cruise ship safety

[AviGirl]

Of Royal Caribbean ships, I see the most incidents on Majesty. This has to do with it's short itineraries. Most of these incidents are domestic related. Others, as said earlier, are usually preceded by carelessness or a total lapse in judgment.

 

The two of you are very safe as long as common sense prevails. My advice is just stick together. If the two of you are in a bar late night and one decides to got to bed, the other is to go also. Do not remain there alone, advertising yourself as an intoxicated target. That's where the more serious crimes get their start.

 

Otherwise, just go and have fun. Do not become a "touron." ;)

 

Yes, that is the plan... we have travelled together before and we agree to stick together, especially in the evening, watch out for one another, etc. Neither of us are big drinkers thankfully, maybe a cosmo in the evening while dancing ;). Reading the posts have been a good reminder. Thanks for your input! :)

 

One more question... are incidences usually crew on pax or pax on pax?

[Aquahound]

One more question... are incidences usually crew on pax or pax on pax?

 

I'm happy to help. :)

 

The vast majority is pax on pax, most of which are some sort of simple assault. Most cases involving crew are theft allegations. Some are substantiated. Some aren't.

[AviGirl]

I'm happy to help. :)

 

The vast majority is pax on pax, most of which are some sort of simple assault. Most cases involving crew are theft allegations. Some are substantiated. Some aren't.

 

Okay... that is VERY surprising, I was expecting crew on pax to be your answer considering what I've been reading. Very informative. Could you share some example from your professional experience?

 

Thanks again.

[foxesden1]

I did post this question on several areas because I am trying to get a feel for how safe my 16yr old grandaughter will be walking around by herself. Obviously when several thousand people are together crimes happen however they are almost never made public, unlike the local newspaper.

 

 

I think I can help. When I was 15 (one month before my birthday) I did a one week cruise out of Jamaica - with my Grandmother, Brother, (18) and Uncle. My grandmother fell ill so she was in her cabin most of the time alone. My Uncle and Brother did not want early seating so I ate alone most nights in the dining room (very nice family at our table, who had a young daughter.. maybe 20ish? who ate with me almost every night (they ate at the capt table one night, but they were kind enough to let me know, so I would not be alone at the table).

 

Now this was 25 years ago - so there was no kids club on board. :)

 

BUT my rules were - no boys coming to the cabin to pick me up, in my cabin by 10pm unless I was with my brother and or uncle.

 

I had a great trip - felt very safe and roamed all over the ship.

 

T

[joannarocksyoursocks]

I am 16 and have been cruising with my parents for years.

 

Since I was about 13 or 14 I have always found a group of friends and have been out late at night with them and walking back to my cabin alone, etcetera.

 

Sometimes my parents will even leave me on the ship alone during the day if there is a port which I am not interested in seeing.

 

I have never felt worried or had anything negative happen to me in all this time.

 

I check in with my parents occasionally and leave notes for them to let them know where I'll be at certain times.

 

It is important to realise that as long as your 16 year old is sensible, nothing is likely to happen - the same rules apply at home. If she is worried by anything, there are hundreds of staff, officers, and families around whom she can talk to and ask for help.

 

No problem.

[Jolimont]

Does your grand-daughter have a history for attracting trouble? Has she been assaulted in the past? If no, she probably knows what is safe and what isn't. If yes and it happened several times, she might be in the category of person that needs supervision. Cruise ships are no different than life in a city, some behaviors are safe and others lead you right into terrible situations.

[78232]

My grandaughter doesn't have a history of getting into trouble. My greatest concern is that she may be too and trusting of others.

Marcia

[janetz]

The only frightening site I have seen on cruise ships are some of the bathing suits at the pool.

 

 

:p How true

[janetz]

My grandaughter doesn't have a history of getting into trouble. My greatest concern is that she may be too and trusting of others.

Marcia

 

 

I did respond to your post on the Celebrity board. She sounds like my daughter was at that age. :)

[Aquahound]

Okay... that is VERY surprising, I was expecting crew on pax to be your answer considering what I've been reading. Very informative. Could you share some example from your professional experience?

 

The fight against cruise ship crime has come a long way. FBI and USCG (CGIS) have authority to investigate and prosecute any crime aboard a cruise ship involving U.S. citizens, regardless of where that ship is in the World....even if it's docked in a foreign port. However, there was a problem with small crimes, like simple assault, or domestic assault. These are crimes U.S. attorneys are reluctant to prosecute because they have much more on their plates.

 

The state of Florida now has the "Stepanski Act." With this new law, any act identified as a crime in the state of Florida can be prosecuted by the state, as long as the ship starts and ends in Florida. This means, if an act of domestic violence occurs on the high seas, and the ships itinerary starts and ends in Florida, the aggressor can now be arrested by the locals. With this new act, I see more and more people being led off the ships in cuffs either in the home ports, or here in Key West.

 

Some of the more interesting crimes in recent years have involved crew smuggling dope. Most crimes are petty in nature, and almost all of them involves alcohol.

[JC in CA]

To the OP-

I took 15 girls- all 16-17 years of age on a Carnival cruise out of Long Beach 5 years ago. And will be taking 12 girls- all 17-18 years of age on another next June. We set up very specific rules about our trip. Girls are always to be with a "buddy" (a girl who is traveling with us), adults are to be told where the girls are going (there is an adult in every cabin), no one from outside our group is to be in any of our rooms and no girl is to be in anyone else's room at any time. The girls, and their parents, understand these rules- and know that they are for their safety.

 

Traveling with just your grandaughter is a bit different. Have you considered taking a friend along? That way she would always be with someone. Once on board, she will have the opportunity to meet other kids her age- but some kids are not out-going enough to do so on their own.

 

I would encourage you to talk with your grandaughter and her parents and agree on expectations about your cruise.

 

-JC in CA

[sissymaryuk]

Okay... that is VERY surprising, I was expecting crew on pax to be your answer considering what I've been reading. Very informative. Could you share some example from your professional experience?

 

Thanks again.

As there are so many more passengers than crew, why on earth would you think that the crew would be committing more crimes? This is a pretty ridiculous assumption. That crew members are a bunch of black-hatted villians, combing their moustaches, waiting for a damsel-in-distress.

All crew members go through background checks before employment. All non-US crew need visas from the US, which you wouldn't get if you're undesirable. Most crew members will do there best to stay out of situations were there could be trouble, knowing that there are a lot of litigious people in the USA, and even an accusation could cost them there job. The company even trains the crew on this.

The worst person-on-person crimes I experienced working on ships for several years were all violent assaults by passengers on crew. Including one were a passenger attempted to kill a crew member with a chair in the nightclub by slamming it over his head repeatedly. He would have succeeded if the waiters there hadn't stopped it.

[AviGirl]

As there are so many more passengers than crew, why on earth would you think that the crew would be committing more crimes? This is a pretty ridiculous assumption. That crew members are a bunch of black-hatted villians, combing their moustaches, waiting for a damsel-in-distress.

All crew members go through background checks before employment. All non-US crew need visas from the US, which you wouldn't get if you're undesirable. Most crew members will do there best to stay out of situations were there could be trouble, knowing that there are a lot of litigious people in the USA, and even an accusation could cost them there job. The company even trains the crew on this.

The worst person-on-person crimes I experienced working on ships for several years were all violent assaults by passengers on crew. Including one were a passenger attempted to kill a crew member with a chair in the nightclub by slamming it over his head repeatedly. He would have succeeded if the waiters there hadn't stopped it.

 

Wow... not sure where that came from. I was asking a question... I read quite a bit last night regarding incidences on cruise ships and 95% of what I read related to a crew on pax. I was asking someone who had professional experience in order to educate myself (and I now understand that most cases are pax on pax). As I wrote previously, I have travelled the world alone and definitely not one to consider myself a "damsel in distress". I've also had three previous sailing without incident. I think your assumption that I considered crew members as a bunch of black-hatted villians, combing their moustaches, waiting for a damsel-in-distress is ridiculous in itself.

[AviGirl]

The fight against cruise ship crime has come a long way. FBI and USCG (CGIS) have authority to investigate and prosecute any crime aboard a cruise ship involving U.S. citizens, regardless of where that ship is in the World....even if it's docked in a foreign port. However, there was a problem with small crimes, like simple assault, or domestic assault. These are crimes U.S. attorneys are reluctant to prosecute because they have much more on their plates.

 

The state of Florida now has the "Stepanski Act." With this new law, any act identified as a crime in the state of Florida can be prosecuted by the state, as long as the ship starts and ends in Florida. This means, if an act of domestic violence occurs on the high seas, and the ships itinerary starts and ends in Florida, the aggressor can now be arrested by the locals. With this new act, I see more and more people being led off the ships in cuffs either in the home ports, or here in Key West.

 

Some of the more interesting crimes in recent years have involved crew smuggling dope. Most crimes are petty in nature, and almost all of them involves alcohol.

 

Thanks Paul!

[Aquahound]

Thanks Paul!

 

Any time! It's a subject I know well, so I'm always willing to help. :)

[disneygoof]

I've been on 5 cruises and have never felt unsafe. Hope you have a great cruise.

[78232]

Paul.

Thanks so much for info from a first hand source. We will be traveling on Holland America but I posted on multiple boards because I wanted to get information from a variety of people and persceptives.

Twenty five years ago I took my daughter on a cruise when she was a teenager and she socialized mainly with the crew. They even took her to the beach with them. Today I asked her if they gave her alcohol or did anything improper. Her response was "no, they watched over me and took care of me" For a moment I wondered if I had been too trusting in the past. Times have changed and we just have to be more careful about lot of things.

Marcia

[toxicfairy]

If she is 16 she will have a curfew, will not be in bars (ok should not be) also get the soda card that way IF for any reason she leaves her drink for a minute or 2 she can just go get another. That is what my DH told our DD's to do. He told them do not leave your soda unattended for any reason but if you must then just go get another. Any one can put anything in a drink so just teach her not to leave it. People's homes get invaded too but you can't live your life in fear of what if's. Just lay down rules for her and what is expected. Teach her what to do in certain situation (ei. If she thinks some one is following her through the halls) And tell her to never go into any one else's cabin nor let any one in hers. Do not go into the crew only areas even if a crew member says it's ok. Or says follow him or her (Just say NO!). Lastly make sure you stay in touch with each other , make certain times and a place that she must check in with you. At 16 she probably knows more than you give her credit.

[Aquahound]

Paul.

Thanks so much for info from a first hand source. We will be traveling on Holland America but I posted on multiple boards because I wanted to get information from a variety of people and persceptives.

 

No problem. Rest assured, Holland America is one of the lines I hear problems from the least. The majority of reports from that line, which are very few, are passengers accusing crew of theft. Many cases turn out to be lost items with no information to support the accusations.

[brmoqueen]

this thread made me think of a kid (around 8 or 9) that was in my store a couple weeks ago......

 

He was looking at the swords and knives and wanted to know if any swords had a 5" or smaller blade on it.....I asked if he was looking for it for a particular reason....his response was...THE CRUISE SHIPS ONLY LET US BRING ON KNIVES THAT ARE 5" OR SMALLER....

 

I was appalled that his parents actually let him bring a knife on.....I told him to let me know what cruise line he thinks is so unsafe that he needs to have a weapon and I'll be sure to stay off of it!!!

 

In response to the op's q.....NO, I have always felt very safe no matter what time of day or night....that' why we love cruising!!

 

jul

[BroncosFan2010]

The ships are safe. There are security personnel that wander the ship. Unless you personally are doing something unsafe, there is no need to fear.

[Bakincakes]

The ships are safe. There are security personnel that wander the ship. Unless you personally are doing something unsafe, there is no need to fear.

 

 

Not true.

 

There may be good security onboard but they can't be everywhere. And we all know that predators take vacations too.

 

Be vigilant....know where you are at all times..and watch your back.

[BroncosFan2010]

Not true.

 

There may be good security onboard but they can't be everywhere. And we all know that predators take vacations too.

 

Be vigilant....know where you are at all times..and watch your back.

 

 

Of course a person needs to practice common sense, but the ships are pretty safe. Everyone is there to have a good time and enjoy their vacation. Is it wise to let your children run around un-supervised? NO! Is it wise to get trashed and throw all caution to the wind? NOPE! But is it safe to walk around the ship at night, absolutely.

[hotrod1954]

The riff raff don't have the money to sail. Plus they could wind up in Jail in a different country

[Bakincakes]

Of course a person needs to practice common sense, but the ships are pretty safe. Everyone is there to have a good time and enjoy their vacation. Is it wise to let your children run around un-supervised? NO! Is it wise to get trashed and throw all caution to the wind? NOPE! But is it safe to walk around the ship at night, absolutely.

 

 

If you think for one minute that no one has been accosted while walking on a ship at night you are pretty naive.

 

Of course people need to remain vigilant...but things can and do happen on cruise ships all of the time. We just don't hear about it all.