Has this happened to anyone else before?

I am alarmed at reading this. I am widowed and love cruises. I booked a cruise last night, and I am all excited, and I am going solo for the first time. There just isn't anyone for me to travel with. I don't want to spend the rest of my life sitting on the couch alone. I am sure you all understand. But, the idea that I might have a problem is scary for me. It is taking all my courage as it is to travel alone. Words of encouragement would be appreciated.

Hello Sunnyriver,

Firstly please except my sympathy's for the loss of your husband and I congratulate you on taking on this new adventure!

I have read nothing in this thread that I would consider alarming. I have traveled solo multiple times on various trips including five solo Cruises with another booked. It is true I have been searched in a separate room on one occasion. It could have been profiling, but I was not offended. I knew I had done nothing wrong and cooperated with the "investigation." all in all it took maybe 10 minutes of my time. I have also been searched once traveling with my husband, go figure! I must just look suspicious.

While it's good to be cautious no matter who you travel with, I just don't see this as something to concern myself with. I'm much more likely to be a victim in a local shopping mall then a TSA screening point.

Instead of concerning yourself with something that might happen, and most likely will NOT happen, I suggest you congratulate yourself on defining your new norm. I find something incredibly empowering about solo travel, and I hope you find the joy in it that I have :)

BB

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I took my kids on a trip to Europe. My son was about 11, daughter 13. In London going through customs the man looked at our passports and turned to my son and said "do you know this woman?" Son looked up at me and said "no, I never saw her before in my life." I about fell out. He's always been a real jokester. I was sure I was going to jail. The man took a good look at us and laughed. My son is a clone of me. We got our passports back and went on our way.

I took my kids on a trip to Europe. My son was about 11, daughter 13. In London going through customs the man looked at our passports and turned to my son and said "do you know this woman?" Son looked up at me and said "no, I never saw her before in my life." I about fell out. He's always been a real jokester. I was sure I was going to jail. The man took a good look at us and laughed. My son is a clone of me. We got our passports back and went on our way.

LOL!! What a funny kid!

LOL!! What a funny kid!

He was chosen Mr. Humor every year in school. Now he's a pastor! Go figure.

I haven't had any problems on my solo cruises but I have gone on multiple solo Disney World trips, and there I almost always get flagged to go through the metal detectors on the way into the parks. I agree with what others have said in that "we" are red flags since we go alone. Even though it's normal in our minds, its not "normal" in the real world.

I also agree with what another poster said about us being drug mules. Coming back from Cancun with a friend once I got pulled aside, invasive questioning, my luggage ripped apart, and of course they found nothing. I didn't realize until a few days later that they never gave me my drivers license back, so I just got a new one at DMV. About 6 months later I get a random envelope in the mail with US Philadelphia customs and my drivers license is in it with a sticky note on it. They were researching my family too, because they had my (609) area code with my parents phone number in northern NJ written on the sticky note. Bizarre.

Yes, this happened to me after a solo trip to Scotland. I suspect I fit the profile of a drug smuggler as I was in my 20s, traveling alone, and casually dressed. I made it through security at Edinburgh Airport with no problem, then was pulled aside at the gate as I was about to board. Got a patdown in front of all the other passengers, and was then let go with no apology or explanation.

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I travel solo often, including cruises and have never had any of these things happen. I think that some of you are making a lot more out of things than you need. Sometimes you are searched because fo hat you do or don't put on yur customs form, it has nothing to do with who is traveling with you.

Treating innocent people like criminals wastes time and accomplishes nothing. The only reason it happens is because the people running the system (at the top: the ones who issue guidelines targeting the wrong people, over and over, without learning anything) are incompetent.

I do not accept the argument that you catch a few bad fish by targeting people randomly. Random targeting is not a system; it's what you do when you don't have a system.

Treating innocent people like criminals wastes time and accomplishes nothing. The only reason it happens is because the people running the system (at the top: the ones who issue guidelines targeting the wrong people, over and over, without learning anything) are incompetent.

 

I do not accept the argument that you catch a few bad fish by targeting people randomly. Random targeting is not a system; it's what you do when you don't have a system.

Garbage, watch Border Patrol sometime. The custom agents pull people for clear reasons, the problem is different people have different reasons for their behavior. Example: they look for nervous or sweaty people because many of those people turn out to be drug mules. However, there are people who are naturally nervous and get pull as well.

Would you suggest they just let the drug mules thru? Do you have a better way to spot them?

Or how about my mother? Until she died she refused to believe that her carrying fruit across the border could cause damage to fruit/plant crops. Tell that to the orange growers in Florida, tell it to all the people who lost their trees to Dutch Elm Disease here in Toronto.

It is a tough job, and there are no simple answers on how to do it.

Treating innocent people like criminals wastes time and accomplishes nothing.

Being asked extra questions or getting one's bags checked is not being treated like a criminal. Not by a long shot.

I have never had an issue going through customs but the last few times I've flown I've gotten patted down every time. A little disconcerting but no big deal to me. I don't think it was because I was traveling solo though.

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I have never had an issue going through customs but the last few times I've flown I've gotten patted down every time. A little disconcerting but no big deal to me. I don't think it was because I was traveling solo though.

 

 

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Remember to tell the agent "I don't know what you are looking for, but it is a little more down and to the left.". :)