Passengers aboard the Carnival Radiance departed Long Beach Friday morning for a three-day excursion to Ensenada for some fun in the sun on board and in the popular Mexican tourist destination. Unrest throughout Baja California, however, kept travelers from getting off the ship.
Hooded thugs linked to criminal cartels effectively shut down the region on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. State officials said the group hijacked and burned at least two dozen vehicles and set up roadblocks Friday night.
Messages circulated on social media, allegedly from the Jalisco New Generation cartel, declaring a curfew in Tijuana, warning residents to go home or risk attack, according to the Times. The US Consulate General in Tijuana issued an order via Twitter for government employees to shelter in place on Friday.
According to the consulate, the closures affected Tijuana, Tecate, Mexicali, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada, prompting the world’s largest cruise line to abandon its port on Sunday.
Due to the recent local unrest and instructions issued by the US State Department for its employees to shelter in Ensenada and the surrounding region, Carnival Radiance will cancel the Ensenada call
— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) August 14, 2022
“The safety of our guests is our priority,” Carnival spokesman Matt Lupoli said in an email to the Business Journal on Monday.
Cruise lines reserve the right to change the itinerary of a voyage at any time before or during a voyage for any reason. If guests’ vacations are “significantly affected” by a change, Lupoli said Carnival has guidelines to offer “goodwill gestures.”
The consulate canceled its shelter in good order just after 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, well after the Radiance would normally have gone into port.
With three ships based in Long Beach, Carnival has weekly trips to Ensenada, which offers guests a variety of tours, wine tastings, dining and more.
“Moving forward,” Lupoli said, “we will continue to assess the situation.”
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