Everything is all right: Photo from Cancun taken 9:22 AM on October 28, 2011.

But it was all a big bluster, according to the Cancun tourist office.

“There are currently no reports of damage due to the storm and the destination is officially fully-operational,” The Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a news release Friday.

The airport is running at full capacity (187 flights on Saturday) and the power is on. Officials there attribute the tourist location’s preparedness for hurricanes to its ability to get things up and running so quickly.

And for anyone who wants to help a tourist location after a storm, the single best thing to do is go there and spend money.

Let the Day of the Dead begin!

Hurricane Rina - Image from MODIS

Hurricane Rina, currently a category 2 and strengthening to a category 3 hurricane, is changing travel plans of those in Cancun and aboard cruise ships.

Rina is expected to land on Cozumel, and then move along the coast to Cancun on Wednesday evening. Where the storm goes after hitting the tourist areas still up for debate. The National Hurricane Center is predicting that Rina will bounce off of Cancun and head east to Florida or Cuba.

Tourists in the Cancun have a mixed reactions. Many are cutting vacations short to escape any danger of being stuck while others are just planning to take the old fashioned approach to riding out the storm – going to a bar.

Not willing to play the guessing game, cruise ships have changed their ports of call to avoid being in the Gulf during the storm. No word on how passengers feel about being diverted away from Cancun, but chances are they can find cheap silver, maracas and pinatas at whatever replacement port of call the cruise lines use.

Around Mexico, in under a month, they’ll be celebrating the Day of the Dead — aka, El Dia de los Muertos.

A recent press release from the fine folks in Cancun reminded me of the holiday. Down in the Yucatan, the Day of the Dead is known as Hanal Pixán, dating back to before there were even Mexicans. (It was Mayan back then.)

Once the Spaniards arrived, the holiday evolved to incorporate all of that Christian claptrap.

There are a few rules that come along with celebrating folks that have died. According to Cancun press release (aside from them pointing out that Cancun is the best place to celebrate the D o’ D, which is hard to argue), rules include:

• Part of the traditions of the Day of the Dead also include praying and singing, along with sweeping the yard and painting the homes to receive the dead with the honor they deserve.
• Large portions of the “dead’s” favorite foods are made as a tribute to them.
• Along with local dishes that are famous during the holiday, such as Mucbipollo, from the Mayan “Pib” meaning “buried,” is a tamale or corn cake stuffed with chicken, sauce, broth and spices, cooked in a hole in the ground and covered with banana leaves.

Expect lots of celebrations come Nov. 1 — the day after Halloween, another holiday that predates all of that Christian stuff. Also, the Day of the Dead has the best trinkets ever, which is probably why this holiday has been spreading across the U.S. like a deadly virus.

If you want to check out some of the D o’ D info, click here.

Texas officials are claiming that the Zetas, a drug cartel based in and around Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, are planning on targeting U.S. tourists over the holiday weekend. The Zetas’ criminal activities would include a surge of car jacking, robbery and extortion during the weekend.

The Zetas are a pretty bad gang, made up originally of Mexican Army Special Forces deserters and corrupt government officials and is, according to the DEA, the most violent paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico. They’ve been in the news lately as their second in command was recently arrested by the Mexican Army and this too will cause more activity as the Zetas look to punish the person responsible for leading the Army to this small victory.

Take heed. The added excitement of getting carjacked or kidnapped is probably not what most have in mind for their holiday vacation.

SANDPEARL RESORT www.sandpearl.com*www.facebook.com/ClearwaterFlorida

Facebook users who “like” Sandpearl and post a photo of themselves on property (tagging Sandpearl Resort in their photo), receive 25% off an Ice Cream pedicure at the Spa. (Must be booked on Social Media Day, but can be redeemed on a future date.)

SAN JUAN MARRIOTT www.marriottsanjuan.com* www.facebook.com/sanjuanmarriott @sanjuanmarriott

Keep an eye on the San Juan Marriott’s Facebook page and Twitter feeds for offers throughout the day. The resort will be posting and sharing special “Social Media Day Only” offers such as free upgrades, complimentary drinks and value-added amenities.

ARUBA MARRIOTT RESORT & STELLARIS CASINO www.arubamarriott.com @arubamarriott

Follow @ArubaMarriott on Twitter and on June 30th, tweet the message: “Tweet me with a trip to @ArubaMarriott #SMDay” for an entry in to a drawing for a 3 night/4 day stay for two.

MARRIOTT COSTA RICA COLLECTION www.marriott.com/costarica* www.facebook.com/marriottcostarica

Post a photo of something you find beautiful in Costa Rica (for example, a sunset, a scarlet macaw, zip lining, etc.) Then get your friends to “like” your photo and the photo with the most likes at the end of the day (midnight, EST) will win a free night at your choice of any of the four Costa Rica Resorts.

ST. KITTS MARRIOTT RESORT

www.stkittsmarriott.com * www.facebook.com/stkittsmarriott

On June 30th, visit St. Kitts Marriott’s Facebook page where you can answer the question posted in their status: “Which one of your friends is the most glued to his/her social networks?”  Submit your answer on the resort’s Facebook wall and tag your socially addicted friend to receive a voucher for a 40% discount off a spa treatment at the Emerald Mist Spa.

JW MARRIOTT CANCUN RESORT & SPA  www.jwmarriottcancun.com*www.facebook.com/JWMarriottCancun

and CASA MAGNA MARRIOTT CANCUN RESORT www.casamagnacancun.com * www.facebook.com/casamagnacancun

Facebook users who tag themselves in a specified property photo (which will be announced on the resorts’ Facebook pages) on Social Media Day will be entered to win a three night stay at the resort. Winners will be drawn at random.

Many of the top tourist locations South of the Border are just as safe, if not safer, than many American cities.

But not according to Texas, which earlier this year, officials suggested that top vacation spots such as Cancun and Acapulco were havens for drive by shootings, kidnappings and more violence than LA in the ’90s.

“Our safety message is simple: avoid traveling to Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive,” the Texas warning read.

Now Mexican officials are fighting back — so to speak — calling the Texas warnings silly cowboy hyperbole.

Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, chief operating officer of Mexico’s Board of Tourism, went to Texas and called the warning “ludicrous” and “misinformed,” according to media reports.

Now, Texas has some things right. Many of the border cities are outright scary dangerous. Tens of thousands of people have been murdered since 2006. Hanging out with the Taliban is safer.

But Negrete has a point that the tourist locales are relatively safe and no one drives to Cancun — flying over the danger and never hearing a gunshot.

The resorts are offering 50 percent off of a connected room if you pay for the first room. That’s like two rooms for 75 percent the regular cost. (There are a few other ways to do the math on this formula — such as booking three rooms and getting one free.)

We keep waiting for the resorts to invite us down there — perhaps offering us that family deal, without actually connecting our room to anyone else’s — even with our Marriott point card.

This particular package requires you book the rooms before May 31 and you have to travel before Oct. 31.

According to resort officials: “Rates for Friends and Family package start at $269 per room per night at CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort and $349 per room per night at JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa.  Taxes not included.  Offer is based on availability and subject to blackout dates.”

The Friends and Family package can be booked online at www.jwmarriottcancun.com for JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa, at www.casamagnacancun.com for CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort, or by phone at 1.800.223.6388.  When booking this package, request promotion code XFEM.

La Boutique Palacio at La Isla Shopping Village in Cancun will be the only place you can buy this particular bag — and matching wallet. And you’ll have to be one of the first 50 people to get there — as after that, there won’t be any more of these exclusive bags around.

No price was announced on the bag, but we’re not thinking it’s cheap.

Of course, for others, we say save the pesos and just go to Cancun.

That’s why CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort is offering up rooms for $85 a night between May 15 and May 31. Additionally, the resort is offering late check out on May 31 — for those who have a Spring hangover.

The resort includes ocean front rooms (though we’re guessing these are not the $85 a night ones), a mix of restaurants and spas and is located to some of the best Mayan ruins around. Cancun is also one of those loctations that is not too difficult to find cheap air fares right now.

The Escape the Crowd deal is based on double occupancy and does not include taxes and service charges. Minimum stay of three nights is required. Refer to promotional code L9Z when making a reservation.

Out of anywhere to travel to in the world, Cancun, Mexico, was the only place outside of the United States to make the list.

No doubt, one of the reasons for scaled back travel plans could be that every flight costs more this year over last, and just about everything else does too. But higher prices doesn’t mean travelers are taking “staycations” the stupidest word known to any traveler.

“Even with gas prices skyrocketing, Americans still see summer travel as a necessity, especially for families that may have cut back in the past few years due to the economy,” said Marita Hudson Thomas, Orbitz Travel Insider.  ”This year, more than ever, people are taking measures to ensure they travel within a budget by comparison shopping online and by taking advantage of price guarantee programs like Orbitz Price Assurance, which guarantees an automatic cash refund if another Orbitz customer books the same flight or prepaid hotel for less.”