Puntarenas Call Canceled Due to Protests

[Erica@cruisecritic]

Anyone out there on Coral Princess? Apparently, the ship was prevented from calling in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on Wednesday because protesting fishermen blocked the harbor entrance. The fishermen are mad because they've been prohibited from "shark finning" (cutting fins off live sharks and throwing the animals back in the water to die), local vendors are mad because they're missing out on tourist dollars, and Princess is mad because this is the third time the line's ships have been prevented from visiting Puntarenas. Why the fishermen are taking out their frustrations on a neutral party like Princess is anyone's guess.

Princess is currently in talks with Costa Rica's Minister of Tourism to resolve the situation. Norwegian Sun called at Puntarenas as scheduled on Thursday, and the next ship won't call until November 22. Has anyone else had problems visiting Puntarenas by cruise?

[Red Rox]

We're scheduled to be there on Dec 16th on the Coral. I know that's a month away, but I certainly hope they resolve the issue. That's one of the few ports on our trip where I really want to do an excursion.

[The Wizard of Waz]

I'm on the Island princess and we are supposed to arrive tomorrow morning (Sunday). I'll let you know if we encounter problems/

[davidnsteph]

From the bridgecam on the Princess website, it appears that the Island Princess was able to visit Puntarenas today. It looks like the protests may have died down there enough for ships to dock.

 

DavidnSteph

[TvlDreamer]

We sailed into the harbor in late November (I'm on a cruise, no clue of the date :p) on the Royal w/o problems.

 

I know a lot of people thought it was a boring stop, but we loved it. Had a great time exploring!