Question about photography

[Laurie S.]

I have $3,000 worth of underwater camera equipment that travels with me. Just keep it out of sight when you're not in the room. It's not the room stewards you need to worry about, it's the people who might walk by the open door when the room is being cleaned.

[CrazyJess]

My camera bag isn't a camera bag - it's a Timbuk2 bag that works great and doesn't scream MY CAMERA IS IN HERE!

Good idea! Hope it will help. Thank you!

[donaldsc]

I leave everything out where it is convenient for me. The only time it is ever moved is when the steward straightens my stuff out so that it is neater.

 

In the extremely unlikely event that something is taken, I figure that it just God telling me that I need new stuff.

 

It is important in life not to be owned by our stuff but to own our stuff.

 

DON

[Steviewonder1]

Never had an issue and nothing missing. I do put laptops in drawers under clothes and money in the safe that requires a Credit Card to open not punch buttons. To help protect the push button safes press all the buttons a couple of times. The BG's will use a dusting powder to see which 4 buttons you used for your combo and then start running those numbers to open the safe. Cameras I keep with me as if in the cabin they cannot take the pictures of what I see!

[CPT Trips]

iPad, slr and two zooms (wide up and tele) fit in the safe on NCL.

[RockeyBullwinkle]

I'm guessing the cruise line would come down pretty hard on any employee they suspected of stealing something and probably come down on the room steward for not keeping a proper eye on everything under his care. This will be our first cruise in a number of years but I use to travel for work and and pleasure and have never bothered to hide anything. where do you think you could really hide anything in a hotel room or a cruise ship? any real thief would simply cut that little cable on those pak safes. they might keep your keep your kids from fooling around with an expensive camera or computer.

[ldubs]

I have $3,000 worth of underwater camera equipment that travels with me. Just keep it out of sight when you're not in the room. It's not the room stewards you need to worry about, it's the people who might walk by the open door when the room is being cleaned.

 

 

Agree, I leave my DSLR in the room, but not sitting out in plain sight where someone would see it if the door was open. I am less worried about a dishonest room steward than I would be a dishonest fellow passenger. Depending on where you are visiting I would be more concerned about "losing" a camera while on an excursion than leaving it in your cabin.

[dsrdsrdsr]

There are no serial thieves among the stewards, because I'm sure that every time a passenger reports something missing, the steward gets a black mark against his record. If it happens too often, his contract won't be renewed.

 

There may be occasional thieves, of course, but I've never come across one.

[Cuizer2]

There are no serial thieves among the stewards, because I'm sure that every time a passenger reports something missing, the steward gets a black mark against his record. If it happens too often, his contract won't be renewed.

 

There may be occasional thieves, of course, but I've never come across one.

 

Obviously this means you don't live in Bell, California and you have never met your state senators.

[NoobCruise]

We had several cameras, laptops, and ipads that we left hidden in our cabin with no problems. DH did have a $3500 laptop stolen fron his executive suite room (need a key card just to get to the floor) at a Crowne Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia though. The hotel denied it, said he must have been careless and left it somewhere else because the key card did not show anyone else entering the room. They refused to do anything. A couple of months later, the Atlanta PD contacted him. They had recovered his laptop in a bunch of stolen goods at the home of one of the Crowne Plaza employees. Coincident? I think not.

 

It's a gamble, but I think most people have no problems with their stuff being messed with in their cabin on the ship.

[TexasCPA]

I leave camera, laptop, etc in the cabin, with no problem

You can tell from my signature tag that we have taken a lot of cruises. Since I have my own company and need to stay in touch, I never travel without my laptop. I enjoy taking pictures too, so I almost always have a very nice Nikon and lens with me. I have never had any issues with any personal items. Ever.

 

On some of these longer cruises, we have become friendly with most of our cabin stewards. Think about it...this is their life...their family's livelihood. Would they risk their family's well-being for a camera? An iPhone? A laptop? Probably not. We HAVE heard of accusations being made against a steward. And thankfully, of the cruiser eventually finding the item(s), coming clean, and the steward being cleared.

 

That being said, if an item is too precious or anonymous (i.e. no serial number or identifying marks) I would exercise caution. We don't leave cash, jewelry, credit cards and the like lying around. That DOES go into the safe.

 

In my opinion, you have a higher probability of picking pick pocketed in port than having something stolen by your steward.

[ducklite]

Detach your lens (and grip if applicable) from the body and they should fit in the safe unless you are using a f/2.8 300mm lens.

 

The other option is to bring a small combination padlock and lock the gear into a suitcase. We've done this at hotels that didn't have an in-room safe.

[SuitCaseBears]

My husband is a journalist and we've traveled with a lot of expensive electronics that couldn't fit in the safe with no problems.

[scapel]

Ok, going on our first cruise in July (Carnival Fascination). I'm a photographer and wouldn't mind bringing one of my cameras (you'd be surprised how little I carry it with me--too much like work!). I know there's a safe in the room but not really big enough for the few things I'd bring. How safe is it to have hidden in the cabin somewhere when not in use? I realize nobody can say for certain but just want to get an idea of whether I should bring one.

 

Thanks.[/QUOT

Rick,

Looks like the biggest problem is carrying it. I would no problem leaving it in the room. I might put it in a suitcase under the bed. Just don't forget where you put it. Sounds like if you had a sunset you wanted to capture you would be heartbroken if you didn't have your big baby with you. You might leave it on board. I once forgot about my $20,000 Rolex and had it stolen off my wrist in a very cool move in Buenos Aires. My fault for forgetting. I always just used it as a watch and forgot about its value. I know good cameras are a target and can be grabbed and gone on a motorcycle anytime.

[the_journeyman]

I've taken my DSLR on every cruise I've been on with no problems. I don't leave blatantly exposed if I leave it in the room. If you can't see it, it's not a temptation. However 90% of the time it's in my hand. I keep the strap wrapped in such a way you couldn't just slip it off in a run or ride by grabbing. I DON'T carry it just slung on my shoulder or around my neck.

 

JM

[ducklite]

I bought one of these for upcoming trips as well. Apparently room safes aren't standard in hotels overseas.

 

I've never stayed in an overseas hotel without one.

[ducklite]

How interesting! I actually thought that the cabins are absolutely safe. I am also going to take my Nikon D7000 and lenses. Of course it’s insured, but I still don’t want to lose it. To tell the truth I’m more worried about the ports in Italy. Is it safe to carry such a camera?

 

Of course. I took my D300 with an 18-200 lens into every port we visited in Italy and all over Rome per-cruise. I carried it by the grip with the strap wrapped around my wrist unless we were someplace where I needn't't worry, like inside the ruins at Pompeii. Good rule of thumb is that if you have to pay to get into the site, once inside it's generally secure.

 

I would not lug a camera and case with a bunch of lenses. That's a good way to become a target.

[sjcruiser]

We carry our DSLR cameras, laptops, tablets and phones with us, and never had a problem with them being taken from the cabin. We tend to keep the phones and tablets in the safe when not in use, and the camera and/or laptop bags hidden out of sight. There are plenty of places to stash the stuff, including those mentioned above, and someone would really have to go looking for it to find it. As stated, the room stewards and staff are very honest, and wouldnt risk there jobs over a customers personal times.