Hubby worried about safety in Cozumel

[monaleigh70]

My DH and I were talking about our upcoming cruise on the Fantasy (Western 9/5) and he said he's not sure he wants us to get off the ship in Cozumel. He's afraid that on our way to and from Playa Mia (on a DCL excursion) our bus could get stopped and we could all be kidnapped or something.

He's not usually fearful, so this just came out of the blue! I know there are many parts of Mexico one shouldn't travel in, but has anyone heard/seen any bad reports about Cozumel?

I told him I would ask on the DIS board bc you all are a wealth of information. He's seriously wanting to cancel our beach day, and I really want to talk him out of it!!

TIA!!

Been to Cozumel a few times and never felt unsafe. As others have said it's pretty quiet and rural. It's easy to get to your desired destination because there are numerous cabs at the port.

 

[Hamitchell]

Tell Hubby you're plenty safe. We have been there 3times with little ones. Wife is from Nicaragua, is latin, speaks spanish, and the people are fine, low key.

No worries in Coz. Low crime, no narco types. Lovely place. He will like it.

They take care of the tourists.

 

[Hamitchell]

F you ever get a chance to go to Cancun or Playa del Carmen, you have got to go to Xcaret. It blew us away.

We found the entire Yucatan to be friendly and fascinating. In Cancun, the buses are airconditioned, and we had a hotel worker volunteer info, in english, to other passengers.

I am a big fan. Wish Nicaragua had their tourism industry nailed down like this.

 

[perditax]

Honestly, I wish to heck I'd had more time to research my first cruise back in June (or my upcoming DCL which will probably be my last), because both do Nassau; and Cozumel, while still touristy, sounds like a MUCH better time. Lots of family friendly all inclusive day resorts, a reasonably consistent taxi system, tons of snorkeling spots, good food, and seemingly no state department warnings or *exceptionally* obnoxious vendors like Nassau. There are also three different cruise ship piers and I assume that spreads things out a bit.

This is just what I have read.

 

[MunFam]

Gosh, it really sounds like he was worried for nothing! It never occurred to me DCL wouldn't even stop at a port that was having reports of a lot of crime. I assume that's standard practice for all cruise lines? Makes me feel even that much safer!!

DCL is ridiculously hyper sensitive! As mentioned above, the 2015 WBPC cruise did not stop in Puerto Vallarta. We had friends there in the city, who we were going to meet up with. They said the news was not covering any violence, everything was completely normal and other cruise ships were stopping there during the week. So while there could have been a "potenital" for violence, there was nothing even going on the day we were scheduled to port. They cancelled as a precaution.

 

[eangel12]

I have to tell this story...

We did a cruise with Princess back in the day. We decided to book a private excursion in Cozumel. It was just my husband and myself. We went to a private lagoon area and then to some ruins. We boarded a waiting white van when at port. We are driving along this back road and all of the sudden from the bushes emerges all of these men in camouflage with Uzi's and other automatic weapons. Our van halts and my husband is pushing me behind him on the seat and other people in the van were yelling and screaming. The driver tells all of us that it is a "check point and it is handled". He rolled down the window, handed out cash and away we went. I turned around to see the guys all fading back into the bushes and my husband told me not to look back.

I never EVER booked private excursions in Mexico again. It was terrifying. I was shaking when we got to the lagoon area and seriously debated not getting back onto the van to go anywhere else but we were in the middle of nowhere and had no way to contact a taxi. Seriously, NEVER AGAIN. We did not TIP that guy and my husband gave the guy a piece of his mind when we arrived safely back at port...as did the other people were traveling with. We went on other cruises and booked through the cruise ship...never had an issue.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We travel to Cozumel every single year and sometimes twice a year. There is absolutely no way we would do that if we felt unsafe. We venture out on our own in the daylight and in the night. We go back in the neighborhoods and not just stay in the touristy area. It always makes me chuckle when people pop up with it's dangerous. I truly feel more safe there than in New York City or any larger US towns. If you do some research you will find that the US mentions locations not to go to in Mexico. COZUMEL is NOT listed. Is it crime free? Nope, and neither is your hometown. eangel12, I don't doubt that it happened to you but I have never ever heard of it in Cozumel. I have, however, heard of things like that on the mainland around Playa Del Carmen area. One of our best friends lives on the island and is from TX. She would no more stay there if it was as dangerous as some put it out to be.

We were on the DCL Hawaii cruise and they stopped at Ensenada. Now that was a bad port. We also stopped in Acapulco on the first EBPC cruise in 2005. Yikes I have never been so nervous in a port before. From what I understand cruise ships no longer stop there because of the danger.

 

[Bella29]

Cozumel is the only place in Mexico I would go to right now.

 

[mareed]

Honestly, I wish to heck I'd had more time to research my first cruise back in June (or my upcoming DCL which will probably be my last), because both do Nassau; and Cozumel, while still touristy, sounds like a MUCH better time. Lots of family friendly all inclusive day resorts, a reasonably consistent taxi system, tons of snorkeling spots, good food, and seemingly no state department warnings or *exceptionally* obnoxious vendors like Nassau. There are also three different cruise ship piers and I assume that spreads things out a bit.

This is just what I have read.

I totally agree, having been to Nassau and Cozumel several times each. I can always find something I want to do in Cozumel depending on the time of year and group I'm with, but if I end up in Nassau again, I'll stay on the ship. And I've never felt concerned for my safety in Cozumel even on several trips where I've been with just women in a group of 2 or 4.

 

[mevelandry]

Gosh, it really sounds like he was worried for nothing! It never occurred to me DCL wouldn't even stop at a port that was having reports of a lot of crime.

Yes and no. They stop at Nassau, and there are safety warnings from the governments (US and Canada) about Nassau (just google it). They even mention the risks of the port on the first page of the Personnal Navigator.

 

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Note my avatar/message. We did the Jeep Excursion thingy, came back unscathed. The island is nothing like mainland Mexico where I would be leery of going. Have fun!

 

[Choozee]

We love Cozumel!

 

[timrousbeastie]

F you ever get a chance to go to Cancun or Playa del Carmen, you have got to go to Xcaret. It blew us away.

We found the entire Yucatan to be friendly and fascinating. In Cancun, the buses are airconditioned, and we had a hotel worker volunteer info, in english, to other passengers.
[...]

We spent a wonderful week in Cancun after our last cruise and I couldn't agree more. Playa del Carmen and Xcaret were both great and it was really nice to be able to go back since there was so little time during the cruise. The highlight of our trip was a visit to Chichen Itza which was well worth the 3 hour drive each way. I am not saying that there's no risk; we were indeed warned about the rising crime by a friend who grew up in Mexico; but we felt very safe in both Cancun and Playa. In hindsight, the long, isolated road trip through the jungle to Chichen Itza in a rental car might not have been super safe and I'd want to read up on that before doing it again. It turned out to be the best day of our vacation, though. Everyone that we interacted with was super nice.

 

[bumbershoot]

One thing I will mention, my father chose not to get off the ship at Cozumel because he's a major blood donor and apparently he would have had to wait 6 months to a year before donating again if he visited Mexico. I think it was rather splitting hairs as he hung out on the ship sitting at dock, but it worked for him.

That was bugging me so googling hoped me find an article from a few years back mentioning malaria. Sounds like this isn't an "always" thing, but is based on current malaria outbreaks.

And since mosquitoes fly, I agree that it was splitting hairs for him to think he hadn't been to Mexico.

Anyway, the malaria map application isn't currently available but they keep a chart up to date for any future plans or for others who worry about traveling and donating. http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/country_table/a.html

 

[cedricandsophie]

Have been to Mexico including Cozumel many times. Going to Puerta Vallerta in oct. Take city busses, walk or drive every where. My husband and a friend have driven through parts of Mexico on long trips without a probkem. 99% of the Mexican people, like 99% of Americans, are wonderful and kind. That said we just aren't the kind of people that worry. We have been to many parts of the middle east and Muslim countries as well as Africa, and southeast Asia. A smile and being kind and patient goes a long way in getting along.

 

[DisneyDreams16]

Thanks for the info, we sail in 3 weeks.