A $30 head tax proposal for ships sailing from The Port of Cancun at Xcaret has stymied the $50 million 50/50 joint venture between Carnival Corporation and Miguel Quintana, owner of the Xcaret water park. Originally slated for completion by Nov. 20, 2003, ground has yet to be broken in Xcaret, where facilities were to feature an “F pier” capable of handling four post-Panarnax vessels simultaneously two of those berths for turnaround operations and reserved exclusively for Carnival.

A Carnival spokesperson confirmed: “All federal permits and requirements have been met. The problem is at the local level and is tied to a construction permit that we have been unable to obtain because there is a $30 per person head tax that has been strangely thrown into the mix, and we do not find it acceptable. We would hope that some headway can be made on the matter, but for the moment, we are at a standstill.”