CocktailPrincess

16 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Well over half of the posts in this thread aren't what you asked for opinions on but you call me out?  Maybe it isn't because you didn't ask for that opinion but because that opinion was that you acted in a dangerous way.  

Sorry if you felt called out, as I know other people have said similar.

In all honesty I've had enough, I feel like my conduct is being called into question, and I'm having a hard enough time as it is (I keep going over the situation it's keeping me up at night) without this thread making me feel worse.

Can I shut this thread down? I got the answer I needed to my op and now it's just making me go over and over it all again, Im ready to just move on, as it's clear I can't do anything about it.

27 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

IMO, if you find yourself in a position where you are telling a stranger that they are rude and pathetic, even if they are, you are asking for trouble.  A better course of action would have been to just get up and leave when the jerk lit his joint.  From that point forward you should know there will be no good outcome by engaging.  It doesn't excuse what the jerk did, but it is still asking for trouble.  As, sadly, OP found out.

Thanks, but this isn't what I asked for opinions on!

14 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Another item:  Are you assuming that, because he rolled in front of you, that it was a joint?  I still know people who roll their own ciggies.  Did it definitely have that "aroma"?   Just wanting to check, because if the guy told Security it was tobacco, they probably ignored that part and figured that you baited him into tossing the glass with your comments.  

 

Not accusing, just adding another possible piece.

Yes I know the difference. 

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

In similar circumstances, the Purser or I would meet with the complainant, advising we followed up on the information provided, identified the alleged offended and have taken appropriate action.

 

As part of the meeting with the alleged offender, they would be advised to have no further contact with the complainant, so the complainant would be advised to contact a crew member immediately, if they encounter the alleged offender again.

 

We took the time to respond effectively to the complainant and endeavoured to ensure they were satisfied with our response and felt safe. However, privacy laws prevented me from providing any details, as unfortunately perpetrators also have rights.

Yes that sounds good, but I saw him several times again and he was laughing at me. They certainly didn't say he had to stay away from me.

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I am curious: what would you like to have seen done to him?

Maybe banned from that cruise line.

Everyone I met on the ship (the ten people at my dinner table) all thought he should have been disembarked.

Just now, navybankerteacher said:

Yes,  but without knowing the content of that chat you should not assume that nothing was done. If they had made it clear to him that any further problems involving him would put him off the ship, for example, that would have been something.  Privacy laws need to be observed.

I can't explain it, but the way they were with me and the offhandness etc I could just tell they were not interested and didn't do anything, it took 4 days from the incident till then telling me, he had been located and spoken too.

1 minute ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, as with everything these days, "Privacy Laws" must always be considered. As part of the EU, I suspect Italy, as the Flag State, has rigorous privacy laws, which may restrict any information provided to you. 

Yes, but I'm sure as a valued passenger they would have at least assured me, that even if they couldn't tell me what, that something was done and I was safe....but clearly nothing was done As they basically told me all they could do was chat with him.

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I believe there is the possibility that the offender has been dealt with, and management did not consider it appropriate to pass that information along to you.  

They wouldn't want me to to feel safe?? 

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I say to the OP - Wow - I am shocked at this and how this man reacted to your concern and right to be in a non-smoking area.  You were completely within your rights to say what you did and you should expect that the passenger would appreciate the situation and put the joint out.

 

However - with all due respect - what I have learned in the last few years (or more) is when there is something happening that is against the rules or just plain wrong, I leave the area and don't say a word.  I just up and leave.  We don't know today how anyone will react.  We have violence happening all over the place today.

 

This man obviously felt entitled and you challenged his entitlement to be there smoking a joint.  

I understand and appreciate your situation and your desire for retribution, but next time, please, just walk away and protect yourself.  

 

 

I understand what a few people have said that walking away is often best. I agree on some level, but I also have a strong desire to stand up for what is right. Often at home I do just walk away as I never know what someone is capable of. 

The trouble is on a crowded cruise ship, being unwell with a chest infection, it had taken a lot of effort to find a quiet spot away from smokers, and honestly I didn't want or really have the energy to move.  

I guess I felt safer on a cruise ship, knowing they are unlikely to have weapons and knowing they can't run away.

11 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

If there are cameras something must have been wrong with them because the OP was asked to ID the perpetrator from a selection of photos. The OP even said the first selection of photos were of black and Asian men when they specified it was a white man. If there was video then the staff should not have made that mistake🤷‍♀️. 

Exactly, they just heard what they wanted and were clearly racially profiling, it was so awkward, I kept saying he was white! So they finally stopped showing us photos and said come back tomorrow, and then they had pics of white men, I identified him on the 2nd picture

16 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

On a major line like Costa, I find it very unlikely that the only working cameras were in the casino.  In fact, there's no way that's true.  Nowadays, almost every square inch of public space is captured on one camera or another.  

We looked everywhere... There really were none, except casino - none in corridors or lifts, none in public areas unless they had heavily invested in hidden cameras! Which I doubt on this 20 year old ship

16 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

 

The only caveat I'll add to this is.....the U.S. SMTJ (Special Maritime & Territorial Jurisdiction) goes all the way to the baseline of the US, which basically means the shoreline.  Once inside a harbor or river, it's exclusive state jurisdiction.  

 

The U.S. has laws on the books for simple assaults in the SMTJ.  What is actually responded to the most by U.S. authorities (FBI and USCG-CGIS) is allegations of sexual assault.  

 

This doesn't help the OP much because of their nationality and ship's flag state.  However, video of the incident should exist.  A formal complaint to the cruise line for lack of action should be filed so they can look in to it further.

I wish there was video, but afterwards we looked and the only cameras onboard that we could see were in the casino

Also I just remembered, I asked the ship what I needed to do if I want to involve the police, they said they don't ever involve the police but if I wanted too I would have to do it at next port of call.

Which after all the responses here, I now know was incorrect information

My boyfriend is quite shy and also not good with other languages, so he did try to push it higher, but they pushed back at us harder saying they couldn't do anything.

Interestingly we looked for cameras and the only place on the ship that had CCTV was in the casino.

Just now, ldubs said:

 

I see.  Hard to think he didn't receive at least a strong reprimand.  Ejection from the ship would be appropriate in my opinion.  

That's what I and everyone at my dinner table expected.

On this website is a article '11 ways to get kicked off a cruise'. 

He did 2 of them, bringing on drugs and behaving in a disorderly manor.

22 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

OK, that is just plain head-shaking wrong.  I know folks who if experiencing this might have ended up in more trouble than the graceless knucklehead who spat and threw the drink.  I think you handled it well.   While you were told nothing of the actions taken by ship's security, that doesn't mean actions were not taken.  I would take some solace in that.   

I asked what they were doing and I was told they would speak to him but no action was being taken .

I was very upset by the incident and tried my best to deal with it onboard but my illness on board (which was nothing to do with the assault or the ship) made it harder for me to deal with it whilst on board.

I'll try to address the questions and statements posed by people in their posts now.

I was on Costa Fortuna

To the people who keep mentioning spitting is not assult- that's not what I said the drink in my face was the assault (according to UK laws) 

I totally understand the laws are different at sea, hence me posting in the first place to ask how to report this, obviously I feel  that I was assaulted (I can only go by the laws in my own countrty) and would like to report it to the police, if that was at all possible but I wanted to understand the process as I didn't know and couldn't find an answer via goggle.

In answer to what do I want? I just want to report a crime, I want the man to understand that he shouldn't act like that, it worrys me that he could or already does do a lot worse on land, if he could do that on a ship where he couldn't really hide, what could he do to a girl in a city where he can disappear! 

In response to wanting to know more details of the incident- here goes.

I was sitting with my boyfriend eating food on a high quiet deck, nearest people were 30 metres away, a man came and sat near us, he started to roll a joint, my bf said 'excuse me sir, just so you know this is a non smoking deck' the man shrugged and lit up his joint.

My bf went downstairs to find a staff member to ask him to stop. While he was gone, I told the man I was suffering with a chest infection and had come to an area where I wouldn't breathe in any smoke, so could he please go to a smoking deck. He laughed and blew smoke at me. I got up to move away from the smoke and said he was very rude, he said I was rude for eating outside and not in a restaurant (which was a weird comment as I had got the food from the poolside bar) I was leaning over to the deck below to see if my bf was returning and as I turned back I caught him spitting in my food. I called him pathetic and sarcastically laughed and said his plan didn't work as I had seen what he had done, and wouldn't be touching the food now, he shouted in his own language and then at point blank range threw his drink in my face, i inhaled it and was choking and shouting for my bf as he ran off. 

In response to being told I've learned a valuable lesson- well I respectfully tell you that no I haven't! That response was callous and uncalled for

 I was attacked - regardless of it was actually assult in my vessels country. 

I am 100% aware that rules/laws are different onboard, but I didn't know exactly how, hence my post which clearly asks is there any point in pursuing this. I am not as you put it a  'US cruise passengers simply cannot fathom, that when you set foot on a vessel of another country, your home country's laws, rights, and protections go right overboard'

Maybe  be a little more kind and less condescending to someone asking for advice, especially if that person was attacked, and when they clearly have said in their op they also know it may be possible nothing can be done.

I tried to push it higher onboard, but I had very little energy. The security when called for by the waiter told me to wait, they took 20 mins, if they had come immediately they would have caught him. I told them what happened, and asked them to speak to the nearest people as they saw what happened as witnesses security just said sorry and I should go to reception as he couldn't speak the language of the witnesses, at reception they were shocked I had been sent there and called security back to do a report. They didn't take the witness names or cabins so they were lost as I couldn't remember what they looked like. Then they took 1 day to come back to us with photos of the potential perpetrator, we had described him as white with olive /tan skin, we were shown 10 black & Asian passengers, it took them another day to show as more photos and we identified the man this time.

Then another day later and they say they have found and spoken to him. And that's it, I asked what would happen and told nothing. Even just the fact he was smoking an illegal substance I thought would have meant the ship took it seriously. But obviously not.

I understand after the comments that if I want police involved then I need to do this in Italy, My follow up question would be does anyone speak or read Italian or know if my attack would be against the law in Italy as it is in the UK?

Just now, whogo said:

Did you embark or debark in the USA? If so: https://www.transportation.gov/mission/safety/cruise-line-incident-reports

I didn't, I embarked in Spain, debarked in The Caribbean 

37 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

It's unlikely they would have jurisdiction, Which ship were you on ?

 

This article may help 

 

How Cruise Ships deal with crime at Sea

I did read this last week, but it felt very American based, so was hoping for a UK perspective / legal opinion

7 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

If the ship is registered in the UK and/or the crime took place in UK waters then the UK police will have jurisdiction. Otherwise they wouldn't even get involved in murder.

Thanks, it's registered in Italy

8 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Please note that this is just my opinion and not anything authoritative, but it would seem to me that the responsibility to deal with this would lie with the ship security (and senior staff) as the event took place on board while at sea.  Not sure which land based police would have authority over this.  I would continue to press the ship staff for a response and continue up the chain of authority with the cruise line if necessary.

At what point would they have to involve the police? Murder??

In the UK having a drink thrown at you is common assault...to me that's enough to involve the police. 

The ship took 3 days to find the perpetrator then just 'had a word with him'.

I just got back from a cruise on which I suffered a minor assault, (a man spat in my food when he thought I wasn't looking then when confronted threw a glass of drink in my face)  whist on board in the Atlantic ocean.

The cruise ship didn't take it very seriously and wouldn't report it to the police.

I was sick with a chest infection so I didn't end up getting off at the next port stop a few days later, which is where I presume I should have involved the police.

My question is can I report this to the UK police or is there no point ?

23 minutes ago, Oggiabordo said:

Well congratulations on achieving such an incredible rate for your cruise! These kinds of deals are few and far between these days. 
 

Costa have never, to my knowledge included the service charge in UK pricing. I believe you can now choose to pre pay it, but imagine most choose to leave it and pay later onboard. As others have noted, for bookings made in some other markets, gratuities are included in the fare, and so the fare is usually higher, to reflect this. 

Service  charge / gratuities on Costa are amongst the lowest in the cruise industry, and are mandatory. As a comparison , Royal caribbean charge US$16 per person per day, and Norwegian US$20 per person per day. I have generally found the service on Costa to be outstanding, and way above expectations, relative to the rates charged. As a result I often tip additionally above the mandatory gratuities. 
 

I hope you have a fantastic cruise! I must admit to being rather jealous !
 

 

 

 

 

I totally agree, we had a fab time before. I do think it's a fair amount , I just hadn't budgeted for it, and as my deal was so low it was a bit of a shock .

19 minutes ago, At7Seas said:

 

Apropos EU: here all taxes must be included in the fare. Austria and Germany require that even the service charge is included in the fare. Mentioning up front the amount is not up front enough according to their judges. That’s why I wrote about the service charge “where allowed”. Prices look higher, but aren’t necessarily. Only that the UK, where CocktailPrincess is from, is no longer part of the EU, so local laws are applicable.

Ah that's probably why I don't remember it from last time as i booked when we were in the EU

Yes I've sailed with Costa before and know drinks aren't included. Was prepared to consider a drinks package or pay as I go.

It's my fault really with the tip, I was in a rush to book this amazing price and obviously didn't see the notice.

I think it would be better to just charge it in the price if it's not optional why save it to later.

I guess I must have paid it 3 years ago on my last costa cruise.