Cruise Lines Drop Puerto Vallarta Calls

zoomJewel of the Seas Violence in Mexicos Puerto Vallarta has triggered cruise liner companies to cancel calls to the resort town. Namely, Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Infinity skipped the stop on Sunday replacing it with another day at sea, followed by Royal Caribbeans 2,501-passenger Jewel of the Seas that skipped the call on Tuesday. Jewel of the Seas and Celebrity Infinitys calls to Puerto Vallarta were canceled due to the recently experienced episodes of violent civil unrest, stemming from criminal gangs that have engaged in armed conflict with local authorities, Royal Caribbean Cruises, parent company of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, told USA Today. Carnivals Carnival Miracle went ahead with the visit on Tuesday but with certain excursions cancelled. Disney Cruise Line told its passengers aboard the Disney Wonder that the May 12 port call was canceled due tp reports of unrest in the area around Puerto Vallarta. The suspension of calls comes in the wake of a Mexico travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State telling U.S. citizens about the risk of traveling to certain places in Mexico due to threats to safety and security posed by organized criminal groups in the country. Cruise lines seem to be exercising a higher degree of caution in the wake of recent outbursts of violence in their ports of call, especially amid a terrorist attack in Tunisia that took the lives of of twelve guests of MSC Cruises and five guests of Costa Cruises. World Maritime News Staff