Caution: Cruising alone

[Shogun]

Hi Rickek

 

Tradition, remember the days, only once have I been announced for dinner,

 

do not think you could do it today.

 

yours Shogun

[Mary Ellen1]

Why on earth do they put names on the doors in the first place? I don't know other cruiselines who do that.

 

Totally agree... DH & I had that conversation many times last month while we were on the Emerald. It really struck us, walking up & down the halls, what a crazy thing that is to do. Hotels don't do that! I think, in this day & age, it's a security issue. Anyone who needs to know your name -- friends, family, Stewart, etc. -- can quite easily find you by cabin number.

[Sauvignon]

I appreciate that this is a concern for some but Toto and Pam struck the right balance here. Also, others mentioned that 'names on the door' add a certain something to the cruise experiance. I completely aggree.

 

A couple of points here. Many ladies live alone and will execise appropriate caution so for example would not open the door to strangers - stateroom doors have spyholes so this practice ought to be the norm.

The ship is a community in which each and every person is known - their name and passport number etc. is held on record. In the event that an incident were to occur, the ship could be 'locked down' until investigations had identified the perpetrator. This is not possible in towns and cities with wholly transient populaions.

 

There is a place for caution but not for paranoia or even worry.

[Coral]

Totally agree... DH & I had that conversation many times last month while we were on the Emerald. It really struck us, walking up & down the halls, what a crazy thing that is to do. Hotels don't do that! I think, in this day & age, it's a security issue. Anyone who needs to know your name -- friends, family, Stewart, etc. -- can quite easily find you by cabin number.

 

I personally find it helpful to find friends' cabins.

 

Heck - on my Crystal cruise a few years ago, they gave us all a list of all the passengers on the ship along with their home city (maybe more info then that, I can't remember). Many cruise lines used to do this years ago.

[Crusin6]

They put the full name of the pasenger on the door?:confused:

 

my thoughts exactly

[pablo222]

Totally agree... DH & I had that conversation many times last month while we were on the Emerald. It really struck us, walking up & down the halls, what a crazy thing that is to do. Hotels don't do that! I think, in this day & age, it's a security issue. Anyone who needs to know your name -- friends, family, Stewart, etc. -- can quite easily find you by cabin number.

 

 

So, as you enter your cabin for the first time, spend 14 nanoseconds

reaching over and removing the name tag.

 

It would probably take less time than typing a post about it.

[1337mom]

Just to be clear my sister did not panic or let it ruin her trip. She reported it to the proper folks and suggested first names be dropped from the nameplate.

She did open the door - but was able to shut and lock it and was not bothered again. My sister has taken several cruises alone and never had this problem. I just thought it was a good thing to throw this out there to caution women traveling solo to be aware.

[RickEk]

 

There is a place for caution but not for paranoia or even worry.

 

Well said...

[chamima]

Tradition... it personalizes the cruising experience. Apparently in the old days they used to distribute guest lists with folk's addresses and phone numbers at the end of the cruise! :eek:

 

I remember that! We liked it because you could get in touch with people after the cruise (if you had forgotten to get info on the cruise as I often do :( ) I DO understand that that wouldn't be so safe today.

 

 

Why on earth do they put names on the doors in the first place? I don't know other cruiselines who do that.

 

 

We went on our first Celebrity cruise last year and I didn't even notice there were no names on the doors until I tried to find someone we had made plans with to tell them we couldn't come. I knew they were on my floor near the front of the ship but that didn't help much! I also only knew first names from our Roll Call so never was able to tell them.

My suggestion would be to take that name tag to the Purser's desk the first day and either ask to have first name removed or ask to have a male name added - and explain why.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I hope someone can tell me this is not a common occurrence.

 

I leave in a few days for a solo Princess cruise, and this story has me quite worried.:(

 

Just be cautious. I have cruised 3 times by myself and have had no difficulty.

 

If someone knocks on the door, look through the peephole first. I will only open my door for ship personnel. (they do announce themselves when they knock).

 

Please have a wonderful cruise.

[west coast cruiser]

I have traveled Solo several times. The name on the door has concerned me a bit but I have never removed it. As others have mentioned, be aware of your surroundings and keep your door double bolted.

WCC

[Pam in CA]

Very good ideas about removing or using first initial and last name on the name tags. Actually last night, I watched some show called "Vanished Along With Natalie Holloway" or something like that. It was about Amy Bradley who vanished off the Rhapsody of the Seas in 1998. Apparently she left her room in the wee hours of the morning, they think to meet someone, and was never to be seen again. Parents could not stop the cruise line from letting passengers off the ship when they docked in Curacao to conduct a thorough search of the ship. She was last seen with a base player and subsequently some pix of someone similar to her have appeared on the internet in an unsavory manner. Anyway, you are all right. Best to always be cautious, not paranoid.

There is danger no matter whether you are in your own home or on foreign soil. I have no doubt that there are villains on ships or on shore, but people make poor choices all the time and there can be unfortunate consequences. No one ever deserves to have something bad happen to them but if you put yourself in harm's way, stuff can happen. This is why you are warned to never go into the crew quarters but some ladies, and young girls, do anyway. As said, you need to be smart and careful, not paranoid.

[WeBeGone]

I have a habit of reading the blog 'Cruise Law News', its interesting to see the other side of cruising. quote]

 

What an interesting blog. Thank you.

[CZEE]

My sister was recently travelling alone on a Princess ship thru the Panama Canal.

First night had a knock on the door at 5am. When she was able to find her robe and get up the "knocker" had left. No sooner back to bed when there was another knock. This time a man was there inquiring if she wanted company. She reported this, but they were not able to do anything. She did make the observation that Princess sholud not put the full name of the passenger on the door - so that one could not tell, by looking, that there was a single woman travelling alone.

 

Sorry that happened. Unfortunate.

 

I keep a camera out in my room for just these sorts of situations. It could have been useful here. The picture could have been compared to the pics of crew and pax. There is the danger that the person could get violent, though, so discretion is needed. Predators everywhere. Beware.

 

I do think that Princess should not put salutations on the room labels--intials and last name should be sufficient. If all else fails--remove the labels.

[Ashryn]

was your sister on the Coral Princess and blonde?

 

Any particular reason you ask this?

[FawnRiver]

[quote name='WeBeGone'][quote name='FawnRiver']I have a habit of reading the blog 'Cruise Law News', its interesting to see the other side of cruising. quote]

What an interesting blog. Thank you.[/QUOTE]
You're welcome. Every story has two sides and many opinions.