Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — After being declined authorization to disembark at Puerto Morelos, cruise company Le Ponant did so at Punta Sam, mainland Isla Mujeres, instead.
The cruise ship Le Champlain from the French company Le Ponant obtained authorization from the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) to embark and disembark at Punta Sam after not being able to do so at the Puerto Morelos dock, which is said to be only a merchandise dock.
The new authorized Mayan Culture route departs from Cozumel to Punta Sam, then onward to Dos Bocas, Tabasco where it heads to Progreso, Yucatán and returns to Punta Sam and then Cozumel. This 8-day route is The Mayan Treasures of Yucatan.
The new route was granted by the Merchant Marine Directorate for its cruise ship to board and disembark at Punta Sam after permission was refused in Puerto Morelos.
The secretary of Tourism, Marisol Vanegas Pérez, had once said that the arrival of the cruise ships in Puerto Morelos would be “a new market” that would circulate throughout the peninsula.
The ship, with capacity for 184 passengers, docked in Cozumel on October 31 as an unscheduled arrival as part of the Mayan Treasures of Yucatan, after which the Maritime Terminal of Punta Sam and the Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo ( Apiqroo) approved the route change.
