Swingers or kidney stealers?

You are being silly and stubborn. No need to go any further. If you feel perfectly safe in Mexico, then have at it. Don't go crying to anyone though if something happens to you or a loved one.

Not being silly and not being stubborn. I just know for a fact that there are tourist areas in Mexico that are perfectly fine. I can also go further if I choose to do so. That article states two cities. It also states that most of the problems are in non tourist areas. But you already know this since you read the entire article before posting it and stating it was a great source to prove your point.

Sigh. Yes you are being silly and stubborn. That was the first article of many when I Googled it. As I say again, since you think it is so safe, go and book it. I'm sure you can get some great deals right now. Don't come crying to us if someone in your party becomes injured from a criminal act.

Cruise lines to cut back Mexico trips amid violence
Sat, Jan 15 2011
By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three cruise lines will end or scale back on trips to Mexico from Southern California, a trend some in the industry attribute to escalating drug violence in Mexico that has frightened away tourists.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's luxury liner Mariner of the Seas will depart on Sunday on its final run from the Port of Los Angeles to the west coast of Mexico, port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.

The ship is then to be rebased in Galveston, Texas, offering seven-night trips to the western Caribbean, the company said.

Norwegian Cruise Lines' Los Angeles-based Norwegian Star will discontinue its Mexican Riviera trips in May and move its home port to Tampa, Florida, port officials said.

Carnival Corp also said this week it would relocate its Carnival Spirit ship from the Port of San Diego to Australia starting in 2012. A second ship, Carnival Splendor, which caught fire in November and is under repair, will later return to the company's terminal at the Port of Long Beach.

But the loss of the Mariner of the Seas, Norwegian Star and Carnival Splendor account for the bulk of Southern California's cruise traffic to Mexico, which has taken a hit from the sluggish U.S. economy and growing violence in Mexico.

"Certainly Mexico has got some issues," Sanfield said.

Luxury cruises from Southern California have traditionally made stops in Mexican tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas that have avoided some of the worst of the drug violence that has seized Mexico in recent years.

"Nonetheless, people are taking a broader look ... at the violence in other parts of Mexico," Sanfield said.

An estimated 755,000 cruise ship passengers passed through the Port of Los Angeles last year, but that number is expected to decline to 605,000 in 2011, the port said.

The Mariner of the Seas alone accounted for 320,000 of the port's 2010 passengers, and Royal Caribbean has had a presence there for most the past 20 years.

"They have been one of the mainstays, and we hope to get them back here at a future time," Sanfield said.

Each time a cruise ship pays a call to a Southern California port, it contributes $1 million to $2 million to the local economy.

Mexico's drug violence began to escalate in 2006, the year that Mexican President Felipe Calderon turned to the military in the government's battle against drug traffickers.

On Jan. 8, in the latest outbreak of bloodshed to hit a Mexican tourist destination, 14 decapitated bodies were found in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco.

The bodies were found near a shopping mall, along with hand-written messages signed by the leader of the powerful Sinaloa crime cartel.

Stewart Chiron, an industry analyst with CruiseGuy.com, said that apart from the poor economy, another factor contributing to the decline in voyages to Mexico was that travelers were simply burned out on those lines.

"The newer ships, the better itineraries, are on the East Coast," Chiron said.

Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews said in a statement that the company decided to move its Norwegian Star vessel from Los Angeles because of "overcapacity in the market" and "decreased demand."

"We will look at returning to Los Angeles at some point in the future," she said.

(Additional reporting by Jane Sutton in Miami: Editing by Steve Gorman and Peter Bohan

Great research. Super effort. You are wrong. My parents spend approx. 9 months a year in Mexico and have for the past 10 years. The crime there is not a problem....not in the tourist area they are in. They didn't have a swine flu problem either. What they have had is a big problem with tourists not going there and an economy suffering from people just like that you don't know what you are talking about. Not all areas of Mexico have this big problem. So, stick to things that you know about. This clearly isn't one of them.

Wow. Because nothing has happened to your parents it automatically means that much of Mexico is safe. I've got too many articles to post on the subject and how business has decreased. Try again.

I was simply stating that it isn't a problem in all areas. Try reading exactly what I have stated and then reply. I agree it is a problem in some areas. It is a horrible problem in other areas. Don't got to non tourist parts of Mexico. Also don't go to non tourist parts of Las Vegas. Please don't twist my words either. Think about it.... if the press states there is horrible crime in the entire country then people will stop going. This will occur whether a particular place has bad crime or not. I have had this discussion with my parents. My farther discusses this with all of the transients that are staying there now. He tells me about how the press changes things. FOR INSTANCE...there was a story in the main U.S. media about a night club bombing in Cancun. Several people died. The article stated this was another example of how bad things are in Cancun. The article failed to mention that this was a nightclub run by a well known gang. The club mainly had patrons that were mainly affiliated with that gang. This club was in the inner most parts of Cancun. This entire area is controlled by gangs. A rival gang did the bombing in retaliation to another dispute. All of those facts were left out of the article. The only thing they stated was that a club in Cancun was bombed killing several people and how this is another sign why tourists my not want to go. Maybe you can find that article to prove your point?

As an amateur cryptographer, my best contribution to this problem is that "want to know if we want to come with them," PROBABLY does NOT refer to kidney removal.

I suggest you try reading what I have said about what cruise ships do. Seriously, you basically brush this under the rug with an absurd excuse. In case you haven't noticed, many innocent people get killed in gang shootings and wars. The fact is Mexico has become much more dangerous. I'm sure you thought Columbia was a very safe country also, when Escobar's thugs were shooting people.

The fact is much of this might be bad guy against bad guy, but people are having to take cover in gun fights. There are Americans being kidnapped near the border.

Is the border a vacation destination? Are people taking cover in vacation destinations?

August 26, 2011 Multiple Deaths in Mexican Casino Blast: At least 53 people have been killed in an attack on a casino in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon. The attack took place at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when eye witnesses say six hooded gunmen entered the casino firing their weapons, before dousing the venue with gasoline and setting light to it. Officials, who are describing the attack as an act of terror, suspect that the escalating violence between Mexico's drug cartels is behind the massacre; no group as yet has come forward to claim responsibility.