New cruise ship pier

[BRT]

I wonder why Playa has never been talked about for a pier. Mainland attractions and activities are far more plentiful. I realize the industry doesn't own 5th street like they own Melgar, but the possibilities are far greater.

I don't think they have water depth there.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Given the violent crime problem in Playa (getting worse), will many cruise ship lines want to build a pier? Will Cozumel be the last "supposedly" safe port in Mexico. I sure hope so.

Dave

PS The cruise ships already can stop in Calica (sand mines) just south of Playa and even closer to the Disney like attractions of Xcaret and the pile of rocks to be found at Tulum

 

[deepsea21]

Is this the area where the night dives are done? If so, I saw to seahorses there in May. The DM knew just where they were and pointed them out.

Generally yes, I am happy to hear you were able to see 2 so perhaps all hasn't been lost there and a few have come back. I remember diving behind the Plaza Las Glorias and being able to find seahorses there. Then Palace Resorts took over the place, turned it into an AI, stuck a funky jetted tub for 2 in the middle of each room, and hiked the price 500%. I know the Palace gets rave reviews by many but to me it is still just the Plaza carrying a sickeningly high price tag for what one gets.

 

[deepsea21]

It's all about money. The government collects landing fees from cruise ship companies. The more passengers, the more money flows into local coffers and Cayman bank accounts. It would be informative to know how much the landing fees are and where the money goes.

Where it goes? It goes to corrupt officials & mainland interests while the tourist $ spent in port go to corporations that own all the retail stores in the cruise ship tourist areas on most islands in the Caribbean. That's why one cruise port tends to look just like the next - one sees the same stores and same junk for sale regardless of which island visited. There are some exceptions but generally, the main drag that most cruisers will walk and spend their $ ends up in the pockets of corporations, not local business owners. Walking and shopping 3 blocks back is kind of like foregoing Black Friday and shopping on Small Business Saturday.

 

[scubafanatic]

Given the violent crime problem in Playa (getting worse), will many cruise ship lines want to build a pier? Will Cozumel be the last "supposedly" safe port in Mexico. I sure hope so.

Dave

PS The cruise ships already can stop in Calica (sand mines) just south of Playa and even closer to the Disney like attractions of Xcaret and the pile of rocks to be found at Tulum

It's fortunate that all those criminals will be too stupid to migrate over to Cozumel and enjoy the easy pickings of all the naive tourists that have fled to the 'safety' of Cozumel's Cruiser World.

 

[caydiver]

Deepsea21 do you know who actually owns most of the big chains that sell jewelry and china etc. American companies based elsewhere whether it is Colombian Emeralds, Little Switzerland, etc. My parents are departed but had many later life cruise vacations that suited them in later life. They didn’t go the cheapest route and actually spent hard earned dollars in their travels. Happily they had joy with their purchases, sadly they were ripped off. Not by locals but by fellow American entrepreneurs. Is it recognized that Grand Cayman a first world country is not connected to Cozumel on any level? Where exactly are the criminals you are talking about. I could mention Delaware or Nevada but realize not every State has the same rules so won’t just the your country under the bus even though you don’t give mine the same courtesy.

 

[ChuckP]

Deepsea21 do you know who actually owns most of the big chains that sell jewelry and china etc. American companies based elsewhere whether it is Colombian Emeralds, Little Switzerland, etc. My parents are departed but had many later life cruise vacations that suited them in later life. They didn’t go the cheapest route and actually spent hard earned dollars in their travels. Happily they had joy with their purchases, sadly they were ripped off. Not by locals but by fellow American entrepreneurs. Is it recognized that Grand Cayman a first world country is not connected to Cozumel on any level? Where exactly are the criminals you are talking about. I could mention Delaware or Nevada but realize not every State has the same rules so won’t just the your country under the bus even though you don’t give mine the same courtesy.

I took the comment as that money from here or there was moved offshore to the Cayman's, instead of staying in Cozumel although I don't think that's quite as easy anymore.

 

[caydiver]

It is sad that so many actually drink the Koolaid. The US is wonderful at being the world police while having the biggest number of dummy corporations and being the top or close top the worlds biggest money laundering nation. Whenever a finger is pointed that way politicians quickly put other countries to under the microscope. The only thing that ever happened here is that as a tax neutral country (but one where we pay duty instead) some opened bank accounts. Those days have been gone for a very long time. Stopped the criminals from opening bank accounts years ago most of whom were American trying evade their income tax including some of the same politicians who still point the finger. I don’t think many Mexicans had the same need. The comments are totally insulting and wrong.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I recall several instances of trying to negotiate a good "locals" price on diamonds, that the Cozumel shop had to call New York City to get an OK.

Dave

 

[jlyle]

It is sad that so many actually drink the Koolaid. The US is wonderful at being the world police while having the biggest number of dummy corporations and being the top or close top the worlds biggest money laundering nation. Whenever a finger is pointed that way politicians quickly put other countries to under the microscope. The only thing that ever happened here is that as a tax neutral country (but one where we pay duty instead) some opened bank accounts. Those days have been gone for a very long time. Stopped the criminals from opening bank accounts years ago most of whom were American trying evade their income tax including some of the same politicians who still point the finger. I don’t think many Mexicans had the same need. The comments are totally insulting and wrong.

I seem to have touched a nerve. I wasn't picking on the Cayman Islands; I could have said Switzerland, Panama, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Germany, Britain, or Dubai. All of these countries are used as tax havens and/or places for corrupt officials to hide money. However, "with banking assets worth $1.4 trillion in June 2014, and hosting over 11,000 mutual and other funds with a net asset value of $2.1 trillion, the Cayman Islands makes the list, too. It has 200 banks, over 140 trust companies and over 95,000 registered companies. It is by far the world’s leading domicile for hedge funds, and the second leading domicile for captive insurance companies. Financial services account for well over half of its gross domestic product. Cayman retains many secrecy features—not least a law that can put people in jail not just for revealing confidential information, but merely for asking for it."

To be fair, "the United States is more of a cause for concern than any other individual country, according to the Financial Secrecy Index, because of both the size of its offshore sector, and also its rather wayward attitude to international cooperation and reform. The U.S. provides a wide array of secrecy and tax-free facilities for non-residents, both at a federal level and at the level of individual states. Though the U.S. has been a pioneer in defending itself from foreign secrecy jurisdictions, aggressively taking on the Swiss banking establishment and setting up its technically quite strong Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), it provides little information in return to other countries, making it a formidable, harmful and irresponsible secrecy jurisdiction at both the federal and state levels."

Pax?