Mazatlan might be back on itinerary in 2012

[lovevacadays]

Thanks so much..I am really excited to try Princess.. And again have the opportunity to just "drive" to the pier.. Also the fact that Sapphire will have just came out of drydock and from what I have read we are very lucky to have scored E731..

 

You sure are lucky to have scored that cabin and lucky to be sailing the Sapphire after drydock. Although, I loved her before drydock. Even though you will have that lovely balcony, check out the Promenade deck. There are nice loungers out there that you can set and watch the ocean from. Even when I have a balcony I tend to go out there a few time as I like the feeling of it. Plus, after coming back from port in PV or Mazatlan, I like finding one of those loungers right outside of Crooners martini bar and popping in there, grabbing a martini (or two:)) and going back out and sitting in the loungers.

 

And, I'm with you, just driving to the pier is so nice. Where in Southern Cal are you from?

[quincytoo]

I agree. Very well written and seems to be a balanced view.

 

 

I agree as well :)

 

We have friends whose elderly retired parents are snowbirds down in Mazatlan.....I asked recently if they were going down there for the winter or if they were afraid too.....her response was, " We are as safe there as we are here in Victoria, we don't go in bad parts nor do we look for bad people or trouble"

 

It was said so matter of factly that I substitued Puerto Vallarta (my safe haven) for her Mazatlan and instantly realized she felt as strongly for Mazatlan as I do for PV.

If a couple aged 75+ each can feel safe in Mazatlan all winter long so can cruisers for one day.

Sapphire Princess is our favourite ship, enjoy your cruise, the 24 K Ritas (no orange, extra lime, on the rocks, salted rims) are lovely and I am not sure....:D...BUT......I think Chloedmom might have a few yummy drinks that she savours as well ...all I know is any weight gain I might get in the next three weeks I hold her party responible......Nutty coffes, Milky Way martinis and all :rolleyes:

[ladygogo1]

I hope so as we really enjoyed Mazatlan and like any city in the world, if you do nto go seeking trouble, you will not fidn it.

I love Maz for the shrimp, the Golden Zone and the fun Aquarium.

[lovevacadays]

I agree as well :)

 

We have friends whose elderly retired parents are snowbirds down in Mazatlan.....I asked recently if they were going down there for the winter or if they were afraid too.....her response was, " We are as safe there as we are here in Victoria, we don't go in bad parts nor do we look for bad people or trouble"

 

It was said so matter of factly that I substitued Puerto Vallarta (my safe haven) for her Mazatlan and instantly realized she felt as strongly for Mazatlan as I do for PV.

If a couple aged 75+ each can feel safe in Mazatlan all winter long so can cruisers for one day.

Sapphire Princess is our favourite ship, enjoy your cruise, the 24 K Ritas (no orange, extra lime, on the rocks, salted rims) are lovely and I am not sure....:D...BUT......I think Chloedmom might have a few yummy drinks that she savours as well ...all I know is any weight gain I might get in the next three weeks I hold her party responible......Nutty coffes, Milky Way martinis and all :rolleyes:

 

Nice to hear about your friend's parents and their Mazatlan experience. So, I'm going to try those 24 K Ritas on my next cruise without the orange. I'm not a fan of anything orange in my margarita! I know, those rich drinks will, indeed, add weight. I also love the Mucho Mangos with an extra shot of vodka:D. I do have a "purest" spirit as well and love a straight up vodka martini! And, in port, a lovely shot of Cazadores (or similar) tequila - well maybe a shot or two:D

 

I wonder why it is that drinking on a cruise doesn't make you fall down like it would in ones everyday life if you drank the same way:rolleyes:

[richard1s]

The dangers of the Mexican ports are far from "imagined"; if anything they are under-reported. Even Cabo is not immune to the hostilities; just within the week there was a 4 hour gun battle involving numerous mall shoppers taken as hostages.

[laraoke2]

Mexico: Resort town shoppers trapped by gunfight

 

AP – 19 hrs ago

 

 

 

 

 

• 16 photos - Sun, Oct 31, 2010
  

See latest photos »

 

 

 

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Hundreds of people cowered for about two hours inside a shopping mall in this resort town Saturday while security forces traded sporadic gunfire with armed men in the parking lot and then searched stores for suspects.

No one was injured in the gunbattle, but some cars and entrance doors to the shopping center were damaged, authorities said.

Police said they arrested two men who were also suspected of being involved in an overnight attack near the mall that killed a Mexican marine.

Authorities said the shooting at the Plaza Sendero shopping center erupted when marines and police found armed men in the parking lot about 1 p.m. Police ordered shoppers and employees to stay inside during the battle and the later search of the mall.

The military said army troops arrived to help secure the area and caught one suspect, who was turned over to city officials. The soldiers also provided security for the shoppers and employees inside the mall, who were allowed to leave around 3 p.m.

[Ashland]

You sure are lucky to have scored that cabin and lucky to be sailing the Sapphire after drydock. Although, I loved her before drydock. Even though you will have that lovely balcony, check out the Promenade deck. There are nice loungers out there that you can set and watch the ocean from. Even when I have a balcony I tend to go out there a few time as I like the feeling of it. Plus, after coming back from port in PV or Mazatlan, I like finding one of those loungers right outside of Crooners martini bar and popping in there, grabbing a martini (or two:)) and going back out and sitting in the loungers.

 

And, I'm with you, just driving to the pier is so nice. Where in Southern Cal are you from?

Ventura County..

[lovevacadays]

I don't think the problems in Mexico are imagined. Obviously, there are things happening. It is horrible to hear about the shooting at a shopping mall in Cabo. Here in Orange/LA county we had a shooting spree in a beauty salon a few weeks ago. Eight people were killed. I just think that in the resort towns you have to take precautions just as you would anywhere. There are certainly Mexican cities I wouldn't visit but there are cities here that I wouldn't venture into even in the day time.

[ladyhugbug]

I adore mazatalan,we have a mexican riviera cruise planned for may 6,2012,and I so wished mazatalan was back on the schedule. We went on the walking excursion and had so much fun! We learned the history,and saw old areas of mazatalan. Our guide was a retired teacher from washington,and she has been living in the area 10 or 15 years,it is her home and she loves it.

[lovevacadays]

I adore mazatalan,we have a mexican riviera cruise planned for may 6,2012,and I so wished mazatalan was back on the schedule. We went on the walking excursion and had so much fun! We learned the history,and saw old areas of mazatalan. Our guide was a retired teacher from washington,and she has been living in the area 10 or 15 years,it is her home and she loves it.

 

I'm with you on the things that you can find to like about Mazatlan. I've had some wonderful days there. However, I would be really surprised if ships called on there as soon as May 2012. Sad to say and I could be wrong.

[ladyhugbug]

I really wish the Splendor would do the PV, Mazatlan, and Cabo. We really enjoyed our time in Mazatlan last time we cruise there. I book our upcoming cruise next year based on the three different ports. But a cruise is a cruise is a cruise, better then not cruising.:D

I really wish mazatlan was back on the schedule also,I loved that place! It had so much history,and we met a lot of Americans that had retired there. We went on a walking excursion in Mazatlan,and our guide was a retired school teacher from Washington,she has been there a long time and she loves it.

[ladyhugbug]

.....used one isolated incident as an excuse to go to Cabo 2x. Why? Carnival doesn't then have to pay docking/port fees at Mazatlan. They drop anchor twice at Cabo, thereby increasing profit margin. Just my humble opinion.

In any case, I am booked on the twice-Cabo March sailing. As was stated previously, "a cruise is still a cruise"!:)

Yes, I tried to hold out,but a cruise is still a cruise,won me over also! I did not want to do Cabo x2,crappy,someone is getting over in my book!I feel we are cheated out of another stop,but still pay the same amount of money for the cruise,one stop less.

[Solrpwrd]

I think if the cruise lines won't go to Mazatlan, I'll take a plane and enjoy the horseback riding on the beach. I feel sorry for all the vendors that have gone out of business because no tourists go there anymore. I'll be flying to the great Mazatlan.

[lovevacadays]

I think if the cruise lines won't go to Mazatlan, I'll take a plane and enjoy the horseback riding on the beach. I feel sorry for all the vendors that have gone out of business because no tourists go there anymore. I'll be flying to the great Mazatlan.

 

That's cool. I hope you do. It is very sad thinking about the wonderful people of Mazatlan that have provided many wonderful days to cruisers over the years. I read a post recently that stated Mazatlan Frank was in Canada with family. I wonder if that is still the case. Our day with him in Mazatlan in 2008 was one of my very favorite port days ever!

[houstonmomof4]

That's cool. I hope you do. It is very sad thinking about the wonderful people of Mazatlan that have provided many wonderful days to cruisers over the years. I read a post recently that stated Mazatlan Frank was in Canada with family. I wonder if that is still the case. Our day with him in Mazatlan in 2008 was one of my very favorite port days ever!

 

From what I understand, Mazatlan Frank IS still in Canada.

 

We love Mazatlan, and are going there again in February for our "annual" 2 weeks at The Inn at Mazatlan. This up coming trip will be our 7th year in a row. Love the staff at the hotel, love the vendor's, love the food, etc...we are cautious but not scared. If it is dark, and we want to go North of the Golden Zone, we hop in a Pulmonia or taxi. However, if we're heading South, we walk to our destination. The difference is that going North it becomes more desolate and there are more vacant properties. During the day we feel completely safe. Sometimes we travel by bus to the area close to where the Cruise Ships dock...still feel safe!

[Laughing Angel]

Love the Inn At Mazatlan! Beautiful property, amazing beach and El Papagayo is a very nice restaurant. Been a few years, but I'd love to go back again soon. Mazatlan was always one of my favorite places.

 

Thinking of Frank, Randi, and all of the friendly, warm people who make their living in the tourist trade. Hope circumstances change for the better soon.

[WINEMANVISALIA]

RANDI WAS FUN

http://vimeo.com/32006011

[Ine]

I was in Mazatlan 2 x staying overnight about 2 weeks ago. The hotels were still doing good business, many tourists around.

It looks that no cuiseships were mainly a loss to vendors and restaurants.

People were walking the Malecon and restaurants in old town at night had a lot of business.

[swedish weave]

I looked at the itinerary for the Norwegian Star when she comes back to Los Angeles, and they show Mazatlan as one of the ports. Of course, that may not mean anything, but we can hope !!!!

[rummenroman]

This was from Frank's website. It doesn't sound like things are going to well for him and his family.

 

"I feel very proud and satisfied for what I have done in Mazatlan, PV and Cabo in the past years. I have to announce what

some already know. Since 2011. We started having problems in Mazatlan with the cruise ships not arriving anymore. I

stayed there another 8 months waiting for the ships to come back, also waiting for some support from the Government

as we are licensed tour guides and needed some help tu survive. No help came. I decided to move to PV for a little while

but could not adapt there. I love it but I just could not stay and live and I do not know why.

After moving back to Mazatlan, I had no choice but take a chance and go to Canada to live and work. As I had no money, I

could not bring my family so just brought my older son with me. My wife and 2 small ones (5 and 10 years old) stayed

down in Mazatlan, while we would start all over again and have something, so when I could bring them up, they would not

suffer so much.

I have been paying bills back home since I arrived and cannot get to the end of them. 8 months with no income makes it

so hard and the bills accumulate. So I still have to pay for a while.

My plans are to bring my wife and kids in the end of July, but the problem again is money. As I have been paying, I have

not been able to save. I don't know how important your family is to you, but I do imagine that it is the most important thing

in your life, like they are to me. It is hard being married for almost 17 years. Never been separate and then be that way for

over 6 months.

So, I am truly hoping that someone out there is generous and kind and can help us to get together again. I know

everyone has troubles but it is so nice to help people and it makes you feel great even if they don't appreciate this, It

happened to me so many times.

Now, I need someones help, I hope this can be you."

 

It's so sad, we thought Frank was hands down the best tour we have ever done.

[cabo helper]

I looked at the itinerary for the Norwegian Star when she comes back to Los Angeles, and they show Mazatlan as one of the ports. Of course, that may not mean anything, but we can hope !!!!

 

Yes, both Princess and NCL have Mazatlan back on the schedule as of several weeks ago. HAL and CCL still no.

[Ms. Alpha]

We booked a 7 -day HAL cruise over New Years that originally included Cabo, PV and Mazatlan. Checking the schedule for our booking today I see that Mazatlan has been replaced with a second day in PV.

[lovevacadays]

We booked a 7 -day HAL cruise over New Years that originally included Cabo, PV and Mazatlan. Checking the schedule for our booking today I see that Mazatlan has been replaced with a second day in PV.

 

I am not surprised at all. The state of Sinaloa is the only state on the Mexican Riviera that has a true US travel warning. I would be that NCL might follow suit. I wish it wasn't this way but this is one case where I think the hoopla might be correct.

[LOVECRUISING100%]

: )