Mazatlan

[hardel]

Has anyone been to Mazatlan yet? Not sure when the Star starts going there....

[swedish weave]

Has anyone been to Mazatlan yet? Not sure when the Star starts going there....

 

The Star was scheduled to make the first stop at Mazatlan Wednesday of this week. Will be there next week, also.

[sdmike]

Has anyone been to Mazatlan yet? Not sure when the Star starts going there....

 

Mazatlan is a popular stop for west coast cruises.

 

If you have questions about that port, there's a message board for Mexican Riviera ports of call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203

[roger001]

Four years ago, before NCL stopped going there, we stopped on the Star. Mazatlan is a working class, industrial city, and the port is in a shipping container industrial area. We did take a tour, and during a lunch stop over in the Gold Coast (I think that was it) area, we had the biggest and best shrimp I've ever seen or eaten.

[Richieline]

You will LOVE Mazatlan. If you have any kids, it is mandantory to visit the Aquarium/Zoo. We like it even without kids.

 

Mazatlan is truly the Old Mexico, safe and cheap. Plenty of taxis and buses, great restaurants.

 

We are taking the Norwegian Star in March. The only reason we booked it was because Mazatlan was on the venue. Sorry, Princess, get real.

 

Have a great trip!

 

R.P.

Prescott, AZ. (Formerly Los Angeles)

[sassyredhat]

We are on the Star in April. Our first NCL and our first aft penthouse.

I will have our 11 month old granddaughter in Mazatlan. Is the aquarium/zoo far from the pier?

 

Pat

[Cruisercl]

You will LOVE Mazatlan. If you have any kids, it is mandantory to visit the Aquarium/Zoo. We like it even without kids.

 

Mazatlan is truly the Old Mexico, safe and cheap. Plenty of taxis and buses, great restaurants.

 

We are taking the Norwegian Star in March. The only reason we booked it was because Mazatlan was on the venue. Sorry, Princess, get real.

 

Have a great trip!

 

R.P.

Prescott, AZ. (Formerly Los Angeles)

 

I believe that most cruise lines pulled their ships from most ports in Mexico on the Pacific coast because of high incidence of crime especially with the drug cartel. Mazatlan was considered pretty unsafe at one time. Is it better and/or safer?

There were news reports of tourists harmed and some were from cruise ships on excursions.

 

I'd rather the cruise lines monitor the safety rather than send cruisers in ports not considered safe, to fend for themselves.

 

Happy and safe cruising all!!!

[Azdad3]

:-) dh and I going March 2 2014, on the Star, interested in the zoo as well,

azdad3 and Mary Ann

 

Sent from my KFTT using Forums mobile app

[halos]

We stopped on Mazatlan on our Star cruise quite a few years ago and loved it. We took a ship sponsoroed tour (I believe). The thing that struck me was when we were on the bus, our tour guide mentioned something about the people of Mazatlan being the most beautiful people in the world. I assumed he meant 'inner' beauty....but after our tour, we realized that he was being literal. The people of Mazatlan are genuinely gorgeous.....absolutely stunning.

[rigs32]

I went in May 2010. We walked about half a mile from the port and took a boat over to a large beach area. We were practically the only tourists there and the owners of the bar where we settled were wonderful. Regular sized beers were $1. 40 oz beers were $3. I remember standing in the water, staring out into the ocean, drinking a cold beer on a hot day. Heaven.

[swedish weave]

I believe that most cruise lines pulled their ships from most ports in Mexico on the Pacific coast because of high incidence of crime especially with the drug cartel. Mazatlan was considered pretty unsafe at one time. Is it better and/or safer?

There were news reports of tourists harmed and some were from cruise ships on excursions.

 

I'd rather the cruise lines monitor the safety rather than send cruisers in ports not considered safe, to fend for themselves.

 

Happy and safe cruising all!!!

 

I am disputing your post in order to maintain accuracy of the information on CC.

 

Tourists were harmed in Mazatlan, but NO CRUISE PASSENGERS HAVE BEEN HARMED IN MAZATLAN.

 

Cruise passengers from the NCL Star were on a cruise sponsored tour when shooting happened at one of the stops. The passengers were scared but not harmed. Upon receiving the report of this incident, NCL made the decision to stop calling at that port.

 

Mazatlan has spent millions to install security cameras and increase security patrols in order to satisfy the demands of cruise lines and as a result, some cruise lines including NCL have resumed their stops there.

[swedish weave]

I went in May 2010. We walked about half a mile from the port and took a boat over to a large beach area. We were practically the only tourists there and the owners of the bar where we settled were wonderful. Regular sized beers were $1. 40 oz beers were $3. I remember standing in the water, staring out into the ocean, drinking a cold beer on a hot day. Heaven.

 

I believe you went to Stone Island. The water taxi takes you across the channel the cruise ships use, and the place takes you back to Mexico like it was 50 years ago. No big hotels or buildings and most of the restaurants and bars have palm frond roofs and open fronts. The water taxi cost between two and three dollars round trip.

 

The water is shallow for over a hundred yards from the beach and it is a great place to spend some quality time.

Edited December 30, 2013 by swedish weave

[Richieline]

We are on the Star in April. Our first NCL and our first aft penthouse.

I will have our 11 month old granddaughter in Mazatlan. Is the aquarium/zoo far from the pier?

 

Pat

Redhat,

 

Don't have my Mazatlan travel materials out yet, but the Aquarium is not close to the port. I took a bus there from the old downtown. It's probably a $10 cab ride from the port or downtown.

 

Cabs are cheaper just outside of the port because they don't have to pay a fee (about $5) to park inside the port close to the ships.

 

Everone, Mazatlan is perfectly safe. A little stupid bad press goes a long way. Read the Mazatlan forum on Trip Advisor. Safer than any American city.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all and a nice shrimp cocktail at La Puntilla

(about 300 yards from the port.) Yum Yum!

 

R.P.

[halos]

Is it better and/or safer?

 

 

Probably safer than a few US cities. I live outside out Charlotte, NC and can't even watch the nightly news anymore. Too frightening.

[Cruisercl]

I am disputing your post in order to maintain accuracy of the information on CC.

 

Tourists were harmed in Mazatlan, but NO CRUISE PASSENGERS HAVE BEEN HARMED IN MAZATLAN.

 

Cruise passengers from the NCL Star were on a cruise sponsored tour when shooting happened at one of the stops. The passengers were scared but not harmed. Upon receiving the report of this incident, NCL made the decision to stop calling at that port.

 

Mazatlan has spent millions to install security cameras and increase security patrols in order to satisfy the demands of cruise lines and as a result, some cruise lines including NCL have resumed their stops there.

 

I am really glad to hear this though IMHO a tourist is a tourist whether they came in on a cruise ship or by some other transportation means.

 

I hope it is a safe as you believe it is. The press does often print wrong information but Mexico still scares me; it still appears (to me) to be quite violent with the drug trafficking issues. Again, JMHO; I am bit of a scaredy cat.