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Cozumel docks heavily damaged, repairs could take months

TheBeachBears

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TheBeachBears

TheBeachBears

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MEXICO CITY, Hurricane Wilma did a number on the docks on Cozumel, a popular stop for hundreds of cruise ships from the U-S.

 

A Mexican port official says it will likely take months to repair the damage. He says, for the moment, the cruise industry in Mexico "has collapsed."

 

The Caribbean island just south of Cancun is used by the world's two biggest cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises, both of which are based in Miami. Cozumel is also a popular stop for divers.

 

Carnival says it's flown in a team to evaluate the damage.

 

-Just info I picked up on the web, so how are ships docking today?

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TheBeachBears

TheBeachBears

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By Greg Brosnan

 

COZUMEL, Mexico, Oct 24 (Reuters) - When vicious hurricane winds and massive waves pounded Mexico's Caribbean island of Cozumel, 17 people ran from one improvised bunker to another as the Hotel Barracuda collapsed in bits around them.

 

They first tried to ride out Hurricane Wilma in their rooms but then took refuge in a first floor corridor as doors flew off, windows exploded and the churning ocean tore back and forth through the shattered lobby below.

 

The 12 American scuba divers, two Dutch tourists and three Mexican hotel employees tried to make extra walls with packs of building tiles but gave up when water poured in from above.

 

So they hid out in another room and then crammed inside toilets before Mexican navy officers finally broke in and pulled them out at the height of the storm.

 

They were lucky, because now nothing at all is left of Hotel Barracuda.

 

"You could feel the waves banging at the wall, the water was coming over the three-storey hotel," said Hans Van Erp, a 40-year-old Dutch bookseller. "Every time we thought 'It can't get any worse', it did."

 

Cozumel, a popular scuba diving center and cruise ship destination, bore the brunt of Wilma's attack on Mexico's Caribbean coast last week.

 

Hotels and seafront stores and restaurants were shattered and its streets were left deep in water and debris.

 

"I thought, we're not going to make it," said Ad Kolster, a 38-year old shipping agent who abandoned the coral island on Monday with Van Erp on the first ferry out since the storm.

 

Still shocked, the two clicked through photos and video-clips on a digital camera that showed the wind howling and sea crashing against the hotel as debris flew about. Water gushed in through the windows and the corridors flooded.

 

The low point was when one guest managed to make a cellular phone call out and was told that even fiercer wind and rain was on its way. "We thought it was the end. Nobody would say it, but everyone was thinking it," Van Erp said.

 

Cozumel, made famous by legendary French scuba diver and documentary maker Jacques Cousteau, could be out of business for months. One of its three piers for cruise ships was pulverized, massive chunks of concrete torn away and thrown onto the beach, and another suffered substantial damage.

 

Locals say the clean-up will be long and expensive.

 

"This was all so beautiful before," said Jose Galan, a 52-year-old house painter as he stood with his wife on the sea front. Part of the town was still knee-deep in water and some residents moved around in kayaks and on surf boards.

 

As Van Erp and Kolster left the island on Monday, they said they would try to rent a car and visit Mayan pyramids on the mainland, looking for an easy time after the chaos of Wilma.

 

"That's our story, and now we need therapy," joked Van Erp. "The only water we want to see is a shower."

 

-Now this story says only one dock was dammaged, Yea.

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TheBeachBears

TheBeachBears

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The docks on Cozumel island Mexico's top cruise destination and a popular stop for U.S. ocean liners suffered severe damage from Hurricane Wilma and should take months to repair, a port official said Tuesday.

"For the moment, (the industry) has collapsed," César Patricio Reyes, Mexico's ports coordinator, said in a phone interview.

 

"Some of the docks have split and others have disappeared entirely," Reyes said. "It's a true disaster."

 

The Caribbean island just south of Cancun is heavily frequented by the world's two biggest cruise lines, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., both of which are based in Miami. Cozumel is also a popular stop for divers.

 

The island's three cruise docks receive 1,600 ships a year carrying 3 million passengers, who in turn contribute an estimated US150 million to the local economy. Each dock is worth about US50 million, Reyes estimated.

 

One of Cozumel's docks is owned by Carnival, which confirmed Tuesday that its facility there sustained heavy damage. The company also uses the other two cruise ports on the island.

 

"We received a preliminary assessment yesterday from one of our Mexico-based employees. He indicated that the facility has sustained heavy damage," said Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz, adding that the cruise company has flown in a team to evaluate the damage.

 

"Once those folks get on the ground and take a closer look at it, we should have a much better picture," De la Cruz added.

 

The Carnival brand features Cozumel as a destination for 14 of its 22 ships, while some of the company's other lines such as Holland America also stop there.

 

Royal Caribbean officials weren't available to comment on how the damage in Cozumel will affect its operations.

 

Mexico received 3.5 million cruise visitors during the first half of 2005 or 18 percent more than in the year-ago period who spent an average of US67 per person while on land.

 

"We're hoping that by December we'll be able to offer some basic services at the destination so that we can rebuild faster with the economic help of the cruises," Reyes said.

 

Meanwhile, Reyes suggests that the ocean liners substitute other destinations on Mexico's Caribbean and Gulf Coasts such as Progreso on the Yucatan Peninsula for Cozumel on their itineraries.

 

Cozumel's municipal dock, meanwhile, was left largely intact, and is being used to ferry passengers back to Playa del Carmen on the mainland, said Jesús Vega, who has a concession to operate the dock at Playa del Carmen.

 

"We will be able to receive cruise ships as always. We'll soon recover," he said.

 

-Another story

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phantom728

phantom728

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Thank you for the updates on Cozumel. We are cruising in January and this was one of our scheduled stops. I search the internet for some information, but not too much has been available.

Such devastation...I hope they are able to quickly rebuild so that their economy can get back on track.

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tjfastpitch

tjfastpitch

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Looking for info only been on two cruises wondering if anyone has had a RC cruise change the destination. Do they let you know in advance? Any information will be helpful. Cruise leaves on Nov. 7 first stop Key West, then on to Cozemel then to Belize. Couldn't have planned more of a mess if we tried. We are celebrating a 50th Birthday and a 35 Anniversary for my sisters and have a large group.

 

MEXICO CITY, Hurricane Wilma did a number on the docks on Cozumel, a popular stop for hundreds of cruise ships from the U-S.

 

A Mexican port official says it will likely take months to repair the damage. He says, for the moment, the cruise industry in Mexico "has collapsed."

 

The Caribbean island just south of Cancun is used by the world's two biggest cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises, both of which are based in Miami. Cozumel is also a popular stop for divers.

 

Carnival says it's flown in a team to evaluate the damage.

 

-Just info I picked up on the web, so how are ships docking today?

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jamiski

jamiski

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There lots of pictures that have been posted in the 'Ports' section under 'Cozumel'. I believe it is a sticky and not a thread. Incase anyone is interested.

 

 

Opps, just kidding. I went to look for the thread that I saw yesterday and it isn't there anymore. There is a similar one in its place.

 

 

Hey Ms. Phantom, haven't seen you around in a while!

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Hflors

Hflors

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My cruise isn't until March 06, I bet we can kiss that port stop good bye. Oh well maybe they will substitute Roatan! (Went there last year and loved it.) My heart goes out to the people living on cozumel, but you know what they are probly working hard to get their port up and running. On second thought maybe they could tender us into Cozumel! I believe those people need our tourist dollars more than ever.

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tarps14

tarps14

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I am sitting here in tears not believing what I see. Cozumel has always been, hands down, my favorite port. It was just back in June that we were walking that same pier with the indoor mall and now to see it like this is beyond words. I know the people of Cozumel are incredibly resillient (sp?) and will rebound, but, .....my heavens....it is just incredible. A thought and a prayer go out to these brave folks.

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cruzzers

cruzzers

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TJFastPitch...RCCL is good about posting changes on their website as far in advance as possible. We just had to reschedule our cruise leaving on OCt 24 for a later date in hopes that hurricane season would settle down some. They posted the port changes for us and gave us the option of getting credit for another cruise or taking ours with different ports. We really didn't want to try and battle a hurricane in Florida so we opted to rebook. Hopefully poor Florida will be back together and things will be less dramatic. I do have to say that RCCL took care of the changes for us and some of the other cruies lines didn't do a thing to help with that. We have never sailed RCCL so we are impressed with the customer service we got during a very difficult time for the cruise industry.

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tarps14

tarps14

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TomCruiser2, if I remember correctly, there were three different choices when it came time to do the final click on. I had to try all three (I think) to get it to work right. My husband (very computer literate) was standing over my shoulder helping so I think this is what happened. Maybe somebody else can be a little clearer on the directions. Try a post just about this and I'm sure you'll get plenty of response.

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

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It's posted over on the Carnival board that the ships under the Carnival umbrella will use Costa Maya until approx. April 06 when they expect Cozumel to reopen to cruise ships.

 

 

October 26, 2005Wilma Destroys, Damages Cozumel Cruise Piers(12:30 p.m.) -- Cozumel is currently closed to all cruise ship traffic, and at least one of the three piers on the island has been destroyed -- the Puerto Maya Pier was lost during Hurricane Wilma. Reuters describes Puerto Maya as having been "pulverized, massive chunks of concrete torn away and thrown onto the beach." The International Pier and Punta Langosta Pier have sustained damages and are being assessed, according to a representative for the port.

 

The fate of these piers affects nearly every major cruise line as Cozumel is a mainstay on Western Caribbean routes. However, Carnival Corp. (the parent company of Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Seabourn and Windstar, among others) is particularly affected as it has invested a good deal of time and money in creating shopping areas -- and the now-destroyed Puerto Maya pier -- in Cozumel.

 

Electricity is out on the island, and a timeframe has not yet been established for repair and recovery. However, a representative for Costa Maya tells us they are expecting to accommodate additional cruise ships due to the closure of Cozumel until April of 2006 -- six months from now. Ships that are anticipated to visit Costa Maya in lieu of Cozumel include Carnival's Carnival Valor, Sensation and Inspiration; Princess' Star Princess; Disney's Disney Magic; NCL's Norwegian Sun; and Holland America's Volendam, Veedam and Zuiderdam.

 

Costa Maya's pier and surrounding complex sustained no damage and continue to operate at 100 percent capacity; all shore excursions are up and running.

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wrp96

wrp96

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Hi there, I'm wondering if you can help me. I can't seem to get the great countdown clock to work on my signature.

 

I cut and paste and do what the instructions say and all it does is come up in TEXT. What am I doing wrong?

 

Please help.

 

Sally

 

I'm seeing your countdown clock. You won't see it until after you've posted, but it's there.

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phantom728

phantom728

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Hey jamiski - good to see you as well. How's the planning? I've been chatting with Carol on a different Legend string.

 

To all - I love this thread because it's providing constructive Cozumel information, not like some I've seen where people are bashing others...such a waste.

 

I'm sure RC are checking all possibilities. I took them weeks to decide on Grandeur situation with NO...that was our original booking. Our Legend cruise has stops in GC, CM and Belize, so our only options seem to be Jamaica or day at sea. I'm opting for the additional day at sea, but I love being on the ship, so that's just me. I'll just be happy to be out of the snowy weather.

 

Keep the updates and informative information coming:) Everyone have a super day...weekends almost here:D

JC

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