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reading in todays paper, I see where Princess Cruise is canceling 3 of its Fall/Winter stops at
Puerto Vallarta, Mx.,,,the reason ???t"to protect its passengers..!!!!!!!.......from Violent Crime
Of all the "Bad" rap Negril and Jamaica gets, I guess its just NOT THEM !!......
so next time somebody starts bad-mouthing our Island....set 'em straight.........
You tell em Rambo.
I will too.
Princess Cruise is wise to do that, as nobody needs to be traveling to Mexico. Although, I'm sure the tourist spots aren't quite as risky as the border towns, I quit going to mexico several years back. Just isn't safe for anybody lately.
Funny thing....the only people I've come across who warned me to "not go to JA" are the ones who have never been. LOL
I have been to Mexico five times in the last few years (Cabo and San Jose) and Jamaica twice in the last two years.Mexico is no more or less dangerous than Jamaica as long as you know where to go and more importantly where not to go.
>>Princess Cruise is wise to do that, as nobody needs to be traveling to Mexico
>>Princess Cruise is wise to do that, as nobody needs to be traveling to Mexico
Come on now. That statement is just as absurd as saying Jamaica instead.
Nothing wrong with the tourist areas of MX. Sure the border towns are trouble, but no one is vacationing there just like most don't vacation in Kingston JA
Fodder for the News Agencies............Good News doesn't really sell well.......
lets face it........it is more violent times ALL OVER!..........
Never been to Mex.....And never had any problems in Jamaica!
I bet this is less the issue of the cruise line thinking it is unsafe and more an issue of tourists not booking Mexico cruises cause they are scared (right or wrong), so it makes sense for the company to change ports.
I dont really think Mexico is unsafe, but I may be wrong.
I did a road trip in Mexico a couple of years back which resulted in me doing my dissertation at university on the drug cartel's and how they are challenging the legitimacy of the state. I loved Mexico had lots of fun, but also witnessed some pretty serious and horrific scenes, spoke to many people on my trip and that together with the research that I did for my final year uni project, my conclusion was that the situation is very different than that in JA at the moment and although it was a very memorable trip I would not go back just yet and I would not advise any of my loved ones to do so either. Please note that it was a couple of years ago and things might have changed now, not sure what their situation is at the moment and I did my road trip in Northern Mexico, not knowing what the hell was going on until I got there. So Im not speaking for the rest of Mexico. Only the North. Funny you should mention Kingston, Ive got friends who go to Kingston every time they come to JA and they can't see themselves going anywhere else when they visit.Theyve never had any issues. But then Ive got friends who grew up in some of the worst parts in Kingston, some say it's overly dangerous and some say it's all a bit of a media hype. I think it'll be quite subjective to each individuals experience and again what part of Kingston you go. Just my 2 cents.
"I think it'll be quite subjective to each individuals experience and again what part of Kingston you go."
Same with Mexico. Puerto Vallarta has become quite Americanized with all the expatriates living there - Sam's club, Walmart, etc. Downtown has lost it's charm for me. I was there last year after being away for almost 10 years. I never once felt unsafe...too many tourists, LOL. I have time share at a hotel in the Marina and rode the public bus downtown, walked around downtown by myself. I felt sad to see the change in the city center, but that is life. I'll continue to go back, but this year I'm trying a newer sister property near Playa del Carmen on the Atlantic side. And I won't listen to people that tell me I'm crazy for going to Mexico.
Yes, that's why I specifically said that I wasn't sure about the more "touristy" spots. I am only familiar with border towns, and being from Texas I've been traveling to the border since I was a kid....but lately because I'm aware of what's been going, I haven't made any shopping trips in the last several years. ;)
Mexico's murder problem is much worse than Jamaica - over 30,000 murders in the last 5 years in Mexico, with about 7,500 in Jamaica.
Add to that that Jamaica's murders are confined to a few Kingston areas, for the most part - and are gang-related rather than tourist-related.
Mexico's murders are mostly in the border area and gang-related, too. But unlike Jamaica, in Mexico it IS spreading to the non-border tourist areas - and tourists are increasingly part of the statistics.
For instance, Acapulco has gotten very bad.
"Saturday's Acapulco killings come only a few weeks following the shocking discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 18 people... The victims are believed to have been touring Acapulco by bus while on vacation when they were kidnapped by cartel members and murdered in cold-blood..."
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kouri/110218
While both may be equally safe for AI guests who don't leave the resorts - I feel perfectly safe travelling in Jamaica off-resort, which I would no longer do in Mexico.
Marcia have fun on your trip, just try to avoid some of the 'danger' areas and with that I dont necessarily mean the ghetto's or downtown, just the places where there is the most tension between the Cartels and the government forces. Speaking from own experiences.
I love Mexico and I love Jamaica, never on my trips have I not gone downtown and Im not saying dont go to Mexico at all. Just avoid certain areas thats all and you'll spare yourself getting caught up in shootings or having to witness dead bodies stuffed in shopping trolleys or hung up in trees.
Mexico is beautiful country, there's just a lot going on in certain parts and it's good to be smart about it and do your research.
Have an awesome trip Marcia.