A masked man brandishing a firearm and a knife held up 22 foreign passengers who had just arrived by bus at an adventure park a few miles south of Puerto Vallarta.
The gunman stripped passengers of cameras, watches, backpacks, passports and everything else of value before making his escape.
No one was physically hurt in the attack, which occurred around 5 p.m. Thursday, February 23 as the tourists returned from a hiking excursion in the El Nogalito area.
The passengers had set sail February 19 from Long Beach, California for a seven-day Mexican cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor, a 952-foot, 3,000-plus passenger floating hotel operated by Carnival Cruise Lines.
Fifteen of the victims gave testimony to the police about the incident, but the passengers had to return to their ship to go home. The police at first called it a minor incident involving North Americans, but admitted when the story broke that it was an assault.
So far, no one has been arrested, though police have increased vigilance in El Nogalito and in Mismaloya in hopes of catching the gunman.
In a statement, the cruise company said, "Carnival sincerely apologizes to its guests for this very unfortunate and disturbing event and is providing its full support and assistance," and added that they are working to reimburse the victims and assist them with passport and document recovery.
Carnival Corporation is still dealing with the fallout from the Costa Concordia disaster in January, wherein that cruise ship, operated by Carnival subsidiary Costa Cruises, struck a rock near the coast of Italy, grounding it and killing 32 passengers.
Just this month, the U.S. Department of State issued an updated travel warning for its citizens visiting Mexico, although Puerto Vallarta was not flagged as a trouble area.
Carnival was among several cruise lines that axed Mazatlan from their itineraries after a rise in high-profile violence there last year -- a precedent that no doubt worries the Puerto Vallarta tourist industry.
Next month the city will host the Tianguis Turistico, the country's largest tourism fair, having just this year wrested the event away from Acapulco, which had hosted it for the last 24 years.
While Mexico's media image in the wake of the country's violent drug war gives any crime here a sinister flavor, such robberies as these used to happen in Mexico well before this modern era of drug cartels with their private armies.