First Time Cruise Problem

[GUT2407]

Good point. I hadn't even considered that.

 

 

 

Has this happened to you before on a cruise? Do you know what it feels like? I can totally understand it happening on land, but this was supposed to be a vacation where I paid to enjoy a few days of peace and serenity with my fiance. Maybe I had the wrong expectations.

 

 

So if it was a land vacation and you were taken away in a police car, possibly in handcuffs, would it have been better?

[tennislvr8]

Something similar happened to a friend of mine while on Norwegian. He went to guest services for something can't remember at the moment, it was for a new room key or a request for a refund because their shoddy Internet didn't work ever. However the person at GS entered the wrong room number and basically accused him of stealing and trying to enter someone else's room. They called security. When they realized it was her error, they simply said..... Sorry. His aunt called once we returned and was basically told the same thing, sorry.

 

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[Snit13]

. You received an apology, what more do you want? Mistakes happen.

 

To be confronted by my accuser. After working with children for 30 years, I know at times children lie, usually to cover up something they have done wrong. I would want to know what I said/did and again, why did they not review the camera footage.

[Cruise or Lose!]

. You received an apology, what more do you want? Mistakes happen.

 

 

 

To be confronted by my accuser. After working with children for 30 years, I know at times children lie, usually to cover up something they have done wrong. I would want to know what I said/did and again, why did they not review the camera footage.

 

 

 

Exactly. And a good lawyer can help him discover the truth and rest easy.

 

 

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[DivaMI]

It would be interesting to know just how the minor described you. Did they go thru thousands of pictures of males on that cruise? Do you know how confusing that could be to a child after about the 1st hundred pictures. Just a thought

[travelplus]

I would write to Royal Caribbean and tell them that the incident while security had to do their job left you uncomfortable and you would like to be compensated for the stress it caused you for the remainder of the cruise. They may offer you a discount and at least an apology.

 

If this ever happened again I would ask to speak with the Head of Security and the Guest Services manager and tell them that you do not like being falsely accused of something you did not do. They could have looked at the cameras and verified with your Sea Pass card your whereabouts to see that you were not in the spa.

 

i hope the family got a stern talking to if the report was indeed false. An adult did not hear anything inappropriate so how can a kid have more clout than an adult when making a report?

[travelplus]

If I was wrongly accused after it was settled I would go to the head of security and the head of guest services and say that while I know that security has to do their job but you called me down to Guest Services and you did not do your full research. I would like to be compensated with Onboard Credit, Two Free Dinners at a Specialty Restaurant OBC or a Future Cruise Credit in an amount that I chose for wrongly accusing me.

 

Sorry is not good enough. I can say "Sorry I forgot to make the final payment and let it go". Why is it that I must make amends to my clients for my mistake but the Security can just get off with a simple "sorry".

 

What security had to do was clear you and say "Mr Smith we are very sorry for our mistake here is $200 OBC and go an have a good cruise". Sorry is just words actions speak louder than words.

 

On one cruise a passenger threatened to break my arm and I reported it to security because it was a threat. Security tried to pass it off and say he was an elderly passenger. I said no he threatened me and I do not like you passing it off as if i made the same threat I would be kicked off. They warned him and gave us Onboard Credit for the time I spent reporting it because I said either you put this passenger off at the next port or you compensate me for my lost time in doing your job reporting this and you not taking action on a credible threat that other witnesses heard . I reported it right away. The passenger was drunk and I said to the security that it was irresponsible of not cutting this passenger off from drinking.

 

Security was crazy because they said if i wanted to make a report I had to get off at the next port and make the report and they would not help me. I told them no its your responsibility to protect me and to make the report. I hate it when the English officer passed it off. I hope my report to corporate went into his personal record and action was taken,

 

Why did security protect the man who made the threat if he was drunk and Royal did not cut him off? Why did they make an excuse that he was elderly? Why would I get put off if I made the same threat but not the man? Other people vouched for me .

 

I did not do anything wrong we were dancing in a crowded area and I accidently bumped into the man and apologized and he said "do it again and I will push you down and break your arm".

 

I also reported the poor actions of the security department in following through with the report and got Future Cruise Credit for a future cruise.

Edited April 17, 2017 by travelplus

[jib614]

Security did their job and investigated this child's allegations. Were they suppose to ignore this so they didn't inconvenience any of the guests? I assume you don't know what time this happened so you very well could of been on the ship at the time. They have every right to question you. They didn't falsely locked you up.

 

I get that you're innocent and this upset you but at this point I'd just let it go. Since you're innocent you are in no trouble obviously. Also, you don't know how many people after you they investgated. If it were my child, i would want it thoroughly investigated.

 

Sue the cruiseline? Seriously? You were cleared...chapter closed. Sorry but that's just my opinion.

Edited April 17, 2017 by jib614

[jetta8300]

I sympathize, but I don't think Royal did anything inappropriate.

 

I can completely sympathize with you feeling shaken. I'm sure anyone in your situation would have felt disturbed and it would have been hard to get past. Definitely a terrible situation all around.

 

However it may have been much more costly or time consuming to go through all sorts of security tapes than just talk to you and see what you had to say. Maybe they should have been a bit more discrete, but you have no idea what kind of serious situation the child was reporting, and if they needed to find this person asap.

 

They asked you some questions and let you go... I mean if they would have held you in some sort of ship jail waiting to question you I'd say that would cross the line. But just asking you questions and excusing you soon after, (while not ideal surrounding youin public) isn't inappropriate in my opinion. They didn't question you in public, they took you somewhere private too.

Edited April 17, 2017 by jetta8300

[travelplus]

Security did their job and investigated this child's allegations. Were they suppose to ignore this so they didn't inconvenience any of the guests? I assume you don't know what time this happened so you very well could of been on the ship at the time. They have every right to question you. They didn't falsely locked you up.

 

I get that you're innocent and this upset you but at this point I'd just let it go. Since you're innocent you are in no trouble obviously. Also, you don't know how many people after you they investgated. If it were my child, i would want it thoroughly investigated.

 

Sue the cruiseline? Seriously? You were cleared...chapter closed. Sorry but that's just my opinion.

 

The up side is that they did not hold the OP for a few hours in the brig while they did their research through CCTV footage, witnesses and the victim(s).

 

Can you just imagine Security waiting at the security machine and when the OP boarded the officer said"Sir come with me",

 

Then they bring you to the office and get your statement and wait to confirm statements. Three hours later you are cleared.

 

Well it seems worse landside as you could potentially be taken down to the Police station and kept there until the full investigation has been done and perhaps they would put you in jail overnight.

[Cruisegirl6]

I am sorry that happened to you but they did apologize and they had a job to do. Lets figure you had a child that said something happened to him/her and this child described the person and the cruise line said a person looks just like what was described, you would definitely want that person questioned and get your answers as to what happened or didn't happen. Unfortunately the cruise line did investigate and questioned you but it had to be done, on another note, I would happen to think there are cameras all over the ship including the entrance of the spa.

 

They did no wrong and I am sorry, they were right for checking into things but since you obviously were not the person, they should of at least given you a dinner at a specialty restaurant, I think, but compensation would not be given or should be considered because its not needed for this. Sometimes we have to let things go because its not worth thinking about, you were not harmed.

[lbjen]

I will assume you don't have children yet. When (if) you become a parent, I think you'll gain a different perspective on this. Most parents will appreciate that the ship's security put the safety of the child (and others) first and acted quickly, rather than taking time to do some more in depth investigation.

 

I fully understand that you felt humiliated, and it probably really did put a damper on the rest of your trip, wondering if maybe others were now viewing you with suspicion. Your anger however should be directed to the actual perpetrator rather than the security team, who were just doing their job. I presume that they also had a good reason to need to do it out in public like they did, perhaps to protect themselves from accusations, who knows.

 

I know that none of that will get you back the ruined trip, perhaps you do have a case to ask for some credit towards a future cruise or a refund. However, I think that it's just one of those unfortunate, uncomfortable things that occasionally happens sadly.

[dswallow]

I would at a minimum write to Royal Caribbean's executive opffices and explain the incident and how it made you feel and that you believe there would have been better approaches that could have avoided any embarassment. I wouldn't really get into any demands for any compensation, but just say that you're disappointed in the treatment you received and that you'll take that into consideration when you make travel plans in the future. Otherwise explain you enjoyed the trip, and believed that possibly security onboard may have not acted in the best interests of the cruise line and passengers and wanted them to be aware of how they mistreated guests.

 

Take any next step based on their response to such a letter.

 

It really doesn't sound completely unreasonable, but you were there and I wasn't. Only you can truly judge how you felt in that situation. I do sympathize in that there are some people that are willing to believe anything, and I mean anything, a child says, and then act completely without reason and common sense.

[jetta8300]

I would at a minimum write to Royal Caribbean's executive opffices and explain the incident and how it made you feel and that you believe there would have been better approaches that could have avoided any embarassment. I wouldn't really get into any demands for any compensation, but just say that you're disappointed in the treatment you received and that you'll take that into consideration when you make travel plans in the future. Otherwise explain you enjoyed the trip, and believed that possibly security onboard may have not acted in the best interests of the cruise line and passengers and wanted them to be aware of how they mistreated guests.

 

Take any next step based on their response to such a letter.

 

It really doesn't sound completely unreasonable, but you were there and I wasn't. Only you can truly judge how you felt in that situation. I do sympathize in that there are some people that are willing to believe anything, and I mean anything, a child says, and then act completely without reason and common sense.

 

I'm not sure where "some people are willing to believe anything a child says" comes into play. The child probably did in fact experience some sort of inappropriate situation. Maybe a serious one. You have no idea if this was a 6 year old, or a 15 year old girl or boy who knows exactly what they're talking about. Just because it wasn't the op who was the perpetrator, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 

It's also not like they accused the OP of doing anything. He even said they pulled at least a few other people down to question. They were just questioning him. Now if the child was in the room, pointing a finger at the OP, saying "THAT'S HIM" we have a different scenario. But nothing near that happened. He was not accused of anything.

 

There was a thread a whole back about someone having experienced a creepy man trying to get younger boys into the shower with him in the spa locker room. Nobody has any idea what this person allegedly did, and not even sure royal would tell the OP. Did someone try to grab a child? Did someone say something incredibly perverted and disturbing to a 6 year old child? We'll never know. Including the OP. I for one as a parent am glad they didn't just blow it off.

Edited April 18, 2017 by jetta8300

[SilkySal]

Welcome to CC! Whew! I agree with you and would be mortified if myself or my DH had to go through that!:eek: Since you asked for our opinions, if it were me and since you have plenty of "legal beagles" to help you, ask one of them to compose a letter for you explaining what happened and how it totally ruined the 2nd half of your cruise vacation, and ask that RCI investigate the matter and provide a follow-up explanation and possible compensation.:rolleyes: I think the situation could have been handled a lot better. Just my opinion here. Hope this doesn't keep you from cruising!:)

[LA_CA_GAL]

.....

 

If it was your daughter who was involved I would bet that you would be glad that Royal was taking it seriously and doing what is necessary to find the proper person......

 

 

If it was my minor daughter (or son) she would not have been alone in the spa. She would have been with me, and I would have :mad: ......... ::use your imagination:

 

Needless to say, I would have been removed from the ship at the next port.

[SilkySal]

If it was my minor daughter (or son) she would not have been alone in the spa. She would have been with me, and I would have :mad: ......... ::use your imagination:

 

Needless to say, I would have been removed from the ship at the next port.

 

You go girl! I'm a momma bear too!!;)

[lizwil10]

if it was my minor daughter (or son) she would not have been alone in the spa. She would have been with me, and i would have :mad: ......... ::use your imagination:

 

Needless to say, i would have been removed from the ship at the next port.

 

 

 

same!

[lizwil10]

As a parent, I'm glad security acted quickly and I hope they found the creep!

 

I also think that RCL should reimburse you for the remainder of your trip. If it were me or my husband in your situation I would have a hard time "letting it go" after I'd been falsely accused or something like that.

[Cruise or Lose!]

I am SO tired of OP and myself and people like us having our opinions immediately discounted because we are childless. Newsflash - kids lie. Frequently. To get themselves out of trouble, or to get attention. Of course security was right to investigate. You always do, even if you completely disbelieve the child's version of events. But the OP has rights too. One of those rights is to be informed of the nature of the accusations.

The mere fact that there is a child involved does not invalidate his Constitutional guarantees.

 

Parents like some of you make me dislike children. No one else matters. No one else even exists.

 

 

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[Bruin Steve]

First, I've been on 45 cruises and not only has anything like that never happened to me, I've also never witnessed anything like that happening to any other passenger...so I believe it is a rare occurrence and should not deter you from cruising again.

 

That said, being questioned by security...or police...in connection with the investigation of a crime MAY happen anywhere, at any time...on a cruise, on vacation, even at home. I am certain that it is never a pleasant experience. But, OTOH, we want our police or any other law enforcement to be diligent and thorough. Cruise lines have taken a lot of flak in the past over some lax security on board. They don't want any more stories about someone reporting some sort of assault or abuse being ignored by the cruise ship. Summoning someone to guest services is likely much safer for the investigating crew member than trying to visit someone in their cabin. The fact that you were questioned and quickly cleared is probably about as good an outcome as can be expected. Better than being detained for a long period or being removed from the ship or being turned over to authorities on land--especially in a foreign country. Sounds as if they did the necessary questioning and nothing more. Yes, they might have ALSO checked camera footage, checked magnetic card records, etc. and they may have actually done that as well...but, direct questioning would have to still be part of any thorough investigation.

 

As to showing you photos of other persons of interests or sharing any other part of the investigation with you, realize that NO police force does that. You would have a right to see all that only if charges were filed--then your attorneys would be able to acquire all of that under the "discovery" rules as trial preparation. But, during an investigation, that isn't public record--and for good reason. Just think, you would not want security to be sharing YOUR photo and personal information with others they might be questioning.

 

It is unfortunate that this incident occurred during your cruise and that the incident was unpleasant...but the best way to handle this or any similar event is to brush it off and move forward with enjoying your cruise. Sure, you can write letters to the cruise line or complain to Guest Services...and, MAYBE, they compensate you with a free specialty restaurant dinner or a bottle of cheap champagne as a PR gesture...but, really, they owe you nothing. It is just Security properly doing its job. As passengers, we actually WANT Security to do its job. We don't want them to be deterred from investigating and acting when WE report an incident. We don't want victims to be deterred from reporting crimes. If you or your spouse were raped or assaulted or your child was raped, assaulted or molested, you would want whatever security or police force involved to turn over every possible stone in trying to solve the case. If an incident occurred on a ship you were on, wouldn't you rather there be a thorough investigation rather than a security force that just brushes it under the rug? Remember, if there is a perpetrator out there and they are not found, they could act again.

[jll583]

I'd be mortified too and would probably have let it ruin my vacation. As far as what I'd do, I'd write royal just stating how it made you feel. I feel like if they really thought it was you, they would have banished you to your room for the remainder of your trip. I'm sorry this happened to you but I don't think you have anything to worry about if they just let you go!

 

 

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[dcgrumpy]

As a parent, I'm glad security acted quickly and I hope they found the creep!

 

I also think that RCL should reimburse you for the remainder of your trip. If it were me or my husband in your situation I would have a hard time "letting it go" after I'd been falsely accused or something like that.

 

How do you suggest they find the "creep" without questioning people that fit the description?

 

Reimbursed? Give me a break.

 

He was questioned, not accused of doing anything.

[SilkySal]

I am SO tired of OP and myself and people like us having our opinions immediately discounted because we are childless. Newsflash - kids lie. Frequently. To get themselves out of trouble, or to get attention. Of course security was right to investigate. You always do, even if you completely disbelieve the child's version of events. But the OP has rights too. One of those rights is to be informed of the nature of the accusations.

The mere fact that there is a child involved does not invalidate his Constitutional guarantees.

 

Parents like some of you make me dislike children. No one else matters. No one else even exists.

 

 

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I am not sure which one of us parents offended you but I read that we all agree that the OP is entitled to and probably should investigate this matter, preferably with legal help. My being a mother has nothing to do with it. You may have read something into the posts that just aren't there. No accusations here, just opinions. I do apologize if you think that I was offensive; that was certainly not my intent.

[mollyeilis]

It sounds like they had a complaint, they reviewed the tapes and saw the alleged incident with the minor child and saw the adult, they reviewed the photos on the Seapass cards for possible matches, they called down a couple of people whose photos looked like the person in the video, they questioned you and quickly realized that you were not the person they were looking for and you were sent on your way. All part of a proper investigation.

 

 

 

........

 

 

 

Depending on the angle and quality of the video and the quality of the Seapass photos it us not surprising that they may have to interview several people.

 

Exactly. This is what investigating IS. They didn't arrest you or put you in stocks. They asked you to come in, they didn't ask you questions in public, they listened to you and believed you and they moved on.

 

 

 

Thank you for the thoughtful response. While you make good points, as others mentioned, shouldn't they be able to check the times on my card when I got on the boat and went to my cabin?

 

 

Probably, but that doesn't prove you didn't go elsewhere. Get on the ship, go to your room, leave your room with a hat on and go to the spa...that last part doesn't have any tracking.

 

 

I can't see an issue, it's unfortunate, but seems you and the description the kid gave were similar. (You might look nothing like the actual person but like the description).

 

 

 

What should security do, ignore the issue? I'm sure then there'd be some complaints.

 

 

Exactly.

 

I guess the way they handled it is my problem. Instead of calling me, vaguely summoning me to guest services, surrounding me with security in front of guest services (with a lot of fellow passengers around) and asking me to go to some secret room, which super sketched me out and made me look like I did something wrong to all those people who saw... could they not have simply knocked on my door and talked to me there in private?

 

 

Can't remember if it was Royal but about a year ago a cruise line was handling something inside the cabin and a guy jumped off the ship. I can see why they wouldn't want to handle it in the cabin.

 

Also, who is to say they didn't try? You almost slept through the first phone call. What if they did knock but you didn't hear it?

 

I can totally understand it happening on land, but this was supposed to be a vacation where I paid to enjoy a few days of peace and serenity with my fiance. Maybe I had the wrong expectations.

 

 

Im fairly certain that the minor wasn't anticipating something inappropriate being said to him or her either.

 

...you called me down to Guest Services and you did not do your full research.

..............

 

Security tried to pass it off and say he was an elderly passenger. ....Why did they make an excuse that he was elderly? Why would I get put off if I made the same threat but not the man? Other people vouched for me .

 

 

 

Asking questions is part of research.

 

People give all sorts of allowances to "the elderly". Like somehow turning 65 makes an abusive person a saint. Look at the news right now with the poor elderly man lol. My MIL is 10 years older than the dude in the news and would pull the same stunt if she didn't want to disembark a plane, and would pull the "I'm old" card. Meanwhile she still terrifies her family. This week she's bouncing around between old and young. Old enough to misplace her checkbook and think she looked for it thoroughly (she didn't). Young enough to go to the bank and close her account. Old enough to not realize that every bit of money she gets is direct deposited. Old enough and disliking speaking English on the phone enough that now I get to spend HOURS with her fixing the mess she caused by not asking younger eyes to look for her checkbook (she goes nowhere...it's in her condo). And I get to hear her switch from her yelling voice to me, to her old and feeble voice on the phone to give SS permission to speak with me etc.

 

Those of us who know abusive elders KNOW. Others don't and don't think "the elderly" can be scary at all.

 

If it was my minor daughter (or son) she would not have been alone in the spa. She would have been with me, and I would have :mad: ......... ::use your imagination:

 

 

 

Needless to say, I would have been removed from the ship at the next port.

 

 

Over *words*???

 

 

Newsflash - kids lie. Frequently.

 

.....But the OP has rights too. One of those rights is to be informed of the nature of the accusations.

The mere fact that there is a child involved does not invalidate his Constitutional guarantees.

 

Parents like some of you make me dislike children. No one else matters. No one else even exists

 

 

Not sure what kids YOU are around, but I'm around a ton and very few of them lie, and none of them lie frequently.

 

What constitution are we protected by while on a Royal ship, exactly? Lol.

 

No one is saying others don't exist, but that there's a different perspective that's harder to remind yourself of when you don't have kids right there in your life.

 

When I was planning our wedding I was pretty good about everything but I hit one blind spot of selfishness when an international vendor delayed shipping, shipped the wrong thing, delayed shipping again, and was uncommunicative. He finally explained that his kid was very sick. I still put 75% of the issue in his corner because he could have mentioned that earlier (as an upfront explanation rather than an excuse later), and could have even closed his online shop until he could think well enough to do the job (by what happened with me he surely lost money during that time). But the 25% that was on me was because I didn't have the perspective of their little guy being desperately sick and how insane that would have made me.

 

 

But, OTOH, we want our police or any other law enforcement to be diligent and thorough. ....

 

Summoning someone to guest services is likely much safer for the investigating crew member than trying to visit someone in their cabin.

 

The fact that you were questioned and quickly cleared is probably about as good an outcome as can be expected.

 

Better than being detained for a long period or being removed from the ship or being turned over to authorities on land--especially in a foreign country.

 

Sounds as if they did the necessary questioning and nothing more.

 

Yes, they might have ALSO checked camera footage, checked magnetic card records, etc. and they may have actually done that as well...but, direct questioning would have to still be part of any thorough investigation.

 

 

 

As to showing you photos of other persons of interests or sharing any other part of the investigation with you, realize that NO police force does that. You would have a right to see all that only if charges were filed--then your attorneys would be able to acquire all of that under the "discovery" rules as trial preparation. But, during an investigation, that isn't public record--and for good reason. Just think, you would not want security to be sharing YOUR photo and personal information with others they might be questioning.

 

 

 

It is unfortunate that this incident occurred during your cruise and that the incident was unpleasant...

 

As passengers, we actually WANT Security to do its job. We don't want them to be deterred from investigating and acting when WE report an incident.

 

 

Yep to all of that.

 

Especially the part about sharing info about others that were being questioned. You wanted to see pix of the others. Would you want YOUR pic to be shown to those others if they asked? Of course not.

 

 

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