Warning-BE AWARE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

[blondie1234]

They just reported today a celebrity tour was held up at gun point - all 50 on the tour bus going to Soufriere,

 

St lucia is not safe. I was there on a cruise in January and was shocked, I hear of so many people going on their honeymoon there so I thought it would be nice. If I arrived there on my honeymoon, I would have cried!people go to st lucia bc it is cheap and they do not know any better.

 

Even in main town Castries, there are random people wandering the streets, very sketchy. I have been to over 15 Caribbean islands and st lucia is one of the worse.

 

I wonder if the cruise ships will scale back. They scaled back on Mexican ports when it became sketchy. No one will want to go there if there are reports of them attacking cruise ship tour buses. The only reason to go there is to see the pitons, which really are not that terrific anyway. Other than that st lucia offers nothing beyond what any other Caribbean island offers..

[Xcitdcruiser]

I wonder if the cruise ships will scale back. They scaled back on Mexican ports when it became sketchy. No one will want to go there if there are reports of them attacking cruise ship tour buses. The only reason to go there is to see the pitons, which really are not that terrific anyway. Other than that st lucia offers nothing beyond what any other Caribbean island offers..

 

I think that's a little much -

I'm currently looking into St Lucia & cannot decide on what to do because there is so much on offer.

 

Eliminating St Lucia as a cruise port will reduce the tourism on the island & increase poverty & related crime.

 

What we should all take away from this is that crime can really happen anywhere, anytime, even on holidays. being aware is key, & if you can't afford to lose it, don't take it.

[Moon Beam]

I love St. Lucia. We were there early in March. We went to the "Drive In" volcano, had lunch. and yes, we went to the waterfall. You're right. Too much of this type of crime is counterproductive to tourism. The only Island I really didn't care for was Guadalope.

[Aplmac]

Here's a link:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/9994365/Cruise-passengers-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-St-Lucia.html?fb

 

 

The North end of the island is considerably more "civilized"

 

.

[reedprincess]

3 men are in custody. One was arrested Sat. after having bragged to friends and the police were told; that one has confessed both verbally and in a full written report, and helped lead police to the other 2 men. Some items and a small portion of cash was recovered. 13 people from the overall bus were robbed, inside the botanical gardens - the gunman did not hold up the whole bus. Pretty swift police work, and as always, very dumb criminals.

http://www.dbstvstlucia.com/newsvids

http://www.htsstlucia.org/2013_News/...h_2013.htm#new

Hope that sets some minds at ease - crime does happen here , as anywhere, and we generally catch the criminals, sometimes pretty swiftly.

All the best - enjoy your future cruises!

[texast518]

So an unknown person on an internet forum can post whatever they want about what "maybe" happened once on an island, and you'll let that determine your vacation and plans for your visit......????:rolleyes: Guess you better stay out of Chicago, New York, LA, and every other US city, you know crime happens there all the time.......

 

We will know how it really is if cruiselines drop this port.

[dz63]

I think that's a little much -

I'm currently looking into St Lucia & cannot decide on what to do because there is so much on offer.

 

Eliminating St Lucia as a cruise port will reduce the tourism on the island & increase poverty & related crime.

 

What we should all take away from this is that crime can really happen anywhere, anytime, even on holidays. being aware is key, & if you can't afford to lose it, don't take it.

 

That is so true. I hope the recent cruise ship robbery does not harm St. Lucian tourism as St. Lucia is such a beautiful island with warm and friendly people. We have visited St. Lucia by cruise ship as well as on a land vacation, and not once did we ever feel unsafe or encounter any unfortunate incidents. Did we encounter poverty? Yes, we did--and it was not uncommon for children to approach us begging for money--but it would be a shame if any cruise lines eliminate St. Lucia as a port stop as economically, tourism is vital to the island. In fact, during the summer months, tour operators are bound to experience financial hardship when only one cruise ship/week pulls into port. Loosing this as a means of income would have devastating effects to many locals who rely on tourism for their living and goes hand in hand to an increase in unemployment, poverty and crime. Yes, crime does happen everywhere and unfortunately, no Caribbean island is exempt from this! Cruise ship robberies are not an everyday occurrence, so the chances you will have a safe experience in St. Lucia is greater than the risk you will not.

Edited April 16, 2013 by dz63

[reedprincess]

Just in case you guys missed it - these criminals have been caught!

"3 men are in custody. One was arrested Sat. after having bragged to friends and the police were told; that one has confessed both verbally and in a full written report, and helped lead police to the other 2 men. Some items and a small portion of cash was recovered. 13 people from the overall bus were robbed, inside the botanical gardens - the gunman did not hold up the whole bus. Pretty swift police work, and as always, very dumb criminals.

http://www.dbstvstlucia.com/newsvids

http://www.htsstlucia.org/2013_News/...h_2013.htm#new

Hope that sets some minds at ease - crime does happen here , as anywhere, and we generally catch the criminals, sometimes pretty swiftly."

Personally, the St. Lucian public (for their assistance) and the Royal St. Lucia Police Force deserve a hand for catching these jokers so quickly....

All the best - enjoy your future cruises!

[gail8]

We have visited St Lucia several times with many good days, the last time we had a less than pleasant experience with a taxi driver. Did it upset us...absolutely. Will we go back...absolutely. Any day, any place it can happen.

[JustinPlusLauren]

I just read about the robbery story and it definitely makes me want to think twice before booking a cruise that has St Lucia as a port. I really hope they are able to get the crime under control soon. I realize crime is everywhere but it is very scary to hear it happen to an organized tour group as we use ship excursions on islands all the time.

[USVI-4-me]

Just in case you guys missed it - these criminals have been caught!

"3 men are in custody. One was arrested Sat. after having bragged to friends and the police were told; that one has confessed both verbally and in a full written report, and helped lead police to the other 2 men. Some items and a small portion of cash was recovered. 13 people from the overall bus were robbed, inside the botanical gardens - the gunman did not hold up the whole bus. Pretty swift police work, and as always, very dumb criminals.

http://www.dbstvstlucia.com/newsvids

http://www.htsstlucia.org/2013_News/...h_2013.htm#new

Hope that sets some minds at ease - crime does happen here , as anywhere, and we generally catch the criminals, sometimes pretty swiftly."

Personally, the St. Lucian public (for their assistance) and the Royal St. Lucia Police Force deserve a hand for catching these jokers so quickly....

All the best - enjoy your future cruises!

 

 

Thank you for posting on this matter. We took a Celebrity Eclipse tour to the Pitons the same day and heard about the robbery upon return to ship.

The news travelled quickly with various versions of the unfortunate event.

 

Anyone questioning why a passenger touring in St.Lucia on a Celebrity tour would want reliable information about negative reports that may frighten family at home, or understand that others may plan a trip to St. Lucia, are a bit confused. Maybe, glued to pursuits other than news that puts people on edge.

 

We had a wonderful cruise inspite of the lack of factful information aboard ship.

 

-Marisa

[rabbit72]

We will be in St Lucia beginning of October and have been there before....I think the whole point of this thread was to just remind everyone....be safe, be aware of your surroundings and trust that you walk of that ship and in a few hours you will return and had a great experience in any of the ports. We do not fear for our safety on any of the islands, we love talking with the locals now had something negative happen to us I may have a difference of opinion but you can't go on a Caribbean cruise and fear the worse. It does happen everywhere....I live in Chicago and we're known for our great shopping on Michigan Ave....well people are being robbed in broad day light these days and there are cops everywhere.

I look forward to our visit to St Lucia and all the other ports. :)

[Casino Comp Chick]

I think that's a little much -

I'm currently looking into St Lucia & cannot decide on what to do because there is so much on offer.

 

Eliminating St Lucia as a cruise port will reduce the tourism on the island & increase poverty & related crime.

 

What we should all take away from this is that crime can really happen anywhere, anytime, even on holidays. being aware is key, & if you can't afford to lose it, don't take it.

 

So your actually saying they should leave a cruise port there so to avoid more crime? Who cares if they want to rob themselves which is what would happen if they had no more tourists to rob. Maybe then the cops would do their jobs and lock them all up.

[cruise.gal]

We were on a Princess tour 5 years ago and on a walk on the trail above the waterfalls,3 men with guns came out of the jungle and had everyone lay down and took wallets and all jewelery-leave your rings on the ship.

 

AMEN TO THAT!!! It's amazing to us how many passengers are getting off the ship wearing jewelry! We don't wear ANY jewelry (not even fake stuff) and have never been accosted or threatened while visiting many cities of the world.

Leave your jewelry at home....or at least in the cabin's safe.

cruise.gal (*,*)

[36kruzes]

I have been to St. Lucia via ship multiple times since the 1980s -- yes, there is plenty of crime there, as there is on St. Kitt's, St. Croix, and yes, certainly on Puerto Rico and in St. Thomas among others.

 

In Castries, and walking around alone, I did get nervous a time or two so cut out of there right away -- the old marketplace was fun -- once -- I wouldn't tempt fate twice.

 

If you want to see the Pitons up close and personal, take the helicopter from the pier at Castries -- A real E-ticket ride if you are old enough to know what that means... You never exit the helicopter and the whole event takes less than 30 minutes. Well worth it, though. Spectacular views.

 

Once I rode with a dozen other 'captives' in a broken down minivan (a ship's tour!) through the banana fields and south to Soufriere and the 'volcano.' It was an incredibly beautiful but fairly unnerving experience and the roads were horrible. This was many years ago and we also visited a Batik 'factory' and Marigot Bay, which was great.

 

I have never had a problem anywhere but many people have -- all over the world. I remember long ago during a visit to St. Thomas when everyone was upset because the male halves of two married couples who walked from their hotel one evening to return a VHS tape to a local store near the big port in Charlotte Amalie were robbed and stabbed to death.

 

My cousin was robbed on a popular Greek island in the early eighties -- lost her camera and more -- and anyone going to Naples had best beware!!! Lots of pickpockets and worse. It's everywhere -- we can deal with it or stay home.... and no guarantees there, either!

 

 

They just reported today a celebrity tour was held up at gun point - all 50 on the tour bus going to Soufriere,

 

St lucia is not safe. I was there on a cruise in January and was shocked, I hear of so many people going on their honeymoon there so I thought it would be nice. If I arrived there on my honeymoon, I would have cried!people go to st lucia bc it is cheap and they do not know any better.

 

Even in main town Castries, there are random people wandering the streets, very sketchy. I have been to over 15 Caribbean islands and st lucia is one of the worse.

 

I wonder if the cruise ships will scale back. They scaled back on Mexican ports when it became sketchy. No one will want to go there if there are reports of them attacking cruise ship tour buses. The only reason to go there is to see the pitons, which really are not that terrific anyway. Other than that st lucia offers nothing beyond what any other Caribbean island offers..

[36kruzes]

For a number of years cruise lines cut back on visits to St. Lucia but it was mostly because they were charging so much per head, per ship. The lines did not want to pay the port taxes.

 

Mazatlan in Mexico is another place with high crime and most cruise lines have dropped it, at least for awhile -- this is not the first time. The obvious poverty is horrible, much worse than in some of the other ports.

 

St. Kitt's had some trouble in the Caribbean a couple of years ago when a bus tour was accosted and everyone robbed. The affected cruise line dropped that port until St. Kitt's begged them to come back and assured them they had upped their security.

 

Crime is everywhere -- no great shakes here in California, either!!!

 

 

 

I think that's a little much -

I'm currently looking into St Lucia & cannot decide on what to do because there is so much on offer.

 

Eliminating St Lucia as a cruise port will reduce the tourism on the island & increase poverty & related crime.

 

What we should all take away from this is that crime can really happen anywhere, anytime, even on holidays. being aware is key, & if you can't afford to lose it, don't take it.

[36kruzes]

Waaay back in 1988 I was on a Costa cruise in the Caribbean and it included the port for Caracas, Venezuela. A large bus picked up the groups and drove some 10 miles thru mountains to Caracas. Once there, before exiting the bus, our guide came through the aisle and told everyone to remove all jewelry and hide it -- nothing visible.

 

I was wearing a thin gold chain with a tiny charm around my neck. I asked if that was worth removing? He said 'Take it off -- someone will rush by you and grab it off your neck, causing you to have a nasty cut and/or bruise. I did as he suggested but did not feel unsafe as we roamed around the city.

 

Still, it was best to take the guide's advice, after all, he lived there! Crime is nothing new and not limited to any one place or region. Sad that we have to leave everything home when traveling but it's been true for a very long time...........

We were on a Princess tour 5 years ago and on a walk on the trail above the waterfalls,3 men with guns came out of the jungle and had everyone lay down and took wallets and all jewelery-leave your rings on the ship.

[Mexfolkart]

I led tour groups all over Mexico for many years. I always told them "NO jewelry at all while touring" Even the lady who said "But its all FAKE!" I said "how does the thief know that at a quick glance?" It is not worth taking a chance. Also, while one is taking a photograph with a good camera another one watches out.

No open purses.

And you will have a great time with NO worries!

Sherry

[happygran]

We were in St Lucia in February. We hadn't booked an excursion and after research on here decided to walk to Vigie beach. Once we arrived there were a group of local women cleaning up the beach. They were lovely but they advised us to move on as it wasn't safe. So we walked up the beach just past a big hotel. No sooner had we put our towels down, a young man came over..........offering protection in exchange for money. We purposely only brought a couple of dollars with us. At first I kept my head down and let my OH deal with him........but then he was getting really nasty...........he didn't believe that we didn't have any money and he was getting very agitated.........had 2 kids to feed etc.........Luckily he was harmless and we made a quick getaway......but I found it extremely intimidating. Those around the port area were much the same.

 

We're due to go back to St Lucia next year but will pre-book a trip, take no money and wear no jewellry.

 

We've travelled all over......all round the Med........Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, France, Spain, & North Africa, USA, Canada, Caribbean and this is the first time that we've felt intimidated at all.

[cruise.gal]

We were in St. Lucia last week and several of the locals at the "tourist traps" that our guide (private) stopped at were more aggressive than the other islands.

 

Regarding St. Thomas last week.....after "window shopping" the jewelry stores on the Main St., Charlotte Amalie. I got on the large shuttle to take me back to the ship. I was the only passenger, as my DH is not into shopping and had gone back to the ship. After a few minutes, the shuttle driver then tells me to get off the shuttle and go with a male...nearby... back to the ship. The new "taxi" driver was very persistent and following me trying to get me into his compact car. I had to decline several times and kept walking away. Finally, I managed to get on a shuttle to the ship that already had several passengers onboard and made it safely to the ship!

 

This is the first time in our travels to Mexico, Europe, Morocco, Tunisia and other Caribbean Islands and many other cities, that I felt threatened.

 

I never, ever wear even fake jewelry or carry large amounts of cash, or carry cell phones, expensive cameras, etc., when we are tourists.

[floridapete]

Pasted from Mail Online 4 Feb 2014: A British man on a dream sailing trip to the Caribbean to celebrate his wife’s 60th birthday was shot dead by robbers who boarded the yacht and attacked the couple.

Roger Pratt, 62, is believed to have been shot dead as he defended his wife Margaret from the gang of thieves in St Lucia.

The couple were half way through a year-long sailing trip to celebrate her milestone birthday when the yachting adventure ended in tragedy.

 

It emerged that they had been forced to stay the night in the port of Vieux Fort after being denied clearance to leave by customs officials.

Local police spokesman Anel Innocent said Mr Pratt was beaten up and shot after three armed men boarded the boat on Friday night.

 

Officers were said to have then killed one of the suspects in a dramatic shoot-out which followed the murder, and arrested the suspects.

Mr Pratt was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. His wife was also taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and was later discharged. Detectives were understood to have taken a statement from her yesterday afternoon.

Mr Innocent said yesterday: ‘We do not know the full facts about this case yet. We are trying to ascertain what happened and then to get to the bottom of it.'

 

‘We can however confirm that the man died and that we will be conducting a full post-mortem examination which will reveal the cause of death.’

Just days earlier, the couple had celebrated Mrs Pratt’s 60th birthday with a meal out at a restaurant. They had posted pictures of their expedition around the Caribbean in an online blog to keep family and friends updated on their trip.

The couple were keen sailors and had spent years planning their 12-month trip across the Atlantic and around the Caribbean. Before leaving the UK in July last year, Mrs Pratt wrote on her LinkedIn page: ‘Off travelling! The plan is to be in the Carribean for my 60th birthday in January 2014 .  .  . all a bit of a leap into the unknown.’

They had been in St Lucia since mid-December and were planning to leave the island on Thursday but could not get clearance from the customs authorities.

Instead, they were forced to spend the night in Vieux Fort.

In her latest blog entry, written just hours before her husband’s death, Mrs Pratt bemoaned local bureaucracy.

She wrote: ‘So here we are in Vieux Fort, the most southerly port of clearance in St Lucia.

‘It’s very different. There’s a port; an airport and no tourists – and so it’s a regular town. It’s determinedly normal. It has a lot of churches: I counted seven and is different from the Catholic north. It seemed more wealthy, and of course isn’t reliant on tourist bucks.’

Mr and Mrs Pratt ran their own financial consultancy business, Okra Associates, based in Cannock, Staffordshire.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541891/British-man-murdered-St-Lucia-holiday-in.html#ixzz2sNLpm300

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[sbnuggie]

Just back from a cruise with a stop in St. Lucia. Definitely a toss up between Belize and St. Lucia in regards to feeling unsafe. We took this cruise as our last cruise for a while to help us determine where we would do a land based vacation next year and I did not feel comfortable in St. Lucia at all. We went with a Tour (spencer ambrose) and all of the little cities we went too I did not feel very comfortable at all. Only stop on this cruise. I've been a police officer for 15 years in a large metropolitan area (population of more then 5x then the entire island) so I like to think I'm a little more aware of my surroundings. From the pot smoking thugs on the public side of Jalouise beach to the punks hiding in the bushes at the various photographic spots this island is definitely not a place I would bring my family for vacation (it was just the wife and I on this cruise). It is beautiful for sure, but it's no where I'm making plans to go back to anytime soon.

[dodger1964]

Pasted from Mail Online 4 Feb 2014: A British man on a dream sailing trip to the Caribbean to celebrate his wife’s 60th birthday was shot dead by robbers who boarded the yacht and attacked the couple.

Roger Pratt, 62, is believed to have been shot dead as he defended his wife Margaret from the gang of thieves in St Lucia.

The couple were half way through a year-long sailing trip to celebrate her milestone birthday when the yachting adventure ended in tragedy.

 

It emerged that they had been forced to stay the night in the port of Vieux Fort after being denied clearance to leave by customs officials.

Local police spokesman Anel Innocent said Mr Pratt was beaten up and shot after three armed men boarded the boat on Friday night.

 

Officers were said to have then killed one of the suspects in a dramatic shoot-out which followed the murder, and arrested the suspects.

Mr Pratt was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. His wife was also taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and was later discharged. Detectives were understood to have taken a statement from her yesterday afternoon.

Mr Innocent said yesterday: ‘We do not know the full facts about this case yet. We are trying to ascertain what happened and then to get to the bottom of it.'

 

‘We can however confirm that the man died and that we will be conducting a full post-mortem examination which will reveal the cause of death.’

Just days earlier, the couple had celebrated Mrs Pratt’s 60th birthday with a meal out at a restaurant. They had posted pictures of their expedition around the Caribbean in an online blog to keep family and friends updated on their trip.

The couple were keen sailors and had spent years planning their 12-month trip across the Atlantic and around the Caribbean. Before leaving the UK in July last year, Mrs Pratt wrote on her LinkedIn page: ‘Off travelling! The plan is to be in the Carribean for my 60th birthday in January 2014 .  .  . all a bit of a leap into the unknown.’

They had been in St Lucia since mid-December and were planning to leave the island on Thursday but could not get clearance from the customs authorities.

Instead, they were forced to spend the night in Vieux Fort.

In her latest blog entry, written just hours before her husband’s death, Mrs Pratt bemoaned local bureaucracy.

She wrote: ‘So here we are in Vieux Fort, the most southerly port of clearance in St Lucia.

‘It’s very different. There’s a port; an airport and no tourists – and so it’s a regular town. It’s determinedly normal. It has a lot of churches: I counted seven and is different from the Catholic north. It seemed more wealthy, and of course isn’t reliant on tourist bucks.’

Mr and Mrs Pratt ran their own financial consultancy business, Okra Associates, based in Cannock, Staffordshire.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541891/British-man-murdered-St-Lucia-holiday-in.html#ixzz2sNLpm300

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

Very sad. I hope the "local authorities" didn't keep them there so they could be robbed.