Cabin searched on Escape

[BuckeyeFan03]

I recently returned from our trip on the Escape and had an odd experience that I thought I'd get CC's take on.

 

When returning to the ship in St. Thomas, my father accidentally returned his swim trunks along with his towel in the towel exchange. The trunks had a credit card in the pocket. The next day, he realized his mistake and went down to guest services to see if anything could be done.

 

Guest services said they could only check the lost and found. So, he also called and spoke with security to see if there was any area where it may turn up in the laundry.

 

Security then came to his cabin and had him write up some type of incident report detailing what had happened.

 

After he turned this report in, 2 crew members came to his cabin wearing gloves and stated they needed to search the cabin. They began going through every item they had brought including items in the safe. They then went through my father's wallet and pulled out each item asking if that was the missing card. The crew members didn't appear familiar with credit cards and didn't seem to understand that it was a specific type that was missing or that some things in a wallet aren't a credit card (pictures, club cards, frequent shopper cards).

 

Then the crew members went to start in my mother's purse which holds an extensive wallet. When they began pulling out each picture, he lost his patience and asked them to stop the search. They said they would stop the search, but this would also stop any attempts to locate the card in the laundry.

 

He was able to cancel the card when we returned to Miami and all is fine. We all understood that losing something in the massive laundry room may be hopeless, but it struck us as odd that they had to perform a detailed cabin search when he knew exactly what items were missing and where they went missing.

 

Wondered if anyone else has ever had a similar experience?

[Arzeena]

No. But this sounds really odd.

[Crusin6]

You were bullied by ncl plain and simple.

 

They harassed you just enough to get your dad to blow his top and it worked and he dropped any further steps to get his card back. Which is what they wanted him to do in the first place

 

However if you confronted them with why they did this...they will say we just wanted to make sure you didn't misplace it or give it to another family member thus the reason they searched your moms stuff It was easier for them to send 2 crew members to harass you than to search 1000's of towels By doing what they did their defense is....well we started looking for it but the pax told us to stop

 

Ncl is very obvious with their actions and we all know everything they do has an ulterior motive.

 

 

If what you state is the entire story then the people running that ship are disgusting and obviously have had accusations levied against them and are very good at what they do to cover their arse

 

 

Btw I'm only saying ...the entire story...because too many times the real story comes out after several posts. Not saying you are doing that just saying many others do not seem to divulge the entire story

 

 

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Edited July 21, 2016 by Crusin6

[don't-use-real-name]

Should have pursued this further with the Hotel Director for an explanation !

The credit card should not have simply dissolved itself in the laundry !

In the wash it may have been rendered unscannable or had graphic images

washed away but the laundry crew should have seen plastic pieces and parts

in the bottom of the washer or melted molded plastic in a dryer.

 

I think the problem here is a communications issue (misunderstanding) with

security getting a handle on what happened and the potential of loss.

 

But if you cancelled the card and no transactions occurred and the card was

replaced after the cruise - this would be a minor inconvenience although

the worry of the what if it was used fraudulently and all that hanging to

contend with till resolved.

[pieshops]

I think there is more to this story then we have been told

[Crusin6]

I think there is more to this story then we have been told

 

 

Yep

 

 

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[BuckeyeFan03]

That is the whole of the story as I can remember it. The only thing I can add is that we were nervous when they came to search the cabin that they misunderstood and thought we had claimed something went missing from the cabin. My parents hated to think someone thought they were accusing the room steward.

 

My father clearly stated and also wrote in the written statement that it was his mistake that he threw the trunks into the towel return and that it occurred on the dock outside of the ship when we were reboarding.

 

The missing card wasn't really a big deal and overall it was a minor inconvenience, he just wondered if there was any chance it could be found in the laundry. He wasn't upset enough to escalate it, he just didn't want to have to sit and go through my mom's 1000 pictures/cards. LOL

 

All in all, we had a nice trip, the search just seemed so strange that I was curious if it was some type of policy or if there was something I wasn't thinking of that would make it a logical necessity.

[SeagoingMom]

I have read past posts where the same sort of thing happened when someone told customer service that something had gone missing -- a camera, I think? Someone from security came to search for the camera in the passenger's cabin. It may be standard procedure. I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it.

 

Seems reasonable enough to me that the ship would want to make sure the "missing" item was simply not misplaced. I don't think they meant this sort of procedure as being accusatory toward the passenger, but people do misplace things and later find them among their own stuff... and the cruise line knows this happens. This way, they protect themselves from having to pay out for "missing" stuff that wasn't actually missing, even though the passenger thought (or knew) it actually was lost.

 

I hardly think your father was singled out in any way. JMO

[BuckeyeFan03]

I have read past posts where the same sort of thing happened when someone told customer service that something had gone missing -- a camera, I think? Someone from security came to search for the camera in the passenger's cabin. It may be standard procedure. I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it.

 

Seems reasonable enough to me that the ship would want to make sure the "missing" item was simply not misplaced. I don't think they meant this sort of procedure as being accusatory toward the passenger, but people do misplace things and later find them among their own stuff... and the cruise line knows this happens. This way, they protect themselves from having to pay out for "missing" stuff that wasn't actually missing, even though the passenger thought (or knew) it actually was lost.

 

I hardly think your father was singled out in any way. JMO

 

I'm sure you're right. We figured this was a policy and didn't feel singled out, we just didn't understand the procedure.

 

The camera example does help make sense of it if NCL was concerned they may be held liable for a missing item. In our case, it didn't occur to us that NCL would be liable for anything as it was my father's mistake, but maybe they were concerned about being responsible for fraudulent charges if it made it out of the laundry.

 

Thanks!

[fshagan]

I'm sure you're right. We figured this was a policy and didn't feel singled out, we just didn't understand the procedure.

 

The camera example does help make sense of it if NCL was concerned they may be held liable for a missing item. In our case, it didn't occur to us that NCL would be liable for anything as it was my father's mistake, but maybe they were concerned about being responsible for fraudulent charges if it made it out of the laundry.

 

Honestly, I can't think of a single reason, even a very bad reason, to do this to a customer. NCL isn't responsible for the loss of items on board, and in the contract even if they drop a suitcase full of cameras, iPhones and gold bricks into the ocean because of pure negligence they are only responsible for $100.

 

There is absolutely no liability for NCL with a lost credit card. None. I would have told them to go pound sand when they showed up to search my cabin, and talked to the HD immediately.

[Nola26]

Were the trunks returned?

[Two Wheels Only]

If you lose a child, do they search your reproductive organs? :eek:

[Starflyr3]

If you lose a child, do they search your reproductive organs? :eek:

 

Why do you think they have a "naughty room":eek:

[roger001]

You report an item lost...not stolen...just lost and even tell where it was lost....no accusations of theft. And then......ship personnel come to your room and take your purse and wallet and then remove and inspect each item. Huh? They would do that???? But even more...you would let them????? I'm just puzzled by all of this.

[TonyFred]

No way in hell they are going through my personal belongings. The end.

[fireofficer5]

Me thinks lost and found on NCL is whatever it is, it goes immediately into the round file.

 

Case in point, I left a boot in my cabin, then left the ship after docking in Miami.

 

I never heard from the boot again, even with daily calls to the cruise line for two weeks.

[fireofficer5]

Also once I thought I lost a credit card, it was just in the suit case where I put it.

[BuckeyeFan03]

Were the trunks returned?

 

No, the trunks were not returned.

[BuckeyeFan03]

You report an item lost...not stolen...just lost and even tell where it was lost....no accusations of theft. And then......ship personnel come to your room and take your purse and wallet and then remove and inspect each item. Huh? They would do that???? But even more...you would let them????? I'm just puzzled by all of this.

 

They said that it was a required step to continue the search in the laundry, so my father put up with it as long as he could, but when we saw they were going to inspect every item in my mother's wallet, he was done and put a stop to it. It was definitely puzzling to all of us as well.

[Sissaaaaaa]

I recently returned from our trip on the Escape and had an odd experience that I thought I'd get CC's take on.

 

When returning to the ship in St. Thomas, my father accidentally returned his swim trunks along with his towel in the towel exchange. The trunks had a credit card in the pocket. The next day, he realized his mistake and went down to guest services to see if anything could be done.

 

Guest services said they could only check the lost and found. So, he also called and spoke with security to see if there was any area where it may turn up in the laundry.

 

Security then came to his cabin and had him write up some type of incident report detailing what had happened.

 

After he turned this report in, 2 crew members came to his cabin wearing gloves and stated they needed to search the cabin. They began going through every item they had brought including items in the safe. They then went through my father's wallet and pulled out each item asking if that was the missing card. The crew members didn't appear familiar with credit cards and didn't seem to understand that it was a specific type that was missing or that some things in a wallet aren't a credit card (pictures, club cards, frequent shopper cards).

 

Then the crew members went to start in my mother's purse which holds an extensive wallet. When they began pulling out each picture, he lost his patience and asked them to stop the search. They said they would stop the search, but this would also stop any attempts to locate the card in the laundry.

 

He was able to cancel the card when we returned to Miami and all is fine. We all understood that losing something in the massive laundry room may be hopeless, but it struck us as odd that they had to perform a detailed cabin search when he knew exactly what items were missing and where they went missing.

 

Wondered if anyone else has ever had a similar experience?

 

There is no way I would have allowed that! :eek:

[chisox021]

First off.. This is very illegal and is a textbook case of "Illegal search and seizure." Have you ever heard of needing a warrant? I was in the Navy for 20+ years, and even under Maritime Law when at sea, you still need a few things to do what they did.... Probable cause and a warrant. You just can't show up with white gloves on and go thru someone's personal possessions like they did. One question I have for you... I bet you were out to sea when this happened? If not, NCL is 10000000% in the wrong here. Just like a hotel can't do that to your hotel room, the same rules apply here - you need a warrant and probable cause and the authorities! And when you're docked, the rules change.. Out to sea, the rules are one way, and docked, another way. Just like people have said earlier, you were bullied by NCL and, it should, but doesn't surprise me this happened. I am sorry to hear this tho.. I guess chalk this up to a learning experience since you didn't lose anything - except for maybe some dignity.... and your swim trunks :-(

Edited July 21, 2016 by chisox021

[KarlChilders]

This is very illegal and is a textbook case of "Illegal search and seizure." Have you ever heard of needing a warrant? I was in the Navy for 20+ years, and even under Maritime Law when at sea, you still need a few things to do what they did.... Probable cause and a warrant. You just can't show up with white gloves on and go thru someone's personal possessions like they did. (

 

From a legal standpoint, you could not be more wrong. What they did was a consent search. Had they told him they were searching with or without his permission you might have had a point, but if the "searchee" consents to the search you can search as much as you want with no need for probable cause. Since they suspended the search as soon as he withdrew his consent, it is perfectly legal. Annoying and creepy, but legal.

Edited July 21, 2016 by KarlChilders

[blackwing]

First off.. This is very illegal and is a textbook case of "Illegal search and seizure." Have you ever heard of needing a warrant? I was in the Navy for 20+ years, and even under Maritime Law when at sea, you still need a few things to do what they did.... Probable cause and a warrant. You just can't show up with white gloves on and go thru someone's personal possessions like they did. One question I have for you... I bet you were out to sea when this happened? If not, NCL is 10000000% in the wrong here. Just like a hotel can't do that to your hotel room, the same rules apply here - you need a warrant and probable cause and the authorities! And when you're docked, the rules change.. Out to sea, the rules are one way, and docked, another way. Just like people have said earlier, you were bullied by NCL and, it should, but doesn't surprise me this happened. I am sorry to hear this tho.. I guess chalk this up to a learning experience since you didn't lose anything - except for maybe some dignity.... and your swim trunks :-(

It wasn't an illegal search. The NCL people came to his cabin, said they wanted to search the cabin for the lost card, and presumably, he agreed. It was only when they started going through his wife's wallet that he told them to stop. At that point, they stopped, but said they would have to stop the search.

 

It really does sound to me like they were following some kind of textbook step-by-step guide on what to do when a passenger says something is lost. The first thing I think makes sense to do is to look in the cabin to make sure the item was not misplaced.

 

It most likely has something to do with legal liability. They don't want to be accused of losing something that was simply misplaced, so they want to check for themselves.

 

It is strange to me that the trunks were never returned. But at least there were no charges on the card.

[chisox021]

It wasn't an illegal search. The NCL people came to his cabin, said they wanted to search the cabin for the lost card, and presumably, he agreed. It was only when they started going through his wife's wallet that he told them to stop. At that point, they stopped, but said they would have to stop the search.

 

It really does sound to me like they were following some kind of textbook step-by-step guide on what to do when a passenger says something is lost. The first thing I think makes sense to do is to look in the cabin to make sure the item was not misplaced.

 

It most likely has something to do with legal liability. They don't want to be accused of losing something that was simply misplaced, so they want to check for themselves.

 

It is strange to me that the trunks were never returned. But at least there were no charges on the card.

 

ok, maybe not illegal, but maritime law is different than law on land.. That was the jist of my point... But if you give them the ok to do what they came to do, they will.. Learning experience for all... Just say no!

Edited July 21, 2016 by chisox021

[KarlChilders]

Even on land, if the cops show up at your house and ask if they can look around, and you say yes...they can and can use anything they find against you. Which is why you should really never consent to a search.