August 14, 2003
No Yucatan Express 2003

I traveled to Mexico last winter on the Yucatan Express, Tampa to Progreso. Loved it. Took my van. Drove on the ship, had a vehicle, drove back on and went home.

I've gotten a number of comments, questions about this service and when it would begin again.

I intended to do it again this year, but the company is apparently unwilling to lose money again - they tried and failed last year to open up a second port. Here's their explanation:

"Due to the lack of a second port in the Yucatan Peninsula, we need to delay the resumption of the Yucatan Express. This has been a hard decision for us - we have been working very hard to find a solution to the inaccessibility of Puerto Morelos - but we have run out of time for this season and it is clear that the route cannot work with just one port. We did have great loads through the end of last season but it is just not cost effective to have our ship sitting idle half the week.

The GOOD NEWS is that we do believe in the Florida-Mexico market and will continue working hard to resolve the issues which have necessitated this interim delay in service. We continue to work on channel dredging for Morelos and hope to begin accepting vacation reservations early next year for recommencement of Yucatan Express service in Nov '04."

Not good enough news. Damn.

Yucatan Express

Posted by Dave at August 14, 2003 03:21 PM