maldenmusic Posted June 30, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Back in 2009, we cruised out of NOLA and for about an hour we had armed Coast Guard boats, one on each side of the ship, escort us down the Mississippi River. 8 other cruises out of NOLA and we've never seen them again. Any idea what might have been going on? Higher terror level? I just ran across the pictures and it made me remember. It caused quite a stir among the young women on deck because they thought the CG guys were handsome. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Je Souhaite Posted June 30, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 30, 2016 We had that for each of our Disney cruises out of Port Canaveral. Sailed out the channel, and then sitting there on both side of us; warships. Kind of freaky to see. And sorry, can't answer your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john91498 Posted June 30, 2016 #3 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Last time out of Long Beach, there were also 2 CG boats on each side. Interesting to see the guns on the front of each boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryano Posted June 30, 2016 #4 Share Posted June 30, 2016 We had that for each of our Disney cruises out of Port Canaveral. Sailed out the channel, and then sitting there on both side of us; warships. Kind of freaky to see. And sorry, can't answer your question. I always see them out of PC. I think they are just Port Security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryano Posted June 30, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Back in 2009, we cruised out of NOLA and for about an hour we had armed Coast Guard boats, one on each side of the ship, escort us down the Mississippi River. 8 other cruises out of NOLA and we've never seen them again. Any idea what might have been going on? Higher terror level? I just ran across the pictures and it made me remember. It caused quite a stir among the young women on deck because they thought the CG guys were handsome. :) I believe the official title is USCG Port Security Unit. Im pretty sure all ports have them. You just dont always see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maldenmusic Posted June 30, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Ok that makes sense. It was really cool to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted June 30, 2016 #7 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Last time out of Long Beach, there were also 2 CG boats on each side. Interesting to see the guns on the front of each boat. We've also had Mexican naval boats on MR cruises. Made no difference the cruiseline. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted June 30, 2016 #8 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Back in 2009, we cruised out of NOLA and for about an hour we had armed Coast Guard boats, one on each side of the ship, escort us down the Mississippi River. 8 other cruises out of NOLA and we've never seen them again. Any idea what might have been going on? Higher terror level? I just ran across the pictures and it made me remember. It caused quite a stir among the young women on deck because they thought the CG guys were handsome. :) No, not a higher terror level. Armed CG escorts are very common nowadays in and out of US ports. In fact, you see it much more than not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted June 30, 2016 #9 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Coast Guard are always armed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted June 30, 2016 #10 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Coast Guard are always armed. No, not really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loubetti Posted July 1, 2016 #11 Share Posted July 1, 2016 The question begs in this day and age: Would you prefer they not be there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted July 1, 2016 #12 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We had them all the way down the river in Feb. leaving JAX. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnDweller Posted July 1, 2016 #13 Share Posted July 1, 2016 When we cruised on the Fantasy out of Charleston in February, we had the boats and the helicopter. Our first port stop was Freeport and we also had the USCGC Paul Clark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ofmyheart Posted July 1, 2016 #14 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Lou Betti, Last I knew the Regal Empress was still cruising, day trips under a different name. Will never forget our cruise in her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langoustine Posted July 1, 2016 #15 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Last I knew the Regal Empress was still cruising, day trips under a different name. I wish that was true, because she was quite beautiful, but no such luck. Her last voyage took place on March 6, 2009. She departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. She was beached on July 24th, 2009. Scrapping began in October, and the demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliair Posted July 1, 2016 #16 Share Posted July 1, 2016 If you leave out of San Francisco, they are with us until we get under the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw one of them get after a windsurfer who got too close to the ship. There was always one on the gun.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasopa Posted July 1, 2016 #17 Share Posted July 1, 2016 The Coast Guard is now under Department of Homeland Security since 2003, before they were under Department of Transportation. I'm sure all of the Security details are armed. When I was in, in the early 70's we were never armed. Things have changed a lot since then. They usually escort cruise ships out of Galveston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purvis1231 Posted July 1, 2016 #18 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We are always happy to see the Coast Guard on the water and on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthlessBoss Posted July 1, 2016 #19 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I believe the official title is USCG Port Security Unit. Im pretty sure all ports have them. You just dont always see them. You mean they can "cloak" like in Startrek? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattBenatar Posted July 1, 2016 #20 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Coast Guard does drills all the time, we had one from Key West and 2 armed ships escorted us out of port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted July 1, 2016 #21 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Just like any big government agency, there are different departments within the USCG. Paul (Aquahound) as an investigator is probably not armed. The USCG Port State Control officers who do the cruise ship crew drills and safety inspectors are never armed. The Search and Rescue teams that do the medevacs are not armed. The armed personnel you see are the "Sea Marshals". They patrol to protect "high value" targets like cruise ships, or ships with large cargoes of explosive materials, tankers, etc. Typically for a cruise ship, in addition to the RHIB boats you see, there will be 4-6 men armed with sidearms and M-16's onboard the cruise ship. They will be in the Bridge, Engine Control Room, and Steering Gear Room. It always raises the passenger's eyebrows when they go for breakfast in the buffet with their weapons. The reason you don't see them all the time is money. The USCG just doesn't have the budget to do armed escorts for every high value target every time, particularly when the MarSec (Maritime Security) level is "one" (the lowest and most common). If the MarSec level at a port is increased, you would see these patrols more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micahs Grandad Posted July 1, 2016 #22 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Just like any big government agency, there are different departments within the USCG. Paul (Aquahound) as an investigator is probably not armed. The USCG Port State Control officers who do the cruise ship crew drills and safety inspectors are never armed. The Search and Rescue teams that do the medevacs are not armed. The armed personnel you see are the "Sea Marshals". They patrol to protect "high value" targets like cruise ships, or ships with large cargoes of explosive materials, tankers, etc. Typically for a cruise ship, in addition to the RHIB boats you see, there will be 4-6 men armed with sidearms and M-16's onboard the cruise ship. They will be in the Bridge, Engine Control Room, and Steering Gear Room. It always raises the passenger's eyebrows when they go for breakfast in the buffet with their weapons. The reason you don't see them all the time is money. The USCG just doesn't have the budget to do armed escorts for every high value target every time, particularly when the MarSec (Maritime Security) level is "one" (the lowest and most common). If the MarSec level at a port is increased, you would see these patrols more often. Thanks for sharing. Interesting though that after 30 plus cruises have never seen an armed crewmember. No problem with that crewmembers being armed for our protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzaholic41 Posted July 1, 2016 #23 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Paul (Aquahound) as an investigator is probably not armed. The USCG Port State Control officers who do the cruise ship crew drills and safety inspectors are never armed. The Search and Rescue teams that do the medevacs are not armed. Oh, he's armed. He's going to kill me for saying this, but he's the Mark Harmon of his agency. My husband was a uniformed Port State Control Officer who wasn't armed and inspected ships. People like Paul were called in when there was crime and someone needed to be indicted and imprisoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loubetti Posted July 1, 2016 #24 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I wish that was true, because she was quite beautiful, but no such luck. Her last voyage took place on March 6, 2009. She departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. She was beached on July 24th, 2009. Scrapping began in October, and the demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. Sad, but correct and, I figured it out. It was her mention in my signature that brought mention of this great ship to this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maldenmusic Posted July 1, 2016 Author #25 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I'll be cruising out of NOLA again on July 4th and will be watching for our "escorts." I enjoyed having them beside us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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