News item: Carnival has canceled 10 stops in Belize City because the Belizians have taken on so many ships that the tendering process (necessary) has created congestion. Instead of Belize, passengers on the Carnival Legend or the Glory will be taken to Costa Maya.
Okay, and the winner here is…
Not Carnival's passengers.
Almost four years ago — before we started writing this blog — we went to Belize on the Norwegian Spirit. We eagerly anticipated the visit because our daughter had often been heard talking about going to Belize, which means she'd done more research on it than us. 
If you can make a judgment on an eight-hour stopover, it was everything she'd imagined it to be: pretty, friendly, accommodating, interesting, safe. The only thing wrong were the red ants at the butterfly garden…but that's another story.
Not Costa Maya.
This is a Mexican port we have visited twice, the first time on the way to Belize. As much as we enjoy making lemonade out of lemons, so to speak, this is also a port that needs time to develop, even though it has been nearly six years since Hurricane Dean almost wiped this dot off the map. There's not a lot to do or see in the immediate area, unless you want to sit on the beach and drink beer. As a substitute port, to us it doesn't hold anything close to the appeal of Belize.
Not Carnival.
The cruise line loses on the public relations front with everyone. Passengers may be annoyed at the port substitution, especially if they've been to Costa Maya. Belizians from restaurant owners to street vendors to government bean counters will surely be annoyed at the risk of losing business they were counting on, no matter who's fault it is.
Not Belize.
There are probably more Carnival ships going there than any other cruise line, to the extent that Carnival believed there was an agreement that no more than four ships would be there at a time, and that Carnival had first dibs on the parking spots in the harbor. So while Belize may — that's may — have more people visiting by crowding the harbor, the increase comes at the risk of alienating its largest cruise ally.
There was a 10 per cent decrease in cruise visitors in 2012. Local tourist officials are being grilled about dealing with the issue, to the point that a "Director of Cruise and Regional Initiatives" is being added to the Belize Tourism Board. The government is engaging potential investors in developing a "Cruise Tourism Village" berthing facility, otherwise known as a cruise ship terminal.
In the end, the buck stops in Belize.
Holland America Volendam
7 nights
May 1, 2013
Vancouver (return): Inside Passage, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan
Inside: $499
Cost per day: $71
www.hollandamerica.com