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Subscribe to RSSWithout explanation, Disney Cruise Line has canceled four of Disney Wonder's Mexican Riviera cruises in December 2012.
According to the line, those booked on weeklong voyages leaving from Los Angeles on December 9, 16, 23 and 30 next year have a few options.
- Change to another seven-night or longer Disney cruise by this Thursday, December 22, 2011, and qualify for onboard credit. Those who transfer from December 9 or 16 cruises will get $250 in onboard credit per cabin. Those who transfer from the December 23 and December 30 cruises -- the more highly coveted Christmas and New Year's sailings -- will receive $500 in onboard credit per cabin. (Note: If transferring, passengers would pay or be refunded the difference according to prevailing rates.)
- Call and cancel the cruise for a full refund.
- If passengers do not call to make the switch or cancel, they will be automatically moved to the December 2 Mexican Riviera cruise, a seven-nighter. They will still have the option to move to another date; however, they may not qualify for the onboard credit offer.
The line is mum on the reasons behind the cancellations. "We look forward to making an announcement regarding these sail dates when the time is right for us to do so," said Disney spokeswoman Rebecca Peddie.
Still, that hasn't stopped Cruise Critic readers from speculating on the message boards. Readers began posting on Monday after receiving letters about the canceled cruises from the line. Member vivapataca thinks a Panama Canal crossing could fit into the new gap. "Perhaps the Wonder is replacing the [sister ship Disney Magic in the Caribbean] while [Magic] is updated for a more friendly 'Hawaiian' experience," posted Diane&Duffy. Disney has a new resort, Aulani, in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Stewart Chiron, an industry expert known as the Cruise Guy, also weighed in. "It's obvious Disney is planning to begin its 2013 deployment of Disney Wonder earlier than expected," said Chiron in an e-mail. He added that, given the recent low demand for Mexico cruises, he "wouldn't be surprised" if Wonder ended up on a higher priced Caribbean itinerary when all is said and done.
Regardless of Disney's reason for the cancellation, the move is another blow to a beleaguered region that's seen numerous lines pull out over drug-related safety and security concerns. (Holland America is the latest.)
Wonder's other 2012 Mexican Riviera sailings, from January 8 to April 22 and October 28 to December 2, remain on the schedule. Stay tuned for the ship's future deployment.
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Maybe they are just a "little" afraid of all the killings to tourist in Mexico.
You would think Mexico would use it's military to squash out these drug dealers that are destroying the tourism industry there.
Who in their right mind would want to go there knowing your a target or might get in a crossfire between the drug dealers.... Not Me..
They are not killing tourists DO Mass. Over 95% of the killings are people involved in the drug trade.
That still leaves 5%. And as lucky as I am, that might be enough...
Could this have something to do with the Mayan calender?
@ ludvig
Yes, folks! We have a winner! Just wait for the announcement of the Disney Apocalypse cruise to the end of the world, coming soon!
The cruise industry is cancelling these destinations for a reason. The reason is, Mexico is a dangerous country to travel to period! A shocking 32% of all non-natural deaths of U.S. citizen’s outside this country occur in Mexico. Many of these deaths happen inside of the resorts and are a direct result of poor or nonexistent safety standards. To read tragic Mexico vacation death stories, as well as stories written by victims that “survived” their Mexico vacation, go to:
Well folks, we do know for a fact that the Planets will align with the center of the Milky Way on, or near 12/21/12. An event they 'believe' took place some 260,000 years ago. Furthermore, that coincides with an increase of Solar Flares on 11 year cycles. Per tracking of these cycles, this particular cycle is expected to be larger then normal. The planet alignment will cause Earth to be more subceptible to this particular cycle. The most immediate threat, and a very STRONG possibility, is that it can and will affect our communications and power grid system, i.e. could possibly shut it down, globally, for what could amount to years depending on the damage. America has had the technology for years to consolidate and minimize these grids. Years of Corporate owned politicans can be thanked for stifling what is best for the country over what is best for corporate profit.
We can 'hope' but it really is a 'prepare for the worst and hope for the best scenario' that I'm frankly surprised has not been addressed and is still not being addressed at a Government level. Therefore, we can consider ourselves on our own (Katrina style) whatever the result of this alignment. Science can't really predict beyond what it can statistically gather information on. That is why the WEBBOT does not produce data beyond the 12/21/12 date. It buzzes along to 12/20/2012 and then stops. That is because there is no existing statistical data to use. We don't know what will happen but we are going to witness it.
I believe Government's are trying to downplay this in an attempt to keep the Religious Fanatics from doing their Fire and Brimstone act, looking for anyone outside of their religion to blame and possibly incite violence against (One Iraqi Invasion is enough thank you). I believe we will begin to see more of this type 'unexplained' changes in the news as the year progresses. For myself and my family, I will prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Whatever the result, I know we will be witnesses to something that is going to profoundly affect life on earth.
Most Mayans today believe the calendar will just be reset and it will be like any other day...maybe some forces may be stronger and there may be some amplification of solar flares, but I'm pretty sure it's just going to be business as usual.
Mexico is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to go. I live in Texas and have plenty of friends from Mexico and they tell me that even though they own property across the border that they inherited from family members, they aren't going back any time soon. The violence is worse in the border towns. As long as you stay in your "bubble" of your all inclusive resort, you are likely safe, but since we haven't been back since 2010, I don't know how I would feel about going back now, especially if I can go somewhere else just as nice where I don't need to worry about such things.
My husband and I loved our trips to Cancun. I hadn't been back for 20 years and I was pleasantly surprised. The resort companies have taken great pains to tech their employees concepts such as service, sanitation, and even provide English classes. Many folks in Mexico and their families were reaping the benefits of the tourism industry and improving their lots in life, and these cartel thugs have taken it away from them. They have become the model for how tourism SHOULD be done and they were so proud of how far they had come.
If I was a Mexican I would be very angry at what they were doing to the country. Every time a cruise line pulls out or a major hotel chain refuses to build, it hurts the people there.
This is exactly what cruise lines should be doing - voting with their wallets (along with anyone else who is considering vacationing outside the US).
If anyone wants to experience some 'local flavor', maybe they should take a bus to Detroit, or Philly, or Los Angeles...
Personally, I could care less. The 'hey joes' in Mexico can find some other means of 'gainful' employment...
There's a whole lot of much nicer places to visit, and one should explore these places instead of giving tourist dollars to Mexico.
We just got back from that cruise - they did cancel Mazatlan, but the Puerto Vallarta and Cabo stops were just fine. There's a detailed review here:
We just got back from that cruise - they did cancel Mazatlan, but the Puerto Vallarta and Cabo stops were just fine. There's a detailed review on JerseyKids.net