Do NOT become to complacent as we did :O(

[pablo222]

We have sail almost 50 cruises on almost every cruiseline. We have heard of many different types of bad incidents but it always the other guy.

 

This has never happened to me, but I always assumed it did happen.

 

But, if you read cruise critic, people don't care.

 

If someone asks if their ipad will fit it the safe, others start bragging

about how much the leave out.

 

"I always leave my ipad on the desk"

"I always leave my ipad and camera on the desk"

"I always leave my ipad, camera, and wallet on the desk"

 

It's pretty funny.

 

I usually bring a lot of camera gear. I bring a pelican underwater

case which I keep locked. And, I secure the case to the bed frame

with a cable. I know that someone with tools could steal it

easily, but it does block the opportunistic thieves.

[Corfe Mixture]

Obviously I have every sympathy for the OP, who was betrayed by a system which allowed the theft to take place.

 

However, our experience is that, whilst I am sure there are exceptions to any rule, In truth it was probably unlikely that it was the cabin steward as they have just too much to lose in terms of employment.

 

We have a slightly different story which happened last Christmas on Island Princess. I have a navigation plotter program on the iPad and had gone to dinner and left it attached, on a window mount, to the inside of the balcony doors adjacent to our bed having made a conscious decision not to attach it to the balcony doors in lounge area simply because I thought it was less vulnerable in that location.

 

As it happens, I was wrong and the cabin steward accidentally dislodged it whilst turning down the bed and it fell screen down onto the aluminium frame of the balcony doors damaging both the glass cover and the LCD screen.

 

When we returned from dinner, our cabin steward was waiting outside to explain what had happened and was clearly distressed as he thought it was his fault and was clearly fearful of the consequences and had already contacted his superior

 

We appreciated not only his honesty, but also the fact that he had made sure that he told us of the incident before we discovered it for ourselves.

 

Fortunately because we don't like the modern concept of 'someone having to be to blame' we carry gadget accidental damage insurance, albeit subject to a £25 ($40) excess.

 

However, when I told him that he was not to worry and that I carried accidental damage insurance simply to ensure that we do not have to worry about these things you could see the relief on his face particularly when I said we were not to discuss the matter again.

 

Clearly he reported our response back to his superior as the next day she contacted us and thanked us for our attitude, but that is not the point of this story.

 

The real point is that the cabin steward was fundamentally honest. He could easily have ignored the accident which happened when he was on one side of a curtain and the iPad was the other, but he made sure that he told us what had happened before we discovered it ourselves and that was something we appreciated very much.

 

That is not, of course to say that all staff are that honest but, compared with what they can earn in their own country, for most of them it is an extremely well rewarded job which most are keen not to lose and is why I rather suspect that the dodgy employees very quickly get weeded out, which is why the OP's sad episode, whilst very real for them, is hopefully a very rare event.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Corfe Mixture

[MrJulius]

Get a Pacsafe...

 

 

• Nylon
  
• High-tensile stainless exomesh is laminated between the outer and inner fabric with 3 mm cable closure system provides 360 protective cell
  
• Integrated locking device provides a strong and durable closure
  
• Drawstring like cable allows portable safe to be locked to stationary object
  

These things are great. The cable wraps around an object and the top locks shut. Wrap the cable around two beach loungers and the thief would have to make off with both chairs. We have used this in hotels, cruise ships, and beach excursions. They are good sized, but roll up to almost nothing for packing into a suitcase or a beach bag for travel.

 

You can get a laptop + Ipad + camera into this at the same time.

 

Thieves are opportunists on a tight schedule. Not many would have the tools and time to go after this.

 

MrJulius

[geoherb]

DH lost his coffee card on last month's Ruby Princess cruise. I found it the last day as I was doing my last check of the cabin. It had fallen between the nightstand and bed. There were only two punches left, but he'll use them on our next Princess cruise.

[Shippy]

How horrible. My sympathies to the op.

 

Any travel lodging needs to be suspect. We were staying at a five star hotel in England and came back to find our door open, no housekeeping nearby.

 

I understand the tendency to want to blame the cabin steward. However, as multiple posters have noted, cabin doors are often propped open. The consequences for theft as a crew member as severe. With respect, a watch and an ipad don't seem to merit enough return, for a crew member to risk getting black balled by the industry and no longer able to support family members through employment.

 

The security camera comment puzzled me. I didn't think the ship was required to show passengers the camera footage nor would they want to discuss security concerns (ie placement) with passengers, only law enforcement. There is no "proof" the goods were stolen, though of course I believe the op. The whole response seems odd.

 

An Ipad would seem a stupid thing to put one's job in harm's way. I want to assume our cabin stewardess had nothing to do with it. She has been with the company 18 years. I realize how harsh the penalties on a ship are. I spoke up for her to her boss. He assured me unless the was hard evidence against her, nothing would happen to her.

As far as security...or lack there of....They showed me the log of everyone who had entered the room with a key. Of course this would not include anyone entering while the door was left open or the crew that were working on our balcony.

Perhaps they are obligated to answer you honesty when given direct questions. When I demanded to see the hallway videos, I was told there are NO CAMERAS in any of the hallways. Only in the public meeting areas.

As far as no proof 'goods were stolen'....they were... but of course I also understand that.

If they replaced things everytime someone said their things were taken...people would constantly make claims........but...

Be Prepared For What Happens As Soon As You Report A Theft.....

Just in case you 'misplaced'your items.......3 security immediately came to our room and searched it. They emptyed out our laundry bag, took the mattress off the bed, pulled all furniture away from the walls, looked in my purse, our suitcases, every pocket in my husbands clothes,etc......of course they asked if they could...you have to say yes to have an investigation done.

[more cruises]

Another good reason to buy travel insurance.

 

Mike:)

 

If you get travel insurance be sure to read all the fine print. Most policies are secondary. They only pay after you have already made a claim on your homeowners insurance. They also want you to have receipts for everything you are claiming. Travel insurance is often not the great savior most people think it is.

[bhopal21]

Of course you should know what you are buying anytime you shop for insurance (this also goes for your homeowner's) but that still does not negate the need for travel insurance considering the very reasonable rates and expanded coverage offered.

 

Mike:)

[Colo Cruiser]

An Ipad would seem a stupid thing to put one's job in harm's way. I want to assume our cabin stewardess had nothing to do with it. She has been with the company 18 years. I realize how harsh the penalties on a ship are. I spoke up for her to her boss. He assured me unless the was hard evidence against her, nothing would happen to her.

As far as security...or lack there of....They showed me the log of everyone who had entered the room with a key. Of course this would not include anyone entering while the door was left open or the crew that were working on our balcony.

Perhaps they are obligated to answer you honesty when given direct questions. When I demanded to see the hallway videos, I was told there are NO CAMERAS in any of the hallways. Only in the public meeting areas.

As far as no proof 'goods were stolen'....they were... but of course I also understand that.

If they replaced things everytime someone said their things were taken...people would constantly make claims........but...

Be Prepared For What Happens As Soon As You Report A Theft.....

Just in case you 'misplaced'your items.......3 security immediately came to our room and searched it. They emptyed out our laundry bag, took the mattress off the bed, pulled all furniture away from the walls, looked in my purse, our suitcases, every pocket in my husbands clothes,etc......of course they asked if they could...you have to say yes to have an investigation done.

 

They will most likely search any crew members cabin that had access to your cabin as well.

[hllwdcruiser]

I just want to thank the OP for relaying the warning. On our last cruise we always locked up our jewelry, wallets, passports etc in the safe but I often carelessly left my iPad out in the open in the cabin when we went out. Going forward, it, along with our camera, will be locked up whenever we leave the cabin.

[FritzG]

I hope the stewards will be more careful about keeping cabins locked while they're servicing them. We've often gone into an open cabin while it is being cleaned if we needed to talk to our steward and never given it a thought. But if the steward has the cabin door open, and he is in the bathroom with water running anyone could come in and steal things.

[Mrs.Gosse]

First time cruiser so I am so glad you posted this. I leave everything just laying out in hotel rooms and have never once had a problem so I know I would have behaved that way on the ship as well. This really upsets me.

[Bowie MeMe]

Antwerp is in Belgium, not in Austria. Austria is land locked and hence have no cruise port.

 

Theo

 

Sent from my GT-P7510

 

Hey Renmar hi! Been awhile since I have been on the Princess board. I am still using your OOV pictures and checked on a cabin last week. Again thanks!

 

Yeah I rearranged the European geography a bit there. The cruise that ended in Antwerp was a wonderful river cruise to see the tulips in Holland and ended with a land trip in Paris. Really taught a reality lesson -- don't let your guard down because it seems calm and deserted and the thief jumped on one car and off the other to look like they were just arriving and one distracted by asking a question and the other worked his way down the line. Another reality lesson is that a bad thing can happen but don't let it ruin the whole trip or keep you from enjoying your travel. S%#$ happens and then you replace and get over it.

[5:00_Somewhere]

I also want to say that I'm very sorry you had this experience, Shippy, and I also want to thank you for your very thoughtful post. Like you - and many others who have posted - I must admit that we've gotten pretty complacent, especially aboard ship. In retrospect, it's sort of funny that I take precautions in hotel rooms but let that all fly right out the window once we board a ship; possibly because we almost feel like we're coming home every time and because, like you, we've been fortunate not to have had anything stolen or misplace ... yet. I will take your story to heart on our next trip, and be more careful. Thanks again for your words of caution.

[AJs Grandpa]

Get a Pacsafe...

 

 

• Nylon
  
• High-tensile stainless exomesh is laminated between the outer and inner fabric with 3 mm cable closure system provides 360 protective cell
  
• Integrated locking device provides a strong and durable closure
  
• Drawstring like cable allows portable safe to be locked to stationary object
  

These things are great. The cable wraps around an object and the top locks shut. Wrap the cable around two beach loungers and the thief would have to make off with both chairs. We have used this in hotels, cruise ships, and beach excursions. They are good sized, but roll up to almost nothing for packing into a suitcase or a beach bag for travel.

 

You can get a laptop + Ipad + camera into this at the same time.

 

Thieves are opportunists on a tight schedule. Not many would have the tools and time to go after this.

 

MrJulius

 

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one from Amazon for $100. Cheap insurance. BTW, there are many items in the Pacsafe brand. This one appears to be the 12L.

[CruisinMinnie]

Thanks for the heads up. We'll certainly be more careful from now on. I can see how someone walking by an open cabin door can walk right in while the steward is distracted, and take something.

 

I don't even want someone walking into my room while the steward is in there to speak to him or her. After all, it is my 'home away from home', and to think that a stranger could walk in, uninvited by me, is distressing.

Edited April 16, 2014 by CruisinMinnie

[coconut cruiser]

Jewelry and electronics are not the only things that get stolen. We were on a cruise with our son and his wife. They came back from a shore excursion and quickly dressed for dinner. when they got back to the cabin their brand new Crocs (sandals) were missing. They knew they had them because they did not walk back on the ship barefoot. This shows that you can't lock everything up.

[fairsky1984]

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one from Amazon for $100. Cheap insurance. BTW, there are many items in the Pacsafe brand. This one appears to be the 12L.

 

I'm very interested in this product, but perhaps a dumb question. Give me some ideas on where/how you would anchor it, both in a hotel room and a ship stateroom. I'm trying to envision where, since a bed leg could be easily lifted to remove this pack. Just not "seeing" where to secure it. Perhaps to the back of an anchored TV? Help. :o

[bhopal21]

We've often gone into an open cabin while it is being cleaned if we needed to talk to our steward and never given it a thought.

 

I can't imagine walking into someone else's cabin.

 

If I needed to speak with the steward I would call him out into the hallway.

 

Mike:)

[AJs Grandpa]

Perhaps to the back of an anchored TV? Help. :o

 

I'm thinking this is a good place. Nothing is totally secure, someone would have to loosen the bolt holding the TV to allow the bag to slip off. That's possible, but as another poster said, the idea is to slow down a thief preventing a quick grab-and-go.

 

I've taken many cruises but never studied the bed frame. I also thought of wrapping it around the side rail holding the mattress.

 

Finally, I like it for hotels without an in-room safe. I've known folks who have secured their laptops by wrapping the security cable around the commode. I'm not sure I would do that, but, again, with a little ingenuity there are several ways to slow down someone looking for a quick score.

[Colo Cruiser]

I can't imagine walking into someone else's cabin.

 

If I needed to speak with the steward I would call him out into the hallway.

 

Mike:)

 

 

I feel quilty just looking into one to see if Stewart is there. :eek:

[Thrak]

I hope the stewards will be more careful about keeping cabins locked while they're servicing them. We've often gone into an open cabin while it is being cleaned if we needed to talk to our steward and never given it a thought. But if the steward has the cabin door open, and he is in the bathroom with water running anyone could come in and steal things.

 

I can't imagine walking into someone else's cabin.

 

If I needed to speak with the steward I would call him out into the hallway.

 

Mike:)

 

I'm with you! I was appalled when I read that. Nobody has the right to enter my cabin without my express permission. This sounds like a great way for someone to scope out a cabin to see if there's anything worth coming back for.

[bhopal21]

I feel quilty just looking into one to see if Stewart is there. :eek:

 

Absolutley!

 

Mike:)

[JudithLynne]

I also noticed this one on Amazon: Travelon Anti-Theft Lock-Down Bag

 

We bought Travelon fanny packs thru Amazon and were very impressed and they were only $20 each.

 

The question remains, what would you adhere

the bag to?

Edited April 17, 2014 by JudithLynne

[bhopal21]

A towel bar, the drain pipe under the sink?

 

Mike:)

[JudithLynne]

Good suggestions!