Curated Tours Only In Mexico

[Cruising89143]

1 hour ago, PAGA said:

I see on Royal Caribbean board there are 2 unvaccinated teens on Adventure who tested positive…posted about an hour ago…so maybe that influenced the curated tours only decision, too

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25311-royal-caribbean-2-covid-19-cases-on-adventure-of-the-seas.html

[Jeremiah1212]

4 minutes ago, bajathree said:

I absolutely agree and said the same thing....going off on your own I felt was a safer option.

 

Private taxi to an outdoor location seems like the safer option to me - but they didn't ask my opinion 🤐

 

We're vaccinated but I also think it makes more sense to have the unvaccinated 5% co-mingled with the 95% vaccinated onboard rather than segregated in certain venues, but again, no one asked me! 

[c-leg5]

2 minutes ago, bajathree said:

I absolutely agree and said the same thing....going off on your own I felt was a safer option.

We have just returned from a land vacation felt perfectly safe all over the island but tourists need to be respectful of other countries regulations and restrictions. 
 

I would much rather be in a small independent group than a bus load of passengers on a group tour. We even gave one of our favorites, the Bar Hop Tour a miss this time and stuck with our private driver.
 

The air flight in and out were the most crowded parts of our trip.

[bajathree]

1 minute ago, c-leg5 said:

We have just returned from a land vacation felt perfectly safe all over the island but tourists need to be respectful of other countries regulations and restrictions. 
 

I would much rather be in a small independent group than a bus load of passengers on a group tour. We even gave one of our favorites, the Bar Hop Tour a miss this time and stuck with our private driver.
 

The air flight in and out were the most crowded parts of our trip.

That was going to be my plan....hire private driver for the day to a remote beach location.

[Tatka]

    We vacationed twice in Riviera Maya (November & April) in Iberostar Paraíso Lindo. All stuff was in masks (many in shields too). Guests were required to wear masks in buffet & restaurants, I’m excursions in vans, while entering gym. But nowhere else. They had police that if on the way back you test positive (antigen) you can stay for free for 14 more days (10 if negative after 10 days). There was no tests on entrance to Mexico

 

 I think island is not as concerned as cruise lines. Plus they can make a bit more $$$. Thankfully we are cruising in several weeks to experience the Edge… but we found nice 5 hours beach break in Cozumel to get off at least at one port.

 

Surprisingly Cozumel (and only civilized beaches part) is showing free or almost  Sargasso free! Situation in Riviera Maya is horrible now. 
 

 

[c-leg5]

16 minutes ago, Tatka said:

    We vacationed twice in Riviera Maya (November & April) in Iberostar Paraíso Lindo. All stuff was in masks (many in shields too). Guests were required to wear masks in buffet & restaurants, I’m excursions in vans, while entering gym. But nowhere else. They had police that if on the way back you test positive (antigen) you can stay for free for 14 more days (10 if negative after 10 days). There was no tests on entrance to Mexico

 

 I think island is not as concerned as cruise lines. Plus they can make a bit more $$$. Thankfully we are cruising in several weeks to experience the Edge… but we found nice 5 hours beach break in Cozumel to get off at least at one port.

 

Surprisingly Cozumel (and only civilized beaches part) is showing free or almost  Sargasso free! Situation in Riviera Maya is horrible now. 
 

 

True, sargassum was fine last week at the usual west coast beach clubs.
 

Nachi and Del Mar Latino (affiliated) have promotional discounted rates presently and reduced capacity.  I am not sure if other clubs will follow to compete.
 

Paradise Beach reopened for the arrival of Adventure. Sadly our favorite east coast beach bars are suffering the same sargassum problems as the mainland - and it is bad.

[c-leg5]

51 minutes ago, bajathree said:

That was going to be my plan....hire private driver for the day to a remote beach location.

The drivers will appreciate it, if it is allowed.

 

Our driver that we have used for many years has had very little income for 15 months. Locals are desperate, please tip well.

[sn2792]

We are booked on the 7/24 cruise and wanted to go to La Choza for lunch, but we are just happy to be on a cruise, so we don’t mind staying on the ship.

[JFontaine]

I wonder if something else is going on here. Mexico allows unvaccinated and untested tourists to travel freely,  but vaccinated tourists are restricted.   Maybe this is a dispute about ports fees, and a way for Mexico to exert pressure - or something similar. 

[Fredric22]

3 hours ago, mom says said:

You can agree with the restrictions or not. So you have a couple of choices. Sail and go on the excursions anyway. Sail and stay on the ship while in port. Or don't sail. But your assumption that you can't get covid because you're  immunized is faulty.

I am sorry, but did someone say you can't get Covid because you are immunized? Yea.. pretty sure no one did. Nothing is 100%.. and there is risk in everything we do. However, the vaccines bring that risk down to level which is acceptable. Regardless, there is really no need inform me of my choices.  Thanks though! 

3 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Wrong

Umm ok... 95%+ is about as close we are going to get to fully vaccinated. The CDC considers this a fully vaccinated cruise. 

 

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

 

I think you may be confused. The CDC is not requiring cruisers returning on closed loop cruises to  test for some reason. They are requiring vaccinated air travelers who have been to the same ports to test.

 

On the other hand the Yucatan, including Cozumel, has had seriously increasing case numbers and hospitalizations so I am not sure where you are getting your figures from. Whilst they are wanting the cruise ships for the economy they are concerned about tourists who don’t follow local regulations. I suggest you keep up to date by following the government traffic light restrictions which are updated weekly.

Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo

They have been at orange for the last few weeks (under the threat of returning to red) with a mask mandate in all public areas. 

 

 

 

This is the current case data. I am not sure where YOU are getting your information from. As you can see, there has NOT been a significant increase in cases over the last 30 days. The state is averaging about 9 deaths per day, which has also been stable for the last month. I suggest you keep up to date with the actual data.  

[Fredric22]

45 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

I wonder if something else is going on here. Mexico allows unvaccinated and untested tourists to travel freely,  but vaccinated tourists are restricted.   Maybe this is a dispute about ports fees, and a way for Mexico to exert pressure - or something similar. 

Agreed.  This is definitely more here than meets the eye.  I am also surprised Celebrity just didn't scrap Mexico and do a day or two at Coco Cay.  I would have MUCH rather preferred to go there for a couple of days instead of having to worry about restrictions in Mexico. 

[c-leg5]

44 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

I wonder if something else is going on here. Mexico allows unvaccinated and untested tourists to travel freely,  but vaccinated tourists are restricted.   Maybe this is a dispute about ports fees, and a way for Mexico to exert pressure - or something similar. 

Not sure I follow your reasoning?
 

Adventure of the seas just docked without  cruise ship excursion restrictions?

[Tatka]

45 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

I wonder if something else is going on here. Mexico allows unvaccinated and untested tourists to travel freely,  but vaccinated tourists are restricted.   Maybe this is a dispute about ports fees, and a way for Mexico to exert pressure - or something similar. 

Port fees are paid anyways if ship docks right?
I think it could be Celebrity’s rules to stay on safe side and have more excursions booked.

[JFontaine]

Celebrity said today this was Mexico's requirement - right? And it is very last minute. 

 

Maybe these cash-strapped ports asked for port fees based on a full ship.  Or maybe cash-strapped Celebrity tried to renegotiate port fees. And now one side is flexing their economic muscle.   I don't know what happened here, but it just doesn't make sense to me that Mexico is worried about vaccinated cruisers spending money in their ports.  

[Fredric22]

2 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

Celebrity said today this was Mexico's requirement - right? And it is very last minute. 

 

Maybe these cash-strapped ports asked for port fees based on a full ship.  Or maybe cash-strapped Celebrity tried to renegotiate port fees. And now one side is flexing their economic muscle.   I don't know what happened here, but it just doesn't make sense to me that Mexico is worried about vaccinated cruisers spending money in their ports.  

Celebrity made it seem like this was their decision based on local vaccination rates and COVID-19 numbers. But, since Adventure has been going there without restrictions, it still doesn't make much sense. 

[JFontaine]

10 minutes ago, Fredric22 said:

Agreed.  This is definitely more here than meets the eye.  I am also surprised Celebrity just didn't scrap Mexico and do a day or two at Coco Cay.  I would have MUCH rather preferred to go there for a couple of days instead of having to worry about restrictions in Mexico. 

That's the biggest mystery of all.  Why all  these ships are not stopping in Coco Cay or Labadee on every cruise. 

[Fredric22]

Just now, JFontaine said:

That's the biggest mystery of all.  Why all  these ships are not stopping in Coco Cay or Labadee on every cruise. 

Honestly, they could have just done 2 or 3 days at Coco Cay, and a day or 2 in the Bahamas and I think everyone would have been very happy with that! Plus, definitely some good fuel savings there too. Seems like now they have a good excuse to go ahead and do that since they seem to be worried about Mexico. 

[JFontaine]

5 minutes ago, Fredric22 said:

Celebrity made it seem like this was their decision based on local vaccination rates and COVID-19 numbers. 

Sorry I missed that. Strange that they just noticed the vaccination rate now. Mexico has been begging other countries for vaccines for months. Nothing new there. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by JFontaine

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

On the other hand the Yucatan, including Cozumel, has had seriously increasing case numbers and hospitalizations so I am not sure where you are getting your figures from. Whilst they are wanting the cruise ships for the economy they are concerned about tourists who don’t follow local regulations. I suggest you keep up to date by following the government traffic light restrictions which are updated weekly.

Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo

They have been at orange for the last few weeks (under the threat of returning to red) with a mask mandate in all public areas. 

As this article from last Saturday's Mexico Daily News points out, Quintana Roo leads the country in COVID outbreaks: https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/coronavirus/quintana-roo-leads-8-states-with-covid-outbreaks/

 

This graphic clearly shows the recent spike in cases. Celebrity's decision, whether unilateral or resulting from consultations with Mexican officials, is the correct one IMO. I'm not a fan of ship excursions to begin with, let alone ones of this nature, but I support Celebrity's call.

 

[harkinmr]

1 hour ago, Fredric22 said:

Celebrity made it seem like this was their decision based on local vaccination rates and COVID-19 numbers. But, since Adventure has been going there without restrictions, it still doesn't make much sense. 

Perhaps the Adventure positive cases prompted this decision as others have suggested.  I would imagine Adventure’s Cozumel port stop will be changed for their next sailing. Celebrity is not going to directly connect the dots in an announcement, but coupled with Mexico’s infection/vaccination statistics it gives them cover. There is not much anyone can do to change the policy. Things are fluid and lots of things will continue to change in the restart. 

[jelayne]

5 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Sorry you don't understand.  They tested everyone near the end of the cruise.  It doesn't matter if you were vaccinated.  Someone tested positive and a lot of people needed to take an additional test and they were quarantined until the results were back.

They tested everyone because that was a requirement to disembark in Saint Maarten.  Those that were in close contact with the 2 passengers who tested positive, either by being on a excursion (9 -11 people as I recall) and some who had spent time with the people who tested positive at  a bar were isolated in their cabin until they could be tested and the results returned.  From the reports I read late afternoon to around 10 pm.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

As this article from last Saturday's Mexico Daily News points out, Quintana Roo leads the country in COVID outbreaks: https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/coronavirus/quintana-roo-leads-8-states-with-covid-outbreaks/

 

This graphic clearly shows the recent spike in cases. Celebrity's decision, whether unilateral or resulting from consultations with Mexican officials, is the correct one IMO. I'm not a fan of ship excursions to begin with, let alone ones of this nature, but I support Celebrity's call.

 

Thanks for posting. This clearly shows the significant upward trend from March. The first graph only showed a snapshot of the last few weeks and certainly it appears to have plateaued for now which probably explains why restrictions have not been increased to red so far. Restrictions were increased to orange from yellow early in June when cases were increasing and have remained there for now. They are subject to reassessment weekly. 
 

 

[bajathree]

8 hours ago, JFontaine said:

That's the biggest mystery of all.  Why all  these ships are not stopping in Coco Cay or Labadee on every cruise. 

I agree....if Mexico is of such concern to them....why do we have 2 out of 3 ports stops there?!?!?!

 

[bajathree]

8 hours ago, Fouremco said:

As this article from last Saturday's Mexico Daily News points out, Quintana Roo leads the country in COVID outbreaks: https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/coronavirus/quintana-roo-leads-8-states-with-covid-outbreaks/

 

This graphic clearly shows the recent spike in cases. Celebrity's decision, whether unilateral or resulting from consultations with Mexican officials, is the correct one IMO. I'm not a fan of ship excursions to begin with, let alone ones of this nature, but I support Celebrity's call.

 

Like said above....then don't even go to Mexico.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, bajathree said:

Like said above....then don't even go to Mexico.

I have no plans to revisit Mexico in the next year or two. I was simply providing information about the current situation, not advice as to whether or not to go.