| | |  Travel & Outdoors | April 2009 
Cruise Ships Skipping Mexican Ports of Call
 Penni Crabtree - San Diego Union-Tribune
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Major cruise operators said yesterday that they will temporarily suspend stops at ports in Mexico because of escalating concerns over the swine flu crisis.
Three ships operated by Carnival Corp. – including one that departed San Diego on Sunday and was to visit Ensenada – abruptly skipped scheduled stops in Mexico yesterday.
Later in the day, the Miami-based cruise operator announced that it will expand the Mexican port ban for all voyages departing tomorrow through Monday. Within hours of Carnival's move, rival Royal Caribbean International said it will suspend port calls in Mexico for four ships.
Norwegian Cruise Line also said it will cancel the Norwegian Pearl's final two calls in Mexico this week.
Cruise operators have been scrambling in recent days to ease passenger fears and determine the fate of near-term cruises to Mexico. The unusual move to suspend Mexico calls comes on the heels of a recommendation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico.
“Like our guests, we take all health matters seriously,” said Dr. Art Diskin, chief medical officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises. “Although authorities have not raised specific concerns regarding the ports we visit in Mexico, we want to err on the side of caution.”
Carnival and Norwegian also issued statements saying caution prompted their decision.
“This is truly something we've never experienced – hurricanes, yes, all kinds of situations come up where itineraries have to be shifted,” said Pam Kressley, president of The Cruise Hound, a Florida cruise travel agency. “But something like this is virgin territory.”
Other tourism sectors are grappling with the swine flu fallout as well. Most major airlines have eased restrictions on rebooking flights or waived cancellation fees on routes to Mexico.
Though policies differ, the airlines' flexibility covers flights booked through early May. For instance, AeroMexico, which operates flights out of San Diego to San Jose del Cabo, is allowing passengers traveling to or from Mexico to rebook flights without penalty. Changes must be made by May 15.
Carnival said it is working to substitute canceled Mexico port calls with an alternative port. It is also giving passengers who don't want to sail on a modified cruise the option to reschedule.
The cruise operator is not offering to refund customers for altered cruises.
Among the cruise ships affected is Carnival's Elation, which departs San Diego on Thursdays and Sundays for three-and four-day cruises that include a stop in Ensenada. The four-day cruise also stops at Catalina Island.
The Elation is now sailing with 2,200 passengers, and yesterday skipped its scheduled daylong visit to Ensenada. Passengers on the four-day cruise, who visited Catalina Island on Monday, were given a $20 ship credit to compensate for the missed port, a Carnival spokeswoman said.
Royal Caribbean International did not respond to questions about whether it will give passengers the option to reschedule.
In a written statement, Royal Caribbean said all but one of its affected ships will either make alternative port calls or spend additional time at sea.
For instance, its Mariner of the Seas, which is scheduled in May to depart from a Los Angeles-area port for four seven-day Mexican Riviera cruises, will now sail a “revised itinerary” that visits Canada and the U.S. West Coast.
Cruise industry experts said passengers who were hoping to sip margaritas in Puerto Vallarta but may have to settle instead for a beer in Seattle don't have many options.
Cruise operators have stringent cancellation policies and are not obligated to refund cruise purchases if changes are made to protect passenger safety, Kressley said.
Kressley said she has fielded several calls from people who have booked upcoming Mexico cruises, and her advice is, “If the ship sails, be on it.”
“I tell passengers that the odds of them contracting swine flu are pretty slim, and the odds of getting anything back from a cruise ship operator if they cancel their trip is pretty slim, too,” Kressley said.
Nor can passengers necessarily count on travel insurance policies to cover altered cruises. Kressley said she received an advisory yesterday from a major travel insurer that it will cover swine flu as a sickness. But trips canceled out of fear of contracting the illness won't be covered. |
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