When considering whether to take a cruise

Damselfish · October 9, 2006

read this. I took it from another Cozumel related travel board. It was posted by Captain Ron who is a long time Cozumel local. It is on point regarding the cruise ship industry and particularly relevant in light of the greed and sleaziness of Carnival cruise lines. They (Carnival)refuses to pay back port fees owed to Cozumel and now do not want to pay the increased docking fees which are legitimate. You won't catch me dead on a cruise ever again.

quoted from Captain Ron:

"I objected to the demeaning of cruise passengers. I feel that just because these folks may not be as as adventurous as some of us, there is no reason to crack on them.

On the other hand I totally agree with you about the greed of the cruise companies, their ill effect, on the island (in my opinion) and the way the local government has prostituted itself to get the cruise ship business (not to mention kick-backs galore). The wonderful ambiance of the pre-90's Cozumel is gone forever. When I first went to Carlos and Charlies, in the early 80's it was one of the most fun and unusual bars I had ever been to and now it's just a cruise stop, with way too many drunken kids. To be fair, a lot of locals will still be found there late at night, on the weekends.

Yes the cruise ships have brought millions of dollars into the local economy, but the money is going into the hands of very, very few people. What used to be a quaint front street, with small locally owned businesses, restaurants and bars, is now just a row of jewelry stores, mostly owned by companies from NYC. If you travel around the Caribbean, these same stores have done the same thing to many other Caribbean locations. When you look at the front street, it seems filled with many competing stores, when the reality of it is that almost all of the stores are owned by the same company.

The cruise lines have got to be the biggest legalized scam, in the world. Almost all are based in Florida, yet they pay no USA tax because they bribe some despot, in a dump like Liberia and register their ships there. What the local Cozumel government doesn't seem to get is that these companies will abandon the island (like after the hurricanes) the minute something better comes along. Wait till Cuba opens up...I think the island will loose a lot of ships.

Another thing is that people are just now becoming aware of the amount of violence and sexual assaults that occur on these vessels, with the cruise companies trying to cover it up. I think that we have all seen, via the news media, that when problems, especially violent ones occur, the cruise ship companies not only do not want to help authorities catch the bad guys, but they clean up the crime scene, before arriving back in the States, so as to get iit swept under the table, as soon as possible and make it virtually iimpossible to solve the shipboard crimes."

and here is another good piece of information most of you probably don't know:

quote from RobertSDF

"You wont find many who venture far away from the main shopping street on the waterfront. Much of this is because the ship personnel warn the passengers it could be dangerous---of course, they do this to keep the passengers in the shops that pay a kick back to the cruise director."

Yes, all of those stores the ship sends you to and calls them "safe" are paying kick-backs to the ships.

IslandJim · October 9, 2006

For me, I hope that means you are not returning to Cozumel at all, if indeed you have ever been here. I know you said you have fished and even given reviews about companies with which you have NEVER been engaged in any activities at all, i.e. my company, Wahoo Tours.

There is a lot about those "owed funds" that is not always brought forward and while Captain Ron is expressing some nostalgia, I am sure he will admit that the cruise industry clearly supports Cozumel.

After Hurricane Wilma, our SECOND hurricane in as many months Cozumel did not have a single pier standing to receive any cruise ship at all. Did they drop Cozumel for another port? NO, it’s obvious that with their first arrivals after an October slaughter of the island was in the middle of November. LIFE SAVING TO THIS ISLAND COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS!!!

Carnaval is not abandoning Cozumel. There will be fewer arrivals of ships this season, but that is not expected to reduce significantly the number of tourist since they are replacing some withdrawn ships with larger capacity ships. That means more visitors on the day that ship is here including more passengers and crew.

It will be years before Cuba opens fully to Americans for free travel and when it does, what is the infrastructure to handle massive increases in tourism? And so what? Will you go via a cruise ship?

About the money: When I arrived to Cozumel almost 10 years ago the streets were a shambles everywhere. Main boulevards were full of pot holes, there were no street signs or markers and the trash in the streets was a disgrace. That has all changed!!! I wonder where the money comes from for all that public works taking place. How much, do you suppose, of the local community funds, i.e., tax dollars and income from tourism was allocated to fixing up the streets, parks and the other things that have been accomplished in the past 10 years?

Trust me; it was not taxes collected from your fantasy fishing charter income. LOL

Many of our waterfront stores are locally owned by life long Cozumelenos and Mexicans from the Yucatan and Mexico City, among others. Many of the diamond outlets are owned by foreign companies, but a few are also locally owned. All the real estate is locally owned.

The cruise line scam!?! There are many reasons shipping companies use foreign registration. The U.S. tax system is among the leading reasons. Does that make their business judgement a "scam"? How many companies in the U.S. have their businesses registered in Puerta Rico for the exact same reasons? How many California based corporations are actually Delaware corporations with permission to do business in their respective states? It is about taxes, not scams.

I would like to have the "kickback" business explained a little better and some sort of "PROOF". It might be little more than paying for advertising in their programs for different island similar to advertising with Google. They don't call it a "kickback", they call it advertising and optimizing search engine placement.

This is a real strange world. Sometimes when folks don't completely understand something, they go with an explanation they have heard but have never bothered to substantiate.

Damselfish · October 9, 2006

1. I have been visiting Cozumel for well over 20 years. I own a condo there in fact.

2. Those were Captain Ron's words, not mine so don't start attacking ME

3. Fishing charters: You opened the door, so you want the truth? I in fact referred some people to your fishing service last year, pre Wilma based on reviews. My friends said that it was the worst experience they have had and even requested to come back an hour early.

4. I was in Cozumel during Wilma, and for two weeks following. So don't patronize me. I know, I was there.

5. I am not one of your cheerleaders, and respectfully request that you not address me again.

IslandJim · October 10, 2006

1. I have been visiting Cozumel for well over 20 years. I own a condo there in fact.

2. Those were Captain Ron's words, not mine so don't start attacking ME

3. Fishing charters: You opened the door, so you want the truth? I in fact referred some people to your fishing service last year, pre Wilma based on reviews. My friends said that it was the worst experience they have had and even requested to come back an hour early.

4. I was in Cozumel during Wilma, and for two weeks following. So don't patronize me. I know, I was there.

5. I am not one of your cheerleaders, and respectfully request that you not address me again.

Let me address your inconsistencies, Damselfish.

Damselfish posted this on December 27, 2005 Regarding Wahoo Tours:

Quote:

good luck. i've heard the boat is not up to par with other fishing boats on the island though i've never seen it myself.

Damselfish readily admits to NOT having even seen the boats but is quite willing to make derogatory statements about them. I suggest Damselfish cannot name any of the boats.

Again in December 27, 2005 Damselfish writes:

Quote:

so wahoo is a broker not an actual fishing charter that explains it. i've not heard anything good about them from reputable respectable people.

A clear indication Damselfish has no concept what he is talking about.

Then September 7, 2006 Damselfish posted this:

I DO NOT recommend Wahoo. I've been with Wahoo, Albatross and Sand Dollar and my order of preference is ALbatros, SAnd Dollar, and I would skip fishing if Wahoo was my only option. The "rent-a-crew" was good, but dealing with the owner was a different story. With ALbatross and Sand Dollar, everything was as expected, no hidden charges, professional and great crews. We liked the crew and the services with Albatros better which is why they would be my first choice.

I, Wahoo called you out once on this very thing. You say you NEVER saw Wahoo boats, but were anxious to bad mouth them. You said you never saw their boats!!!

September 7. 2006 however, you say you have fished with virtually every company on the island including Wahoo, the company you’ve gone out of your way to bad mouth months before.

I asked also that Damselfish name of the boat, the date of his charter or anything pertenant to that charter. How about demonstrating a payment to Wahoo for your charter, Damselfish?

Now it wasn’t you but “friends of yours” that fished with us. I find it difficult to believe you have any.

I am accusing you of being completely dishonest about this. I suggest all of your comments are an outright FALSHOOD.

I don’t care where you own condos or villas or anything else, cabron. I am saying you are a basically a very dishonest person. That’s what I am saying and trying to make it painfully clear. Your presence before and after Wilma means nothing. It's almost as if you completely ran out of anything to say so you began to babble some dribble about being patronized. You are NOT being patronized; if you can't tell you are being criticized and called dishonest. Big, big difference.

Do you need information on how to find me personally the next time you visit your condo? I am always right here and in this case anxious to have a visit with you.