Mazatlan is carnival still going?

[boundingmaynard]

But according to the CCL website, the 9 day Spirit out of LA are still going to Mazatlan. I am not happy with this.:mad::mad:

 

Wonder if Carnival is using the violence angle for eliminating Mazatlan instead of the real problem: rising port fees.:rolleyes::confused:

 

We haven't received the email yet.

 

You might be onto something, violence? In Mexico? unheard of!:rolleyes:

[mr jamms]

Carnival play the Long game. If it was about money, They would just change it for unannounced cruises then risk pissing people off

[PAPERBKWRITER]

You might be onto something, violence? In Mexico? unheard of!:rolleyes:

My cousin lives in Mazaltan with his Mex American wife and claims that the cruise lines are dropping the port because they are to cheap to pay the port fees. ( I doubt his theory since port fees are passed on to us) But, Ensenada safer? I wonder!...If a cruise line guest were harmed in one of these ports I suppose the victim (or family) would want to sue the cruise line for visiting such a dangerous place. Mexico is on fire and very unstable at this time and I hope everyone uses caution when visiting these ports.

[gomexico]

The cruise lines told the Mazatlan and Sinaloa state governments that they would give them time to implement their "elaborate" plans to protect cruise line passengers, crews and other tourists. The crime rate in Mazatlan, not just murder rate, has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. Particularly so this year. When the lines saw that the situation has gotten worse, instead of better, particularly so this past month in Mazatlan, I think that was enough for the lines to call it quits. While I think it was the saving of port fees that caused the cruise lines to drop Zihuatanejo (at the same time most, but not all, dropped Acapulco, for safety concerns). We now have Princess who dropped Puerto Vallarta, citing safety concerns. PV has been a popular stop for the ships. The war, terrorism and related criminal activity has spread to many parts of Mexico, including the Mexican Riviera, and I do think the cruise lines are doing what's best for their clients and not, as some have suggested in other discussions, lying about their reasons. Businesses, particularly large and popular businesses, don't stay popular for long if they consistently lie to and greatly inconvenience their customers. The problems in Mazatlan are more serious than most people outside the area know. That's my "take" on the topic.

[tonit964]

Our November 2011 and March 2012 cruise on Carnival Spirit, the itinerary change is dropping La Paz and Mazatlan for Ensenada and Manzanillo.

 

I'm trying to figure out why it would be more cost effective to go all the way to Manzanillo than to La Paz unless there are things happening there as well that we don't know about. :confused:

Toni

[Kokopelli2]

Our November 2011 and March 2012 cruise on Carnival Spirit, the itinerary change is dropping La Paz and Mazatlan for Ensenada and Manzanillo.

 

I'm trying to figure out why it would be more cost effective to go all the way to Manzanillo than to La Paz unless there are things happening there as well that we don't know about. :confused:

Toni

 

According to the reports I read, La Paz is not a big security concern. Carnival may make their decisions based on other ships in port, port fees, etc.

[babies12]

What in the world could possibly be wrong with La Paz??? I don't get it! It's a quaint, beautiful town. I have never heard of any murder, drug, gang wars, ect., going on there. It's a shame to cancel this port. They have the most beautiful water and it's just really a great stop to go and get a real flavor of Mexico without the worries of Mazatlan. La Paz is by far a better stop in my opinion than Cabo, don't get me wrong, I love Cabo, but Cabo has become the Las Vegas of Baja while La Paz has retained it's originality and local flavor.

[CowPrincess]

Just got an e-mail from Holland America that our Oct cruise will not stop in Mazatlan, and we will overnight in Puerto Vallarta. DANG!!!!! One of my reasons for booking this cruise was the onion rings on Stone Island :(

[tonit964]

What in the world could possibly be wrong with La Paz??? I don't get it! It's a quaint, beautiful town. I have never heard of any murder, drug, gang wars, ect., going on there. It's a shame to cancel this port. They have the most beautiful water and it's just really a great stop to go and get a real flavor of Mexico without the worries of Mazatlan. La Paz is by far a better stop in my opinion than Cabo, don't get me wrong, I love Cabo, but Cabo has become the Las Vegas of Baja while La Paz has retained it's originality and local flavor.

 

I really love La Paz too. I have been there once and I was really looking forward to going back. To replace it with Ensenada, really?? :(

[german89]

I got two days in Cabo now with Carnival: I wonder whether the ship leaves in the evening and comes back the next morning? Or will we be able to enjoy the evening in Cabo and then get back to the ship late?

 

Thanks!

[Kokopelli2]

I got two days in Cabo now with Carnival: I wonder whether the ship leaves in the evening and comes back the next morning? Or will we be able to enjoy the evening in Cabo and then get back to the ship late?

 

Thanks!

 

The ship leaves Cabo overnight. Cabo is a tender port. Some people stay overnight in Cabo in a hotel. Problem is, if the tenders cannot operate the next day, the ship will skip the port.

[SNJCruisers]

The ship leaves Cabo overnight. Cabo is a tender port. Some people stay overnight in Cabo in a hotel. Problem is, if the tenders cannot operate the next day, the ship will skip the port.

 

Aw man...that would really suck if you stayed overnight to enjoy the nightlife and because of weather conditions the tenders were non operational the following day and you were stuck in Cabo and had to fly to meet the ship.

[lovevacadays]

The ship leaves Cabo overnight. Cabo is a tender port. Some people stay overnight in Cabo in a hotel. Problem is, if the tenders cannot operate the next day, the ship will skip the port.

 

Does the ship actually leave the Cabo area or stay anchored out in the bay where it's anchored during the day? On the Sapphire Princess in April we stayed anchored in the same place overnight. But I do get your point, if someone chose to stay in a hotel (which was an option on our cruise) and the tenders couldn't be launched the next day, that would be a major problem!

[Kokopelli2]

Does the ship actually leave the Cabo area or stay anchored out in the bay where it's anchored during the day? On the Sapphire Princess in April we stayed anchored in the same place overnight. But I do get your point, if someone chose to stay in a hotel (which was an option on our cruise) and the tenders couldn't be launched the next day, that would be a major problem!

 

On the Carnival cruises I have been on, the ship leaves and goes out and circles around. Since the ship leaves after about 8 hours in port, I suspect it has to do with port fees.

[Kokopelli2]

I agree with you. There could be more than meets the eye regarding cancelling PV. I've never felt unsafe in Mazatlan or PV either. I buy that there may be more problems in Mazatlan than PV as I have a friend with a timeshare in Mazatlan and she's received some interesting notifications regarding travel warnings and safety there. There are statistics showing an ever increasing rise in crime in Mazatlan. I'm not a fan of Ensenada either and wouldn't do a cruise that only had Cabo and Ensenada on the itinerary.

 

Mazatlan is in the state of Sinaloa, and the Sinaloa Cartel is embroiled in a drug war (with the police, military and other cartels). Lately, the Sinaloa Cartel is battling with Los Zetas, which is making for a lot of murders.

[sunny4jj]

Then don't get off the boat, while we are at a vineyard you might get a chair by the pool

 

We took the vineyard tour earlier this year and had a blast. You have to try Dona Lupe's salsa de chiltepin hot sauce. It will blow your socks off!

[sunny4jj]

Ensenada more safe then Mazatlan. Realy?

Come on. What has Mr. Carnival been smoking?

 

I'm going to have to rethink my Feb 2012 vacation plans.

 

We were in Ensenada a few months ago and didn't see or hear about any problems nor did we see any armed military or police.

[lovevacadays]

On the Carnival cruises I have been on, the ship leaves and goes out and circles around. Since the ship leaves after about 8 hours in port, I suspect it has to do with port fees.

 

Oh that's interesting. I'm sure it had to do with port fees. When we sailed there the first week of May on Princess we stayed anchored in the bay. It would have been fine either way. We did enjoy have two days in Cabo as usually Princess is only there from 7am-2pm.

[mr jamms]

Oh that's interesting. I'm sure it had to do with port fees. When we sailed there the first week of May on Princess we stayed anchored in the bay. It would have been fine either way. We did enjoy have two days in Cabo as usually Princess is only there from 7am-2pm.

 

They've already paid the port fees, mostly it's that the ship can't open the casino while it's in port so they sail out and circle around 12 miles out

[lovevacadays]

They've already paid the port fees, mostly it's that the ship can't open the casino while it's in port so they sail out and circle around 12 miles out

 

 

Aaah - ok - they want to keep that revenue stream going!

[beatriz22]

what are they doing, repositioning the ship so you have to be back on by a certain time the first day when youre still there the next? anyone?

[Kokopelli2]

what are they doing, repositioning the ship so you have to be back on by a certain time the first day when youre still there the next? anyone?

 

If it is Carnival, it almost certainly is leaving Cabo to go out to sea. It then returns the next day. If the weather is bad or the swell is too big and the tenders cannot safely tender, the ship will skip the port.

[SNJCruisers]

If it is Carnival, it almost certainly is leaving Cabo to go out to sea. It then returns the next day. If the weather is bad or the swell is too big and the tenders cannot safely tender, the ship will skip the port.

And because of the slight possibility of the port being skipped on day two, you can't stay ashore overnight in Cabo. This was allowed in the past, as has been reported on CC on another thread....but I did verify through Carnival that you can no longer do it.

[lovevacadays]

Just reading through this post again. I guess I'm using CC as my therapy but this all makes me so sad. I've been cruising to the Mexican Riviera since the 1980's. I live in Southern California so either I cruise there because I'm taking advantage of a fantastic price or I have friends or family who want to cruise there and it's so easy for us in the Western States because of no airfare.

 

I am starting to think that it may be years and years away before cruise lines start returning to the Mexican Riviera. I guess I will be very happy for my many cruises there and all the wonderful experiences I have had.:)