![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/135\/590x\/secondary\/5053006.jpg?r=1699333800407\")
<\/p>\nA senior official at\u00a0Carnival Cruise Lines is warning travelers of an “unstoppable” scam which is prevalent at a favorite\u00a0Mexican destination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Writing on\u00a0Facebook,\u00a0John Heald, brand ambassador for the company, advised tour guests\u00a0against purchasing a popular souvenir from ports – and in particular from salespeople on the picturesque island of Cozumel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heald says that it’s very common for vacationers to buy vanilla to bring back as a gift for their family, their friends, or even themselves.<\/p>\n
But more and more shops are selling dirty water instead of the aromatic spice, and the cruise line says they are powerless to stop it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heald warned: “We apparently have Vanilla Gate going on with reports that some shops in Cozumel are not selling pure Vanilla but watered-down versions of it.<\/p>\n
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“There are calls for us to ‘do something about it’ and to ‘close the shops down’.<\/p>\n
“I understand that there are a lot of people who love buying vanilla in Cozumel.<\/p>\n
“It is a tradition in the same way people buy massive sombreros and Mexican blankets and Viagra from the pier-side drug store.”<\/p>\n
Heald also warned that Carnival is powerless to stop it \u2014 and so, he warned travelers not to buy them in shops to be on the safe side.<\/p>\n
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