shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #26 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Here's evidence. They were there, then they were not. Considering they are incapable of removing themselves from the bag, they either fell out or someone other than the OP took them out. Considering the bag was closed and locked we can deduce they did not fall out. So, either the OP is taking the Mickey or the glasses were removed from the suitcase without the knowledge or consent of the owner. Either a port porter unzipped the bag or an NCL handler unzipped the bag. As for red stickers on bags actually delivered to the room - those red stickers are typically placed on a suspect bag during the initial screen to indicate a secondary screen is required at which time it is then determined if the bag needs to be opened infront of the owner (i.e. naughty room). If said second screen yields a null result the bag is then delivered and it's not hard to imagine a the red sticker is not always removed before delivery. I have had bags reach my room with red stickers on a few occasions and they did not contain liquids nor did I have to go to the naughty room to retrieve them (I have, however, had that experience too). Thank you Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie008 Posted February 23, 2017 #27 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I'm no Columbo - just wanted to wish you and your family a great cruise - My only thoughts are that PERHAPS the port authority opened the bags to check and omitted to put ALL back in - hopefully they are still at the port? Is that a possibility? Whatever - they have gone walkabouts somehow - so hope they are returned and, a member of NCL can, on the next trip, get them to the clinic who need them. I own a busy tourism facility, you would not believe how many pairs of glasses are left with us each year in our café. Beats me why people don't phone to check if we have them. Anyway, we collect them and at the end of each season, anything unclaimed, goes to charity. I also wondered about smashed glass? Could that have been a possibility? Although would seem odd that only the new reading glasses would be the damaged ones. But if a couple of pairs were damaged in that bag, then perhaps they would need to hold the bag back to go through it all - who knows - IF some low life HAS stolen them - then may karma haunt them and believe you me - it will! Have a fabulous cruise - and try not to let the incident "suck the life" out of your enjoyment, What will be will be - there is nothing you can do to change it. I do however think you should make an appointment to see the Hotel Director - and alert his/her attention to the fact that security have not come back to you as yet with a satisfactory explanation. Best of luck and wishing you precious memories to make! That's a beautiful family moment photograph you have there!! B <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #28 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Great idea skeeter195, thank you. It's a bit crumpled but still intact. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #29 Share Posted February 23, 2017 This is small example of the types of eyeglasses that went missing. They were older styles of over the counter reading glasses that were donated to us. Now picture two large plastic bags filled to the brim with only these types of eyeglasses . Most of them had their original price tags still on them and still individually wrapped in plastic. To whoever stole them they probably either needed them more than the people at the clinic or they were planning on selling them. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted February 23, 2017 #30 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Liquor sticker would tell me they thought the OP had liquor in his bag and searched it. Makes sense.So sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately there are dishonest people in all kind of areas and positions in life. Hope this works out for you and BRAVO to your children for being a part of this. Actually no one opens your suitcase to check for liquor, they spot it via X RAy and call you to open it yourself if they suspect Liquor. OP, what a shame this had to happen to you. I will add though at assuming it was NCL is a unfair. There are others who have access to your luggage before it even gets to the ship. I feel sorry for the kids who expected to get glasses or whomever. How this happened and who did it isn't as important as the loss period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #31 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I'm no Columbo - just wanted to wish you and your family a great cruise - My only thoughts are that PERHAPS the port authority opened the bags to check and omitted to put ALL back in - hopefully they are still at the port? Is that a possibility? Whatever - they have gone walkabouts somehow - so hope they are returned and, a member of NCL can, on the next trip, get them to the clinic who need them. I own a busy tourism facility, you would not believe how many pairs of glasses are left with us each year in our café. Beats me why people don't phone to check if we have them. Anyway, we collect them and at the end of each season, anything unclaimed, goes to charity. I also wondered about smashed glass? Could that have been a possibility? Although would seem odd that only the new reading glasses would be the damaged ones. But if a couple of pairs were damaged in that bag, then perhaps they would need to hold the bag back to go through it all - who knows - IF some low life HAS stolen them - then may karma haunt them and believe you me - it will! Have a fabulous cruise - and try not to let the incident "suck the life" out of your enjoyment, What will be will be - there is nothing you can do to change it. I do however think you should make an appointment to see the Hotel Director - and alert his/her attention to the fact that security have not come back to you as yet with a satisfactory explanation. Best of luck and wishing you precious memories to make! That's a beautiful family moment photograph you have there!! B <3 Thanks Blondie008, seeing as it's now Day 4 of our cruise and we have heard nothing from the security officer, I doubt we'll ever recover them. But we do plan on taking the suggestions of speaking to someone higher up. I'm sure karma will sort everything out in the end, it always does. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafedumonde Posted February 23, 2017 #32 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I suspect they were taken out by tsa security before the luggage even got on the ship. It Is an unusual thing to take on a cruise. I think ncl's response is lacking because they are not high dollar value or irreplaceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted February 23, 2017 #33 Share Posted February 23, 2017 The thing that strikes me as odd here is that a suitcase was delivered with a red liquor sticker on it.NCL does NOT deliver luggage that they suspect of containing liquor...you HAVE to go to the "naughty room" to claim the luggage.The reason that you have to go to the "naughty room" is so that they can have you present to witness the suitcase being opened and searched. NCL does NOT open a suitcase for a search without the guest present. I would have to question why these gaps in procedure exist. Something isn't quite right here. my thoughts exactly.:(:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #34 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I suspect they were taken out by tsa security before the luggage even got on the ship. It Is an unusual thing to take on a cruise. I think ncl's response is lacking because they are not high dollar value or irreplaceable. If they were a problem then why not confiscate all of them? We did ask the security officer about their protocol and I did mention him checking surveillance and he basically passed it off as if it wasn't necessary. I gave him the time frame of when we dropped our luggage off at the port to when we received it, it would have been quite easy to simply go back and look and remove all doubt and suspicion. My guess is that since we were not seeking monetary compensation, he felt that it was not worth his time to pursue it. Why someone put a liquor sticker on the luggage is beyond me, but he did tell me that these stickers do comefrom NCL, thus my suspicion of them. We have been trying to think of ways that this could have been avoided and steps we could have taken to prevent it and unless we have carried all of these on board ourselves there would be no other way to keep them safe. Never in our wildest dreams did we think that someone would steal them. But just imagine, if they, whoever they are, have no problems stealing stuff like this, then ultimately none of our belongings are truly safe after all. This to me is very unsettling. It seems you can't really trust anyone anymore and if you do decide to speak up, there will always a few unkind people who will always question your integrity. It's really a sad world we live in and in the end we'll have to chalk this up as a life lesson for our kids. It's heartwarming to see however that there are still kind and decent people on this board who were actually trying to be helpful rather than cast stones. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cage keeper Posted February 23, 2017 #35 Share Posted February 23, 2017 God Bless you and your children. Too bad there are not more people in the world like you. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #36 Share Posted February 23, 2017 God Bless you and your children. Too bad there are not more people in the world like you. <3 Thank you for the support cage keeper, you seem pretty great yourself. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoopea Posted February 23, 2017 Author #37 Share Posted February 23, 2017 If I had a suitcase "filled to the brim" with donations, I would totally take a picture so I could display it as part of a collage at my practice where the donations were collected. A way of showing people how they supported a small clinic. And yea, I'd snap a pic if I thought there was some foul play involved after receiving my bags. The conspiracy theories over my morning coffee has been worth the laugh. OP, I'm sorry you had to deal with this online and on your vacation. Enjoy the rest of your trip!! Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk The kids wanted the pics for their non profit's web page that they are working on and like you, I see nothing wrong with that. And yes, you're spot on with why we took the after pics. I've decided to block the conspiracy theorists for my own sanity. Sadly, the phrase 'no good deed goes unpunished' comes to mind whenever I read one of those posts. Thanks for understanding where we are coming from. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oppalopa Posted February 23, 2017 #38 Share Posted February 23, 2017 My point exactly. Also, I do not think for one second that it was our cabin steward. The lock was still on the suitcase and was still locked and was a TSAF approved lock, so it can be unlocked if they need to. It had to be someone that was screening the luggage whether at the port or at NCL. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Keep going up the chain of command. Thank you Doctor for trying to do good. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger727 Posted February 23, 2017 #39 Share Posted February 23, 2017 So, I find the amateur sleuthing on this thread entertaining the attacks on the OP (and yes, implying that OP is changing the story or that something is wrong w OPs story is an attack on his integrity). I'm assuming when OP says he has photos of the bags before and after: the before photos were for Facebook/his patients to show off the glasses collected and the after photos were to document the theft. Is it a weird thing to steal? Absolutely. With 10 years of law enforcement experience is it the weirdest thing I've seen stolen? Absolutely not. Assuming this poster is genuine, the possibilities are that they were removed during security screening and forgotten, they were removed during security screening and broken, or they were removed during security screening and stolen. If they were stolen they will end up in a flea market or a corner store. Now, the problem is they were almost certainly removed during a security screening. Clearly the porters and cabin stewards that move them don't have the time and opportunity plus theyd never know what was in the bags. I don't know if the luggage screeners are port employees or NCL employees. If they are port employees than NCL is rightfully passing the buck. If they are NCL employees I can just about guarantee you, whether they let on to you or not, they are investigating this. They don't want thieves working for them. A few pairs of inexpensive eyeglasses is no big deal but if meds or more valuable items start going missing the police will get called in. OP, its disappointing that this happened, but people steal. You realize you won't get the glasses back and are moving on. I would mention it to the port as well though, in case that's whose responsible for the baggage screening. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alegeeter Posted February 23, 2017 #40 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I don't know why everyone is giving the OP a hard time for explaining his/her story. I think it's important that we all know things like this can happen. The way I see it, the only people who could have taken them were the porters or an NCL crew member. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. Yes, NCL crew is amazing. Yes, they are great people who I've developed close relationships with. The crew is a big reason why I look forward to my cruises. But it's not out of the realm of possibility that one crew member stole these glasses. If this is true, one bad egg doesn't ruin the carton. Nowhere did I see the OP criticize or blame all of NCL crew. The OP simply wanted to share his/her experience and hope to get to the bottom of this. And for those who say there is no evidence, the OP explained the liquor sticker several times. He/she may be wrong but it is one piece of evidence that is pointing him/her to the crew, and I don't think that's at all a bizarre and too far-fetched claim to make. And if it wasn't a crew member and it was a porter, then this is still an appropriate place to post this story. Regardless whether the glasses were stolen or fell out after a search of the OP's bag and regardless of whether a porter or a crew member was involved, doesn't take away that the OP missed out on significant part of his/her vacation. Whether it was theft or an accident, it shouldn't have happened and someone is at fault for it. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLH Arizona Posted February 23, 2017 #41 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Hopefully NCL is investigating this. I can't imagine that 20 or 40 glasses would be that easy to hide by a crew member, so I'm thinking it might have been done at the port, but that is just MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneygirl10 Posted February 23, 2017 #42 Share Posted February 23, 2017 What are you even talking about? There was ONE suitcase involved and has always been ONE suitcase. All of the eye glasses were separated and placed into plastic 'bags.' The eyeglasses were in fact stolen and accusing me or my family of wrong doing is seriously ridiculous. I pray you never have items taken from your suitcase and have people like yourself and balckburnrover trying to vilify you for simply speaking up. Shame on you! And by the way we do have pics of the 'bags' of eyeglasses before and after the theft occurs and it is clearly obvious that there are much less pairs of glasses in two of the 'bags.' I also wonder if you or blackburnrover actually work for NCL. Now that would make a lot of sense as to your demeanor towards me. Just so you know, not everyone is as cynical as you and there really are good people in this world, like our children, who actually try and make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate. Shame on you for questioning our integrity. And yes we did tell them we just wants the eyeglasses back and were not seeking monetary compensation and we also were not planning on putting in an insurance claim for the stolen items. These were all donations made by well meaning patients and colleagues. I'm signing off now for a not because we are at Cagney's and I would really like to enjoy my steak with my family. I would however, like to thank everyone who was actually helpful and kind with their comments. We certainly do appreciate them. PS here is a pic of our children at the Clinica Esperanza and some of the 'bags' of eyeglass donations. Tell me again how 'something doesn't seem right.' Sent from my iPhone using Forums This is so neat! Bravo! I'm sure the clinic was thrilled. Sorry about the missing glasses. Try to put it out of your mind until you get home. Easier said than done, I know. I hope you still have a fabulous trip :) Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankees111 Posted February 23, 2017 #43 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Maybe the glasses were removed from the suitcase during a search and got misplaced and were not put back in the suitcase properly. For you to come on these boards and accuse an NCL employee of stealing your glasses is ludicrous. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ColeThornton Posted February 23, 2017 #44 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Let's not forget the good part of this story. Something wonderful was done for some people less fortunate than us, regardless of the theft. Good karma for the O.P., bad karma for a thief. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbrugler Posted February 23, 2017 #45 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I would hope that if bags are searched that it is in a room with a security camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LrgPizza Posted February 23, 2017 #46 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Maybe the glasses were removed from the suitcase during a search and got misplaced and were not put back in the suitcase properly. For you to come on these boards and accuse an NCL employee of stealing your glasses is ludicrous.Sent from my iPhone using Forums That's exactly what I posted. It's by far the most logical explanation. It makes no sense that a worker would take them from a bag and then put a sticker on it to announce they were in there. If they were stealing from the bag, they certainly wouldn't have notified the owner that they were even in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinaS Posted February 23, 2017 #47 Share Posted February 23, 2017 First of all, I just want to say kudos to you and your family for helping out those of us who are not as fortunate. While I understand that you only want the glasses back, and are not planning to pursue an insurance claim - perhaps you might reconsider that. That may be the only way for NCL to actually investigate what happened, and to spend a little time viewing security cameras and/or interviewing their security personnel who may have been involved in handling your bag. Whatever you do, I wish you and your family a wonderful cruise :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjt87 Posted February 23, 2017 #48 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Just a thought, I think you said that it was only a new pairs that had gone missing. If this was the case is it possible that they were removed because they contravened some export laws and were removed in the port? Although I must say that when on the 2 occasions my bags have been opened by airport staff there has been a note in there saying so. Hope it gets sorted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaShark Posted February 23, 2017 #49 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I would hope that if bags are searched that it is in a room with a security camera. Well the problem with that is the ONLY time bags are searched is in the naughty room in the presence of the guest. You wouldn't need a camera since the guest would be an eyewitness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madgran Posted February 23, 2017 #50 Share Posted February 23, 2017 OP- you said in one post that there were personal things also in the suitcase. Was it still there or moved around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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