Liberty of the Seas passenger fined for cannabis aboard ship in Bermuda

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

That must have been very productive. 😁

 

Seem to recall it was just about one couple. 

 

They felt humiliated

 

But definitely guilty

[BND]

At the end of the day, the cabin belongs to the cruise line not the cruiser.  When allowing a ship to dock in a country, they are agreeing to their laws.  This applies to gambling and alcohol also.  People choose to take banned items on board and they take on the risk, not the cruise line.  

Edited June 11, 2023 by BND

[ReneeFLL]

35 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Closer than 0 feet away?  Hard to picture that.

Sorry that was supposed to be 10 feet. 😁

[ReneeFLL]

33 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Seem to recall it was just about one couple. 

 

They felt humiliated

 

But definitely guilty

I’m surprised considering what I’ve read about a lot of those cruises. Guess by the end of the cruise it’s already gone up in smoke. 🤣

[LibertyBella]

Dogs have remarkable senses of smell.

 

There are cadaver dogs that find skeletons of revolutionary soldiers (more than two hundred years old!), there are service dogs that smell the chemical changes in the brain for stress and illness, as well as cancer, Covid, etc., and even regular dogs when smelling cake can identify and separate each individual ingredient of the cake with their noses!

 

If drugs stink to us, just imagine how easy they are for dogs to smell, even from far away.  

 

I have seen on some other threads that Carnival has been increasing the use of drug-sniffing dogs, and they even use dog checks for Greyhound bus passengers.

 

Well, there are some countries that administer much, much worse than just a fine (check out the rules in the Philippines, etc.), so hopefully the cruiser learned a hard but important lesson.

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Dogs have remarkable senses of smell.

 

There are cadaver dogs that find skeletons of revolutionary soldiers (more than two hundred years old!), there are service dogs that smell the chemical changes in the brain for stress and illness, as well as cancer, Covid, etc., and even regular dogs when smelling cake can identify and separate each individual ingredient of the cake with their noses!

 

If drugs stink to us, just imagine how easy they are for dogs to smell, even from far away.  

 

I have seen on some other threads that Carnival has been increasing the use of drug-sniffing dogs, and they even use dog checks for Greyhound bus passengers.

 

Well, there are some countries that administer much, much worse than just a fine (check out the rules in the Philippines, etc.), so hopefully the cruiser learned a hard but important lesson.

A  couple weeks ago, I worked with a dog that sniffed digital media devices in order to find hidden thumb drives. Before that, a dog that sniffed money. So yeah, they’re pretty amazing. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

A  couple weeks ago, I worked with a dog that sniffed digital media devices in order to find hidden thumb drives. Before that, a dog that sniffed money. So yeah, they’re pretty amazing. 

We have done several all inclusive vacations to Jamaica and a couple of times when we went to pick up luggage at airport we were greater by a couple of drug sniffing dogs , Bermuda checking for drugs is nothing new.

[Tree_skier]

While waiting in line in my car to enter the USA from Canada I have, many times, had my car circled by a CBP officer with a dog.

[JK805]

On 6/10/2023 at 1:40 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

I've never seen a drug dog at the embarkation port.  Has anyone else? 

I haven’t noticed one at embarkation, but doesn’t mean there have been none. Did see one debarking at Baltimore last month. The line of passengers went right past him as we were entering the CBP area, but as far as I could see it didn’t trigger on anyone around when I went through. 

[LadyBerard]

Many years ago, we were cruising on NCL Majesty Boston to Bermuda.  One early evening, my husband and I were out on the deck outside our room.  My sister-in-law came running out to us telling  us there were a bunch of security and a dog outside our room and they wanted to get in it.  We went to our room and let them in.  The dog was hitting on our safe.  They asked if we would open it.  We did.  They asked what was in my purse.  I emptied it for them.  We took everything out of the safe.  The dog was still hitting on it.  They apologized, gave the dog a correction, and told us that the previous week, someone in the cabin had drugs in the cabin.  

 

We knew we did not have any drugs.  We thought this was sooo cool......watching the dog in action.  We tell anybody who cruises with us NOT to bring any marijuana with them, especially when cruising to Bermuda and tell them this true story.

[rolloman]

On 6/10/2023 at 4:40 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

 

 

I've never seen a drug dog at the embarkation port.  Has anyone else?  

At Port Canaveral they now have passengers line up and the dogs check each person (on random sailings).

[Georgeny]

On 6/10/2023 at 2:16 PM, ReneeFLL said:

So I'm guessing they had to pay before allowed to leave. Do you know what would happen if they didn't have the money or a cc?

If note in article they appeared in Court on the 8th. The Liberty of the Seas was on seaway on way home. He was still in Bermuda. Whether in custody or paying for hotel who knows but he was no longer on ship. I was, seas were calm.

[Georgeny]

Some uninformed posts being presented on this subject. Yes Bermuda boards and searches cabins as they want. Yes US authorities do it as well but since we are getting off or not yet on that would be mainly unseen y US passengers. However you probably did see dogs being walked near by you or your luggage either coming to going.

 

Marijuana is NOT legal in the united States. What how can that be, there's a pot shop on my block?

" Marijuana is classified at the federal level as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that the government believes it to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Cultivating, distributing and possessing marijuana violates federal drug laws."

 

Yes your state may  have made it legal but technically a Federal Officer could arrest you coming out of that legal pot selling location for violating Federal Law.

 

Bermuda and many countries have been arresting tourist people for drugs forever.

 

"Three Gangs Totaling a Dozen Guests From MSC Seaside Arrested in Two Ports for Smuggling 66 Kilos of Cocaine" That was April of last year. If you search you will find hundreds of arrest of passengers in various countries. Did we already forget the basket ball played in Russia?

 

When I travel I carry my prescription drugs in original containers. Bermuda once arrested a Doctor for possession of drugs, all prescription but not in prescription containers. 

 

THIS WAS 2011, the amount 3 grams in passenger safe. "The Bermuda Sun reports that yet another cruise passenger was arrested with a small amount of marijuana in his cabin.  This arrest involved a 48 year old US tourist who was arrested after Customs officers from Bermuda entered his cabin. "

 

In fact while at King's Wharf you were also within easy walking distance to Westgate Correction facility. While shopping at Kings Wharf Dockyard you might have noticed between shops a staircase to second floor that had sign Correction Department Administrative Office.

 

Bermuda will arrest just as fast for a joint as they will for 22 kilos of cocaine.

[Mum2Mercury]

12 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

... We knew we did not have any drugs.  We thought this was sooo cool......watching the dog in action.  We tell anybody who cruises with us NOT to bring any marijuana with them, especially when cruising to Bermuda and tell them this true story.

Yeah, I like it when they bring the drug dogs through the high school. 

11 hours ago, rolloman said:

At Port Canaveral they now have passengers line up and the dogs check each person (on random sailings).

Port Canaveral is our favorite port, but we haven't been in the right place at the right time to encounter the dogs.

[Sailaway Girl]

Bermuda routinely brings dogs on the ships while we are docked there. They go from floor to floor down every corridor. Even do the crew floors. The dogs are sniffing for drugs as drugs are coming on to the island via visitors.
Was on that Liberty sailing and there was definitely the smell of marijuana in the air. If I could smell it the dogs would have no problem. The person was arrested and had to appear before a magistrate . Since we were only there for one day, he was left behind at his own expense in addition to the fine. 
Royal indicates in our cruise contract that certain drugs are not allowed on board so we are warned. He just had the “that does not apply to me” way of thinking

[Georgeny]

Old saying amongst K-9 search Officers. If the Dog stops at your luggage, best hope he has to pee. 🙂

[lakelorain]

We've seen dogs on the ship in San Juan also.  They were walking the halls with their handlers and a RC officer.

When we board early, I like to watch the dogs working outside.  They not only sniff the luggage but also all the food that comes on the ship.  In some countries, they also sniff everything coming off the ship including passengers.  

 

[RobInMN]

1 hour ago, lakelorain said:

When we board early, I like to watch the dogs working outside.  They not only sniff the luggage but also all the food that comes on the ship.

 

We've seen this. Can't remember if it was LA or Amsterdam, but there was a dog & handler checking all the food (& other?) pallets before getting loaded on the ship.

[UKWLDCruise]

This was stuck to one of the life raft canisters on the Empress in 2017.       

[sdrocks]

Have not seen dogs at cruise port but the last 2 times we got off in Cozumel, there were dogs checking before you got in to the cruise port area, but not when we left to get back on the ship.

There was a drug sniffing dog about a year ago at the Miami airport going up and down the line where

passengers were lining up to drop luggage.

A few months there was a dog in the concourse where passengers were boarding. Stayed in that area

a long time although the impression I was getting that it was training either for the dog or handler.

Did not approach or question obviously, just my impression compared to other times seeing dogs

work with their handlers.