 73

Chiapas 77

San Luis Potosi 135

Guanajuato 152

Oaxaca 167

Vera Cruz 179

Distrito Federal 191

Morelos 335

Nayarit 377

Coahuila 384

Sonora 495

Michoacan 520

Baja California Norte 540

Jalisco 593

Nuevo Leon 620

Mexico State 623

Durango 834

Guerrero 1137

Tamaulipas 1209

Sinaloa 1815

Chihuahua 4427

Total drug related deaths 2009/2010 15,172

 

NOW, compare those figures taken over TWO years with New York CITY alone in just ONE year, 2010. 532 murders (all kinds, not just drug related admittedly). That figure of 532 is UP 13% on 2009, yet is the 4th lowest number of murders per year in NYC since records began in 1962. Amazing!!

 

The state of California. In 2009, again just ONE year, there were 1,972 murders. Now that is almost the same as Sinaloa in TWO years. Yet Mexico is a dangerous place. Amazing!!

 

Los Angeles City. In just the first quarter of 2010 (the latest figures I could find) there were 70 murders. Now that’s just in the city area. Extrapolate that to two years, and one gets an average of 560 murders in just LA city area. That is virtually the same as Baja California Norte in its entire length at 540. Amazing!!