PHOTO: Cruise ships are returning to Mazatlán. (Courtesy of Mazatlán tourism)
Mazatlán is back! The port of call made famous by "The Love Boat" TV show fell from favor in 2011 due to growing reports of crime, including a fatal shooting, in the tourist areas.
Now, five cruise lines that erased Mazatlán from its routes have all returned or announced plans to again visit the town on Mexico's west coast, commonly called the Mexican Riviera.
The final piece fell into place on May 22, when Carnival Cruise Lines announced plans to resume year-round weekly Mexican Riviera cruises from Long Beach, Calif., starting in October. The itinerary includes Mazatlán.
"Carnival discontinued port calls in Mazatlán in 2011 as a result of security concerns at the port," Carnival said in a statement. "We have been working with the Mexican government and local officials in Mazatlán to evaluate their security improvements in the main tourist areas, and we are satisfied with their progress. Several other cruise lines have recently returned to Mazatlán and their guests have been provided with an enjoyable landside experience. We have safely visited Mazatlán for nearly 30 years and we are pleased to return to this beautiful seaside destination."
Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Azamara Club Cruises resumed calls to Mazatlán in 2013. Princess Cruises earlier this year announced its return beginning this fall with additional trips in 2015 as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the line's first voyage to Mexico.
For the upcoming 2014-15 winter season, Mazatlán expects about 200,000 cruisers to visit.
Tourism officials are pleased with the return of the cruise ships. And they should be - they worked hard over the past few years to improve security and enhance the destination.
"The first thing we did back in 2011 was sit down with the cruise ship representatives and ask 'what is the real issue?' If it's economic issues, we really have nothing to say because I can't change the U.S. or Mexican economy," said Frank Cordova, secretary of tourism for the state of Sinaloa. "If it's really an issue of a sense of insecurity, or the port is maybe going stale, we're willing put 110 percent into what we need to do to get it fixed.
"They were very, very clear, especially Carnival, and said 'you may be right in the fact that very few tourists have ever been hurt in Mazatlán, but the issue is, because of the high crime rate in the Mazatlán county, you have very negative perceptions out there. And because of that we can't sell the port.' We knew that was something that needed to be changed."
Mazatlán created a new tourist police force with casually dressed officers who speak English and ride bikes or drive Jeeps. Security cameras were installed throughout the tourist zone to watch the activity or even zoom in on license plates of suspicious vehicles.
"There are a lot of security cameras," Cordova said. "You can't go anywhere in the tourism zone that people aren't going to see you, and that helps us to be preemptive. These protocols have been very, very effective in preventing incidents in the tourism zone."
In fact, he said reports of violent crimes plummeted 85 percent from 2010 to 2013.
The Carnival Miracle will introduce year-round Mexican Riviera cruising from Long Beach on Oct. 4. It will operate three different week-long itineraries, including a new three-port cruise featuring a full day at Mazatlán on most departures, as well as Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta.
Princess is including Mazatlán on seven-day cruises from Los Angeles on the Crown Princess, Grand Princess and Ruby Princess. The 50th anniversary cruise on the 670-passenger Pacific Princess, scheduled to depart Dec. 3, 2015, will include several ports that were on the company's very first voyage, including Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. The 14-day cruise sails round-trip from Los Angeles and is already sold out of interior cabins, mini-suites and suites, according to the Princess website. Oceanview staterooms are available starting at $2,149 per person while balcony cabins are priced from $2,849.
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