Increased Security on Cruise Ships?

[baggal]

Is anyone else wondering if the cruise lines are stepping up their security procedures in light of recent current events?

 

Has anyone who has sailed since Dec. 25 noticed any increased screening, etc.? And not to be politically incorrect, and this applies to all cruise companies, what about the crew? Do you think their backgrounds are checked sufficiently?

 

I don't want to be an alarmist, but it does make you wonder...

[ziggypup]

Is anyone else wondering if the cruise lines are stepping up their security procedures in light of recent current events?

 

Has anyone who has sailed since Dec. 25 noticed any increased screening, etc.? And not to be politically incorrect, and this applies to all cruise companies, what about the crew? Do you think their backgrounds are checked sufficiently?

 

I don't want to be an alarmist, but it does make you wonder...

 

Don't an alarmist. :)

 

Unfortunately anything can happen anywhere. That is world in which we live in today.

 

You can always built a newer and better mouse trap, but eventually a smarter mouse will come along.

[bbwex]

When I checked aboard on the 27th, it was about the same. They x-ray all carry-ons, as they had on previous cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I for one am not worried about cruising.

[Taxguy77]

Pretty hard to sink a ship with just explosives tucked in your shorts!:D

[NMLady]

Since a ship is so huge, I think it's too huge for any explosives that could be brought aboard on a person. Besides, all the problems so far for USA have been in the air. Maybe I'm naive, but I'm not worried. I think the screening they do is sufficient.

I suppose they could add an explosives-sniffing dog to the equation to sniff carry-ons and other luggage, but I don't really think it necessary.

[sharpasahmarble]

Since a ship is so huge, I think it's too huge for any explosives that could be brought aboard on a person. Besides, all the problems so far for USA have been in the air. Maybe I'm naive, but I'm not worried. I think the screening they do is sufficient.

I suppose they could add an explosives-sniffing dog to the equation to sniff carry-ons and other luggage, but I don't really think it necessary.

 

It would be very very hard to sink a ship with explosives. Maybe if they were placed under the ships hull in key places it could be a possibility.

But the goal of terrorists is to create fear. They can create that without sinking the ship. One terroristic explosion aboard a cruise ship would create enough havoc within the industry for a lifetime of security woes.

I'd be more concerned with some kind of chemical weapon being introduced into the food or water. The terrorists can attack the food before it gets sent to the ship and they don't even have to put one foot on board. I'm sure their are chemical weapons that have no odor or taste. I wonder if the food being loaded onto the ship goes through any type of chemical weapons detection?

[RevNeal]

I'd be more concerned with some kind of chemical weapon being introduced into the food or water. The terrorists can attack the food before it gets sent to the ship and they don't even have to put one foot on board. I'm sure their are chemical weapons that have no odor or taste. I wonder if the food being loaded onto the ship goes through any type of chemical weapons detection?

 

Think Biological ... I'm more concerned about Biological warfare.

[rjm1cc]

Lets hope that they were already doing an adaquate job and do not have to make any imporvements. A system that starts looking for a problem after someone has tried to use something and failded is doomed to failure. We have to be smart enough to anticipate what someone maydo and look for that now, not latter.

[tomc]

As the ship breaks up and starts to sink, you say to yourself, "I could have had that extra dessert after all."

[luv my cruises]

:eek: And lets just hope there are no terrorists following this thread

[bbwex]

Of course, someone could attack a cruise ship. As Americans, we have been lucky, by and large, to not have had terrorism on our soil until fairly recently, and while there have obviously been three large events, that is about all there have been. Many people in this world deal with the threat day in and day out.

 

As many commentators have said, we should grow to expect that it is going to happen, and it is going to happen within our country, and more than likely it will not be some super-extravagant event like the WTC, but rather more mundane (and scary) things such as attacks in marketplaces, etc. with small devices. As was posted, these are meant to scare people.

 

We are a large, powerful and proud country. We cannot let terrorists win, and they win by our curtailing our activities, and curtailing the rights we have fought for for so many generations. We have to come to grips with the reality that this might happen, and live our lives.

 

The nature of terrorism is that it is impossible to totally eliminate the threat. No War on Terror can possibly win in an absolute fashion.

 

On a more individual level, there are lots and lots of cruise ships, they each make lots and lots of cruises so the odds that if one were to be a target that it would be the one you were on are small. Then too, to get on a cruise ship, there is a security check, etc. Why go after something where you might get caught versus somewhere where there are no checks, and you would not get caught?

 

We have to decide if we are going to go on living or let the s.o.b.'s win. Il Legitimi Non Carborundum -- Don't let the bast...s wear you down!

[sharpasahmarble]

Think Biological ... I'm more concerned about Biological warfare.

 

That too...............:)

[sharpasahmarble]

As the ship breaks up and starts to sink, you say to yourself, "I could have had that extra dessert after all."

 

Get it to go in a lifeboat approved travel container. :)

[world~citizen]

I for one am not worried about cruising.

 

Exactly.

 

I will not stop flying. I will not stop cruising. I will not spend my life looking back over my shoulder.

 

Did I say I will not stop cruising? :)

 

This is not to minimize the concerns expressed on this thread. Realistically, the risks are there.

 

I have only one life to live (as far as I know), and darned if I'll be intimidated from searching out new and enriching experiences.

 

We are booked for March and maybe again in June.

 

See you onboard.

 

Smooth sailing to you...

[ziggypup]

Only if it isn't made from denim.:D

 

Silk would be nice......................lol

 

And if the terrorist has a suite..........unlimited free Turbin cleaning.

[IRL_Joanie]

It would be very very hard to sink a ship with explosives. Maybe if they were placed under the ships hull in key places it could be a possibility.

 

But the goal of terrorists is to create fear. They can create that without sinking the ship. One terroristic explosion aboard a cruise ship would create enough havoc within the industry for a lifetime of security woes.

 

I'd be more concerned with some kind of chemical weapon being introduced into the food or water. The terrorists can attack the food before it gets sent to the ship and they don't even have to put one foot on board. I'm sure their are chemical weapons that have no odor or taste. I wonder if the food being loaded onto the ship goes through any type of chemical weapons detection?

 

 

 

 

Hey Sharpasamarble I have an off topic question for you...

 

How far is West Palm Beach from the terminal Port in Ft Lauderdale?

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

Lets hope that they were already doing an adaquate job and do not have to make any imporvements. A system that starts looking for a problem after someone has tried to use something and failded is doomed to failure. We have to be smart enough to anticipate what someone maydo and look for that now, not latter.

 

 

While docked in Victoria BC last May, I got to talking with the Westerdam's Chief of Security. He is a Very nice Israeli and made me feel so comfortable regarding Security for the ship.

 

I watched him looking at everyone, from passengers, crew, Officers and dock workers. The man watched everything!!

 

I have no worries about my safety on board a HAL ship!!

 

Joanie

[sharpasahmarble]

Hey Sharpasamarble I have an off topic question for you...

 

How far is West Palm Beach from the terminal Port in Ft Lauderdale?

 

Joanie

 

About 1 hour depending on your speed. Mileage wise, it's about 50 miles.

[Vic The Parrot]

In Southampton back in Oct, there were dogs going through the pallets that had crates of food. So it looks like the ports are pretty serious about security.

 

I wouldn't let anything bother me regarding that. I know they are keeping us safe, so I'm going to relax and enjoy myself.

[IRL_Joanie]

About 1 hour depending on your speed. Mileage wise, it's about 50 miles.

 

 

WOW or Yikes!! :eek: That is where HAL is putting us up at for the night of 6 Feb. They could not get us into a hotel any closer to the port since it is the night before Super Bowl..

 

Thanks for the info

 

Joanie

[Vic The Parrot]

WOW or Yikes!! :eek: That is where HAL is putting us up at for the night of 6 Feb. They could not get us into a hotel any closer to the port since it is the night before Super Bowl..

 

Thanks for the info

 

Joanie

 

 

 

But if HAL is putting you up, don't they provide transportation to Port Everglades?

[bbwex]

As a follow-up to my earlier post on this thread, there were two interesting articles in today's (Saturday, 1/9) Wall Street Journal about the odds of dying in a terror attack -- essentially zero, yet the amount of disruption to our economy and lifestyles that we not only allow but virtually insist upon.

 

Other than 9/11, no terror attack in any western country has killed more than 329 people, and the average is about 300 annually in all of the high developed nations since 1991. The odds for travelers in American airlines is 1 in 25 million, and all of those fatalities were on 9/11. By contrast, a person has a 1 in 500,000 chance of being struck by lightning.

 

Yet we not only tolerate but totally ignore the fact that 6,700 Americans die each and every day, of which 1900 will be under 65, 140 will be children, 50 will be murdered, and 120 will die in traffic accidents. We can do lots of things to reduce some of those numbers but we seem willing to accept 43,000 traffic deaths per year -- we could reduce speed limits, require mechanisms to prevent drunk driving, etc.

 

One article summed it up with two basic facts: 1) America is a country of 310 million people, in which thousands of horrible things happen every day; and 2) the chances that one of those horrible things will be that you're subjected to a terrorist attack can, for all practical purposes, be calculated as zero.

 

Once again, when some whacko in Pakistan can cause us to spend tons of money uselessly, interfere with our lives, and cause us to give up our rights, He has won.

[lettienets]

You can kill a lot more people blowing up one cruise ship than the World Trade Center and think what an impact that would have. I think cruise ships need better security than metal detectors. Think about like what Rev Neal says with biological warfare tactics or poisoning the water supply. If people like us can think of sinister things, think of what the terrorists can come up with. They want the shock value and the fear factor. Forget airplanes and go after something else. Sounds alarmist, but you can never be too careful. They aren't going to go away any time soon. Not in our lifetime.

[world~citizen]

...Sounds alarmist, but you can never be too careful. They aren't going to go away any time soon. Not in our lifetime.

 

We have already seen what happened onboard the Achille Lauro, and I think there have been some more recent pirate attempts (was it Oceania) as well so cruise ships are not invulnerable.

 

Scare a person into not taking luxury cruises is one thing, scaring them into not taking public transport or subways with an incident such as we have seen in Tokyo, or airplanes with an incident like we have just witnessed in Detroit is quite another. These events are more relevant to our daily routine. Even so, as has been stated, we are still very safe.

 

So while we must not ignore the danger, as bbwex says, we should keep it in perspective.

 

I will still fly and I will still sail.

 

See everyone on board.