Going to Acapulco?

[DrKoob]

I posted this thread in the Mexican Riviera section of the boards but since we are big X pax I thought I would warn my X friends here.

 

If you have not read this article from yesterday's NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/in...8acapulco.html) and you are headed to Acapulco, I suggest you read it first.

 

To be honest I am shocked that any of the cruise lines (especially X) are still going there with nine police officers assassinated in the last month.

 

If it were anyone else (The National Enquirer, etc.) I would have forgotten it but this is the NY Times.

[tbelian]

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[excitedofharpenden]

Picked this page out of Google News:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/international/americas/18acapulco.html

 

Thanks for the heads up DrKoob. Something to ponder.

 

Phil

[jukeboxy]

I posted this thread in the Mexican Riviera section of the boards but since we are big X pax I thought I would warn my X friends here.

If you have not read this article from yesterday's NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/in...8acapulco.html) and you are headed to Acapulco, I suggest you read it first.

To be honest I am shocked that any of the cruise lines (especially X) are still going there with nine police officers assassinated in the last month.

If it were anyone else (The National Enquirer, etc.) I would have forgotten it but this is the NY Times.

I am no expert but I have been to ACA twice since Jan 04 and have never seen anything to raise my internal alarms. I ride my scooter all over the old section and the main square and am treated with nothing but kindness.

Fear mongers can always find ways to interpet the facts to make it seem worse that it is so the NY Times is misleading people AGAIN. You will never find nicer people than those in ACA so sit back and relax and enjoy.

Be sure and go across the street from the terminal and see the Fort San Diego it is well restored.

[DrKoob]

I am no expert but I have been to ACA twice since Jan 04 and have never seen anything to raise my internal alarms. I ride my scooter all over the old section and the main square and am treated with nothing but kindness.

Fear mongers can always find ways to interpet the facts to make it seem worse that it is so the NY Times is misleading people AGAIN. You will never find nicer people than those in ACA so sit back and relax and enjoy.

Be sure and go across the street from the terminal and see the Fort San Diego it is well restored.

 

We were there ourselves a year ago this month and had no trouble beyond the usual tourist gauntlet. But read the article. Nine police officers including the chief have been assassinated in the last month. Most in the tourist area of town.

[jeffbook]

We were on Summit and in Acapulco on October 6. My wife and I both noted that the police were moving around in groups of three or more and were very heavily armed with shotguns and automatic weapons.

 

We decided to stay on ship after we returned from our morning city tour rather than venture back onshore. This was solely due to the heavily armed and visibly alert and nrevous local police presence. Not that I blame them at all based on the NY Times article. Based on our point of view, the article is not exagerating the situation at all.

 

Maybe we were weiners in staying on the ship, but I guess I am not used to visible automatic weapons in a local police force.

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

We will be on the Oct 31 sailing. I will give you my thoughts on Alcapulco when we get back. When we were there 5 years ago we enjoyed it very much. Happy Sailing, Joy

[flowy]

After having a bad situation in Costa Rica, I would not like to repeat that awful feeling with armed guards. Please let us know how your trip goes. Frankly, I might just stay onboard and enjoy the ship!

[Sailingseas]

We all know that there are dangers at every port if one is not cautious. However, please let us know what to be specifically on the lookout for in Costa Rica. Thanks!

[flowy]

We all know that there are dangers at every port if one is not cautious. However, please let us know what to be specifically on the lookout for in Costa Rica. Thanks!

 

We were in a cab that we hired for a tour. We went thru some gated area with guards with guns strapped around their backs. The cab broke down in the middle of a remote area. Of course, no one had a phone that would work. Finally, we got the engine to work again. I will never, never take a private cab for a tour. We will always go with the ship's tour. On those tours, usually there are phones that work, etc......

 

Really felt like we were what stories in the newspapers are made of.

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

We did not see any change in Alcapulco. I think when in a strange city a tour is a very good way to see the city. We did not spend too much time in Alcapulco. We took the Taxco tour of the city of Silver and it was worth the long trip. I would reccomend it to all. Happy Sailing, Joy

[CaribbeanCrazy]

Joy,

Tell us more.:) What did you like about your Taxco excursion?

Is the bus ride really 3 hours each way? Was there nice scenery en route?

Anything you can tell us about the other Ports would be really helpful too!

Thanks

CaribbeanCrazy

[excitedofharpenden]

Having just returned from Acapulco on the same cruise as Joy I can report that I never had any problems with the ship tour we did and although had read the information on troubles in the City before I left, never even gave it a second thought when we did our tour. Fort San Diego, the Flamingos Hotel and cliff divers were all an excellent experience. I went to Acapulco thinking I would hate it and ended up really enjoying the time there.

 

Phil

[jukeboxy]

Fort San Diego, the Flamingos Hotel and cliff divers were all an excellent experience. I went to Acapulco thinking I would hate it and ended up really enjoying the time there.

Phil

I told you so!

 

You will never find nicer people than those in ACA so sit back and relax and enjoy.

Be sure and go across the street from the terminal and see the Fort San Diego it is well restored.

 

[sablecheyenne]

We were there ourselves a year ago this month and had no trouble beyond the usual tourist gauntlet. But read the article. Nine police officers including the chief have been assassinated in the last month. Most in the tourist area of town.

 

Seems to me, the people that better worry, are the police officers, not the touristas.

 

sable

[Boomer1]

Just came back from Acapulco in Oct of this year and we didn't feel ill at ease or see anything to make us feel the least bit uncomfortable. Did the jet boat ride and then walked around, even went to a seedy looking area where there was a market, and then went to a bar not too far from the ship. My sister and her husband spent the evening shopping and had dinner and just made it back to the ship for 11pm, they said it was wonderful.

[DocJohnB]

Having been on the same cruise as Phil and TBelian, I can say that even though I didn't particularly care for Acapulco, I never once felt uncomfortable. In fact I have felt less safe in some parts of our nations capital.

 

I didn't even notice any more security forces (police, military) than in the other ports we visited.

[excitedofharpenden]

I told you so!

 

Indeed Jerry. I was very impressed with how well the exhibits had been put together at the Fort. Very smart. I'll try and post some photos on Webshots.

 

Phil

[dmarch@islc.net]

They can always do like Zaire was doing 10 yrs ago. Have special machine gun toting police to police the regular machine gun toting police. They also established laws against the police harassing tourists, as our driver had to remind them.

[SS Cruise Lady]

Acapulca was my least favorite port during our Mexican Riviera Cruise in February. When we opened the doors to our balcony that mornng we heard the deafening sound of traffic horns and that noise never subsided the entire time we were there. We took a city walking tour from the ship which included a very interesting museum of historical significance. Unfortunately, our experience at a jewelry store from that tour made New York's Time Square Merchants look timid. The one thing I had the most trouble dealing with was seeing little children running after us in a desperate attempt to sell us one chicklet or one stick of gum. It was so depressing to realize that this city is so poor that kids couldn't even be kids. That night, the entertainment on the ship was a comedian who jokingly said "In Acapulca you don't have to go to a mall because it comes to you, no matter where you are"...LOL

[senior lady]

Just got off the Mercury this morning. We were in Acapulco last Wed and had a fantastic day. We took a great tour and then walked around the city. It was very clean, and I never felt threatened at all. we talked to our tour guide about all the bad stuff being said. It's to bad cause Acapulco is a great city. It's no different than any other big city.

 

We were on the 10 day cruise, and there were armed police at every port we were at. It's the same in the Caribbean ports. Has anyone noticed the military at all US airports???

[CaribbeanCrazy]

Boomer1.

What bar did you go to near the ship? What was it like?

I was hoping to find a bar not to far from the ship...that we could walk to after dark. Something not too expensive.

 

CaribbeanCrazy