Military Not Allowed to travel to Mexico ports??

[Aquahound]

My FIL is a civilian military contractor with a high security clearance. He cannot travel to Mexico and keep his clearance.

 

He can't travel to Mexico without permission or he will lose his clearance. If he gets the trip approved and follows all the conditions, he should be able to go to the places that the ships travel, like Cozumel for example. Paperwork must be filed at least 4 weeks prior to travel.

 

Reallyitsmema is correct. As a civilian, if his clearance level is TS-SCI or higher, he is required to complete a Notification of Foreign travel that is signed off by his Security Officer. It's a very easy process and I've yet to see one denied for Mexico.

[broberts]

Not to make light of the situation, but just curious, how would they know unless he's in military uniform when he/she steps off the ship. Also, have these robbers/bad guys have hacked the military computers and know where the personnel are at any given time. Robbery happens to all of us at any time even in our neck of the woods. Hey, every time we stepped off the ship in an Italian port on our recent Brilliance cruise , we were constantly reminded of gypsies targeting tourists.

 

I suspect it has less to do with how something might happen than it does to the consequences. However unlikely an event, sometimes the cost is just too great to take the risk.

 

As to how nefarious people might identify targets, bribing a local with access to the manifest would likely be enough.

[js]

wrong. not rubbish at all. service members are being targeted for robbery and worse. the drug cartels are getting bolder in a few areas.

 

I completely agree and don't understand how above poster would say rubbish.

My mom and I are sailing to Costa Maya and Cozumel in February and my dh has said the same thing

about the drug cartels getting much bolder and moving in on more territories. He is thinking it may be

best to just not get off or do ship sponsored but ship or not, I don't think the cartels will care.

We usually do Nachi Cocom and Maya Chan, not sure yet what we should do.

[dreadpirate3]

I completely agree and don't understand how above poster would say rubbish.

My mom and I are sailing to Costa Maya and Cozumel in February and my dh has said the same thing

about the drug cartels getting much bolder and moving in on more territories. He is thinking it may be

best to just not get off or do ship sponsored but ship or not, I don't think the cartels will care.

We usually do Nachi Cocom and Maya Chan, not sure yet what we should do.

 

That poster is highly opinionated and vociferous, but usually wrong.

[spookwife]

Not to make light of the situation, but just curious, how would they know unless he's in military uniform when he/she steps off the ship. Also, have these robbers/bad guys have hacked the military computers and know where the personnel are at any given time. Robbery happens to all of us at any time even in our neck of the woods. Hey, every time we stepped off the ship in an Italian port on our recent Brilliance cruise , we were constantly reminded of gypsies targeting tourists.

 

 

as I said.. on a Marine especially, the haircut is a dead giveaway. High and Tights are not subtle. as for hacking; well I'd have to have Mr spook explain how that is unlikely as that is what he did for 20 years and now teaches the next generation to do.

 

trust me, you can tell. any large foreign city full of tourists you can spot the ones who are military easily. including Europe, Asia and Mexico.

[cruisinfanatic]

My son in law is in the Marines. We are booked on Freedom Eastern Itinerary Jan 5th. We picked Eastern because my daughter said the Marines are not allowed to travel to ports in Mexico. I told my daughter I am pretty confident our ports will get changed.

 

Has anyone heard of this restriction for military personnel?

 

I am really torn because my family does not want me to cancel the cruise. I have less than 2 weeks from final payment. As another thought, I also think prices will drop after final payment.

Of course not. Where did you get that?

 

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[melski]

My son in law is in the Marines. We are booked on Freedom Eastern Itinerary Jan 5th. We picked Eastern because my daughter said the Marines are not allowed to travel to ports in Mexico. I told my daughter I am pretty confident our ports will get changed.

 

.

 

I am not sure why you think your ports will change for a January cruise. St. Maarten is saying it will be open for cruise ships mid-November. St. Kitts is fine and so is Labadee. The only other port is San Juan and they could easily switch that port to another eastern port. They won't change the entire cruise for 1 port. Now anything can happen (weather, etc) and if he checks with is chain of command that Mexico becomes an option, he should ask if he can go ashore and if not will he be ok with just staying onboard.

 

Also, while you have travel insurance, you may want to check what it covers for active duty military. We go thru USAA and it covers a lot of military specific instances: deployment, etc. If your Son in law is a USAA member, I suggest you look at the difference in coverage.

[momto2js]

Travel insured offers trip insurance through USAA. This particular product covers all changes due to military service. Which would include the unlikely event your porch being added to the no Travel list. We have been very pleased with the USAA trip insurance product. And yes my husband is an Air Force reservist and we have had to cancel because of the last minute orders

 

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[sfaaa]

wrong. not rubbish at all. service members are being targeted for robbery and worse. the drug cartels are getting bolder in a few areas.

 

Quite right. US servicemen are often singled out as political target and have special propaganda value to terrorists and bad guys in many parts of the world. They usually look rather lean and mean comparing to your average 60+ something, overweight and grey hair nonmilitary cruisers. Many active marines also spot a tight and sharp looking hairdo with Devil Dog type tattoo on their biceps. Quite easy to pick out from the crowd. Anyone who think the precaution is rubbish clearly has no sense of situation awareness in a bad neighborhood.

Edited September 28, 2017 by sfaaa

[Biker19]

As a civilian, if his clearance level is TS-SCI or higher, he is required to complete a Notification of Foreign travel that is signed off by his Security Officer.

Depends on the employing agency.

[BND]

Of course not. Where did you get that?

 

Sent from my VS501 using Forums mobile app

 

Read all the posts please.

[BND]

Travel insured offers trip insurance through USAA. This particular product covers all changes due to military service. Which would include the unlikely event your porch being added to the no Travel list. We have been very pleased with the USAA trip insurance product. And yes my husband is an Air Force reservist and we have had to cancel because of the last minute orders

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

 

My organization states very clearly in the form we have to fill out for foreign travel that if we are denied or cancelled due to in-country issues/threats, natural disasters, etc that the costs are on us so cancel for any reason insurance is the best bet or like USAA does for the military. We've had USAA for 36 years, ever since DH was commissioned. We just buy insurance through RCI, but I think in the future we need to consider cancel for any reason, especially for us with aging parents and my employer. I'm retiring in about three years.

[John&LaLa]

:')So many different answers....hey y'all sound like a bunch of RCCL agents...LOL

 

Just being funny,.:halo:

 

That is funny.

 

Oh, and for what it's worth, having a high security clearance is a curse.

 

You get stuck on jobs in a windowless room, with secure computers, phone lines, and never get to work from home. :eek:

 

Kind of like staying indoors when all the other kids are at recess. ;)

[dreadpirate3]

That is funny.

 

Oh, and for what it's worth, having a high security clearance is a curse.

 

You get stuck on jobs in a windowless room, with secure computers, phone lines, and never get to work from home. :eek:

 

Kind of like staying indoors when all the other kids are at recess. ;)

 

Being considered essential personnel, and kept on base during emergencies. :o

[Aquahound]

Depends on the employing agency.

 

Well, it's a DOD instruction, but I guess individual agencies can impose stricter rules. If cruise travel to Mexico is restricted by an agency, it would be an exception, not the norm.

[reallyitsmema]

That is funny.

 

Oh, and for what it's worth, having a high security clearance is a curse.

 

You get stuck on jobs in a windowless room, with secure computers, phone lines, and never get to work from home. :eek:

 

Kind of like staying indoors when all the other kids are at recess. ;)

 

Not in all cases.

[ONECRUISER]

My son in law is in the Marines. We are booked on Freedom Eastern Itinerary Jan 5th. We picked Eastern because my daughter said the Marines are not allowed to travel to ports in Mexico. I told my daughter I am pretty confident our ports will get changed.

 

Has anyone heard of this restriction for military personnel?

 

I am really torn because my family does not want me to cancel the cruise. I have less than 2 weeks from final payment. As another thought, I also think prices will drop after final payment.

Know there was one few yrs ago, Marine/Navy Commanders restricted them from crossing boarder in California. So this might come directly from his chain of command...

[Hey Tina]

wrong. not rubbish at all. service members are being targeted for robbery and worse. the drug cartels are getting bolder in a few areas.

 

Yes, I was wrong. Haven't you heard of Cunningham's Law? To paraphrase, the best way to get the right answer on the Internet is to post the wrong answer.

 

I completely agree and don't understand how above poster would say rubbish.

My mom and I are sailing to Costa Maya and Cozumel in February and my dh has said the same thing

about the drug cartels getting much bolder and moving in on more territories. He is thinking it may be

best to just not get off or do ship sponsored but ship or not, I don't think the cartels will care.

We usually do Nachi Cocom and Maya Chan, not sure yet what we should do.

 

I said it was rubbish because I misunderstood the question. I didn't know the OP was asking about rules set by the military, I thought they were asking about rules set by the cruise line or the counties in question.

 

That poster is highly opinionated and vociferous, but usually wrong.

 

Coming from you, that's a compliment. Thanks.

[Aquahound]

Know there was one few yrs ago, Marine/Navy Commanders restricted them from crossing boarder in California. So this might come directly from his chain of command...

 

Yes, I mentioned that one earlier. There was a restriction in place for the entire portion of Mexico within 50 miles of the US border.

[ONECRUISER]

That is funny.

 

Oh, and for what it's worth, having a high security clearance is a curse.

 

You get stuck on jobs in a windowless room, with secure computers, phone lines, and never get to work from home. :eek:

 

Kind of like staying indoors when all the other kids are at recess. ;)

Had one of those, was in only part of building without windows behind multiple doors. Winter months, going to work and home was always dark, never saw sun except on weekend's if lucky enough to get day off. Had fill out paperwork before I could travel/cruise to another country. Actually miss it, was exciting work...

[bigque]

I am a 20 year retired military retiree and when it comes to the military this forum is not the place to get accurate information regarding what he can or cannot do. He needs to get this information from his unit or JAG!

[iahawkfan21]

My wife and I have cruised to Mexico several times since I've been in the military, security clearance and all. I've always submitted the proper paperwork and have never been denied my leave or ability to visit the cruise ports in Mexico.

 

But, as suggested, not every service is the same, nor every base/unit. Just because my AF unit handles my situation one way, doesn't mean another unit's commander would do the same. The OP's family member needs to go through their chain of command, simple as that. Most units from my experience don't have many issues as long as individuals are just visiting the cruise ports, but again, that's never a guarantee. Until they check with their CoC, anything on here is simply speculation.

[Palmetto Pilot]

Rubbish

Not rubbish. I'm an active duty Army Officer. Individual chain of commands can approve or disapprove OCONUS leave. It's up to the command to decided if the service member can travel to those locations or not.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Palmetto Pilot

[iahawkfan21]

I am a 20 year retired military retiree and when it comes to the military this forum is not the place to get accurate information regarding what he can or cannot do. He needs to get this information from his unit or JAG!

 

Exactly. We have very straightforward procedures on our base for foreign trips, all people have to do is ask.

[Biker19]

Well, it's a DOD instruction, but I guess individual agencies can impose stricter rules. .

or looser rules.