Do you carry a wallet or purse onboard?

[MNfamilycruiser]

There's your answer OP.

 

Pick pocket the room cards, quickly dupe them, go to other folks cabins, crack the safe. Your thief pretty much has all week to use people's credit cards before they will even miss them.

 

Except how does the thief know which room? The cards don't have that information on them. Maybe they do if they get swiped? Like you would have to have something to read them with.

Edited September 15, 2015 by MNfamilycruiser

[BeagleOne]

I don't carry my wallet or a purse onboard. I'm usually wearing shorts with pockets and I'll put my key card in there, along with my camera, and I usually am carrying a book. If I need more things, like sunscreen, glasses, etc., I'll carry a small beach bag. My wallet and phone are locked in the safe.

[SheehanDJ]

Except how does the thief know which room? The cards don't have that information on them. Maybe they do if they get swiped?

 

Follow you to your cabin then lift your card.

[sparks1093]

I'm a mystery author setting my 3rd book (Oliver Twisted) onboard a Dickens- themed cruise. Holland America has been very helpful to me, but I have so many questions - maybe you all can help.

 

The crime in this book involves pickpockets - onboard the ship rather than in port. In my current draft, the thieves steal wallets and take $ and IDs from purses.I've been told that most people don't carry them on the ship - might there be any reason someone would?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

The only time that I carry my wallet is if I am going ashore. When I am onboard the only thing I carry is my sail and sign card. DW does the same with her purse. Those items are securely locked in the cabin safe.

[notentirelynormal]

I just carry my card and maybe a camera. The camera is returned to my room when I'm done with it. The best way to steal valuables on a cruise is when the room steward is cleaning cabins. Often the door will be wide open and someone can dip in quickly and grab something. They try hard not to let that happen but it could. Say he is off getting an extra towel. How about him cleaning the balcony, you dip in, grab the computer sitting on the desk next to the camera and out you go. Less than 1 minute. Of course, were this to happen it is a very good chance that the steward will be investigated and if it happened enough he would be fired. Security would then be on the look out through the vast majority of cameras on board.

 

The vast majority of people will have their passport, money, keys and jewelry in their safe. Maybe you can see about doing a visitor pass when in port. You mention Holland America so I'm not sure about them but Princess has a Bon Voyage experience where for $40 (I think that is the price) you can board the ship, get a tour, have lunch and leave before sail time. There are only a few ports where this can be done with prior approval. I believe you need a passport to board. However, if you can do this you will be free to wander the ship, peak into cabins, talk to crew including the Purser's Desk and shore excursion people. It will give you an insight that will be worth its weight in gold.

Edited September 15, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[sail7seas]

I have an idea........

 

:) Take a cruise and experience that which you are writing about. :)

Nothing like personal experience for authenticity.

[Floridiana]

A very few might - but few enough that any cruiser reading your book would recognize that you haven't really cruised ;)

Jewelry? OR the pickpocket would have to concentrate on people getting on and off the ship - that would be the time people are carrying cash and ID's as they are heading to or from the ports. Or on the tenders?

 

Exactly, when getting off or getting back on. The elevator tends to be crowded then, good opportunity. I think ashore is the better opportunity. Cruise passengers leave the port and are none the wiser where their wallet went.

[MrsPete]

I'm with the majority: A pickpocket would get nothing from me onboard. I never carry a purse and rarely have any cash with me.

 

I agree with the posters who say that a pick pocket could get some goodies from poolside chairs ... but it seems a bit unlikely to me. Your pick pocket is more likely to get "stuff" than cash.

 

The elevators or doorways to the gangplank during embarking /disembarking seems like the most likely site for a pick pocket. People carry money with them for excursions, for food, for souvies.

 

I wonder if you could make him (assuming it is a he?) a jewel thief instead?

 

Another option: Stealing luggage. This could happen easily.

 

- When people arrive at the terminal, they give their luggage to the porters. It arrives hours later at their staterooms, but if no one is IN the room, the stewards just leave the suitcases outside the door.

- On the last night of the cruise, people must pack their suitcases by a certain time -- 11:00? Midnight? -- and must leave their suitcases outside their doors. The stewards collect them, and people are reunited with their luggage the next morning AFTER they leave the ship. Your thief could steal from the hallways, or he could purposefully take the wrong suitcase from the terminal. Or your thief could be a crew member, which means he'd be able to go through suitcases before he sends them on to US Customs.

 

I'll also second an above-poster's advice: If you're to set your book on a cruise ship, you really should experience a cruise. Consider it research!

Edited September 16, 2015 by MrsPete

[Hlitner]

So most of us agree on one point. The OP is trying to write about a subject of which he has no clue! Most good writers spend time learning about their subject and the OP apparently thinks that a post on CC is adequate research. Our suggestion would be that the OP take a dozen cruises (to all parts of the world on multiple cruise lines) and then he will be better equipped to write about the subject.

 

Hank

[GUT2407]

Nope.

 

Wallet goes in the safe inboard.

 

Cruise card goes in a pocket sometimes in a notepad case sometimes just jammed in a pocket.

[GUT2407]

He might get my card, but on many ships my photo comes up when he swipes it, so won't get far anyway.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I personally do not carry my wallet on-board (I keep it in the room safe), BUT when I just embark, the cabins aren't ready, so I would have a wallet on me then. Similarly, when disembarking, I'd have it with me, too. That's the time of opportunity for your Artful Dodger. :)

 

Of course there are some lines (Princess for one) on which you can go straight to your cabin.

A very few might - but few enough that any cruiser reading your book would recognize that you haven't really cruised ;)

Jewelry? OR the pickpocket would have to concentrate on people getting on and off the ship - that would be the time people are carrying cash and ID's as they are heading to or from the ports. Or on the tenders?

 

As I said on the other thread you started, if knowledgeable cruisers are reading your books and thinking, this isn't right, they may just put down your book. If you want to write about something happening on a cruise, why not just take a cruise or two? Otherwise the credibility of your writing gets called into question, especially with more and more people going on cruises all the time.

[notentirelynormal]

LOL. The guy is basing his book on a cruise - but he can't take a cruise before the deadline which means the book should be almost done, right? He wants to know if cruise passengers can go by a different name on board (because he is so famous). This book is guaranteed to be a flop just like his research!

 

Thanks - that's exactly the info I was looking for. And no, sadly I can't take a cruise before my book deadline, though Holland America did give me a personal tour of one of their ships!

An additional question - do people wear nametags onboard for any reason?

 

If he has had a personal tour you would think he would know the answers to these questions unless they just let him wander on his own.

Edited September 16, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[GUT2407]

Maybe pickpocket the card and burgle the room.

 

Just a thought.

[Cruisin' Chick]

There's your answer OP.

 

Pick pocket the room cards, quickly dupe them, go to other folks cabins, crack the safe. Your thief pretty much has all week to use people's credit cards before they will even miss them.

 

Many of the safes use a passcode that the passenger comes up with. So unless they're using a 1234 code and unless the thief has special devices...that's a lot of "iffing."

 

I just carry my card and maybe a camera. The camera is returned to my room when I'm done with it. The best way to steal valuables on a cruise is when the room steward is cleaning cabins. Often the door will be wide open and someone can dip in quickly and grab something. They try hard not to let that happen but it could. Say he is off getting an extra towel. How about him cleaning the balcony, you dip in, grab the computer sitting on the desk next to the camera and out you go. Less than 1 minute. Of course, were this to happen it is a very good chance that the steward will be investigated and if it happened enough he would be fired. Security would then be on the look out through the vast majority of cameras on board.

 

The vast majority of people will have their passport, money, keys and jewelry in their safe. Maybe you can see about doing a visitor pass when in port. You mention Holland America so I'm not sure about them but Princess has a Bon Voyage experience where for $40 (I think that is the price) you can board the ship, get a tour, have lunch and leave before sail time. There are only a few ports where this can be done with prior approval. I believe you need a passport to board. However, if you can do this you will be free to wander the ship, peak into cabins, talk to crew including the Purser's Desk and shore excursion people. It will give you an insight that will be worth its weight in gold.

 

Many of the on board tours, including the BV experience usually are ending by the time passengers are boarding and with non-Princess ships they might not be already going to their cabins yet. With Princess, there's probably not much time to find a mark before having to leave the ship. So it would be basic dumb luck. Good mysteries aren't based on basic dumb luck, are they?

 

And as you are seeing, many of us don't carry around more than our cruise card, and perhaps sunscreen and a camera. On many ships you can add the bar tip to the bill so you might not even need cash for that (we don't do flexible dining so any meal tipping above the auto-grats are given the last night).

[NMLady]

I'm a mystery author setting my 3rd book (Oliver Twisted) onboard a Dickens- themed cruise. Holland America has been very helpful to me, but I have so many questions - maybe you all can help.

 

The crime in this book involves pickpockets - onboard the ship rather than in port. In my current draft, the thieves steal wallets and take $ and IDs from purses.I've been told that most people don't carry them on the ship - might there be any reason someone would?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

I carry a small purse but it does not have a wallet or money or id in it, just my seapass card, sunglasses, sunscreen, chapstick, tissues, novel, and camera.

 

If I am going to the casino I might have some cash with me but not more than $100 since I'm not a big gambler. And usually I only have the ticket leftover from my previous slot play.

 

I don't know why anyone would carry their wallet aboard ship. My husband's is in the safe.

 

I think the best place for your pick pockets is in the casino.

Edited September 16, 2015 by NMLady

[SheehanDJ]

Many of the safes use a passcode that the passenger comes up with. So unless they're using a 1234 code and unless the thief has special devices...that's a lot of "iffing."

 

Even in this day and age the most popular password is "password"

 

On most wireless routers, people set up WPA security with a password but never change the admin password the router comes defaulted out of the box with.

 

I would be willing to bet that 1234 or the cabin number would get you into a fair amount of safes.

[GUT2407]

Many of the safes use a passcode that the passenger comes up with. So unless they're using a 1234 code and unless the thief has special devices...that's a lot of "iffing."

 

Even in this day and age the most popular password is "password"

 

On most wireless routers' date=' people set up WPA security with a password but never change the admin password the router comes defaulted out of the box with.

 

I would be willing to bet that 1234 or the cabin number would get you into a fair amount of safes.[/quote']

 

 

Every ship I've been on there has been no default, you have to put a code in before locking the safe, then the same code to unlock it.

[SheehanDJ]

 

 

Every ship I've been on there has been no default, you have to put a code in before locking the safe, then the same code to unlock it.

 

That's what I'm saying, I think you would find that a lot of people set that code to 1234 or their cabin number.

[Viv0828]

Unfortunately I need something to carry my camera, iPhone which has the kindle app, eye drops, Chapstick and Kleenex. So I carry a purse.

[Doug S]

1. Getting on/off a ship at the start and end of a cruise can be chaotic with varying degrees of attention paid to carry ons. Larger checked bags are taken by porter and you may not see them until after dinner sometimes. Most do not pack valuables in checked bags but maintain possession of them. They are scanned and processed in the "bowels' of the ship, and if there appear to be any non-allowed items you may be summoned to the 'Naughty room' to retrieve your bag, likely without the suspect contraband (booze, irons, weapons, other items on the banned list).

 

2. As soon as we get into our cabin, we offload our wallets/jewelry/valuable into the safe and stow our carry-on bags. There is an initial period of time before the rooms are available (usually about 1:00 in my experience) that a pickpocket could hit passengers schlepping around their carry on bags with valuables. Most passengers find their way to the buffet venue and stake out a table and pig out.

 

3. on sea days I only carry my sea pass on a lanyard, and a few small bills for tipping. Possibly a phone/camera for pics, and maybe a cheap mp3 player for poolside. Maybe some expensive sunglasses?

 

4. On formal nights the jewelry comes out. Much of it is costume, but in the right circle there could be some value. I only wear a mid level watch, and my wedding band, but its a mixed bag. Still no wallet for me, and wife's purse/clutch would be a quality bag (coach/M Kors) and it would be worth more itself than the doo-dads like make-up, reading glasses, kleenex, sea pass she may carry in it.

 

5. On port days people pull ID and cash/wallets out of the safe and leave the ship. Some are pretty security conscious due to reports of pickpockets in some ports, but some just throw their crappage in a purse/bag, and head out. I would only take the funds I felt were needed for the day trip, and leave the balance in the safe. In port areas there would be opportunities as well as leaving coming back onto ships through the detectors, and heading back up the crowded banks of elevators. Some ports you pull right up to a pier and walk off, others you anchor offshore and 'tender' in on small shuttle boats called tenders. valuables can be hard to keep track of in a beach environment. There are special bags sold that lock to a beach chair while you swim but many just hide stuff under a towel and try to keep an eye on it.

 

6. Stealing someone's card won't give you the total room number, but at least on Royal, it will have the room number less the deck, so if you ask, overhear, or just see what deck they get off the elevator on, you can get the room info.

 

7. have heard but not personally seen where some room safes are accessed using a card with a mag strip like a credit card, gift card, or even sea pass. If you happened to lift the right card you could access their safe without knowing their secret code. Others may have more insight into this.

 

8. Not uncommon for room attendants to prop multiple doors open while they clean in the morning, a quick in/out grabbing anything left unsecured would be no big feat. Just act confused/lost if the room attendant busts you.

 

9. Most areas have camera surveillance, so ship security could in theory go back and scan tapes to see who entered a cabin or common area and bust a thief.

 

10. ships do have atms and cash transactions may take place at guest services, so you could catch someone before/after a transaction

 

That's all I got right now. Practically wrote a novel myself.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Doug S

[notentirelynormal]

Practically wrote a novel myself.

 

You've probably written more then the OP LOL :rolleyes:. This guy needs to get his book, centered on a cruise ship, to his publisher so soon he can't actually take a cruise - can't he find a cruise in the next month? - and he doesn't have time to do research on what actually happens on a cruise. Seriously, the passengers need to wear name tags, can't you pretend to be someone else and he doesn't know squat about how money is handled on a cruise. This book is not going to be too accurate.

 

You know, the guy might be able to steal their cruise card and win a big amount in the casino and cash out :eek:. Now that would work!

 

Let's feed the troll some more.

[dorisis]

I always have a small purse with me. Either a wristlet or cross body very small shoulder bag. I carry reading glasses, tissues, lipstick, mini hairbrush, a bit of cash and ship's ID/key card along with a breath mint.

 

I've been on over 80+ cruises and you'll never see me without a small purse of one type or another including in the evening be it a small clutch or evening bag.

 

 

I do the same. The purse was bought purposely to use on board. Prior to buying the purse, I used a tote bag for the things I need to carry. I almost always have the book I am reading with me.

[Bonnie J.]

I don't ever carry a purse just a very small wallet like thing with credit cards, driver's license, etc. in it. It is in my pocket at home. It never leaves our safe on a cruise. I have a small canvas bag to carry my kindle, husband's tablet, tissues and clothes pins to hold towels on chaises. My husband's wallet never leaves the ship's safe either. He takes a credit card & some cash in his pocket when we get off the ship.

I see women with big purses on ships and wonder just what they have to take with them every day on a ship!

We never have anything a pickpocket would want when we're on a cruise unless they break into our safe!

Edited September 16, 2015 by Bonnie J.

[Krazy Kruizers]

DH's wallet is always in the safe. He keeps his ID card in a pocket.

I carry a very small purse which has my ID and various pill cases for with DH's daily medications.

When we leave the ship, I carry a credit card (with a small limit on it) and a little cash.