Safety in Mexico

[dexddd]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

In early 2020, my wife and I had a fabulous Panama Canal cruise on the NCL Gem, an unusual itinerary from NY to San Francisco.  (I sure wish NCL would offer that again!)  One of our ports was Zihuatanejo, Mexico, in the state of Guerrero.  Not only was all of Guerrero under a U.S. State Dept. Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory, but U.S. government employees were specifically forbidden from travelling anywhere in Guerrero, expressly including Zihuatanejo.

 

Given that, I emailed the NCL Executive Office to ask why we would be having a port call to a place that our State Dept. had put on the Do Not Travel list.  Normally, those folks had been great about replying to emails, but they ignored that one, as well as a follow up.  So I called NCL and talked to a nice guy who checked with their “itinerary people” and told me, “We think it’s safe.” 

 

As my very wise wife said when I recounted that call to her, "What else did you expect them to say?”  

 

We did get off the ship in Zihua, enough to walk around the pretty waterfront and the little town and outdoor shopping area (yes, armed soldiers walking around too) and to take a photo to prove we'd been to that Do Not Travel destination. It was really a throwaway port as far as we were concerned.   

 

My Spanish is very poor as I thought that meant city of toads, google says city of all.  Good thing not city of todas.

[scorpioncrawl]

Safety:  We live in a different world for sure. Life is what you make it, so you can either live in fear or live your BEST Life!!!!  

[yakcruiser]

4 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

 

On this cruise, I chose a shore excursion that took a balanced position - a bay cruise.

Thus, we avoided roaming through any street crowds and, got to see the divers from the water - a very different viewpoint. Divers swam up to our boat for meet and greets (and, of course, tips)..

Thanks! I now know what I am going to do in Acapulco next April.

[omahabob]

I think some may be looking at two different things. The 'problem' referenced wasn't differing ideas and opinions. It was getting off the ship in a port that could be dangerous, and yes, several people consider that a problem, evidenced by the differing ideas and opinions. It all depends on what you're comfortable with. There's danger everywhere, but it's definitely higher in Acapulco than in many other places. Five people were killed in a grocery store a couple of blocks from the tourist hotels last month, and ten bodies were dropped from vehicles scattered around the city. In February, two people were strangled to death and three people shot dead right on the resort beach. So yes, violent crime is very much present in the tourist areas, and that's why the State Department advises against travel there. But you could say the same thing for crime in other destinations too, like a lot of US cities right now. So, as I said, it all depends on what each person feels comfortable with. Personally, I wouldn't got to Acapulco OR those US cities, but that does not mean anyone else needs to agree with my choice. Gather the facts and make up your own minds.

[cruiser2015]

5 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

Thanks! I now know what I am going to do in Acapulco next April.

My pleasure.