Cruise operators cancel calls at Mexico ports

www.carnival.com

Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have all suspended their stops at Mexican ports as concerns grow over the spread of swine flu.

On its website, Carnival stated that all of its Mexican port calls were cancelled through 4 May, and that in many cases, calls at alternative ports will be substituted.

Early on Tuesday, Royal Caribbean indicated that it was monitoring the flu situation, but informed passengers that cases of the virus had been reported inland and not at popular coastal resorts in Mexico. Later in the day, however, the cruise operator changed its position, suspending calls at all Mexican ports indefinitely until more was known about the new virus. All Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International ships are affected by the announcement.

Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled the final two calls in Mexico this week for Norwegian Pearl, after indicating earlier in the day that it would monitor the situation but keep itineraries as scheduled.

Evan Hanna, a Carnival passenger from Virginia, was already on board a cruise headed to Grand Cayman and Cozumel when the operator informed them that their ship would not be stopping in Mexico.

“There was a lot of yelling at the ship’s officials,” the passenger wrote in an email that sent while on board. “Most passengers still wanted to go to Cozumel, and there were a lot that wanted to go back to the home port early.”

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