PUERTO VALLARTA — Actress Niecy Nash and her family sheltered in their hotel room during cartel violence that erupted near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, during her birthday trip. The violence forced the family to remain in place and cancel their planned boat excursion.

Nash had traveled to Puerto Vallarta with her children and mother for a birthday celebration. When the family ran low on food at their accommodation, they went to the W Hotel in Puerto Vallarta to seek food but were refused assistance by hotel staff.

Nash and her family then sneaked into the W Hotel through the back entrance to obtain food. They enlisted a couple at the hotel bar to receive delivered food in the couple's room, paying in cash to avoid billing the couple. The couple was too intoxicated to notice that Nash's family had ordered food to their room.

After returning home, Nash posted on Instagram that she had been caught up in cartel attacks during her trip. "I had a great birthday," she said in the post.

"The main thing was 'do your best to keep your peace, but never let a circumstance take your joy,'" she wrote on Instagram.