Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa Message Board - Cruise ships return...

Cruise ships return... (reply)

Paulf — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 17:42:45 +0000

We did the Mexican Rivera Cruise by Apple Vacations in Jan, 1999(Apple had leased a refurbished Greek Island Trawler for 6 months). We did the Country Tour and loved the tour with lunch on the beach. Kathie was relaxing in a hammock after lunch and told someone she wanted a hammock like the one she was using- next thing they were untieing it from the tree with her in it- was a great hammock until she put it in the washing machine to try and get the stains out. The following year we stayed at the Dorato using the Apple Vacation Package and bought our first timeshare and have only missed 1 year coming down and that was when Kathie fell a month before we were to leave and broke her femur and 2 vertebrae. We look forward each year for our time in Paradise.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

Finn — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:32:06 +0000

Having thousands of tourists suddenly being deposited on the town I think will remove a lot of the charm of Zihua. If all they are buying are trinkets and t-shirts the economy will not improve much. Restaurants will not see much business as most will only stop by for a drink.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

Curly! — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 15:37:14 +0000

I was always sort of indifferent towards the cruise ships... I didn't really like them but figured they might be good for the area. And I agree with zulualpha. I have a few friends that visit Zihuatanejo because of first stopping in on a cruise ship. Country Dancer is one of them. But like everyone else, I do hope they don't visit as often as they used to.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

Aunt Chelada — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:36:56 +0000

In the past, we would avoid central when a cruise ship was in town. I also remember once returning from Las Gatas just after one of those big pigs had turned around to leave the bay. The water was pretty nasty looking from the silt being stirred up. At the sound of being selfish, I could care less if they ever have another cruise ship there.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

frostbite — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:27:15 +0000

I hate to see those rusting pollution factories parked in the bay.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

zulualpha — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:36:52 +0000

Point taken -- 80 cruise ship visits "es mucho." That said, it is a fact that many folks, having once visited Zihua on a cruise ship, the next year return and spend two weeks on La Ropa, or Ixtapa, or Troncones. Some might even decide to invest and retire here. I think it useful to re-visit old sources of tourism (cruisers), while at the same time promoting new, alternative sources.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

ZihuaRob — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:26:58 +0000

I don't believe the pier is the problem. Cruise ships are bigger today than what they were 25-30 years ago and the bay is still the same size and not any deeper. In addition, all passengers have to be tendered to the pier. That takes time and costs additional money.

Just like they are in Los Cabos, one of their biggest most popular destinations on the entire Pacific Coast, but like us they have no cruise ship pier, so ships anchor and tenders carry their passengers to and from the pier.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

ZihuaRob — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:23:28 +0000

Once upon a time Zihua witnessed as many as 80-90 cruise ship visits per year. On a scale of ten, to what degree do you think this improved pier will enable, or encourage those vessels to return? Or is that even the intent?

The decline in cruise ship visits began when grenades and decapitated heads started showing up over a decade ago. 80 a year is too many anyway for our small bay. The buses took them all to Ixtapa so they couldn't spend any time or money in Zihuatanejo. I can probably count on one hand all the sales my wife made in her boutique to cruise ship passengers over the past 30 years. Tour operators and trinket vendors are the major losers of the loss of cruise ships. They only finally stopped coming altogether about 4 or 5 years ago when the pier was declared unsafe and no other "safe" pier for the tenders was available.

So while I'm sure cruise ships will return because we once again will have a pier that meets their safety standards, I certainly hope we only see a couple dozen or so a season at the most. Not 80 or more.

Cruise ships return... (reply)

Aunt Chelada — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:12:54 +0000

I don't believe the pier is the problem. Cruise ships are bigger today than what they were 25-30 years ago and the bay is still the same size and not any deeper. In addition, all passengers have to be tendered to the pier. That takes time and costs additional money.

Cruise ships return...

zulualpha — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:38:18 +0000

Once upon a time Zihua witnessed as many as 80-90 cruise ship visits per year. On a scale of ten, to what degree do you think this improved pier will enable, or encourage those vessels to return? Or is that even the intent?