Princess Cruises recently cancelled stops at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for three cruise trips departing from the port of Los Angeles this year due to concerns about safety in the area. Princess Cruises, based in Santa Clarita, chose to cancel the destination stop based on a current travel warning by State Department, said spokeswoman Karen Candy. Puerto Vallarta is located in the state of Jalisco, which is one of the states listed in the warning. The decision reflects similar cancellations in recent months by other major cruise lines, as issues of violence persist on the west coast of Mexico. Princess’s announcement also followed media reports in early June of the murder of a Canadian citizen close to Puerto Vallarta. “The mainstream vacation traveler is just very reluctant to go to Mexico these days,” said cruise and travel industry consultant Rod McLeod of McLeod Applebaum & Partners, based in Florida. Lines with cruises scheduled to the Mexican Riviera may feel the financial impact of the changing trend if booked trips are cancelled, he said. Most of the financial impact, though, falls on the destination cities that end up losing business. Princess Cruises cancelled the visits to Puerto Vallarta for one cruise departing from San Pedro in November, and two other cruises in December, Candy said. The itinerary for the Sapphire Princess ship now includes stays in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, she said. “The decision to cancel three upcoming calls to Puerto Vallarta was taken in the best interest of our passengers after careful consideration,” Candy said. Candy said Princess Cruises has not announced any changes to its 2012 cruises that are scheduled to visit Puerto Vallarta. She said the first scheduled visit to that port is in February. “We continue to monitor the situation closely,” Candy said. Officials from cruise lines Carnival and Holland America Line they have not announced any cancelled stops to Puerto Vallarta, but that they are monitoring the situation closely. However, Carnival has also called off visits to Mazatlan for its Carnival Splendor ship in August, said Vance Gulliksen, spokesman for the company. The destination will be replaced with an additional visit to Cabo San Lucas, he said. “Although there have been no incidents involving cruise passengers, the safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority,” Gulliksen said. McLeod said the major cruise lines started cancelling stops on the Mexican west coast at the end of last year and continued into the following months. Some cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean International, have even pulled cruises to the area altogether. That is likely due to the fact that customers are more resistant to travel to the area, he said. The situation in Mexico gives some cruise lines more reason to move to other destinations they are interested in expanding to, whether that is temporarily or permanently, McLeod said. “You’re seeing quite a few more ships moving into the Australia and Asia area,” he said. Customers Upset News of Princess Cruises’ itinerary change has led to disappointment by some passengers, said John Deiner, managing editor for CruiseCritic.com. He said many people posted complaints on the Cruise Critic Web site after the changes were announced. “It’s really not the vessels they’re cruising, it’s the destinations they’re going to,” Deiner said, noting that Princess Cruises’ change cut the number of port stops from three to two for the affected cruises. “A lot of people like Puerto Vallarta, and they were looking forward to it.” However, he said the passengers being impacted by the changes represent a small percentage of Princess’s overall customer base. There are also passengers who recognize safety as the key issue, he said. Candy said Princess Cruises is not offering compensation for the itinerary switch, since the cruises are outside the company’s cancellation policy. However, booked passengers will be allowed to cancel without penalties, she said. McLeod said when it comes down to it, the cruise lines are doing what they should be doing — putting safety first. The same precautions are usually also taken for incidents, such as natural disasters and political rioting, he said. The earthquake and tsunami caused cruise lines to cancel trips to Japan, though many of those cruises have now returned to their original schedules, he said. “Cruise lines don’t want their passengers and crews to be exposed to the risks,” he said.
