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Crime on RCI cruises??????

cbny

By cbny,
in Royal Caribbean International

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cbny

cbny

Posted
Posted

Just a few minutes ago, I saw a very disturbing report on the O'Reilly Factor about crime on RCI cruise ships which many of you may have missed. :eek:

 

While the primary focus of the piece was on the case of the missing/murdered (?) honeymooner, they did mention that there is a lot of other crime, too --- including an average of two rapes or sexual assaults on each ship per month --- with virtually no successful prosecutions because whatever evidence exists is normally quickly cleaned up in order to protect the cruise line. In addition, although other companies have problems too, they singled out RCI in particular for having repeatedly covered up evidence of crimes that have occurred on their ships. Not something I was very happy to learn since I will be going on my first RCI cruise in just a few weeks.

 

Of course, I understand that whenever you have thousands of people in one place with a lot of alcohol consumption added to the mix, problems can and will occur. However, I honestly had no idea that security was so lax or that cruise companies would work against the interests of their customers in such a serious way. I guess I am just naive. :(

 

Anyway, since there are a lot of experienced cruisers here, does anyone know if there really is a lot to be afraid of? Also, as someone who is a bit of an insomniac and who frequently roams around the ship at all hours, am I putting myself at risk? Do I really have to stay in my cabin when I would rather be playing minigolf, going for a swim or doing anything else that is open 24/7 while I am on a cruise vacation???? Or do I have to treat this like a land vacation where I would certainly think twice before roaming around late at night?

 

Like everyone else here at CC, I absolutely love cruising and I am counting the days until my next trip, but I don't want to be an ostrich with my head in the sand if there really is something to be concerned about.

 

Your thoughts? :confused:

 

Best to all,

Carrie

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gfsu

gfsu

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wow, add me to the list of 10+ no crime to report, you have to remember there are 2000 - 3000 people on a ship so there is a possibility but please I feel safer then I would any day at home.

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Erie Dave

Erie Dave

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Don't drink too much, go somewhere with someone you don't know, do something you wouldn't do sober, regret it in the morning, and report it as a crime later.

A lot of people need to take responsibility for their actions. Bad things do happen, there is, I am sure, assault from time to time. I refuse to believe, however, that if an assault really happened, that it was not investigated. Between the internet conection on the ships, cell phones and ship to shore communications, you can contact whoever you need to if you are not getting the support you need on the ship. I believe a lot of these reports of crimes are very unsupported. Out of control people do stupid things that they regret later and some of them feel better about it by blaming someone else.

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Alexis

Alexis

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We have done 21 cruises. The last 7 of them on RCCL. Our 8th with RCCL is next year.

I have never heard, nor seen, anything on RCCL or any other line I have cruised on that has ever made me feel unsafe. What I have seen is too many young people who drink too much and then follow one another to cabins of passengers they have just met on the cruise. That can lead to trouble. You also witness many of the younger crowd making passes at the crew, and the crew looking at them too.

There was a cruise we took where across the hall from us were 4 young men. When I say that the empty bottles that the cabin attendant cleared out of their cabin every morning was enough to stock the liquor store, that is the best way to describe it. :eek: Every morning, noon and night two young ladies who were on the cruise alone, would come loudly knocking on their door and ask to hang out with them. Things like that make for an accident waiting to happen.

Enjoy your cruise and do not believe everything you hear on the TV.

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cbny

cbny

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Thanks for the feedback. My common sense tells me that you are right, and I certainly felt safe on my previous cruises, which admittedly were not on RCI. Hopefully, the same will be true on my next cruise in Sept.

 

I guess the reason for my concern is that the big case in the news (regarding the honeymooner) seems not to have been handled in a very responsible way by the cruise line, so it makes you wonder what else they are unresponsive to or are trying to cover up. :confused:

 

Carrie

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Diane&4girls

Diane&4girls

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Honestly, I feel safer on ships than I do in my hometown. I allow my teens to stay out until midnight if they're with a group of friends and remain in the teen area, but at home, they go no where without me. Yes, I worry, but not as much as I would if they were on the streets of Charlotte.

 

We use common sense and never go places with people we don't know. I, occasionally, do things I don't normally do, like flirt... wink...

 

So far, none of us have been robbed, beaten, or raped.

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jwlane

jwlane

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average of two rapes or sexual assaults on each ship per month

 

You believe everything you see on TV?

 

Anyone with the least amount of common sense would realize that is ridiculous. That level of frequency would be widely reported and investigated.

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cbny

cbny

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I wouldn't go walking the decks at night by yourself (when it is dark). I started to do that and freeked myself out and when back inside.

 

So I shouldn't be doing that? Sometimes when my DH is sleeping and I am able to sleep, I go off to the library or Internet cafe on the ship until I feel tired. (No drinking or anything like that.) Honestly, it has never freaked me out to walk the decks even very late at night. Again, maybe I am naive. Do most of you think I should be scared and nix that behavior? :confused:

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2cruiseagain

2cruiseagain

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I would imagine that the statistics on cruise ships are probably similar to those in society as a whole on average.

 

I would agree with that. But, I would think they would be like a very safe city in society. Even Mayberry had some bad guys, and if you were foolish enough, you could get in trouble.

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cbny

cbny

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You believe everything you see on TV?

 

Anyone with the least amount of common sense would realize that is ridiculous. That level of frequency would be widely reported and investigated.

 

Of course I don't believe everything I see on TV, but in this case, I think it all depends on your definition of sexual assault. For example, if someone had been drinking and engaged in activity which they came to regret in the morning, they could claim they had been assaulted. I don't know what you think, but it seems to me that kind of thing must happen a lot. Having an average of two cases of that nature (or others similar to those mentioned above) each month does not seem farfetched to me.

 

P.S. For what it's worth, "Anyone with the least amount of common sense" is a bit condescending, IMHO. There are more civil ways to speak to one another, and I would hope we could do that here.

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evildiva

evildiva

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You believe everything you see on TV?

 

Anyone with the least amount of common sense would realize that is ridiculous. That level of frequency would be widely reported and investigated.

 

Do you just post to be rude and make people feel stupid??? Your last post on another topic was rude as well.

 

Just be aware of your surroundings and act like you are in a city, technically you are on a city on the sea. Relax and do your normal activities, you will be fine!

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hermang

hermang

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Just a few minutes ago, I saw a very disturbing report on the O'Reilly Factor about crime on RCI cruise ships which many of you may have missed. :eek:

 

While the primary focus of the piece was on the case of the missing/murdered (?) honeymooner, they did mention that there is a lot of other crime, too --- including an average of two rapes or sexual assaults on each ship per month --- with virtually no successful prosecutions because whatever evidence exists is normally quickly cleaned up in order to protect the cruise line. In addition, although other companies have problems too, they singled out RCI in particular for having repeatedly covered up evidence of crimes that have occurred on their ships. Not something I was very happy to learn since I will be going on my first RCI cruise in just a few weeks.

 

Of course, I understand that whenever you have thousands of people in one place with a lot of alcohol consumption added to the mix, problems can and will occur. However, I honestly had no idea that security was so lax or that cruise companies would work against the interests of their customers in such a serious way. I guess I am just naive. :(

 

Anyway, since there are a lot of experienced cruisers here, does anyone know if there really is a lot to be afraid of? Also, as someone who is a bit of an insomniac and who frequently roams around the ship at all hours, am I putting myself at risk? Do I really have to stay in my cabin when I would rather be playing minigolf, going for a swim or doing anything else that is open 24/7 while I am on a cruise vacation???? Or do I have to treat this like a land vacation where I would certainly think twice before roaming around late at night?

 

Like everyone else here at CC, I absolutely love cruising and I am counting the days until my next trip, but I don't want to be an ostrich with my head in the sand if there really is something to be concerned about.

 

Your thoughts? :confused:

 

Best to all,

Carrie

First of all - consider a cruise ship as a small town - You have the "residents" as in crew and the tourists as in passengers. So anything that happens on a cruise ship could happen in a small town.

 

Add the alcohol factor and people who are on vacation and let their guard down and of course "STUFF HAPPENS"

 

Do the cruise lines cover it up - I seriously doubt that a captain would risk his career and his reputation to cover up a major crime especially if it is Crew against Passenger. There was a case where a crew member stabbed an other crew member - it didn't make the papers but it was not hushed up

either,

 

In the case of the "possible crime" aboard the Brilliance - I saw a current affair tonight - SMARMY reporting at best but if the view of the bloodstain was true then I think a crime was committed. I personally resent the reported from A Current Affair soliciting on these boards for "FODDER" for their news program.

 

We have been on 10 cruises and the worst we have seen are obnoxious passengers and worse teenagers. Of course some of the blackmail photos of folks comming back from the RumRunner cruise could be worth BIG BUCKS.

 

DON'T SWEAT IT

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rubrrick

rubrrick

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We are headed out on our 33rd cruise next month. A short one, yes, but it's still a cruise.

 

I met my wife of 9 years on the original Pacific Princess, known then as the "Love Boat". Times were different back then, but even today, if we want to walk the decks at midnight or 1PM, frequently we run into crew members also walking. I have been asked on more than one occasion by a crew member if I needed anything. I think that the crew, overall, is very watchful, and both my DW and I feel very safe, day and night, on RCCL.

 

Absolutely, there are some problems aboard cruise ships. I remember a case when the Legend was headed for Hawaii in '03 and someone put a note in a ladies public bathroom, that there was a bomb aboard. The captain stayed offshore in Hilo, while the FBI and other local athorities came aboard, and the Legend missed other stops while steaming directly to Honolulu, where she anchored off shore for a complete investigation. It turns out that the girl was taken on the cruise by her parents to get her away from a boyfriend that they did not like, and she rebelled with the note. I believe that she is still in Jail in California for the socalled "prank".

 

The captains take their job very seriously. I listened to O'Rielly tonight. If the stories were true as he says (I think O'Rielly is right more than he is wrong, and I'm a Factor guy) there would be many more investigations and convictions then we know.

 

With all that is going on in the world today, I repeat, I feel safe, day and night on RCCL!:)

 

Rick

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