Dangerous Cruise Ports To Stay Far, Far Away From (2024)

Experiences on my two last cruises reminded me that just because my cruise ship is calling into a port does not mean that I can assume it's safe for me to get off and explore. In fact, even in the two most popular cruising regions, the Caribbean and Mediterranean, many of the most visited ports are amongst the riskiest.

Welcome aboard, I'm Gary Bembridge and I’m going to tell you what dangerous ports in these two regions to avoid, and how to keep yourself safe if you've got a cruise booked that's going to one of them.

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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.

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00:00 Start
00:31 Caribbean Dangerous Ports
01:05 Haiti
02:09 Jamaica
03:10 Bahamas
05:00 Cozumel
06:11 Honduras
07:08 Belize
08:08 Mediterranean Dangerous Ports
08:43 Barcelona
09:03 Rome
09:44 Athens
10:06 Livorno / Florence / Pisa
10:17 What To Do in Dangerous Ports

[kt]

As a young female & mostly solo traveler I virtually always book the excursions with the cruise line. While of course something bad can happen anywhere and with anyone I’d rather take my chances with them, not to mention the convenience. I’d very much rather pay a bit extra and be overtly precautious.

[debesevening]

I was almost a victim of pickpocketing in Pisa this past fall. Thank goodness one of the tour guides that was headed out of the tower courtyard area as we were walking into it recognized them and once past started yelling "PICKPOCKET ALERT! 2 GIRLS AND THE GUY WITH THE RED UMBRELLA" AND THEN KEPT YELLING, PICKPOCKET SHAME ON YOU over and over. Everyone in both groups (ours and theirs) started the same and they peeled off quickly down a street and closed up their umbrella once they realized we had been alerted and they were recognized. So very grateful to that guide, she saved me as they were coming up behind us.

[BeautifulKittenOfLove]

Once on a cruise to Chile I was "snatched" by a Peruvian flute band and held captive! Thank God I had gotten to know my cabin steward Alejandro VERY well onboard. He rescued me by trading me for a chicken and a Celine Dion CD. Bless you my little Filipino angel!

[ljr]

I asked our captain on one cruise why we didn't dock in Kingston and he said, "We could, if we wanted our propellers stolen."

[RussClarkRocks]

I'm a musician working on ships all over the Caribbean. Heartbreaking to see Cozumel make this list. Always a crew favorite.

[kentfrederick]

A friend is a pilot with a major U.S. airline. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was common for flight crews to have overnight layovers in Mexican and other Central American cities. But, for more than 10 years, flights to Central America are now all turns, i.e., fly to the city, the turn and fly back to the U.S. hub airport. Management and the unions agree that it's no longer safe for pilots and flight attendants to have overnight stays.

[danielintheantipodes]

Great tips! A group of men tried to scam/rob me in Paris near the Eiffel Tower. I was rescued by two lovely plain clothes policemen. It could have got nasty because I realised what was happening and started to run! They saw and recognised the police and disappeared! Thank you for the video!

[margiewinslow]

I'm travel savvy but last time I was in Florence, an elderly lady fainted dead away right in our path. As soon as my husband and I bent down to see if we could help her up. A swarm of teens surrounded us and turned every pocket and tried to grab anything they could. The whole fainting bit was a scam. Until then I was wondering why locals merely stepped over the " poor little ladies."

[anngratton]

The number of ladies I saw wearing flashy jewelry and carrying expensive hand bags on my last cruise was shocking to me. I wear no jewelry and carry a slash proof, lockable travel cross body bag which is far from pretty but very secure. Like someone else said, even knock off handbags or costume jewelry can make you a target.

[lindajarvis]

My husband and I bought a bus ferry pass when we docked in Bermuda. We felt safe. Grand cayman we felt safe also but went by tour. The other places he mentioned including Rome we were very cautious. Saw very questionable people around the colosseum including the train station. Just because you are on vacation, other people are not. Protect your valuables and be aware.

[evelynhillier]

Thanks, Gary. Great advice, as ever! When we cruise into Nassau, my brother, who lives there, picks us up, and we spend the day with him. It's great!

[kelleyprice]

Labadee Haiti is quite beautiful, but Haiti overall is definitely not safe right now. What's really sad is that by not stopping there, the folks who had jobs, now have no way to earn a living and so are really suffering. It's a terrible situation.

[lorenwillis]

30 years ago, my wife and I felt unsafe in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Our excursion stopped in a local marketplace. We and others on the tour returned to the bus early because of how uncomfortable it was.

[anarwally]

Just got back from vacation in Jamaica. We stayed at an all inclusive hotel outside Montego Bay. We had arranged several trips while there, snorkeling, a tour to a rum distillery and tubing. We always had arranged for someone drive us to the activity and back. At no time did we feel unsafe. If we just went out wandering around by ourselves it may have been different.

[andredupreez]

Honestly, I would make this a very short video: No matter where you travel, be street savvy. Anything can happen anywhere in the world.

[xsfpicy]

It’s up to you if you take notice. Gary is telling you the dangers. It’s not just pickpockets it’s mugging and murders. The foreign office only gives advice if it’s a dangerous place.

[jecny]

The first rule for staying safe is use common sense. Haiti and Mexico are both high crime countries and probably worse than you may realize as most crimes in both go unreported. In either country I wouldn't go anywhere outside a high security port area. When I was in the navy many years ago, I learned some precautions that I continue to practice to the present day when traveling. I keep only a minimal amount of money in my wallet and no credit cards or ID. Wallets are what pick pockets generally go for. If you get mugged just toss your wallet in their general direction and run. Keep your ID and extra cash spread out over other pockets and hard to get places in your clothes. I used to keep a $20 bill in each of my shoes while on liberty, just in case. ($20 went a lot farther back then.) I never take more than one bank card with me and my passport always stays locked up in the hotel/cabin safe. A photocopy of my passport works for going out.

[brucefrytz]

If the US Dept of State had ratings for Galveston, New Orleans, and Miami cruise ports they would also be Level 3 or 4...

[stephanledford]

I have only been on one cruise many years ago, and the cruise line went over their sponsored excursions, cancelling one going to Tulum, Mexico, because a tour bus going to the site had been recently stopped by armed men who robbed everyone, and a rafting event in Jamaica because of a similar incident. I did "sting-ray-city" in the Cayman Islands, did the island tour at Cozumel and rode in a bus across the top of Jamaica to climb the waterfall at Ocho Rios.

One of the selling points of the sponsored tours is that they would not leave you if you did not get back to the ship on time. I visited with a couple who did not do the sponsored tour and were late and missed getting on the ship at the Cayman Islands, chartered a private plane to fly ahead to Montego Bay, where they had to spend the night locked in a room at the airport till the cruise office was open the next day and could straighten things out. Their passports were with the ship.

[jturie]

We treat Ocho Rios as a sea day. Funny, the ship was empty until about noon and they all came running back to the ship when they saw the neighborhood. No issues with pier runners at that stop!