A Link re: Cruise Pax on Ship's Tour in Mexico

[Protseq]

Crime also happens in the Caribbean and many other ports. I've never felt unsafe in Mexico. Wish I could say the same for the caribbean.

 

The wife and I were fortunate to see and visit most of the Islands by the end of the 1990s, mostly on land vacations. Except for the islands we have not been too, I have no inclination to revisit most of them again. For example, on our second visit to Barbados, I just didn't feel safe walking the downtown streets. Petty stuff was fairly evident, like panhandling. Just my opinion of course. Tom

[ASIWISH]

I have been waiting for years to see you post just one friendly, helpful or upbeat post on any subject. Please don't disappoint me. Just one-----please--- pretty please.

 

You're better than my morning cup of coffee..!!! Thanks, I enjoyed this!

 

Sail, I thinks it's critical that articles like this are posted. People need to be aware, no matter the port. I can't tell you the number of times we've found ourselves in the middle of unfamiliar territory with all of our jewelry and a good amount of cash (as a matter of habit) on us. Sometimes I wish I'd put a sign on the cabin door to remind us to leave it all in the safe!

[sail7seas]

We find we are more cautious in some ports than in others which probably isn't very sensible.

 

I don't remove my wedding rings when we visit St. Barts but I do in some other islands. I know that is silly but I have a 'false' ?? sense of being safer in an island with high literacy and low unemployment rate. Of course, there are pickpockets and thieves everywhere but some island seem to evoke more of a sense of caution than others, for us.

 

We never bring all our credit cards ashore, we never bring all our cash but only what we think we will need for the day, we don't wear flashy watches, necklaces, bracelets etc. DH wears a Swatch watch or similar and I only wear earrings and sometimes my wedding ring/sometimes not.

 

I'm glad some think it important we read about these sort of incidents. It keeps us alert and conscious we need to use common sense.

 

 

[FLACRUISER99]

Like I've said before, we do not need to go to these unsafe ports anymore, just send the Rotterdam, Veendam and Maasdam over there because they will have the passengers on board that will appreciate these ports looking at it from their 'beautiful' Lanai cabins.

Do you have a list of the safe ports. I would like to see it!!

[luv2travel06]

Sapper, that is a terrible story, but the incident I am referring to did happen on a HAL ship a year or so before. The ladies in the spa told me about it. There was a tree blocking the road that the bus was on. The bus stopped and the men got on and stole money and valuables. When we were in Montego Bay, we didn't know about this until after we came back from the beach. We were only told to be sure we took government sponsored taxis. We waited at the beach until one came. Now, I think how lucky we were because the same thing could have happened to a taxi. I will never stop in Jamaica again.

Might you be thinking of the incident on St. Kitts?

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/8140016/Cruise-lines-suspend-calls-at-St-Kitts-following-armed-robbery.html

 

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/st_kitts_nevis_news/49408.html#axzz1nPPnVNyI

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4235

[Mary Ellen]

Back in the 80s, on a Royal Viking cruise, there was one port where they had armed guards on every shore ex bus. We decided to stay onboard for the first time while in port.

[ANSalberg]

Hi Ann---nice to see you posting again.

I do so agree with you. I have often remarked to my husband that, safety aside, I would feel embarrassed to wear jewellery ashore in some of the places we have visited. Heck in some places I feel ashamed of myself for all of the things we take for granted.

 

Sapper =VERY nice to "see" you again also! XXXXXXX A

[Sir PMP]

I have been waiting for years to see you post just one friendly, helpful or upbeat post on any subject. Please don't disappoint me. Just one-----please--- pretty please.

 

Have a nice day!;)

[fatcat04]

I actually appreciate this safety reminder. I think many people don't realize that some Caribbean islands too have crime and some of it downright scary on par with this case in Mexico. I know the vast majority of visitors get off the ship and get back on completely unmolested but there have been a few instances, and sadly it is these scenarios for which we need to be prepared.

 

We are generally pretty savvy travelers but it's easy to let your guard down when you take a look out and see what seems to be paradise staring you back in the face, especially after 4 long months of brown leaves and cold wind. In all the hubbub of planning, the excitement of picking our excursions, and thinking about all the great things our upcoming cruise will bring, it is nice to get a good reminder to make safety a priority in all our plans.

 

If in doubt, leave it on the ship in the safe is our continued rule. Have to get color, laminated photocopies of our passport info page too. Whoever suggested that.. excellent idea. Thank you. :)

[sapper1]

Have a nice day!;)

 

Well that's a start. Baby steps,eh?:)

[Taxguy77]

The surprising thing for me, is that these cruisers were on a ship-sponsored tour and on a tour bus going back to the ship.

Sail, thanks for posting article here.

 

Question:

Which has more money;

1. A tour bus

or

2. A third class bus?

 

[cruiseapril]

Before we travel, we read the U.S. State Dept. International Travel information. There is a Travel Warning section. At this time 3 countries in the Caribbean basin are on the list: Colombia, Haiti, and Mexico. Until these countries are removed from the list, we will avoid tours into the countryside from the ports. Only makes sense- just our opinion.

[mamaofami]

Might you be thinking of the incident on St. Kitts?

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/8140016/Cruise-lines-suspend-calls-at-St-Kitts-following-armed-robbery.html

 

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/st_kitts_nevis_news/49408.html#axzz1nPPnVNyI

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4235

 

The incident I am referring to was definitely in Jamaica and earlier than the one in St. Kitts. It was told to me first hand by the ladies in the spa.

[GeriatricNurse]

Like I've said before, we do not need to go to these unsafe ports anymore, just send the Rotterdam, Veendam and Maasdam over there because they will have the passengers on board that will appreciate these ports looking at it from their 'beautiful' Lanai cabins.

 

I have been waiting for years to see you post just one friendly, helpful or upbeat post on any subject. Please don't disappoint me. Just one-----please--- pretty please.

 

 

Bobbi, one can only hope & wish! :p

[luv2travel06]

The incident I am referring to was definitely in Jamaica and earlier than the one in St. Kitts. It was told to me first hand by the ladies in the spa.

I'm chuckling... not being mean, just chuckling.

 

I can think of no more accurate source of information than "the ladies in the spa."

 

Reminds me of the beauty parlor gossipers stereotype with the hair drying helmets or the song from Hee Haw:

"Now, we're not ones to go 'round spreadin' rumors,

Why, really we're just not the gossipy kind,

No, you'll never hear one of us repeating gossip,

So you'd better be sure and listen close the first time!"

 

It just kind of made me laugh. :)

[mamaofami]

Make fun if you want, but one of them was on the bus and was terrified.

[serendipity1499]

Of course this is a very unfortunate incident, but good to know nobody was hurt. This happened in Mexico so it makes headlines.

As others stated it has happened before not just in the Caribean but even close to Las Vegas some years ago as Lisa (laffnvegas) has posted elsewhere.

Think about the almost famous pickpockers in Rome, Barcelona and other places in the world.

We are staying again for a few months staying in Puerto Vallarta, so we feel unsafe....No..... just like thousands others around here.

 

Please don't trivialize a holdup of a tourist bus by armed guards! There is no comparison to a pickpocket!

I hope you are not trying to suggest that holding up at gunpoint an entire busload of passengers on a shore excursion is somehow the same as an individual pickpocketing, which is generally a crime of stealth with no weapons involved?

 

The first is considered robbery, a more severe offense, the second is not.

 

 

Also, a more general comment: to me, this is another good example of why not to take your passport ashore, unless required by the country to do so.

 

Completely agree with you..An armed holdup of a bus cannot be compared to pickpockets in Barcelona, Rome etc..

Pickpockets are everywhere & have been even when I traveled in Europe in the 60's-70's..They were also in RIO in the 80's..On a Tour bus in RIO with a group of airline Mgrs., the Tour leader asked one of the wives in our group to remove all her gold jewelry as she was prey for the pickpockets..:eek::eek:At our RIO hotel, they sent an armed guard with us to the beach..

In Acapulco years ago, it was safe for two females traveling alone & when I drove through Morocco with another gal, in the early 70's it too was very safe for us..But there were pickpockets everywhere & we were cautious about showing off our jewelry, etc..

However, things change, when we were last in Casablanca & took a ship's tour we had an armed guard with us..:(:( My DH was surprised as I told kept telling him how much we enjoyed Morocco..

Thanks Sail for posting the link..We all needed to be reminded once again to be careful..

Cheers...:)Betty

[styles27]

This is such a horrible incident. I feel very sorry for everyone on that bus. Thank goodness they only took their money and jewelry and not their lives.

[Indycal]

Video & Story from Long Beach, CA:

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/25/dream-vacation-turns-into-nightmare-for-cruise-passengers-robbed-at-gunpoint/

[lettienets]

Some people like to make light of these incidents and say, oh it could happen in Las Vegas, Chicago etc. Well I haven't heard in the last 5 years of any Canadians being robbed and/or killed lately in the US but there sure have been a lot of murders and beatings and robberies in the last 5 years of Canadian tourists in PV, San Miguel, Cancun, Acapulco ... with guns, knives and other weapons. So don't pooh pooh these happenings, thanks.

Many of these people were long time snowbirds as well as resort tourists.

[localady]

My Sis and I were in PV a month ago. At no time did we feel unsafe. Please note these folks were in the jungle, not in downtown PV.

 

In 2000 I took a horseback riding excursion into the jungle as a ship sponsored event, we were accompanied for the entire day by 2 heavily armed guards, one in front and the other behind us. We had a lovely day with no incidents.

 

If that bus had been carrying guards also, it is less likely that it would have been robbed in my opinion. I hope that excursions into the jungle from now on do carry the proper security.

 

I still have NO hesitation in visiting PV. I would be more frightened to be in Jamaica or Acapulco, places I will not return to.

[lovesublime]

Some people like to make light of these incidents and say, oh it could happen in Las Vegas, Chicago etc. Well I haven't heard in the last 5 years of any Canadians being robbed and/or killed lately in the US but there sure have been a lot of murders and beatings and robberies in the last 5 years of Canadian tourists in PV, San Miguel, Cancun, Acapulco ... with guns, knives and other weapons. So don't pooh pooh these happenings, thanks.

Many of these people were long time snowbirds as well as resort tourists.

 

 

 

Like :)

[GeriatricNurse]

Some people like to make light of these incidents and say, oh it could happen in Las Vegas, Chicago etc. Well I haven't heard in the last 5 years of any Canadians being robbed and/or killed lately in the US but there sure have been a lot of murders and beatings and robberies in the last 5 years of Canadian tourists in PV, San Miguel, Cancun, Acapulco ... with guns, knives and other weapons. So don't pooh pooh these happenings, thanks.

Many of these people were long time snowbirds as well as resort tourists.

 

 

Yes, they do seem to be targeting Canadians in Mexico, don't they? :mad: For myself, I would much rather go to Cuba than Mexico, for less cost, but where Canadians have been welcomed for a very long time indeed! ;)

[Indycal]

Carnival Splendor Passengers Robbed At Gunpoint Back In SoCal

 

February 26, 2012 10:08 AM

 

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

 

One of the passengers interviewed said he is cancelling his 2 Mexican Riveria cruises scheduled in 2013 due to this incident.

[DFD1]

There was a thread a few weeks back about problems along the west coast of Mexico. Some posters wrote of concerns about all of the ports in that area, including PV. Others strongly defended PV as the safest of the lot.

 

Maybe so, but virtually every major port and city in the country is a mess right now. One can only hope it improves soon....but I fear that it will only get worse.

 

We will not cruise again to the Mexican coast, either east or west anytime soon.

 

IMO