Confiscated walking cane Oasis last week

[wieslaw]

Hi,

last night I worked at a large concert amphitheater. There were probably around 15000 people that came to the concert. All of the people were searched with metal detector wands and all of their bags / purses were searched.

Many items including any liquid were not allowed to be brought in.

All of that costs a lot of extra money and takes longer for the people to get in.

Why were they doing that ??? Many people did not like it.

The same is with the cruise ships , if they 'check us' and our luggage and find something that they consider perhaps a safety concern, and they do not let us have it - we do not like it, ......... if they do not 'check us' and something happens ...... it is even worse.

They are in a difficult position.

Just because of one person was hiding explosives in his underwear ( thanks God there was no large explosion) .... all of us are screen at the airport.

I do not know about the cane if it was wrong or not to 'confiscate' ..... seems that it was .

I am sure there is no cruise ship or an institution that wants to spent so much extra effort just to make us unhappy ..... there are some other good reasons why they do, what they do ..... but if we do not know the reasons it seems wrong to us, 'why are they doing that'. Maybe they just want us to be safe.

[Puffinater]

I always pack a collapsible cane in my checked luggage. Most days I do not need it and do not use it but I take it just in case. I have never had it questioned. Would not be very happy to have it taken from me.

[temple1]

really? you cant bring an extension cord because people commit suicide? then i guess RCCL can be sued for enabeling(s/p) those people, because if u call special needs dept and tell them u have a cpap, THEY SUPPLY YOU WITH AN EXTENSION CORD. must of been some new security people getting over excited....

 

It sounds like someone giving an answer who had no clue. According to other posts on the subject it is a fire hazzard concern. They want to control the extension cords. When I last worked in a large office building we were not allowed to use our own cords - we had to have fire marshall approved cords.

 

As for the cane - there is probably more to the story than the OP is privvy to.

[Aquahound]

It sounds like someone giving an answer who had no clue. According to other posts on the subject it is a fire hazzard concern. They want to control the extension cords. When I last worked in a large office building we were not allowed to use our own cords - we had to have fire marshall approved cords.

 

Correct. Falty extension cords are a fire hazzard and instead of them having to inspect and test every single cord people might bring aboard, they are banned.

 

Suicide threat? They had to of either not known what they were talking about, or were making a joke.

[Ocean Boy]

Correct. Falty extension cords are a fire hazzard and instead of them having to inspect and test every single cord people might bring aboard, they are banned.

 

Suicide threat? They had to of either not known what they were talking about, or were making a joke.

 

Hopefully, they didn't know what they were talking about because it would hardly make for a funny joke.

[Ocean Boy]

Just curious, what's special about canes purchased in Labadee?

 

Last I read, they confiscate a lot of the wood products that are sold in Labadee because they are worried about insects, or eggs laid by insects, coming out of the wood on the ship. Of course I have no idea what stops this from happening wherever it is that these items are stored on the ship when they do confiscate them. Maybe they are put into a deep freezer? And for all I know what I just wrote could all be an urban legend too. And if that is their concern, then I have no idea why they allow the vendors on Labadee to sell the stuff in the first place.

[Hypo]

They may take canes purchased in Labadee based on the assumption, that if you need a cane to walk, then you probably already brought one onboard with you.

 

I you have already brought one onboard, then you probably don't need two to walk around the ship.

 

On the insects in the wood theory, my DS and DIL purchased some hand carved wood masks when at Labadee last June. They were not confiscated.

[wieslaw]

It sounds like someone giving an answer who had no clue. According to other posts on the subject it is a fire hazzard concern. They want to control the extension cords. When I last worked in a large office building we were not allowed to use our own cords - we had to have fire marshall approved cords.

 

As for the cane - there is probably more to the story than the OP is privvy to.

I agree with you.

I used to work for a large company that was inspected every so often by OSHA. One time they found a power strip and some extension cords that were not approved by them - the company had to pay a fine, and also complete inspection took place of all the cords and strips ..... and many more were scraped.

There were several recalls of power strips that were considered to be fire hazard.

Some extension cords are made with very thin wire ( like the ones used with some decorative lights ) and not much current can go through them.

About a year or so ago there was a thread by a lady who was going on a cruise with her two sisters. Each one was going to bring her own hair dryer ( more powerful that the ones supplied by cruise ship - which they did not like).

Imagine what happened when all three were getting ready for the formal night and pluged all the dryers in possibly the thin wire extension cord or even a power strip.

I hope that only the circuit breaker stopped them from a fire.

So probably to protect the people on the ship and follow the safety regulation - no passenger supplied strips or cords are allowed.

[luv2vacation]

I am starting to wonder about this company. I love the ships and crew but the management leaves a lot to be desired. We are now looking at RCI less and less. They are no longer the same company that they were when I started cruising with them. Sad.

 

Me too! I love RCCL but lately they seem less and less customer friendly. On my last cruise with them they held one of my bags. They suspected I had something in there but I didn't. After they failed to find any 'contraband' they gave me my suitcase. I watched the way they were searching through people's personal belongings and I felt it was very intrusive and disrespectful. It was like we were being searched before entering a prison or something. The whole process took about an hour out of my day and I wasn't happy.

[addicted2]

Just curious, what's special about canes purchased in Labadee?

 

I have heard about the bug issue too. I don't know why they held them but there was a whole pile of them in the corner with room numbers on them. Maybe it is just a safety issue since some of them were like 4 feet long. They delivered them to staterooms the last night just like the alcohol you buy in port.

[gizfish]

Telling you that you couldn't have your extension cord because it could be used to commit suicide is such a BS excuse from RCCL. Unless you are checking into a psychiatric hospital, things that can be used to commit suicide should not be an issue. If you really wanted to off yourself and the obvious, jumping into the ocean wouldn't do, maybe RCCL should close their gift shops. Because you could certainly purchase all the OTC medications there and use that. I guess the sheets also need to be removed from the beds, and the cords from all the electical things in the room removed too. Oh and I guess od'ing on alcohol would be fine since RCCL makes money off you buying their drinks. Couldn't the screener at least come up with a plausible reason like it is a fire hazard or something that sounds like it maybe could be true?

[manu4evr]

Of all the items we saw confiscated - the most disturbing was fireworks! I simply cannot fathom what person would bring fireworks on a ship????

Let's hope he didn't buy them before he boarded the airplane. That would be really scary.:eek:

[SBAnt]

Perhaps it was secretly a magic wand and they didn't get the Harry Potter reference?

Cane/Wand

[McGillMom]

I think it comes down to the personality of the screener. Sometime, when you give someone the smallest amount of power to a person it becomes POWER to hold over peoples heads and to use or abuse as they see fit.

 

Heck, the coffee in the Windjammer is more lethal than a cane.

 

 

How right you are!! :)

[Ocean Boy]

They may take canes purchased in Labadee based on the assumption, that if you need a cane to walk, then you probably already brought one onboard with you.

 

I you have already brought one onboard, then you probably don't need two to walk around the ship.

 

On the insects in the wood theory, my DS and DIL purchased some hand carved wood masks when at Labadee last June. They were not confiscated.

 

Of course, consistency in enforcing policies is not exactly one of RCI's strong suits.:D

[grand isle joe]

....Is it April Fools' Day already?????....Good one...:D

[Havingfun2010]

Few items to take note of:

1. IF you fly Delta, you go through security, but it's not Delta, it's Homeland Security. Same as a ship. If your luggage goes through the x-way, and something is found, it's separated. By now, everyone should know this. Not a surpise.

 

2. Extension cords are listed as items not to bring. FIRE is a major threat onboard a ship, and they don't want tons of extension cords. So instead of getting mad, why not be thankful that they are looking out for your safety.

 

3. THEY DO NOT TAKE OLD PEOPLES CANES. Anyone on a cruise, can look around and see the number of canes. My wife uses a cane. They can not take a cane from you. They however, will ask you to go through a metal detector without if if possible. EVEN the the TSA will not take your cane away from you.

 

4. The person searching you luggage, is not happy handling your underwear, and most likely hates it more than you.

[gadaboutgal]

The security persons who are checking your luggage are not TSA; they are just people hired by the cruise lines to enforce their policies. Most of them are reasonable and polite but some of them are definitely on power trips.

 

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” Benjamin Franklin

[clivep]

2. Extension cords are listed as items not to bring. FIRE is a major threat onboard a ship, and they don't want tons of extension cords. So instead of getting mad, why not be thankful that they are looking out for your safety.

 

The following is from RCI's site... NO mention of extension cords.

 

What and what not to pack?

 

What items are not allowed on board the cruise ship? Weapons, illegal drugs and other items that could interfere with the safe operation of the ship or the safe and secure environment of our guests and crew are prohibited. The following are examples of items that guests are not allowed to bring on board. These and other similar items will be confiscated upon being found. Alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, flammable liquids, explosives and dangerous chemicals will not be returned.

 

Prohibited items:

Firearms & Ammunition, including realistic replicas.

Sharp Objects, including all knives and scissors with a blade length of 10.2 cm (4 inches) or more. (Note: Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed.)

Illegal Drugs & Substances

Candles & Incense

Coffee Makers, Clothes Irons & Hot Plates

Baseball Bats, Hockey Sticks, Cricket Bats, Bows & Arrows

Illegal Drugs

Bicycles, Skateboards & Surfboards

Martial Arts Gear

Self-Defence Gear, including handcuffs, pepper spray, night sticks.

Flammable Liquids and Explosives, including lighter fluid and fireworks.

HAM Radios

Dangerous Chemicals, including bleach and paint.

Alcoholic Beverages (Note: Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from shops on board will be stored by the ship and delivered to you on the last day of the sailing. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.)