Quirky situation

[lattelady]

I'm a little hesitant to post this but I can't get it off of my mind. We just returned from a sailing on the Liberty. I was there with 7 other family members ranging from young adult (my sons) to 85 (my father). My father and my sons enjoyed spending some time in the late evenings up in the Olive or Twist. Apparently there was a young lady up there (around 25 yo) who seemed to take an interest in my father and was also seen talking to and leaving the club with other older men. My dad said she was just a nice girl who was traveling with her mom and dad though most of the time her parents sat at a different table. It was one of my sons who told me he thought the girl may be a prostitute. I met her one day on 14 when she approached my dad to say hello, calling him by name. Honestly, she seemed like a very sweet young lady and without any other context it would not have crossed my mind at all that she might be a sex worker although one does have to wonder why a 25 yo very attractive young woman is taking an interest in an 85 yo man. Still, I try to see the best in people and would not have jumped to that conclusion.

 

Yesterday I asked my son if she looked like her parents and he said no and that she was adopted (she seemed to have an ethnicity that I couldn't put my finger on but was beautiful in an exotic way). Could all just be coincidence but I now have a feeling in the gut that she might be in sex trade business and am wondering if she could even be involved against her will. That probably crosses my mind because I am much more aware of that industry than I used to be and have friends who are flight attendants who are trained to spot and try to assist these young women, but also because my son is a pretty good at reading people.

 

In retrospect, I wish I'd alerted security (which never crossed my mind when I was on board). I don't post much on the boards here but am not a complete newbie. I recently became diamond and am beginning to consider myself a seasoned cruiser, but I've never known of a possible situation like this on board. Then again, we aren't usually up in the lounges late at night.

 

I'm not interested in starting an inflammatory post. That's why I intentionally didn't use sex worker or prostitute in the title. I really want to know if anyone has run across this on board a ship and how you handled it. And if I am completely off base and you are the young lady or her parents, I apologize!

[Thoie]

I haven't come across that scenario, but I will say that I travel alone, and have befriended people of all ages on board.

 

When I was in my 30s I met a gentleman in his late 80s who I spent a fair bit of time with, and we had a lot of fun. There was nothing sexual between us, we just had similar senses of humour, and he had fascinating stories of his previous travels.

 

Similarly I also met a woman in her 80s who had survived the concentration camps, and was a really interesting person.

 

While you may be right, some people are just interested in other people's stories without having an ulterior motive.

[lattelady]

Thank you, Thoie. I don't know if I'm right or not. Hopefully it was as innocent as you've described.

[setsail]

85/25 seems like a good ratio :p

[joeyancho]

Highly unlikely. The pool of men who might use her services is small on a cruise ship, since most men travel with their wives. Also if she were a hooker, she would have propositioned grandpa, that's what they do. Thirdly, it cost money to go on a cruise. Hookers like to keep their overhead low.

[Thoie]

That probably crosses my mind because I am much more aware of that industry than I used to be and have friends who are flight attendants who are trained to spot and try to assist these young women, but also because my son is a pretty good at reading people.

 

If you talk to your friends, what you'll find they're trained in is the signs of someone who is being trafficked, not that they're necessarily plying their trade on the plane itself :)

 

(Some signs are that they're travelling with someone they're not particularly friendly with - no general chat and laughter, who accompanies them to the bathroom and back and various things like that).

 

Highly unlikely. The pool of men who might use her services is small on a cruise ship, since most men travel with their wives. Also if she were a hooker, she would have propositioned grandpa, that's what they do. Thirdly, it cost money to go on a cruise. Hookers like to keep their overhead low.

 

While there could be some extremely high class hookers who delight in cruising (I mean, who doesn't?!), joeyancho is right in that the cost is far too high for trafficking, and if she was there against her will, she probably wouldn't have been allowed wander alone away from the lounges, even with a client. If they weren't following her, there'd be too much risk that she could leave and head to guest services or something once out of sight.

 

In Europe, they kind of depend on the girls not being able to speak English, and therefore even if they "escape" they can't tell anyone. On a cruise ship you couldn't take that risk, as they have so many nationalities on board that they'd probably be able to find someone who speaks your language.

 

Anyway, I think you can probably relax in this particular situation, but well done on being aware of the issue and giving it some consideration!

[dwhe]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

[Thoie]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

 

Don't be mean. The OP was concerned based on a number of things, not just because someone was being nice.

 

Reactions like yours are what put people off reporting things. Sure, this case is probably innocent enough, but the next might not be.

[brillohead]

When I was on a family cruise as a 17yo girl, some of my best friends that week were a couple 70-something guys who were traveling with their wives. The ladies would join us sometimes, but most of the time when I was hanging out with them, it was just the two guys and me.

 

My family and I didn't have much in common and didn't spend much time together outside of dinner each evening. The two geezers and I had a great time chatting and joking and just enjoying each others' company all week long.

 

A couple months ago, I met up with a group of Mexican college students in the nightclub on Navigator. We danced the night away every single night until the club closed, and then often went down to Cafe Promenade for snacks and chatting. I'm 46yo -- old enough to be their mom -- and they actually call me their "adopted" Cruise Mom.

 

Some people on the ship thought that I was "fooling around" with these boys because they saw us out dancing every night, but it was all totally innocent -- to me they were like my teenage son who was on the cruise with me. The only difference is that my new adopted college-age sons aren't embarrassed to communicate with me on Facebook like my teenage son is! :cool:

 

Some people really don't see age.... they see the person inside. And it's a good thing...

[Arzeena]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

 

I agree with you.

[Arzeena]

Don't be mean. The OP was concerned based on a number of things, not just because someone was being nice.

 

Reactions like yours are what put people off reporting things. Sure, this case is probably innocent enough, but the next might not be.

 

There is nothing mean about that post and I agree with dwhe.

[Wheresthesalt]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

 

It is your disrespectful comment that the poster was worried about. The OP had a legitimate concern, she expressed it nicely, asked questions and stated she was afraid of getting flamed. You managed to try and belittle her. If you disagreed with her thoughts just say so, you didn't need to throw in insults. I for one that works in the medical profession respect her for questioning it. Sex trafficking is on the rise!

[Griswolds]

I do not wish to speculate on the circumstances of this specific incident. However, human trafficking is a very real thing and in alot of cases lives are saved only because someone noticed something "off" and reported it. If ever you feel something is "off" in any situation, it never hurts to report it, it can only help. Its a shame that many red flags in tragic situations are not realized until after the fact.

[spookwife]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

 

this. sorry but I think you REALLY let your imagination get away with you, OP.

 

I'd be more inclined to think she was looking for a sugar daddy.. lonely old man tickled pink at being flirted with by a hot young thing and who would be quite easy to convince to spend money on drinks or other things for her.

 

 

 

and we actually tend to gravitate towards 'old' ones. especially the ones that indicate they are veterans. my husband loves swapping sea stories. they also have the best advice on cruising( which ships to avoid, who is the best CD or Captain, etc)

[Shaggydoggy]

Thank you, Thoie. I don't know if I'm right or not. Hopefully it was as innocent as you've described.

 

I have seen on cruises where elderly men have much younger 'attendants' some of which are home health aides. The elderly bring them along for care, but I have seen some what I would say 'girlfriends' w/ much older guys where you just know he is telling his wife he's on a 'business trip'. Lol

[seabeew]

Great! Now when my husband and I cruise with our adopted "exotic" beauty, people might think we're sex traffickers. OP, I'm sure you mean well, but multi-racial families are not that unusual these days.

[bouhunter]

I highly doubt any of OP's concerns have any basis in fact.

 

But this would make a great Lifetime Network movie (comically farfetched and unrealistic) - human trafficking/prostitution aboard cruise ships.:D

Edited February 15, 2016 by bouhunter

[yuvraj]

I like meeting people on cruises, have met many and made good friends but alarm bells start to ring if someone gets too familiar with myself or a member of my family. So I can see why this might play on your mind.

 

In my view motive doesn't matter. It is good to be guarded. Other than that, I tend not to concern myself with what others do on a cruise or why they are there.

[cheezwiz]

i like meeting people on cruises, have met many and made good friends but alarm bells start to ring if someone gets too familiar with myself or a member of my family. So i can see why this might play on your mind.

 

In my view motive doesn't matter. It is good to be guarded. Other than that, i tend not to concern myself with what others do on a cruise or why they are there.

 

+100

[CanadaRob]

I highly doubt any of OP's concerns have any basis in fact.

 

But this would make a great Lifetime Network movie (comically farfetched and unrealistic) - human trafficking/prostitution aboard cruise ships.:D

 

Or a new Love Boat story arc, they tackled tough storylines occasionally it wasn't all fun and CD Julie on the old Pacific Princess.

[Lerin]

this. sorry but I think you REALLY let your imagination get away with you, OP.

 

I'd be more inclined to think she was looking for a sugar daddy.. lonely old man tickled pink at being flirted with by a hot young thing and who would be quite easy to convince to spend money on drinks or other things for her.

 

 

 

 

^^ This x 100

 

Also curious OP how your son knew she was adopted but wasn't sure if she was a prostitute? :confused:

Seems if she was working the ship, her job specialities may have come up in conversation long before her parent's backgrounds.

[LMaxwell]

Small group of hookers got busted on an NCL ship a couple years back. I am looking for the article again...

 

So, in this case, who knows? But it is not unheard of.

[Langley Cruisers]

In retrospect, I wish I'd alerted security (which never crossed my mind when I was on board)...

 

And what would you have said to them? What would you have expected them to do? Seems to me that could have been incredibly awkward and embarrassing for all involved.

[GetToLivin]

To be honest I find it quite amazing that anyone would think someone was a prostitute because they were nice to people.

 

I find the OP assumptions disrespectful as I know quite a few people who work in the medical profession who treat older people with respect and call them by their names rather than terms of endearment like "love" and "dear".

 

Her issue wasn't with the girl "being nice" -- as she made very clear in her post.

 

For those giving the OP a hard time, you remind me of those people who like to pretend nothing bad EVER happens and how just the thought of it makes you, well, respond the way you do: you belittle.

 

Sex trafficking is real and it's everywhere, yes, it's in the U.S. - face it. The point is, if something seems "off" it's better to report it out of concern v. sticking your head in the sand.

[tserface]

One of the things we love about cruising is that age hardly matters. We've made friends with older couples and much younger couples and, I bet, if I had to cruise single I'd still make friends with anyone who seemed like fun.

 

I don't have any real frame of reference, but it could be that there wasn't really any agenda at all, but just the typical cruise "fun" time thing.

 

Lots of times on ships one of the crew will say, typically at a show, that we can do anything we want because we'll never see any of these people ever again. That kind of takes a lot of pressure off of putting on any kind of pretense and just having fun on vacation.

 

Tom