Drug sniffing dogs on board NCL ships?

[gooch47]

Since marijuana is being legalized in so many states my guess is people assume they can take it on cruises.  I bet this will become a more common sight.

[ColinIllinois]

1 minute ago, gooch47 said:

Since marijuana is being legalized in so many states my guess is people assume they can take it on cruises.  I bet this will become a more common sight.

 

 

Perhaps, but they would have to be pretty dumb to assume that.

[gooch47]

Just now, ColinIllinois said:

 

 

Perhaps, but they would have to be pretty dumb to assume that.

Or high, LOL.

 

[GeezerCouple]

34 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

Since marijuana is being legalized in so many states my guess is people assume they can take it on cruises.  I bet this will become a more common sight.

 

Well, this could be a problem if the *scent* of the marijuana remains on some clothing, or perhaps shoes (which don't get washed).  I wonder how long the scent remains?

 

GC

[SeaTheW0rld]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Well, this could be a problem if the *scent* of the marijuana remains on some clothing, or perhaps shoes (which don't get washed).  I wonder how long the scent remains?

 

GC

If that's the case, I was in Oregon  right before the cruise 😯

[Kmkub]

2 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Since marijuana is being legalized in so many states my guess is people assume they can take it on cruises.  I bet this will become a more common sight.

You may be right about that. I've seen some threads where people cruising Alaska think it's a non issues, since they are a legalized state.  New cruisers may not realize that they go through federal land between the state and the cruise ship. (Really, plus a few miles until we hit international waters.)

[SeaTheW0rld]

I read a news article a couple weeks ago. It said that since so many states are legalizing it (or decriminalizing it) some states are retraining their K9s so they don't alert on it. 

Edited January 31, 2019 by SeaTheW0rld
Typo

[fshagan]

19 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Well, this could be a problem if the *scent* of the marijuana remains on some clothing, or perhaps shoes (which don't get washed).  I wonder how long the scent remains?

 

GC

 

Because many of the aromatic components found in cannabis are oil based they can stay around for a long time on clothing or on your hands.

 

Dogs are also not as reliable as people think. They are mainly used to "get around" fourth amendment protections in the US. In the independent tests, not done by people selling dogs or people trying to justify their purchase of a dog, the actual detection rate is about 30%. You may as well flip a coin. You can do an easy Internet search to find the 7th Court of Appeals decision that calls into question the use of drug sniffing dogs to justify a search; one dog "alarmed" 93% of the time but drugs were found only 43% of the time. Flip a coin. Bring out the dog when you don't like the look of a person, and you can search them, because the dog alarms 93% of the time.

 

The cruise lines don't need to offer you American legal protections (and don't) so why would they use dogs? Because it gives them a defense in searching "certain types" more frequently than "other types" because, you know, the dog wants a cookie. They can't be accused of prejudice if the dog wants a cookie, even if they bring him out for "certain types" more often than, you know, suite guests.

[richstowe]

Excellent observations . 

2 hours ago, fshagan said:

Bring out the dog when you don't like the look of a person, and you can search them, because the dog alarms 93% of the time.

They can't be accused of prejudice if the dog wants a cookie, even if they bring him out for "certain types" more often than, you know, suite guests.

I understand dog handlers are trained to observe the reactions of the people around the dog more then the dogs actions . People will tip themselves off . Then you direct the dog towards them . 

[Traveling Fools]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 3:55 PM, Kmkub said:

I posted a thread on the MSC forum about them having found cocaine on the Divina.

 

A member replied, "My friend just back from NCL cruise ,they had policeman and a dog going around the ship 24/7 sniffing pas for drugs ."

 

This is creepy. Is this really happening?

 

 

Ship's Security or Policeman?  Doubt Federal or Local police have jurisdiction when a ship is in international waters. 

 

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 4:01 PM, SeaTheW0rld said:

We had them on EPIC, yesterday. Saw them  at the h20 zone. Not sure if they did the whole ship. I thought it unwise to follow them around. 

 

Was the ship in port or underway?

 

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 4:11 PM, blcruising said:

Yes, they were on Epic during the 1-12 sailing too.

 

Same question as above.

 

If the ship was in port, it was likely a Customs K-9 team.  Nothing unusual about that.

 

If at sea and international waters, what was the next port-of-call?  IF, in fact it was a Customs K-9 team the Captain may have invited them aboard to facilitate Customs' clearance upon arrival in the respective country the team was from.

 

If it was a team employed by the cruise line, they might have been demonstrating an exercise in due diligence to either mitigate corporate liability for previous seizures or to comply with conditions imposed because of past seizures made aboard the ships of that line.  

[luv2kroooz]

58 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

Ship's Security or Policeman?  Doubt Federal or Local police have jurisdiction when a ship is in international waters. 

 

 

Was the ship in port or underway?

 

 

Same question as above.

 

If the ship was in port, it was likely a Customs K-9 team.  Nothing unusual about that.

 

If at sea and international waters, what was the next port-of-call?  IF, in fact it was a Customs K-9 team the Captain may have invited them aboard to facilitate Customs' clearance upon arrival in the respective country the team was from.

 

If it was a team employed by the cruise line, they might have been demonstrating an exercise in due diligence to either mitigate corporate liability for previous seizures or to comply with conditions imposed because of past seizures made aboard the ships of that line.  

Epic was underway from Cozumel to Port Canaveral. It was a federal agent and k9 dog. I have no idea why they were there, nor am I going to engage in speculation. Whatever or whoever they were there for, did not involve me, so I didn't think about anymore.

 

It struck me as odd because in 50+ cruises over twenty years, I had not seen this before. That doesn't mean it hadn't happened before. It just means that I didn't see it on previous cruises.

[OceanBlueWaters]

I personally don't care if a dog sniffs me while I am at the bar.  Sign of the times.  That would never intrude on my cruise.  I would thank those dogs and handlers for protecting me!  The world is evolving and times change.  Protect law biding citizens and get rid of the losers...even if they happen to be cruising.  Crazy but true. 

 

Lots of ports on your itinerary have travel warnings.  Those ports used to be "beautiful", "Serene".  Now we have to always be on alert.  Don't wander out of central,  don't go off beaten path. ..blah, blah.

 

Sadly, crime is everywhere...including our beloved ports.

 

I welcome the sniffing dogs on any cruise (even if it means they only captured 1 loser to society).  That is a win my book!

 

JMO.

[SharkieQueen]

Just got off the Jade - had an awesome week, and for the first time saw a K-9 dog! It was chewing on a toy in the corridor; the handler was inside the cabin. Our butler told us it barks when it smells cocaine.....

[Kmkub]

Just got off the Jade, yesterday. No dogs anywhere, except the Harvest Caye Pier. I'll put up a review in the next couple of days. Lovely ship.