Don't Mess with Carnival Cruisers!

[woodofpine]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/02/22/seniors.mugged.ap/index.html

 

And they made it back to the ship in time for cocktails and dinner! Amazing.

[lookingforward]

Oh my GOD! My parents are on that cruise! Yikes! Thank God they are okay.

[Desertbelle]

Word of advice: Don't mess with old folks having fun on a cruise, it could kill you!!!

 

My kind of cruisers! :)

[catmand]

WOW........I thought this was going to be something funny.

[dkjretired]

Think about this the next time you try and jump ahead of one of them on the buffet line.

[FinelyCruising]

That Carnival crowd....you know...always a bunch of bruisers... :rolleyes: All joking aside, I'm glad those cruisers are safe and sound.

 

But when I am on board and on the food line we are all equal. All rules of etiqutte and propriety apply no matter how old or how impoverished you want to act.....sorry.

[Coolcruise02]

GOOD FOR THEM! And good for the authorities in not making the "victims" the criminals with any charges.

[Bengoshi]

The Los Angeles Times article on this ("U.S. tourists kill mugger, Costa Rica Says," A10, Col. 1, February 23, 2007) reports that "One of the dozen tourists, a retired Marine about 70 years old, reportedly put [him] in a headlock."

 

Ooh-Rah!

[GORDONCHICK]

The Los Angeles Times article on this ("U.S. tourists kill mugger, Costa Rica Says," A10, Col. 1, February 23, 2007) reports that "One of the dozen tourists, a retired Marine about 70 years old, reportedly put [him] in a headlock."

 

Ooh-Rah!

 

Semper Fi!!!

[lysolqn]

One news report indicated the six couples were not on a ship-sponsored tour but rather went to the beach on the own and were accosted there.

 

Several years ago we took a ship-sponsored shore excursion in Costa Rica (from Puerto Limon to San Jose) and were advised that the bus driver and/or the guide were armed in the event of a problem such as the one experienced by the folks yesterday, so this is nothing new. I assume all passengers on excursions continue to be "protected" in the same way. If anything, I think this incident will make for a good argument on the part of the cruise lines as to why passengers should take shore excursions rather than venture out on their own or purchase independent tours. In certain places, it might not be such a bad idea.

[Desertbelle]

One news report indicated the six couples were not on a ship-sponsored tour but rather went to the beach on the own and were accosted there.

 

Several years ago we took a ship-sponsored shore excursion in Costa Rica (from Puerto Limon to San Jose) and were advised that the bus driver and/or the guide were armed in the event of a problem such as the one experienced by the folks yesterday, so this is nothing new. I assume all passengers on excursions continue to be "protected" in the same way. If anything, I think this incident will make for a good argument on the part of the cruise lines as to why passengers should take shore excursions rather than venture out on their own or purchase independent tours. In certain places, it might not be such a bad idea.

 

Having an armed guide WOULD NOT make me feel better. I would rather be robbed then in a shoot out. I don't bring anything of value off the ship with me anyways, so they can have whatever I have, just take it and leave me and my family and friends be.

 

Can you imagine the possible out come of a guide pulling out a gun in a holdup? Can the ship guarantee that the gun toting guide has any experience with using that gun? Or in dealing with robbers? Good heavens.

 

Furthermore, when the day comes when the cruise lines tell me I can't get off the ship without taking one of their excursions it will be the day I quit cruising. I am not a baby who needs to be taken care of by the folks who run the cruise lines.....especially since there is no proof that they have anything but making a profit as their main motivator.

[Cruise Arizona]

They can have the $20 in my bag, but I wouldn't want to be in a crossfire.

 

The cruise ships don't go to Haiti any more except that private beach that RCI(I think is RCI) owns, but years ago we were on a cab ride late in the afternoon, coming from a mahogany factory. Our cab was surrounded by a group of kids knocking on the windows begging for money. They were just kids and unarmed, but it was my Dad with me, my sister, mother, and my two grand mothers. I'm not sure he could have been so brave as this ex-marine if the situation was more dangerous.

[lysolqn]

Furthermore, when the day comes when the cruise lines tell me I can't get off the ship without taking one of their excursions it will be the day I quit cruising. I am not a baby who needs to be taken care of by the folks who run the cruise lines.....especially since there is no proof that they have anything but making a profit as their main motivator.

 

 

Not sure I see a nexus between my post and your response. I'm not suggesting cruise lines won't allow anyone off the ship unless they're on an excursion - that's way out in left field. I'm simply saying that off the cuff references to the incident in Costa Rica might work to "encourage" passengers to book shore excursions for their own safety.

 

We're not fans of organized tours of any kind and rarely book excursions through the cruise line. There are, however, some ports of call around the world that for a variety of reasons (safety is one) are not terribly tourist friendly; when calling on such ports it's not such a bad idea to go with the cruiseline.

[sea-cruise]

We're not fans of organized tours of any kind and rarely book excursions through the cruise line. There are, however, some ports of call around the world that for a variety of reasons (safety is one) are not terribly tourist friendly; when calling on such ports it's not such a bad idea to go with the cruiseline.

We feel the same way that you do! In Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, Columbia, Venezuela, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Israel, & Turkey we have booked tours through the ship. There is crime everywhere, but these areas have had some reported problems and to be on the safe side, we have paid more and gone through the ship's excursions.