Help! Info on Mexico cruise safety please!

[tinkerbellmom1]

Hi everyone,

I just found out that I am being changed to a different grade level and school schedule for next year. Our son is going to be a senior next year and we have a 4 night Dream cruise and a Treehouse stay booked through DVC for October (when I would have been off) for his senior trip.

My new schedule is Sept/January/May off. January and May interfere with son's wrestling and AP tests. Plus, our son doesn't want to wait a year for another vacation (spoiled!). When I called DVC today, they told me all the spots available on the Dream and Fantasy are taken until 2012. Our choice is waiting until May for a cruise on the Magic to the Bahamas or Mexico in September on the Wonder.

We've cruised three times before with Disney and love the Caribbean.
Hubby is law enforcement and is not at all positive about Mexico. Can anyone help me out with locations, safety, opinion please?


TIA

Sheri

 

[Popovich]

We just came back from the 4/17 Mexican Riviera cruise. We stopped in Manzanilla, Puerto Viarta (sp) and Cabo twice. We had a great time and would recommend this trip to others.

We had safety concerns before our trip but did not encounter any problems. We did DCL excursions at all ports except for Cabo - did that on our own and felt extremely safe. The Mexican people that we encountered were very friendly and happy to have tourists visit their city.

I hope that helps!

Gailyn

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

I appreciate your reply! Every bit of information will help me open up the lines of communication with hubby!

Thanks!

 

[La2kw]

Loved Mexico on the Wonder in March and rebooked for next March. Never felt unsafe at all and the people were all very friendly.

 

[MND]

Hi everyone,

I just found out that I am being changed to a different grade level and school schedule for next year. Our son is going to be a senior next year and we have a 4 night Dream cruise and a Treehouse stay booked through DVC for October (when I would have been off) for his senior trip.

My new schedule is Sept/January/May off. January and May interfere with son's wrestling and AP tests. Plus, our son doesn't want to wait a year for another vacation (spoiled!). When I called DVC today, they told me all the spots available on the Dream and Fantasy are taken until 2012. Our choice is waiting until May for a cruise on the Magic to the Bahamas or Mexico in September on the Wonder.

We've cruised three times before with Disney and love the Caribbean.
Hubby is law enforcement and is not at all positive about Mexico. Can anyone help me out with locations, safety, opinion please?


TIA

Sheri

We just got back from a trip to the Barcelo resort near Playa del Carmen on the Mayan Riveria. It is about an hour south of Cancun. I think you would be on the Pacific we were on the Caribbean. We had a blast and never felt unsafe, nor did we have any concerns about our safety before the trip. The headline problems in Mexico are not occuring where we went or where Disney will take you. That being said, I can almost assure you that you will not be abducted by drug lords, held for ransom, and eventually beheaded.

Skipping Mexico altogether because of problems in border locations, is like skipping WDW because of violence in Detroit, or your hometown for that matter.

Have a great cruise!

Mike

 

[momtofour]

We were on the 3-20-11 cruise. I was really concerned about the safety and had considered cancelling. I even posted on the board for opinions on this subject. We ended up going and am so glad we did. It was a wonderful cruise(other than the weather...) and we rebooked. I felt extremely safe and even walked around on my own. I felt much less safe in Nassau. I would recommend going without hesitation.

 

[clarefb]

Ditto, we were there in March & rebooked for next March - i loved every minute - had my 2 kids 3 & 7 and felt safe everywhere. Good luck convincing him

 

[NHdisneylover]

There are parts of Mexico that are REALLY unsafe right now. The areas DCL is stopping at are not among them and I would feel safer in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta today than in many places in the US.

My parents live in Puerto Vallarta and have seen no issues there and no rise in crime. My brother in law lives half time in Cabo and says the same.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

.We had safety concerns before our trip but did not encounter any problems. We did DCL excursions at all ports except for Cabo - did that on our own and felt extremely safe. The Mexican people that we encountered were very friendly and happy to have tourists visit their city.

Gailyn

I totally agree. We did the 04/03 MR cruise and there were no issues whatsoever, outside of the ship being late for EVERY port and having to cancel some excursions due to the lateness.

 

[Ladyshopper]

Do you really think Disney would sail to those ports if they thought there was any chance of you being in danger?

We went on Mex Riv cruise in Feb and loved it, Cabo in particular is a beautiful port, and didn't feel unsafe in the slightest.

 

[DVCconvert]

Help! Info on Mexico cruise safety please!

We don't know.....no one has ever come back from one.

 

[Mcky36]

Book it and have a wonderful time!

We were on the 2/19/11 MR on the Wonder. I was really concerned about safety and considered not booking any excursions. I am SOOOO glad that we went ahead with the excursions as planned. I have a 6 and 4 year old and we NEVER felt unsafe at all! We had such a good time we rebooked for the MR cruise again next Feb!

Go and enjoy it!!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

I agree that I felt less safe in Nassau then I did in Cabo or PV on our 2/27 cruise. We took taxis, spent a day at a public beach and went to San Jose del Cabo to the town and wandered around. Even beach peddlers were super polite and left us alone once we said "no gracias". In Nassau we were far more heckled and we were really uncomfortable.

I think if you use common safety sense when traveling you will be fine

It's such a personal thing though, if you are really uncomfortable and don't think you will enjoy yourself then wait to go on a different cruise

 

[moniqueelaine]

Oh great now I am worried about my Bahamas trip...LOL sigh oh well I will still go and hope them hecklers leave me alone....

 

[disneydreamfan14]

Oh great now I am worried about my Bahamas trip...LOL sigh oh well I will still go and hope them hecklers leave me alone....

Its not that bad of a port if you dont walk farther than the area around the dock, or to Atlantis on Paradise Island. I loved Nassau, a beautiful city. The only threat I felt was when the captain was backing the Dream into the dock, instead of doing as the Carnival ships did and pulling in.

Have fun!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Oh great now I am worried about my Bahamas trip...LOL sigh oh well I will still go and hope them hecklers leave me alone....

I didn't mean to scare you! lol. We just had a bad experience by the dock area is all. We were walking from area where they drop you off after the Blue Lagoon excursion and were really harassed by some hair braiders. To the point of them following us, them trying to grab my daughter (who had just turned 5) hand, etc. They were really pushy and it scared my daughter as we were walking through. It didn't bug me, nor did I feel my personal safety was in jeopardy so to speak, but it left a bad taste in my mouth and my DD was really upset over it.

I am sure it isn't a normal occurance!!

And now we are off track about talking about Mexico's safety- sorry!!!!

 

[moniqueelaine]

Oh wow yea I would have a problem with that too...Maybe they won't bother us (I hope not lol) I do not know why they have to be so intrusive they sure won't get my business if they are pushy

 

[lexlaw69]

The vast majority of people that travel to Mexico are OK. There are substantial warnings on the State Dept website about travel to Mexico. Just because its Disney does not mean it is safe - just because someone else went does not mean it is safe. The violence is very random and is akin to a war. Most of my Mexican friends will not travel to Mexico right now. Most of the violence is not near the tourist areas and the Mex-gov is working very hard to protect tourists.

So there are mixed messages but this is my feeling on it-

If you like traveling to war zones, where the military needs to be out in force to protect you, and where there are substantial warnings in place posted by multiple governments, where there is a higher risk of danger than the carribean, florida, or other destinations then I'm sure you will have a great time.

 

[clawmachine]

Mexico is a huge country, filled mostly with good, friendly, hard working people. We have plenty of "war zones" right here in my city and all across the U.S.

 

[MND]

If you like traveling to war zones, where the military needs to be out in force to protect you, and where there are substantial warnings in place posted by multiple governments, where there is a higher risk of danger than the carribean, florida, or other destinations then I'm sure you will have a great time.

Labeling Mexico a war zone due to violence in certain border locations is like labeling Southern California and Disneyland a war zone due to violence in LA and San Diego.

Mike