Thursday, June 23, 2011

cruisin’ the hood


When Captain Stubing and Julie McCoy start dissing Mexico, you know the world is just not quite right.


The headline was not new: “Mexico still not safe says cruise line.”  After all, Royal Caribbean pulled all of its ships off of the Pacific Mexico circuit last year – for reasons never adequately explained.  But everyone knew why.


This year it is Princess Cruise Lines – the Love Boat line itself – saying nasty things about the strip of Mexico I call home.  It is almost as if Mary Poppins showed up to tell us she is not practically perfect in every way.



According to Princess, the parts of Mexico that are not safe are Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.  "As the safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority, and based on the continued violence in these areas, we've made the decision to cancel our calls to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán."  No punches pulled there.


I am not certain what to make of it.  Cruises are not the standard by which adventure should be measured.


Most of you know I enjoy a good cruise now and then.  But I am convinced that people who restrict themselves to cruising do so for a very good reason.  They are not adventurers.  They like the idea of their house following them around on their travels and having the ability to be herded from place to place with others of their own kind when they are in port.


They are certainly more adventurous than their neighbors who do not venture out of their homelands.  But  de Gama and Cabot they are not.


That does not make the Princess cancellation any easier for the cancelled ports.  After all, herds spend dollars.


When I was in Puerto Vallarta earlier in the month, the absence of cruise ships was apparent.  Where there was once a sea of faces that easily could have been in Calgary, there were now half-empty parking lots.


The irony is that both ports have spent the last year in attempting to reduce theft crimes.  Of course, no identify theft ring breakup is going to remove the image of decapitated bodies a thousand miles away.  It is almost as if Princess announced that it would no longer stop in Astoria because of the high crime rate in Chicago.


Nancy of countdown to méxico recently announced she is part of a project called “México Today.”  In her words, the “program is about generating positive, interesting, and informative pieces about México and using their website as well as social media (Facebook & Twitter) to share the México we know and love.”


I wish the group well.  Mazatlán is her home.  She has a right to take Princess’s cop-out personally.  Maybe someone should start by telling Hilary Clinton to knock it off with those hysteria-induced travel advisories.


As for me, I am going to be heading to San Miguel de Allende in just over a week to celebrate a different life style for a month.  No matter what Gopher and his gang have to say.

28 comments:

tancho said...

It's  sad and disappointing of their decisions, However, when you have a boat full of semi-helpless people (yes I know I will get feedback on that) but with the litigious attraction of a few lawyers, they could very well sue the cruise lines, saying that they brought their prey to the door step of what they obviously knew was a crime infested area, as evidenced by the US state department, etc, etc, . I could just see a jury now, in tears as the lawyer described what and how the thieves attacked little grandma as she was wandering around the mercado......

KaaChing....$$$$$$...Baaaad Cruise Line.....must be punished.......

Since singing non liability forms seems fruitless and there are so many hungry lawyers, it's a no win situation for both the traveler and Mexico.

Now presenting evidence to the contrary which you and I know to be more a fact, will unfortunately not negate the bad stories of Mexico. Maybe tossing oodles of money in advertising will slant it in the correct direction, but doubtful.

Doing anything positive hopefully will convince the people that Mexico is a decent place to visit and enjoy....a somewhat uphill battle. But we can try.......

Angeline M said...

I was in Puerto Vallarta during the whole Swine Flu idiocy and saw the empty port and restaurants, and listened to the local view on the whole thing. Incredibly sad that Mexico keeps taking these hits. The right people will go/return, but not enough, I'm afraid. 

Art Moretti said...

Fredrick Forsyth has a book out titled "the Cobra", in which he addresses a possible solution to cocaine drug cartel violence,  it's fiction, but takes a stance.
Concluding with:  NOB doesn't have the stomach or stamina to wait out the criminals killing each other in the inevitable public onslaughts of violence.

Babsofsanmiguel said...

I had a sad day yesterday when I received a post from a friend who lives on the Oregon coast who said he will NEVER travel to Mexico again.  His brother was attacked south of Mazatlan and left for dead on the side of the hwy.  Some villagers saved his life by picking him up and getting him to a medical facility.
 Then my friend was at a resort "20 miles south of Vallarta" in a jungle setting when bandits came out of the bush, set upon the tourists, tied some up and robbed everyone.  I of course sympathized with him........and began to wonder how I would feel if either of those things had happened to me.  I DID tell him that I was robbed at Charles De Gaulle airport once in Paris but it didn't keep me from ever going back.........small comfort though for him.  I pondered his situation all day.  I have been told over and over again this past year from friends that they are not coming to Mexico any more.  It is VERY discouraging............ What to do? What to do?

Steve Cotton said...

There is no doubt that the cruise line's insurance company had a lot to do with this decision.

Steve Cotton said...

Tourism is a low margin profit industry.  Each of these hits will hurt.  Of course, the solution is to put an end to this drug prohibition idiocy.  But that is not going to happen.

Steve Cotton said...

You are correct.  America is not a patient land.  That is why we dropped alcohol prohibition.

Steve Cotton said...

There is no response to people who suffer personal tragedy.  As a species, we quickly generalize from the specific to the general.  It is one of our coping mechanisms.  The problem is these personal tragedies play out against the constant hum of violence in Mexico that is a news staple.  I have simply come to the conclusion that some people should not travel to Mexico -- or to a lot of other places.  They are not going to enjoy themselves.

blog said...

Yes - total bummer. It seems like Mexico would REALLY be concerned about losing all this tourist business and yet???

NWexican said...

It is unfortunate and sad but then again, I was in Israel during the bombings and they were begging for tourists. Sarajevo, umm, got pretty ugly. Anyone remember Beirut, Columbia, the Los Angeles riots (several times), NYC (just because it's NYC),   In my opinion it is the timidity of people that keeps travel exotic, thrilling and a bit naughty. At least to the people that stay home.

Nita said...

I think what part of this boils down to is, lots of individuals want things wherever they go to be just like it is at their home.

Rdp123 said...

Steve, cruise ship companies only respond to one thing - money. If tourists were booking, those ships would be there.
  The type of crimes occurring in Mexico are some of the most brutal and insane that you will find anywhere on this planet, this cant me ignored. You can't blame Hilary and the Democrats this time, please remember that it is your GOP that invented the war on drugs and it has been quite profitable for them.

Nancy said...

Steve,  I appreciate your comments.  For me it is lots more than the cruise ship situation, it is that people who don't know anything about Mexico are scaring a lot of potential visitors away.  Have you read how some of our "news" gets to us?  http://thefastertimes.com/news/2011/06/16/aol-hell-an-aol-content-slave-speaks-out/

I also am angry - have you been on Travelocity lately?  Front and center in bold red type - warning about travel to Mexico.  Everyone here is hurting.

Anyway, I am looking forward to being a part of this group and hope we make even a few people a bit wiser.  

Saludos, amigo!

Art Moretti said...

babs, these stories sound perposterous.  sure they are true?
seems like we would have heard about them on national news, they are so "out there". 
sorry for your friend's trauma, and understand your sadness.

Steve Cotton said...

Just lert the rest of us know how we can help.  Mexico certainly is not perfect, but it is not what a lot of people would have us believe, either.  My family and friends think I have lost my mind.

Steve Cotton said...

Most of the cruises that were cancelled had a high capacity; the Mexican Riviera cruises were very popular.  I can almost guarantee that a meeting was held at one point where the cruise line's insurance company and corporate counsel suggested cancellation for fear of future law suits.  Such is the state of corporate America these days -- where litigation trumps access.  (But, of course, Princess is not an American corporation.)

Steve Cotton said...

But I am not certain the cruiser attitude is responsible for this.  The cruise message boards are abuzz with angry potentiasl cruidsers who love visiting Mexico.

Steve Cotton said...

I admit that I like my travels to be a bit -- thrilling.  But Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan strike me as being about as safe as Des Moines.

Steve Cotton said...

Of course, Mexico is stuck in a terrible position.  It bought into America's drug policy and upped the ante on the drug kingpins, who are now fighting back and have the fire power to do so.  I noticed the government was crowing about decapitating La Familia.  Of course, the Zetas did that some time time ago.  And yet the violence goes on.

Steve Cotton said...

The problem is that preposterous stories carry their own cedibility because of the constant drum beat of Mexico as a dangerous country is embedded in too many minds.

NWexican said...

I'm afraid of Des
Moines..

NWexican said...

I would say the same about Jerusalem and Los Angeles nevertheless, I know people here in Oregon  that are terrified to travel to Disneyland. I think that's where the, "Fear Not" thing comes in...

Steve Cotton said...

I have run into the same syndrome.  I workjed with a woman in Salem who wiould not travel to Seattle because she was afraid of the crime there.  Seattle!

Kim G said...

My colleagues know that I love and go to Mexico often. Lately whenever the topic comes up, it's always, "Aren't you afraid of the violence?"

I always respond, "Would a load of drive-by shootings in Detroit keep you from going to Chicago?" 

The answer is invariably, "No."  In fact, Americans in general are perfectly happy to live in cities with a "bad side," and feel safe as long as they don't go there, which in many cases could be as close as a few miles.

But these same people don't seem to be able to grasp the concept that, A) Mexico is about 40% as large as the USA, i.e., not small at all, B) that most of the violence happens in places that have absolutely no tourist interest at all (Acapulco excepted), and C) that nearly all of the victims of these crimes are either involved in the drug trade, law enforcement, or occasionally city/state government.  Tourists aren't the target.

Sure, Mazatlán is in Sinaloa which is a pretty narco-infested state, and a few things occasionally happen there. But sheesh, I've been in both Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, and they struck me as QUITE safe, with people out and about at all hours enjoying the nightlife.

It is a sad thing for both Mexico and the USA, where as you note, plenty of people still do want to take a cruise to Mazatlán or Puerto Vallarta, both of which are quite charming.

But (and I don't mean to trivialize the pain that Mexico is experiencing), it is definitely holding down prices for those of us who dare to cross the border. Maybe that will encourage a few more brave souls.

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Very soon to be in DF for a week.  I can hardly wait.

Steve Cotton said...

If it made sense, it would not be life.

Any chance you could get over to San Miguel in July?

debra said...

LOL!  Steve, I was mugged in Seattle, well he tried, but I held my mace like a a gun and turned on him and he ran away after stalking me for 5 blocks.  FL can be hard on tourists too, but thankfully they $$$ keep coming.  Having traveled safely to Mexico and Middle East many times (NY, LA, Portland and other scary places too), I'm still amazed that fear paralyzes so many people.  This fixation on security is a new phenomenon, fortunately coming after the world was settled and the moon landing.  Better people stay home than travel and behave badly, but I'm deeply saddened at the failure of opportunity for Mexico's youth.  With people jumping over ship railings, fires, drunks, long dark hallways, rapes, murders, food poisonings, pirates, terrorists, hurricanes, power outages and nasty viruses, in comparison, Mazatlan is a quiet little village.  On my cruise to Alaska, the woman next door died (natural causes unless her roommate did her in), a passenger broke her leg so we had to turn around and take her to port, then we had to outrun a storm.  My friend's ship skipped a port because a person died.  They were stuck on board until it was determined a suicide.  It is frightening to be stuck with thousands of strangers in the middle of the ocean.  Be careful in San Miguel.  Did you see the documentary on the kidnapping?    

Steve Cotton said...

I did. A bit too breathless in its presentation for my taste.

I suppose I could tell a few mayhem tales from my lawyer days in Clackamas County. Tourism on the American west coast would be expected to collapse.

Enlacesturisticos said...

Good for you !  I am now in Guadalajara , travel from Mexico City .  I am happy , enjoying MEXICO !