There has been a sense of inevitability about Home Port, the project to build a massive pier capable of accommodating four cruise ships at a time on the so-called Riviera Maya, a fast-developing stretch of Yucatán Peninsula coast south of Cancún. Despite intense opposition from green groups, the venture—in which Carnival Cruise Lines holds a 50% stake and Mexican investors control 50%—won the approval of environmental officials, and construction was due to begin in May. But according to one of the project’s main backers, Home Port now is in doubt. Businessman Miguel Quintana, who controls 70% of the Mexican half of the project, claims the problem is a US$30-per-passenger charge that the local administrative district, Solidaridad, intends to... [Log in to read more]