Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas and Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star, both out of Los Angeles, have cancelled their Mexico routes completely. Carnival Cruise's ship Carnival Spirit is moving from its San Diego base to Australia in 2012; the line's ship Splendor, which caught fire last November, is being repaired but is expected to return to the company's terminal at the Port of Long Beach.
Cruise ships account for a large percentage of local business, and these reductions could have a devastating impact on an already beleaguered economy. According to excelsior.com.mx, port authorities expect approximately 605,000 cruise passengers in 2011, down from an estimated 755,000 in 2010.
Cruises on the southern California route have traditionally stopped in Mexican ports like Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, areas which are far removed from the drug violence plaguing some parts of the country.
Yet, the press about Mexico has been as unrelentingly negative as it's been geographically unspecific.
Indeed, according to some, the situation just doesn't live up to the hype. As former news reporter and Puerto Vallarta resident Dan Adams told News10, "The whole country has been painted as this drug-torn dangerous place to be... This is a beautiful, safe, friendly place to live." In the same article Adams notes that similarly ambiguous reporting about the H1N1 virus and its origins caused cruise ships to not dock in Mexican ports just one year ago.
Still, cruise lines can't afford to run with half-empty ships, so it would appear that for now they've set sail for calmer waters.
