Earlier this week three cruise lines announced they will either end or cut back trips to Mexico. The reasons for these cutbacks are a combination of lack of interest and escalating violence in Mexico. Although in my opinion a lot of the lack of interest has to do with the extreme violence taking place south of the border. I mean who wants to vacation in a place where they are shooting up nightclubs and finding decapitated bodies in the street. Not exactly my idea of paradise. Honestly, I am surprised it took this long for the cruise lines to make this move.
Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines have all decided to relocate ships from Southern California to other areas of the world.
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas will be leaving on its final voyage out of Los Angeles this Sunday. In the future the ship will be home-ported in Galveston, Texas where it will sail a seven-night Western Caribbean itinerary.
Carnival Cruises, Carnival Spirit will be relocating from the Port of San Diego to Australia starting in 2012. The Spirit will be providing year-round cruises out of Sydney.
Norwegian Cruise Lines, Norwegian Star will be stopping its Mexican Riviera itinerary sometime in May. In the future the Norwegian Star will be sailing out of Tampa, Florida.
While this is good news for passengers who have been scared off by the escalating violence it is bad for the economy of already cash strapped state. In a normal year over a quarter of a million cruise passengers visit the Port of Los Angeles but that number will be dropping to 600,000 this year. While I don’t have exact numbers, this will mean tens of millions of dollars in lost income for the area.
The good news for Southern California is these moves aren’t expected to be permanent. I fully expect that once the violence dies down the So Cal cruise scene will be revived.
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[...] news that several major Cruise Lines are leaving California and/or cutting back cruises to the “Mexican Riviera” presented a dilemma to the media. The story [...]