Mexico Travel Advisory

[cbr663]

58 minutes ago, dee2673 said:

 That’s how I choose to take it. I refuse to live in fear. I will travel by direct route. I will stay in the areas my government says it allows its employees to be in. I won’t be foolhardy but I also won’t be scared away . My choice

Your choosing to assume the risk of traveling to an area of violent widespread crime is certainly your choice.  It was incorrect though to state as you did previously that the advisory stated that Zona Dorado Center Historico are OK.  I think it is important to provide clarity around this for others who are reading this thread.

[OlsSalt]

5 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

Your choosing to assume the risk of traveling to an area of violent widespread crime is certainly your choice.  It was incorrect though to state as you did previously that the advisory stated that Zona Dorado Center Historico are OK.  I think it is important to provide clarity around this for others who are reading this thread.

 

According to the advisory, those two areas are "okay". With due caution noted. Give this a rest. If they later become too unsafe for passengers, the ship will not stop there.  There is zero benefit to a cruise line to drop passengers into officially deemed  unsafe areas.

Edited December 7, 2018 by OlsSalt

[iancal]

I believe that you need to read the warnings in their entirety and have an basic understanding of the geography of the area in question.  Pull out, or pull up a map of the area.   Then apply some common sense and do a little independent checking on your own.   In the case of Thailand, Turkey, and Athens warnings we turned to some long term expats who lived in those areas and who posted/answered questions.  

 

Most times the on site information and advice posted was at variance in terms of degree with the cable news outlet reports and to a degree with the State Dept. warnings -especially if one had not read those warnings in their entirely.

Edited December 7, 2018 by iancal

[mcrcruiser]

Within the last several years we had read that there were cartel  killings in a beach area of Mazatlan 

 

 Being that we do take many Mexican Riviera cruises ,we must be aware & alert  to  the warnings . It is a shame that  both the cruise passengers  & local law abiding citizens have to  suffer because of these criminals   

Now we are seriously considering doing  the west coast coastal cruises vs future  Mexican Riviera  where the ships stop  in American ports & one port of Ensenada  for a 7 night cruise . Princess does these cruises from San Pedro cruise terminal ;which is near to LA 

 

 

[dee2673]

43 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

Your choosing to assume the risk of traveling to an area of violent widespread crime is certainly your choice.  It was incorrect though to state as you did previously that the advisory stated that Zona Dorado Center Historico are OK.  I think it is important to provide clarity around this for others who are reading this thread.

 

With all due respect, I am not choosing to travel to an area of "violent widespread crime." I'm going to The Zona Dorado and the Centro Historicio which the state department allows it's employees to travel within. I'm good with that

[OlsSalt]

24 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Within the last several years we had read that there were cartel  killings in a beach area of Mazatlan 

 

 Being that we do take many Mexican Riviera cruises ,we must be aware & alert  to  the warnings . It is a shame that  both the cruise passengers  & local law abiding citizens have to  suffer because of these criminals   

Now we are seriously considering doing  the west coast coastal cruises vs future  Mexican Riviera  where the ships stop  in American ports & one port of Ensenada  for a 7 night cruise . Princess does these cruises from San Pedro cruise terminal ;which is near to LA 

 

 

 

For the past several years, HAL dropped Mazatlan from its Mexico cruises and curtailed the Mexican Riviera entirely. There were several cartel murders in the Zona Dorada area - nightclub areas frequented by these high rolling narcos.  It took a great deal of local security reassurance for HAL to come back. 

 

You do need to cancel any  future HAL cruises and not just threaten to cancel these cruises, when they do not meet your own safety considerations. You do have choices.  Vacations are meant to be times away from worrying. Just do it.

[OlsSalt]

USA Today  reviews the situation in Mazatlan  as of March 2018: https://traveltips.usatoday.com/mazatlan-mexico-safe-tourists-16143.html

[Copper10-8]

Back in January 2011 with an uptick in violent crime in and around Mazatlan, incl. a (one) shoot-out between cartels in the Zona Dorada, several cruise lines (Carnival, HAL, Disney, NCL. Azamara) stopped calling in the Sinaloan city. Those lines returned to Mazatlan in the 2013-2014 time period when the crime situation inside Mazatlan was deemed improved and secure.

 

Cruise line corporate security staff are constantly monitoring passenger/crew safety in many ports around the world and if Mazatlan was deemed unsafe again, they would once again stop calling there. There is violent crime and crap areas in L.A., Chicago, New York, Detroit, Miami, Philly, Toronto, you name it.

 

Last month, there were several shootings in San Pedro within the jurisdiction of LAPD's Harbor Division. There are some heavily infested gang areas/public housing projects in Pedro and adjoining Harbor City and Wilmington. Yet, San Pedro continues to be the winter season home port of Carnival and Princess cruise lines, and in two weeks HAL's Amsterdam will be calling there upon the conclusion of her Grand Asia/Pacific run.

 

You can choose to stay inside your home with drawn curtains and locked doors and windows, or you can "go places" and use common sense. Your choice 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Copper10-8

[Tom O.]

22 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

This is not new to Mazatlan -- just do a ship excursion if you want to something away from the port.

 

I agree -- do not go outside and take a taxi to town.

 

A number of years ago Mazatlan was removed from itineraries.  

 

When we were in 2016 the shop area at the pier had been expanded -- very nice.

I was on one of those cruises where Mazatlan was taken off the itinerary. It turned out to be a stroke of good luck for us. what happened is that the ship went straight to Cabo. Instead of the usual 1/2 day in Cabo we arrived a day early, and the ship stayed at anchor there all night. We loved spending the whole night there while the ship swung back and forth in the harbor. It was one of the most beautiful night we have ever spent on a ship.

We never cared much for Mazatlan anyway - we usually just stay on the ship that day.

[mcrcruiser]

 With the potential of  the high crime areas in Mazatlan  we would have liked  the Eurodam to spend 2 days in Cabo . on our up coming cruise Dec 9th 

[dee2673]

Gosh, I hope not the following week when we’re onboard. We aren’t leaving the ship on our Cabo day as it felt like a tourist trap and we found it a little generic. 

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

While I'm a pretty intrepid traveler, it would give me pause to see that Sinaloa state has a level 4 warning -- that is the same warning given to Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen....

 

It also seems a bit strange to me that many folks would not travel to Turkey (currently Level 3 and has been for a while) due to fears of what could happen, but will go to Mazatlan. (Also find it strange that cruise ships will stop there -- as I've been lectured before by posters about how the ship's insurers will not put the ship or passengers in danger, referring to Level 3 destinations that have been canceled in the past.

 

 

[BruceMuzz]

Several countries - including Canada and Japan - have advised their citizens not to travel to the USA, due to high crime rates and mass shootings.

What's the difference?

[cbr663]

For those who may be not be aware, the US Gov't changed its Travel Advisory rating system earlier this year.  The new 4-Level system is:

 

Level 1:  Exercise Normal Precautions

Level 2:  Exercise Increased Caution

Level 3:  Reconsider Travel

Level 4:  Do Not Travel:  This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.

 

More information can be found here:  https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/01/276945.htm

 

[OlsSalt]

18 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

For those who may be not be aware, the US Gov't changed its Travel Advisory rating system earlier this year.  The new 4-Level system is:

 

Level 1:  Exercise Normal Precautions

Level 2:  Exercise Increased Caution

Level 3:  Reconsider Travel

Level 4:  Do Not Travel:  This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.

 

More information can be found here:  https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/01/276945.htm

 

 

I hope you have cancelled your cruise by now, and booked something more suitable to your own needs.

Edited December 8, 2018 by OlsSalt

[puli]

9 hours ago, dee2673 said:

 That’s how I choose to take it. I refuse to live in fear. I will travel by direct route. I will stay in the areas my government says it allows its employees to be in. I won’t be foolhardy but I also won’t be scared away . My choice

That sounds reasonable...but my concern is that the ship is offering &   selling tours to  areas NOT  "declared"' safe by our government. Do you think they will have extra security???

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, BruceMuzz said:

Several countries - including Canada and Japan - have advised their citizens not to travel to the USA, due to high crime rates and mass shootings.

What's the difference?

I don't recall the Canadian government ever advising its citizens not to travel to the US, and the current Canadian travel advisory for the US is:

 

Exercise normal security precautions

There are no significant safety and security concerns. The overall safety and security situation is similar to that of Canada. You should take normal security precautions.

[puli]

58 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

I hope you have cancelled your cruise by now, and booked something more suitable to your own needs.

Good advice for those who are so concerned as long as their cruise is not past final payment.

[OlsSalt]

36 minutes ago, puli said:

Good advice for those who are so concerned as long as their cruise is not past final payment.

 

The Mexico travel advisory for Sinaloa state went in to place last January, 2018.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-travel-warning-state-department-highest-do-not-travel-advisories/

Edited December 8, 2018 by OlsSalt

[puli]

29 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

The Mexico travel advisory for Sinaloa state went in to place last January, 2018.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-travel-warning-state-department-highest-do-not-travel-advisories/

 

29 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

The Mexico travel advisory for Sinaloa state went in to place last January, 2018.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-travel-warning-state-department-highest-do-not-travel-advisories/

 ...thank  you so much.. Very interesting especially since when I talked to  HAL's excursion department 2 days ago they were not aware of any travel advisories  at all for any HAL ports in Mexico. In fact I doubt any of us were until someone on our roll call noted that as of November 15  2018 it was in effect.  I guess it is old hat for parts of Mexico, so much so it carries no weight  for those in the know.

Edited December 8, 2018 by puli

[mcrcruiser]

The Crime in the Mazatlan area is not just limited to Cartel wars ;but  also kidnaping & human trafficking  .  

Thus ,each pax must  abide by their own decisions  of where to go 

 

 

 

 

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, puli said:

 

 ...thank  you so much.. Very interesting especially since when I talked to  HAL's excursion department 2 days ago they were not aware of any travel advisories  at all for any HAL ports in Mexico. In fact I doubt any of us were until someone on our roll call noted that as of November 15  2018 it was in effect.  I guess it is old hat for parts of Mexico, so much so it carries no weight  for those in the know.

 

It is not old hat. The advisory carefully directs passengers to specific places they feel can be safety visited. It is the dury of the passenger to ensure their own safety and to stay apprised of security conditions. HAL has its own safety and security thresholds too, but each passenger has to answer first to themselves. 

[OlsSalt]

59 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

The Crime in the Mazatlan area is not just limited to Cartel wars ;but  also kidnaping & human trafficking  .  

Thus ,each pax must  abide by their own decisions  of where to go 

 

 

 

 

 

The advisory identifies two specific areas in Mazatlan proper as reasonably secure for passenger visits. Don't conflate this with the "Mazatlan area" nor the rest of Sinaloaa state. 

[OlsSalt]

Sign up for the US State Dept STEP program if you are a US citizen, or just curious: Smart Traveller Enrollment Program - register what countries you will be visiting:

https://step.state.gov

Edited December 8, 2018 by OlsSalt

[dee2673]

11 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

The Crime in the Mazatlan area is not just limited to Cartel wars ;but  also kidnaping & human trafficking  .  

Thus ,each pax must  abide by their own decisions  of where to go 

 

 

 

 

I’m sorry but this made me chuckle a little. Human trafficking and kidnapping?? No laughing matter unless you know that I am a 64 yr old short fat lady with gray hair. I will have zero “trappings of wealth” on my person. Inexpensive handbag, no jewelry, no hair dye or fancy nails and wearing a top I bought in PV 2 years ago. If someone were to take me for nefarious purposes, they’d likely be stuck with me..or just do away with me, in which case I will die true to my convictions.

 

No one is going to change anyone’s mind here. If you are afraid to leave the ship , then don’t leave the ship. As the alert stands, it doesn’t make me afraid to visit the areas my government has advised its employees they are allowed to travel within. If the alert changes, I would likely reconsider. 

 

I wish everyone a fun cruise however you choose to do it.