Is it safe to post this information?

[catmand]

In the four years we have been cruising and associated with Cruise Critic we have meet many, many good people. Some of these folks have become good friends, darn near family. We have spent time with many of them away from a cruise, heck we had dinner with 5 people just last Thursday as they were in town the evening before sailing. We have yet to have a problem. Posting our cabin number? Not a problem here. If someone on the ship is a jerk they won't be able to run very far.

[readytogo2]

WOW.... :eek:

 

There really IS a fine line between caution and paranoia, isn't there??? :confused:

 

Hopefully, in either mindset, common sense will always prevail!

 

:)

well maybe I am paranoid but you might be too if you were robbed while away......it happened to us

[Sailfish]

When it comes to people you meet on the internet, you have to be very careful. It always comes as a shock to me that so many people both here at Cruise Critic and elsewhere on the web are so trusting. Until you meet someone in person and get to know them (a little), it's hard to know much about that person's personality. I know from experience, that people don't always tell you the truth and many misrepresent who they are.

 

It's best to not give out too much information. I once had a couple from a roll-call forum request a cabin next to ours and cross-reference their booking with ours so they could eat dinner with us. Despite my best efforts to keep our stateroom number confidential, they were able to do so after I carelessly responded to an email from work that had my full name in my signature! I also once had a person book one of our group volleyball cruises who totally misrepresented himself. He turned out to be a very depressed, misguided and scarry middle aged man who caused a lot of headaches - and he wasn't a vollyball player!

 

I deal with more web-related problems than most people, as I lead cruise groups both here at Cruise Critic and elsewhere - where the internet is utilized. I provide information and coordinate activities (like scuba diving) but I do so without imparting personal information over the web. All I can say is you can never be too careful!

 

Suzi

[jbrambach]

I agree I never give out my cabin number online, if I want to meet with someone I do so in a public place.

[Colonel_Clobber]

What is the point of posting your cabin number? If you want to get together with people on-board who you've never met (yeah, possibility for sketchy people is very high) it's best to do so in a public area at a specified time and place. If you feel comfortable, then take it from there.

 

I've posted on a CC roll call and mentioned I had booked a penthouse suite. Moments later, others were asking me which cabin specifically, what time to come by for our bon boyage party, and all this other nonsense. Look, my room is for me to enjoy in privacy. Not some random internet freeloaders. If I meet you in person, we become friends, and I invite you to stop by, fine. Otherwise, stay the hell away from my cabin. The last thing I need on my vacation is some random lurker trying to invade my space.

 

And to Readytogo2, your point is well-taken. If I was a sophisticated robber, this site is one that I would monitor frequently. Let's see: people who are generally middle/middle-upper class who will guaranteed be away from for 7+ days. Perfect information for a robber people. Or a scam artist. Or whoever. The thing about posting on public forums, especially those getting a lot of traffic from people with money to burn, is that you have to imagine that EVERYONE in the world can discover what you've posted. Yes, there are a lot of potential advantages of posting personal information on a public forum, inlcuding meeting new friends. But is it worth the risk of having a neferious character take advantage of the naive and inexperienced forum poster? I doubt it.

[kruisey]

What is the point of posting your cabin number? If you want to get together with people on-board who you've never met (yeah, possibility for sketchy people is very high) it's best to do so in a public area at a specified time and place. If you feel comfortable, then take it from there.

 

I've posted on a CC roll call and mentioned I had booked a penthouse suite. Moments later, others were asking me which cabin specifically, what time to come by for our bon boyage party, and all this other nonsense. Look, my room is for me to enjoy in privacy. Not some random internet freeloaders. If I meet you in person, we become friends, and I invite you to stop by, fine. Otherwise, stay the hell away from my cabin. The last thing I need on my vacation is some random lurker trying to invade my space.

 

And to Readytogo2, your point is well-taken. If I was a sophisticated robber, this site is one that I would monitor frequently. Let's see: people who are generally middle/middle-upper class who will guaranteed be away from for 7+ days. Perfect information for a robber people. Or a scam artist. Or whoever. The thing about posting on public forums, especially those getting a lot of traffic from people with money to burn, is that you have to imagine that EVERYONE in the world can discover what you've posted. Yes, there are a lot of potential advantages of posting personal information on a public forum, inlcuding meeting new friends. But is it worth the risk of having a neferious character take advantage of the naive and inexperienced forum poster? I doubt it.

I sincerely feel its better to inform people of the CC meeting on board via this web site and meet that way.:)

[kruisey]

What is the point of posting your cabin number? If you want to get together with people on-board who you've never met (yeah, possibility for sketchy people is very high) it's best to do so in a public area at a specified time and place. If you feel comfortable, then take it from there.

 

I've posted on a CC roll call and mentioned I had booked a penthouse suite. Moments later, others were asking me which cabin specifically, what time to come by for our bon boyage party, and all this other nonsense. Look, my room is for me to enjoy in privacy. Not some random internet freeloaders. If I meet you in person, we become friends, and I invite you to stop by, fine. Otherwise, stay the hell away from my cabin. The last thing I need on my vacation is some random lurker trying to invade my space.

 

And to Readytogo2, your point is well-taken. If I was a sophisticated robber, this site is one that I would monitor frequently. Let's see: people who are generally middle/middle-upper class who will guaranteed be away from for 7+ days. Perfect information for a robber people. Or a scam artist. Or whoever. The thing about posting on public forums, especially those getting a lot of traffic from people with money to burn, is that you have to imagine that EVERYONE in the world can discover what you've posted. Yes, there are a lot of potential advantages of posting personal information on a public forum, inlcuding meeting new friends. But is it worth the risk of having a neferious character take advantage of the naive and inexperienced forum poster? I doubt it.

I sincerely feel its better to inform people of the CC meeting on board via this web site and meet that way.:)

One can then seek out those that you really will feel comfortable with on the cruise.:)

[tvaud]

Forgive me for being naive, but what sensitive information can someone get from knowing your first name, city and cabin number?:confused:

[jak378]

Forgive me for being naive, but what sensitive information can someone get from knowing your first name, city and cabin number?:confused:

 

That is what I am trying to figure out. I suspect that part of it is that many people simply believe that they are continuously targeted by others. Maybe it is a symptom of being overly impressed with oneself. Now me, I always wear a mask and a disguise when moving around the ship so that no one can recognize me and maybe find out what cabin I am in. You never know, do you?

 

Did someone say sophisticated robber? Hmmm.

[Sailfish]

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of posters here at Cruise Critic - those that come here mainly to get information and input about an upcoming cruise (and tend to remain anynomous), and those who enjoy online chatting and giving advice. They are people who frequent roll call forums and feel very comfortable in this online community. Many will tell you that they have made good friends online with whom they cruise. Just like online dating, there is nothing wrong with this. But it's always surprising to me how trusting people can be of total strangers.

 

I do participate in roll call forums, because it's a great place to exchange information - my motivation, though, is not necessarily to make friends - that will only happen if we hit it off in person!

[AAAAmerican]

One problem nobody mentioned here and this is where a lot of SPAM (UCE) came/comes from too.

 

eBots prowl URLS to find, capture and use eMail addies.

 

Then these e-robbers sell them.

 

Using an eMail addy on line ..especially at a forum site (BB) like CC you should use a censored email addy :

 

eg:

YOURADDYandmore@ANYIsp.nET

 

By adding the andmore (AnyTEXT) you defeat most eBots.

 

:eek: yes the culprits capturing Your eMail addy hate this method!

[cruise182]

This is why I like the M&M system on RCCL. On my last cruise I had a champagne party in my cabin for my fellow critics. They were able to send invitations to all those who signed up for the M&M. We had a great turn out (60+) and a lot of fun. I did share my cabin number and kept a master list of those who shared their cabin numbers as I was unsure if the Staff on the Serenade would have the info. They did have it and saved me time and even sent out nice invitations.:)

[kruisey]

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of posters here at Cruise Critic - those that come here mainly to get information and input about an upcoming cruise (and tend to remain anynomous), and those who enjoy online chatting and giving advice. They are people who frequent roll call forums and feel very comfortable in this online community. Many will tell you that they have made good friends online with whom they cruise. Just like online dating, there is nothing wrong with this. But it's always surprising to me how trusting people can be of total strangers.

 

I do participate in roll call forums, because it's a great place to exchange information - my motivation, though, is not necessarily to make friends - that will only happen if we hit it off in person!

This is exactly how I think.....You have written this down in a precise manner.I sometimes wish I was as articulate as some one like yourself.:)

[WeBeGone]

Hey Kruisey - the roll call is calling you. :)

[cruzinchris]

When DH and I have participated in roll calls, we usually post what deck we'll be on and exchange cabin location when we meet the folks at a sailaway gathering. I have posted information about a specific stateroom after a cruise when someone wants to know about the location.

Chris

[tarheelmjfan]

Our group leader starts a Yahoo group that only folks booked through the CC group can access. This is where we have a data base of arrival times, flights, hotels, cabin numbers etc.

 

 

I wish CC could have something more like this. I personally don't visit Roll Calls for ships I'm not sailing on.

[Sailfish]

I wish CC could have something more like this. I personally don't visit Roll Calls for ships I'm not sailing on.

 

If you book an official group cruise offered by Cruise Critic, all group leaders have a special group forum specific to their voyage at Cruise Critic; members can post questions and obtain information about the cruise. Unfortunately, some turn into chat rooms, something I take issue with, but it's not against the rules either. The ones I am in charge of have tons of informations and offer advice and input pertaining to the group. I set the guidelines for my members, so as to not confuse the purpose of the group forum. And because I know group members like to chat about themselves, I make sure everyone knows about the official roll call forum!

 

Non-Cruise critic groups have a number of choices how they want to deal with their members. I personally do not like Yahoo Groups, but that's me. My upcoming non-cc group cruise has a separate website and a roll-call forum here at Cruise Critic which is my preferred method. Most members are NOT connected to Cruise Critic, unless it's a Cruise Critic Group.

[EmpressofPurple]

I understand the caution about posting too much info (detailed home address? nope, while I'm on the cruise, someone could break in... I suppose with full name and home city, an enterprising thief could find the actual address...) -- but I'm one of those social Cruise Critics who likes to chat with my CC friends... there's a core group of six or so from our Mariner cruise last August who are still posting to our roll call board (while the boards for two cruises since then barely had any posts before we sailed, much less afterwards!)

 

However, I really enjoy getting to know my fellow CC-ers, and cabin numbers are useful for CALLING people (not running up to their room at odd hours!) -- I stayed in touch with someone on our recent CB cruise that way (although I suppose we could just as well have shared that information privately via email as on the board). It's kind of hard to get to know people without sharing some info, and making lists of where people are from, what they're celebrating, their cruise history and interests, etc. is a great way to get to know each other. imho.

 

While I try to be cautious, and have certainly been "burned" in many ways in my life, I hope that CC will continue to be a warm and inviting community where I can get to know my fellow cruisers, learn from them, and share their experiences.

 

-D

 

-D

[PTC]

If you book an official group cruise offered by Cruise Critic, all group leaders have a special group forum specific to their voyage at Cruise Critic; members can post questions and obtain information about the cruise. Unfortunately, some turn into chat rooms, something I take issue with, but it's not against the rules either. The ones I am in charge of have tons of informations and offer advice and input pertaining to the group. I set the guidelines for my members, so as to not confuse the purpose of the group forum. And because I know group members like to chat about themselves, I make sure everyone knows about the official roll call forum!

 

 

You sound very strict but hopefully not. People on CC love to chat and get to know each other. It's what has drawn us to this site to begin with plus we have traveled alot so hopefully some of our posts are helpful to others.

 

 

Thank you all for your posts.

 

PTC