Stolen items-Infinity 9053 Stateroom 6/29/12 sailing

[ducklite]

My husband's laptop is too large for many room safes, but we put it in his day pack in his suitcase and use a combination padlock--not a TSA lock, there are keys that open those and you are kidding yourself if you think no one outside the TSA has one.

[Harry and Lucille]

This has not been around in a while. Thought I would post it again.

 

[EdmPair]

Good advice! But we learned that it is a good idea to give the door to the safe a little tug after you lock it to check and be sure the door is really locked.

 

We had a couple of safes where you needed to apply gentle pressure to the door, holding it closed while it went through the locking cycle. Otherwise, you would hear the locking mechanism working and it appeared to be locked because the door was closed, but it really was not locked.

 

Good reminder. While I do that I did not write it. In the trade and in security in general, we say a door is secure not just locked. After you lock any door you give it a good tug or push depending on its opening direction. If you see a cop or guard doing rounds, that is the process. Good habit with the safe too.

[EdmPair]

Oh yes, suitcases can be opened as shown. It is not always a easy to realign the zipper as that one vid shows. If your laptop is too big for the safe, I like the idea of putting it in a locked suitcase. Remember, it is about doing a reasonable effort in the context and that is a better way to secure the laptop than to leave it on the desk. Security is relative not absolute.

 

I would add that assistance from the cruise line is best sought as soon as possible. The card reader on the door lists all the people who opened it. If you can say it was here 3 hours ago for certain, the door lock gives helpful information. If you say 48 hours and the ship has turned over to a new guest list, the information is stale and has too many leads to ever hope to track something down. My 3 cents Canadian.

[fleckle]

I would add that assistance from the cruise line is best sought as soon as possible. The card reader on the door lists all the people who opened it. If you can say it was here 3 hours ago for certain, the door lock gives helpful information.

It may, or may not. If the door to the balcony is unlocked, in some cases people can enter the cabin from an adjacent balcony without ever using a card.

 

As previously mentioned, the cabin doors are left unlocked on disembarkation day when the attendants start to clean them for the turnaround, so anyone strolling down the hall could enter through the cabin door without needing a key card.

 

It is also not unusual for passengers who are not in a hurry to get off the ship to go around checking out vacated cabins in various categories on the last day for possible future consideration.

[Happy ks]

It would be interesting to have the OP come back and state whether or not they ever got these items back.

 

It just seems odd to me that all the items were from one drawer and some fairly random items. It doesn't make any sense to steal an empty camera case or sunglass case. Kindle, perhaps, but you can have the device de-registered.

 

We've left behind a few items on different cruises in the past, we call them donations; A brand new blouse the same color as the sheets on the bed (I even told myself, if I lay it down here I will forget it). 2 photos we purchased from the photo studio (I don't haul home the daily newsletters and they were in the pile), now I throw out the papers each day rather than allowing them to collect and I put the photos into the carry on immediately. The worst was years ago, a whole case full of music CD's, some of my favs were in there, Ipod has fixed that problem.

 

We never blamed the crew or other pax, just assumed we forgot to pack those items. It's always a drag to lose things, we've learned over the years to double check and triple check the drawers, under the bed (pull the sheets up the last morning while packing, so you don't have a messy bed to work around, the closet, the bathroom, behind the sofa/chairs/tables, check the balcony, etc...

 

The point is, I would not be surprised if those items eventually made it home, the OP may be a bit embarrassed to admit they were not stolen after all. My BIL once accused the cabin steward of stealing a few of his toiletry items (really?). A few days after we got home, he admitted he found them in his suitcase and had forgotten that he packed them up the night before we disembarked.

[sail7seas]

It may, or may not. If the door to the balcony is unlocked, in some cases people can enter the cabin from an adjacent balcony without ever using a card.

 

As previously mentioned, the cabin doors are left unlocked on disembarkation day when the attendants start to clean them for the turnaround, so anyone strolling down the hall could enter through the cabin door without needing a key card.

 

It is also not unusual for passengers who are not in a hurry to get off the ship to go around checking out vacated cabins in various categories on the last day for possible future consideration.

 

 

Back-to-back guests who are not leaving the ship often roam through vacated cabins to see what various categories look like.

 

[TucsonRick]

Forgive me but some of what the OP says doesn't make sense. If hubby removed the camera and sunglasses from their cases before going ashore, why did he not return them to the cases after returning to the ship knowing they would be leaving the ship the next day? Also, why would hubby assume that the OP would pack the empty cases? Why were these folks packing the day of disembarkation, not the night before?

 

The OP and hubby should have discovered the items missing before leaving the ship!

[lovevacadays]

Sorry to hear things might have been stolen from your drawer. I think that is what safes are supplied for. If there is anything at all I wouldn't want to come up missing I put it in my safe. Same goes for hotels. I either put it in a safe at the main desk or find a way to make sure things I value are locked in a suitcase.

 

Sure, one shouldn't have to worry about theft in theory but I'm sure thefts happen in the most elite of hotels and on the most elite of cruise ships on occasion.

[Harry and Lucille]

Cruising at least once a year since 1983, I have never lost anything. When our cabin door is blocked open for cleaning by the attendant, they are always inside. Anytime that they left the cabin for any reason, they always closed the door. The room steward generally cleans the room twice a day and has anywhere from 20 to 30 cabins to put together. If they are caught stealing anything, they will be put off of the ship at the next port and need to find and pay for their own way home. Most are young people who live in far away places and count on their job to help support their families back home. Loss of job is the last thing that they want. If any passenger comes in that does not belong in that cabin, the steward will escort them outside into the hall and generally close the door while talking to the intruder. I've seen this many times.

[SunnySDMom]

UPDATE: Thanks to all of you. Your comments are interesting, educational and appreciated, be it positive, negative or even insulting. I've learned some new ways to do things.

Ultimately, the issue is not that we left behind, forgot or even lost these items, but that they were NOT in the drawer to be packed on Friday morning. The items in the drawer had been "cleaned out" and emptied out by someone else after we left to go into Victoria for the evening. There were empty cases are because my hubby took out the sunglasses and camera for the trip into Victoria, thus only the cases remained along with the kindle and a few other items kept in his bedside drawer. On Friday morning when he went to pack the drawer, it was totally empty, he thought I had already packed them. That happens after 3 decades of marriage. The realization came that they were gone when we were at home unpacking and he asked where I'd put them. That's when I contacted the cruise line.

Yes we use the safe, and we do check to make sure it is closed, although empty cases and a kindle are bedside drawer items. The kindle's been deactivated. FYI: you do need a police report to deactivate.

A police report has been filed and I am working with the cruise line for resolution.

My issue is NOT with our steward but with the policy of the stewards leaving the cabin door propped open and leaving to get something or to work on the cabin next door. While some of you believe this would never happen, it seems to quite often. The steward or cruise workers should NOT leave a door open if they are not in the room. It's that simple. The policy should be for the steward to close the door if they leave for even a minute. Open doors give ner-do-wells an open invitation into someones room.

Super good news, I was able to contact the excursion company and have some photos of the once in a lifetime adventure.

Again, thanks for your replies. This is the first time I have used this site and I find it most interesting. Looking forward to cruising again with a better knowledge of things to watch out for thanks to all of you!

[notentirelynormal]

Ultimately, the issue is not that we left behind, forgot or even lost these items, but that they were NOT in the drawer to be packed on Friday morning. The items in the drawer had been "cleaned out" and emptied out by someone else after we left to go into Victoria for the evening. There were empty cases are because my hubby took out the sunglasses and camera for the trip into Victoria, thus only the cases remained along with the kindle and a few other items kept in his bedside drawer. On Friday morning when he went to pack the drawer, it was totally empty, he thought I had already packed them.

 

Can I just ask you a question? You are stating you know for a FACT that they weren't in the drawer when you got back from Victoria. Why was it not reported while you were on the ship if you are so positive that's what happened. It's because you can never be 100% positive that is what happened.

 

You brought your camera in a case because you obviously want to keep it clean and protected etc. So, when you are packing your suitcase to travel home you don't bother to put it back in the case? You just put the camera in the suitcase (or carryon) without it's proper protection to be bumped and banged without even asking the other person where the case is? Why would you do that? You think enough of your camera to keep it in a case and then when it is needed the most you don't use it. I can see one of you packing the empty case by mistake, but when it came to packing the camera, shouldn't that have been a red flag to both of you? Camera, check, case... hmmm.... Also, when I lift my camera case with my camera in it - it's heavy. If I were to lift an empty case it would be as light as air and I can't see someone wanting to steal a camera not noticing that fact. You can see this is part of why people are having issues with believing you just forgot to pack these items.

[Starry Eyes]

Some wives notice their husbands have trouble admitting their mistakes. And vice versa.

[Happy ks]

And sometimes it takes a few weeks for the forgotten items to be returned. Don't give up hope yet that your things may be returned.

 

I have strong doubt the stuff was ever stolen, it just doesn't make sense. You may even come across it in a pocket of a suitcase one day, that has happened to us.

[ducklite]

And sometimes it takes a few weeks for the forgotten items to be returned. Don't give up hope yet that your things may be returned.

 

I have strong doubt the stuff was ever stolen, it just doesn't make sense. You may even come across it in a pocket of a suitcase one day, that has happened to us.

 

I think someone would remember packing a Kindle.