22 Carnival Cruise Passengers Robbed in Puerto Vallarta

[inco]

This incident cannot be a random act by a group of robbers along a road.

As you said, this shore excursion runs regularly every time the ship is in port. The assault on the bus was surely planned in advance with full knowledge of who was onboard.

 

Unfortunately cruiselines cannot guarantee the safety of their passengers while ashore. They can only do so much.

 

I've been on many shore excursions, and there were "only" two where we were escorted by armed security: Egypt and Mexico.

 

No doubt Carnival will be sued over this.

 

Bingo - 22 people lining up or lawyers crawling all over them to lay the blame on Carnival. Stay tuned, it will happen.:(

[deborahjo]

Bingo - 22 people lining up or lawyers crawling all over them to lay the blame on Carnival. Stay tuned, it will happen.:(

 

I am not saying Carnival is any safer then doing an excurision on your own but they do tell you at booking that " It will be safer booking thru us. We will never leave you." That alone leads you to "believe" you should be "safer". Which we all know is not always true.

[ccruisequeen]

How about a 7 day "Cruise to Nowhere"!

 

I'd love to try one of those:D

[carsastic]

My husband works in Mexico for a week every month. He says Mexico in corrupt in petty ways like a cop asking for $15 on a traffic stop. But our country's officials are corrupt in huge, significant ways. We are no one to talk.

 

Same here as I lived in Mexico in 2000

And helped start a manufacture facility

While its true with the petty issues , it's not colorectal about the huge issues

Just the opposite!

When the local police and politicizing allow this " petty issue" to continue

It's a precursor to really huge issues at the highest firm of gov

Hugh corrupt gov

[Vanessa L]

How about a 7 day "Cruise to Nowhere"!

 

That would be the most awesome thing EVER!!

[nybumpkin]

What about Jamaica after the June 2007 where Carnival Conquest passengers were robbed at gunpoint during an excursion? They still go there, have no clue about the excursions.

The excursion that was robbed was the "Lethe Village Tour": http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2090. They stopped the excursion after the robbery and it does not presently appear on Carnival's website.

 

After our cruise on Liberty where the group of passengers were attacked and the one passenger killed a robber in Costa Rica, Carnival canceled the port: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1949. A few days later, after Costa Rican authorities offered to take additional steps for passenger safety, Carnival changed its mind: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1950

[MiamiSky66]

Some of you people are definitely in denial. The person from Cabo that keeps posting comes across like they are defending cabo so they can believe their condo won't get it's price destroyed.

I was on the ship when the people in St. Kitts were robbed and when they came back to the ship they looked like they were going to have a heart attack. You can't have a true opinion until a gun is pointed in your face and you think your life is over. Don't want to offend anyone but please face reality.

[Carnivaluver]

Some of you people are definitely in denial. The person from Cabo that keeps posting comes across like they are defending cabo so they can believe their condo won't get it's price destroyed.

I was on the ship when the people in St. Kitts were robbed and when they came back to the ship they looked like they were going to have a heart attack. You can't have a true opinion until a gun is pointed in your face and you think your life is over. Don't want to offend anyone but please face reality.

 

I agree.....it appears it is only going to get worse in Mexico too. It is a war and the cartels could care less if you are a Carnival guest if you are in the middle of one of their escapades you probably would get shot. Carnival cannot protect it's passengers if the Mexican government cannot provide basic safety to it's citizens.

 

Drive-bys are a common occurrence in many California cities now and that was not the way it was when I was growing up. Again, another gift from the cartels.

 

I have lived in Mexico and would not go back there now. Also, the US economy is impacting illegal workers and their families are desperate for money so tourists are an easy mark.

 

I too have friends who own property there and it is going to be very hard for them to sell and they will never get what they paid for it. :eek:

[richard1s]

I could not agree more with your observation. Everytime there is a hint of concern about security and safety on the west coast of Mexico, there are the same few individuals who continualy try to reassure the world that "these things happen everywhere" and the these ports are no more dangerous than most cities in the US, as well as other ports. She drags out and exploits the same story of the poor child who was killed in St. Thomas last year. The problems in Mexico are unique; no one is safe and while it is still unlikely, it can happen to anyone, at anytime and anywhere. Combined with a corrupt police system and inept judical process, you are taking risks that can be totally avoided with most other ports.

[Martini Mom]

I would also.:)

 

 

I booked this cruise specifically to get deep into Mexico where I could experience warm weather, beaches, etc. A cruise UP the west coast to a cooler climate just wouldn't meet my needs.

[7leagueboots]

When we went to Egypt two years ago, we opted for a private car and guide overnight rather than taking the ship's tour overnight. When people expressed alarm at this, I asked who was the more obvious target, those huge buses everyone knew were full of Americans or a guy driving by with three people in his car that nobody is paying attention to. .

 

Not always the case. As I am sure you recall, earlier this month, two women and their guide in Egypt were kidnapped by gunmen and held for several hours before being released. Thankfully they were returned safely, but being in a small group does not necessarily make one more safe.

[peabody99]

Ohhhh that's not good. It will be interesting to see what all cruise lines do about this one. Will also be interesting to see how the Mexico government does about it.

 

We sailed out a couple days later on the Spirit and carnival did not say a word about this when we went to PV. Imagine that! We self toured on the 40 cent a ticket city bus...no issues.

[peabody99]

Ohhhh that's not good. It will be interesting to see what all cruise lines do about this one. Will also be interesting to see how the Mexico government does about it.

 

We sailed out a couple days later on the Spirit and carnival did not say a word about this when we went to PV. Imagine that! We self toured on the 40 cent a ticket city bus...no issues. Oops edit. We left after the splendor

[JLC@SD]

How about a 7 day "Cruise to Nowhere"!

 

We did that.....on out last cruise to Mexico (Sapphire Princess 2010)......we never left the ship....booked the cruise for the ship only....:)

[Princess Ariel]

HECK YES I want Carnival to cruise to the Pacific Northwest! Best 7-day cruise I've ever taken: Long Beach - Astoria, OR - Victoria, BC - Vancouver, BC - Long Beach, when they diverted the Splendor away from Mexico during the swine flu scare. (Thank you, hamthrax, for that awesome itinerary at $389pp/balcony).

 

I would cruise that itinerary at least once a year if they offered it.

 

I would LOVE this also! That would be a perfect summer cruise!

[sooziecruz]

I would LOVE this also! That would be a perfect summer cruise!

I agree! But how about same ports of call-roundtrip from Vancouver! I would go twice a year!:)

[CWcruisers]

I could not agree more with your observation. Everytime there is a hint of concern about security and safety on the west coast of Mexico, there are the same few individuals who continualy try to reassure the world that "these things happen everywhere" and the these ports are no more dangerous than most cities in the US, as well as other ports. She drags out and exploits the same story of the poor child who was killed in St. Thomas last year. The problems in Mexico are unique; no one is safe and while it is still unlikely, it can happen to anyone, at anytime and anywhere. Combined with a corrupt police system and inept judical process, you are taking risks that can be totally avoided with most other ports.

 

I am that person you are referring to, and when someone can give me a logical explanation as to why the treatment differ between one incident and another, then perhaps I'll be able to understand, especially since one incident was more drastic then the other.

 

My hope is that one of the passengers is a CC member and will post on here so we can get the accurate details of what happened.

 

And I am not worried about my real estate investment in Cabo, I am very happy there and have no intention of selling for a very long time. My heart goes out to the people of Mexico who are suffering due to an out of control situation, which, and some will agree, is being sensationalized by the media.

[cdamion]

HECK YES I want Carnival to cruise to the Pacific Northwest! Best 7-day cruise I've ever taken: Long Beach - Astoria, OR - Victoria, BC - Vancouver, BC - Long Beach, when they diverted the Splendor away from Mexico during the swine flu scare. (Thank you, hamthrax, for that awesome itinerary at $389pp/balcony).

 

I would cruise that itinerary at least once a year if they offered it.

 

Im not sure I would like this cruise - I guess because I have spent time in all of these places and would not just want to be there for a few hours. Victoria and Vancouver are my all-time favorite places - would seriously consider living there if I could.

[AddictedtoFL]

To all Cruiser that book Las Claletas excursion, don’t worry, the Island is privately own all members on the ship that take you to the island and the people that work on the island belong to one tourist company and the tour itself can only book through cruise ship. So I would say that it’s very safe. Beside you already got robbed on the price of the excursion. ;)

 

Having said that, I would not do Mex. Riv. again, not only because of safety, but because the two ports that most cruise ships stop at really not that good.

[FightOnRon]

The problem with all this preaching about not going to Mexico is,,if you live on the west coast, and in SOCAL, and you want to drive to a port to take a quick budget type cruise to a warm non-rainy place,,this is pretty much our choice. Carnival, HAL,NCL (?), Disney,,,,same deal. I suppose a cruise north would be okay but then again,,who wants to pack an umbrella. And you can only see Catalina so many times.

 

I am going in 48 or 49 days (can't see my clock as I type) and I am not backing down. Maybe I am stupid but I had a driveby that took place in front of my house aimed at the house across the street and that was with flying bullets. So maybe living in or near a major city (Los Angeles) has made me foolish or hardened,,but I am still going.

 

We are also zipping in Nogalito. Now if another robbery occurs before then,,the will change our zip location,,but I hope CCL doesn't tell us we are going to Ensenada again or Catalina again. I would have taken the 4 nighter if I wanted to do that again.

[2013CruiseBride]

Hopefully, this is just the ignorance of FL posting. There are several ship that leave from FL to much more dangerous destinations.

 

Wow, talk about living with your head in the sand.. and I see this as the arrogance of CA.

[richard1s]

Yes, exactly; I think that the point of at least some of the pro Mexican Rivera posters is to try to preserve their precious ability and the convenience of hopping on a cruise to the these ports at the last minute. Convince everyone how safe it is so the cruise lines won't discontinue the itinerary. The problem is some will read how safe it is and not understand the risk. In the end, everyone has to make their own informed choices and the market will drive this decision and issue.

[cdamion]

Wow, talk about living with your head in the sand.. and I see this as the arrogance of CA.

 

While the Caribbean islands don't have the scary murders of many parts of Mexico, the fact is that the crime rates nationwide are higher on many of the islands. Also, robberies of cruisers have occurred on many Caribbean islands, including on shore excursions - yet they still go. Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Jamaica, etc.

 

What happened in Puerto Vallarta could easily happen on any of these and other islands. All it takes is a group of people bold enough to pull it off and a lonely road in the mountains where they can block the road.

 

I am not defending Mexico or the Caribbean. I love both places - actually I prefer the Caribbean. My point is just that there is a much stronger reaction to Mexico. If another group gets robbed in Nassau (3 years ago a Carnival excursion was robbed there), we wouldn't even be thinking it's possible that they would pull the port. Yet, since it is Mexico we are scared of pulling out of PV.

 

To compare apples to apples, people don't think twice about going to Roatan, yet Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world - with the vast majority going unsolved. Roatan is removed from the mainland, so hasn't experienced the same level of crime.

 

On the other hand, people are scared to go to Cozumel because of the violence in Mexico far inland. Cozumel is likewise removed from the mainland and its problems, but some are scared. Why?

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

More details...

only one masked man and they were on a trail.

 

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Cruise-liner-with-22-passengers-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-Mexico-140488653.html

 

 

On the dock in Long Beach, passenger Kate Berry-Shoefsengers, told KCAL9 that the tourists were on a trail ''single-file, and this robber came out of ahead them and had a bandana over his face, had a gun, spoke in Spanish.

 

The tour guide translated and told everybody they had to put everything on the floor and then told us to turn around and run.''

 

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/26/carnival-splendor-passengers-robbed-at-gunpoint-back-in-socal/

 

 

Passenger Ladean Hilgenberg described to Lazar in detail another tourist’s account of the ordeal.

 

“One had a mask on hanging over his head and he said, ‘you see my automatic gun’ and a knife in his belt and he said it in Spanish. He wanted everything he had.

 

“One fellow pulled his money out of his wallet and he said, ‘no, I want everything… backpacks and all.’ And he raised his gun up. And they dropped everything — backpacks, everything.”

 

Hilgenberg, who was not robbed, said the entire ordeal took “three minutes or less.”

[cdamion]

Yes, exactly; I think that the point of at least some of the pro Mexican Rivera posters is to try to preserve their precious ability and the convenience of hopping on a cruise to the these ports at the last minute. Convince everyone how safe it is so the cruise lines won't discontinue the itinerary. The problem is some will read how safe it is and not understand the risk. In the end, everyone has to make their own informed choices and the market will drive this decision and issue.

 

I am not a pro Mexican Riviera poster. As a matter of fact, the likelihood of me going on another Mexican Riviera cruise after Splendor next month is pretty slim. I vastly prefer Caribbean itineraries.

 

The thing is that I am a traveler and I see people over-reacting to Mexico and I don't get it. They have some kind of false sense of security in the Caribbean ports where they actually have a similar or greater risk of something happening to them.

 

I just hope it was an isolated incident and that PV doesn't join the list of cities that Mexico is losing control of.