Be Careful!

[madforcruising]

When we took our European cruise, you can bet we were more careful in port. We were well warned by most of our guides to protect our personal belongings, even to zip our purses inside of our coats. At the Sistine Chapel, we were warned not to look "up" at the ceiling for too long, because the gypsies will pickpocket you faster than you know.

 

I've also heard not to use your credit cards in Cozumel, or at the pier in Belize, several people posted about 100's of dollars that showed up on their bills from these two places.

 

 

I don´t question that your tour guide said this, however I think it´s highly doubtful that you would be pickpocketed by gypsies (or Romas) in the Sistine Chapel. They don´t "work" in museums where you have to pay an entrance fee. I don´t say you should let your guard down there, as pickpockets can be everywhere, I just don´t buy the gipsy thing for a museum.

[NoelsCat]

I don´t question that your tour guide said this, however I think it´s highly doubtful that you would be pickpocketed by gypsies (or Romas) in the Sistine Chapel. They don´t "work" in museums where you have to pay an entrance fee. I don´t say you should let your guard down there, as pickpockets can be everywhere, I just don´t buy the gipsy thing for a museum.

 

I agree 100%.

 

In addition, it's sad that there is still such prejudice towards the Roma culture. When we were in Italy for a few months we heard derrogatory "gypsy" remarks quite often.

 

This is not to say that there wasn't a pickpocketing concern. My girlfriend was picked in a Florence train station by a veritable herd of children who surrounded her after one threw a cup of water on her.

[Tranquil Waters]

And one day, you may be watching Chevy Chase in "European Vacation", and when they show the scene where this guy steals his camera after pretending to take a picture of the family, you will be able to say: "It happened to me too!":eek:

 

That could certainly be the case. :) But I would also be thinking that the loss of my camera was a relatively small price to pay for all the great pictures/memories that I have thanks to all the nice people who I have handed my camera to over the years. ;) (I don't think I ever crossed paths with the poster who cut people's heads off. :D )

 

I would rather not travel at all than to spend every minute worried about who might be trying to scam me. I have no "possessions" that are worth that.....:)

[SheriNtexas]

When we took our European cruise, you can bet we were more careful in port. We were well warned by most of our guides to protect our personal belongings, even to zip our purses inside of our coats. At the Sistine Chapel, we were warned not to look "up" at the ceiling for too long, because the gypsies will pickpocket you faster than you know.

 

 

We were there this summer on an EFtour, and we were told not to even bring purses or backpacks, so we put all our stuff in those passport pouches and put them around our necks and inside our shirts! We also had to watch for women who had tiny babies in slings. Women might be begging for money with one hand while trying to steal with the other. It was SO sad having to be so careful everywhere. It was also sad seeing all the people begging everywhere in Italy where we were.

[Tranquil Waters]

I agree 100%.

 

In addition, it's sad that there is still such prejudice towards the Roma culture. When we were in Italy for a few months we heard derrogatory "gypsy" remarks quite often.

 

This is not to say that there wasn't a pickpocketing concern. My girlfriend was picked in a Florence train station by a veritable herd of children who surrounded her after one threw a cup of water on her.

 

When my husband traveled to Italy on business his contact in Italy told him to keep his wallet in his inside jacket pocket and not in his pants pocket. DH also said that when he went into a small jewelry store (recommended by his contact) the owner locked the door to the store before he brought any pieces out to show DH (he was shopping for gifts for 3 women at home :D ). With the purchases made, the owner places the 3 items in a cloth pouch and he gives the pouch - along with 2 safety pins - to DH and suggests that DH pin the pouch to the inside of his jacket. :eek: .

 

I don't think the term gypsy ever came up but the local Italians were certainly aware that pickpocketing was a prevalent issue.......

[Reijo]

I apologize if I offended you, that's what our guides called certain people both in Rome, and in Athens. :(

 

No offense taken here. This was a quote from your tour guide. It's sad when we can't give a "helpful" report to travelers out there for fear of offending people. People just need to try not to be over sensitive.

[robtulipe]

You have been to Alaska, according to your list of cruises -- in fact, last mongth my wife took a cruise to Alaska aboard the Radiance. I've been going through my pictures, and I wonder how so many pictures would have come out if I used just a cheap disposable camera. My digital camera is a "point and shoot" version, but it has many properties -- including a telephoto lens -- found in more expensive digitals. Let's face it, I'm not going to hope a whale comes alongside my boat so I will be able to get good shots from a disposable. If you want to enjoy your cruise with photos, you know how to protect your camera from damage, as well as from theft.:)

Yes, I have the latest Sony SLR digital camera with lens that range from 17 to 300 mm and took some great pictures on our Alaskan cruise. Would I take that camera to the beach, on a dive or small sail boat or hand it to a local person I am unsure of to take our picture, not likely. But I do that all the time with a disposable camera. I have not lost one of these to a runaway person to date but have gotten a few wet while sailing and on dive boats. I did not say use only a disposable camera, just use one where it makes sense to do so as to protect your expensive camera from damage and theft. Actually I've gotten some great shot with a disposable as I know the limitation of these cameras and have adjusted my shooting style to minimize these limitations. I also always carry a smaller Sony Cybershot digital camera when on vacation since it small size makes it very convenient to use and carry.

Below is a shot of a humpback whale taken with my SLR from the ship while on our recent Radiance cruise. I know it would have been only a speck in lots of water with a disposable, a cheap point and shoot camera or even my Cybershot which has only a 3X optical zoom and much lower megapixels resolution.

[RevSmith]

I never carry a hand bag on a cruise...I use my pockets for everything. I also don't wear jewelry...I look like a typical person heading for the beach or such, who is carrying very little if any money and does not have a lot of money to begin with. Makes "cents" to me.

[xpcdoojk]

I don´t question that your tour guide said this, however I think it´s highly doubtful that you would be pickpocketed by gypsies (or Romas) in the Sistine Chapel. They don´t "work" in museums where you have to pay an entrance fee. I don´t say you should let your guard down there, as pickpockets can be everywhere, I just don´t buy the gipsy thing for a museum.

 

That is what I was thinking when I read that, too. :D

 

BobBobSea, I don't know what ethnic or type they are, but in Spain, Italy, Greece, France, etc. the generic term gypsy has been used by people from all of the cultures. From the looks of many of the people that are the obvious street people in Europe I would be hard pressed to define them as any particular racial type. Some appear African, some muslim, some European some eastern looking. They have many different scams and methods and there is no single way that they separate dumb tourists from their money and possessions. I have never had a problem anywhere in Europe with any of them, because I pay attention to my environment. I rarely read a map on a public street. We pop into a nice shop and the wife will shop and I will study the map so I know where to go when we reenter the streets. We watch each other and we are aware of the people around us. We try to blend in the best we can and try not to scream first time tourist when we travel.

 

jc

[spinsbabe]

When in Italy two women were walking by as we waited in a line for a museum to open. One woman was 'aggressively' breast feeding a child, she was carrying in her arms. The other woman stopped to 'ask a question' - while the men in line ogled the 'child' the women slit one man's fanny pack and took his wallet that fell out of the bottom! Someone immediately noticed his cigarette pack that dropped on the ground - and he realized his wallet was missing! The women were still in sight and thankfully were caught................you just never know!!

[Gonzo70]

I can't live my life worried about every scam that someone could possibly come up with..

 

If you send me $100 cash I will inform you of which scams you should worry about and which ones you can safely forget.

[Desertbelle]

When in Italy two women were walking by as we waited in a line for a museum to open. One woman was 'aggressively' breast feeding a child, she was carrying in her arms. The other woman stopped to 'ask a question' - while the men in line ogled the 'child' the women slit one man's fanny pack and took his wallet that fell out of the bottom! Someone immediately noticed his cigarette pack that dropped on the ground - and he realized his wallet was missing! The women were still in sight and thankfully were caught................you just never know!!

 

What in the world is "aggressively breastfeeding"?? You have to watch out for those lactating moms!! :D :D :D

 

People crack me up!!

[jannandjohn]

I don´t question that your tour guide said this, however I think it´s highly doubtful that you would be pickpocketed by gypsies (or Romas) in the Sistine Chapel. They don´t "work" in museums where you have to pay an entrance fee. I don´t say you should let your guard down there, as pickpockets can be everywhere, I just don´t buy the gipsy thing for a museum.

 

we were on a bus tour in 2002...they were certainly there..many of them, and with babies( their distraction trick)..our Italian tour guide pointed them out, and told us over and over again, to be alert!!!

they are all over the Vatican city, not just in the Chapel...I guess even if they pay, they make more with stolen tourist wallets..one of our group had her wallet taken at the security gate into the chapel , it went into the scanner and never came out..!!!

[jevotm]

The "gypsies"????? Nice to see the Italians are still showing a profound penchant for prejudice. The "gypsies" are Roma, gypsy is a derogatory term.

 

For the OP, best to be wary but, like others above, we have let others take our picture with our camera and we do the same for them.

 

 

Now who is being predudiced?

[SheriNtexas]

If you send me $100 cash I will inform you of which scams you should worry about and which ones you can safely forget.

 

 

LOL! I like those new commercials where the guy goes up to someone and says, "Hi, I am a foreign dignitary and I would like to give you this check, but I would like to keep a small portion for myself"....etc. etc." Then the voice says, "Scams like this would never work in person, that is why most of them are done online...

[sagiv666]

[quote name='robtulipe']Yes, I have the latest Sony SLR digital camera with lens that range from 17 to 300 mm and took some great pictures on our Alaskan cruise. Would I take that camera to the beach, on a dive or small sail boat or hand it to a local person I am unsure of to take our picture, not likely. But I do that all the time with a disposable camera. I have not lost one of these to a runaway person to date but have gotten a few wet while sailing and on dive boats. I did not say use only a disposable camera, just use one where it makes sense to do so as to protect your expensive camera from damage and theft. Actually I've gotten some great shot with a disposable as I know the limitation of these cameras and have adjusted my shooting style to minimize these limitations. I also always carry a smaller Sony Cybershot digital camera when on vacation since it small size makes it very convenient to use and carry.
Below is a shot of a humpback whale taken with my SLR from the ship while on our recent Radiance cruise. I know it would have been only a speck in lots of water with a disposable, a cheap point and shoot camera or even my Cybershot which has only a 3X optical zoom and much lower megapixels resolution.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd112/robtulipe/DSC01585a.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

When my wife and I were in alaska last month, I took some great shots with our digital camera. It's basically a point and shoot, but with an optical zoom of 10x and Leica lens, as well as many options not normally found in a small digial camera, I had little trouble. That's a nice shot that yo took with your SLR; I have some great shots of whales and of bears, as well as the Alaskan scenery (did you go on any of the trains?). As soon as I figure ot how to upload the pictures (I think I have to change the sizes), I'll send them to you.
I agree. I would prefer to use a disposable camera if I'm taking pictures without problems -- keep my camera safe from damage or theft.:)

[Woe is me]

[quote name='joand452']On our Alaska cruise, I asked a younger man (he was with a woman) to take our picture as we were cruising the glaciers. With a straight face, he said, "No." Serious as could be. Then he started laughing. Totally freaked me out.

I always offer to take pictures of groups, and people have reciprocated. But I wouldn't ask just any schmo on the street.

I'm always paranoid about my purse.[/QUOTE]

That is funny to me, as I am guilty of the same. In Costa Maya, I was walking along the beach and a couple asked if I would take their picture, I said no, and their expression was priceless. I did laugh and take their picture, but it was kind of fun.:rolleyes:

[sagiv666]

[quote name='robtulipe']Yes, I have the latest Sony SLR digital camera with lens that range from 17 to 300 mm and took some great pictures on our Alaskan cruise. Would I take that camera to the beach, on a dive or small sail boat or hand it to a local person I am unsure of to take our picture, not likely. But I do that all the time with a disposable camera. I have not lost one of these to a runaway person to date but have gotten a few wet while sailing and on dive boats. I did not say use only a disposable camera, just use one where it makes sense to do so as to protect your expensive camera from damage and theft. Actually I've gotten some great shot with a disposable as I know the limitation of these cameras and have adjusted my shooting style to minimize these limitations. I also always carry a smaller Sony Cybershot digital camera when on vacation since it small size makes it very convenient to use and carry.
Below is a shot of a humpback whale taken with my SLR from the ship while on our recent Radiance cruise. I know it would have been only a speck in lots of water with a disposable, a cheap point and shoot camera or even my Cybershot which has only a 3X optical zoom and much lower megapixels resolution.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd112/robtulipe/DSC01585a.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

Your picture looks good, but my pictures look like yours. If this means my point and shoot digital takes as good pictures as your expensive Sony SLR, why buy yours?:)

[Tranquil Waters]

[quote name='Gonzo70']If you send me $100 cash I will inform you of which scams you should worry about and which ones you can safely forget.[/quote]

It's in the mail......;)

[Tranquil Waters]

[quote name='Desertbelle']What in the world is "aggressively breastfeeding"?? You have to watch out for those lactating moms!! :D :D :D

People crack me up!![/quote]

Sounds like something a midwife would say.....

[robtulipe]

[quote name='sagiv666']Your picture looks good, but my pictures look like yours. If this means my point and shoot digital takes as good pictures as your expensive Sony SLR, why buy yours?:)[/quote]
It all depends on the conditions when you are taken your photos. I agree with you and have taken some great photos using a disposable, our Sony Cybershot and other cheaper cameras. How close were you to the subject when you took your photos? The whale in this shot taken from the ship was quite a distance away and it's blow spray was what helped us locate it. Like I said with most cameras it would just a speck in lots of water. With my camera's 300 mm zoom, large aperture and 10.2 MP, I was able to edit the resulting very high resolution (3MB) image to to get a good final picture. Try making a 10" X14" picture or a 20" X30" poster (which I have done with some of my images) and you will see the difference. What you are seeing here is a resized, low resolution (57KB) copy which is the largest size of image I can upload to the web site where I post my pictures so you can see a decent size image in my posts. If I used the attached feature on CC you would only see a max. 19.5 KB image file like this.
DW loves the small Sony Cybershot as she doesn't like to use our, as she describes it, large cumbersome complicated digital SLR with it's many lens and settings. That why I bought it for her.
Send your photos to [email]robtulip-cc@yahoo.ca[/email], I would like to look at them.

[attachment=45348:name]

[MakinGold]

[quote name='sagiv666']And one day, you may be watching Chevy Chase in "European Vacation", and when they show the scene where this guy steals his camera after pretending to take a picture of the family, you will be able to say: "It happened to me too!":eek:[/quote]

That's certainly possible, but for me, as it stands today, I have a bunch of photo albums full of pictures from vacations, and pretty much every one of those vacations includes at least on picture that was taken by a stranger, so that we could all be in the picture. I won't give that up over the fear that, some day, one of these strangers might run off with my camera.

[robtulipe]

[quote name='sagiv666']When my wife and I were in alaska last month, I took some great shots with our digital camera. It's basically a point and shoot, but with an optical zoom of 10x and Leica lens, as well as many options not normally found in a small digial camera, I had little trouble. That's a nice shot that yo took with your SLR; I have some great shots of whales and of bears, as well as the Alaskan scenery (did you go on any of the trains?). As soon as I figure ot how to upload the pictures (I think I have to change the sizes), I'll send them to you.
I agree. I would prefer to use a disposable camera if I'm taking pictures without problems -- keep my camera safe from damage or theft.:)[/quote]
We rented a car to tour in Scagway.
I use a memory card reader on my computer to select and download the images I want. It is simpler and quicker than downloading all images from a camera.
I also downloaded some free nifty resize image software from Microsoft to resize my images for the web or use my picture processing software to do the same. With the Microsoft software all you have to do is right click on the image, select resize image and select the size of resolution you want to the copy to be. I found this at the Microsoft upgrade site for Wndows XP.

[Gonzo70]

[quote name='MakinGold'] I won't give that up over the fear that, some day, one of these strangers might run off with my camera.[/quote]

Besides, it would make for a good story if someone did try to run of with the camera. Furthermore, think of the good exercise chasing the person down.

[Glama]

[quote name='sagiv666']I agree. If I'm at the Sistine Chapel, I will take as long as possible according to how my wife and I feel, to look at Michelangelo's masterpiece. If a thief has the idea of using this to rob tourists.....well wouldn't it be in Florence's (and Italy's) best interest -- as well as cruise lines and airlines -- to be sure there is enough security so as to frustrate any potential thief?:rolleyes:[/quote]

The Sistine chapel is more beautiful than you can imagine, and yes, we did take our time admiring it. However, we were also warned by our guides to be extra careful, which we appreciated, it helped us feel more secure in the THRONGS of people, so we enjoyed it more. There is security there, but the theives are professionals, believe me, our guides told us some of the stories about what lengths they will go through to steal from you.