When a port's dangerous, who's responsible for letting you know?

Since Monday's tragic shooting death of a young Carnival Victory passenger on an independent tour of St. Thomas, various debates have cropped up on Cruise Critic. One thing folks want to know is who's responsible for warning passengers when a ship visits a port of call where crime is a known issue?

Is it the cruise line's job? Does that duty fall to planning guides and resources, like Cruise Critic? Should travelers take it upon themselves to decide to which ports or places they should and should not go? Or is cruise travel in the Caribbean a case of caveat emptor: Let the cruiser beware?

Vote in our poll and join the discussion below.

There is danger every where these days. You are responsible for your own safety.

This question has many levels to it. What I consider to be safe is not the same as for another.

My first thought is YOU are responsible for YOU. With the internet, and technology where it is today - you can research anything including crime, and safety of anywhere. Researching for an hour before you go is worth it.

However I do believe that if they dont already it is also part of the cruiseline that you travel on to ensure that the locations they travel to are 'safe' for their passengers as well as their crew.

What research is needed? Unless you live in a cocoon you should realize that the possibility of personal risk exists everywhere. There isn't a day that goes by that you can't pick a paper in any US city and read about shootings, murders, rapes, etc. To think it is different in any foreign country or city is actually naive. No one should need to be told by someone else that dangers may exist-that is simply common sense.

Since Monday's tragic shooting death of a young Carnival Victory passenger on an independent tour of St. Thomas, various debates have cropped up on Cruise Critic. One thing folks want to know is who's responsible for warning passengers when a ship visits a port of call where crime is a known issue?

 

Is it the cruise line's job? Does that duty fall to planning guides and resources, like Cruise Critic? Should travelers take it upon themselves to decide to which ports or places they should and should not go? Or is cruise travel in the Caribbean a case of caveat emptor: Let the cruiser beware?

 

Vote in our poll and join the discussion below.

There isn't a place in the world that crime doesn't exist today. So it's pretty difficult to avoid not traveling to a crime free zone.

Cruise lines will sometime alter their routes if there's a major concern . They will also cancel tours if they think safety is concern. Other than that it's the travelers responsibility .

If the US government issues a travel warning than its the cruise lines responsibility other than that you are on your own.

The cruise lines already warn you that independent tour guides are not endorsed or monitorred by the cruise line, it is the responsibility of the person booking the excursion to determine if the provider is "safe".

When someone finds a travel destination with no risk involved, please email me and let me know. And no, it is not anyone's obligation to furnish us a report on crime. Everyone is, or should be, responsible for themselves. Why is it that people want to make others responsible for their own wellbeing? Have we become perpetual children???

Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New York, Port Liberty, Galveston, New Orleans, Los Angeles...

Are any of these cruise embarkation ports any less dangerous than any ports of call?

Going to and departing from your cruise ship's North American port is probably the most dangerous part of your cruise.

I don't see that "warnings" will ever be issued any about traveling to these cities. :cool:

Well, on second thought, maybe L.A. :rolleyes:

What has playing The Blame Game ever accomplished?

.

The Department of State that issues travel warnings (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html) does not list St. Thomas. Go figure. Basically, when you walk out of your front door, the responsibility for safety lies with you. Fair?. . . . . . No. Reality?. . . . . Yes!

I happen to love Coki Beach and upset that Coki Beach is being branded as a place not to go.

I have actually seen the cruise lines provide 'warnings' in the shore guide they provide to all pax. Things such as 'you may be offered drugs in port, they are not legal there or our onboard the ship' and warnings about minor crimes such as pickpocketing etc.

While I don't feel cruise lines need or should have to provide CNN type warnings about every port (since I do agree that safety is a personal responsibility and no where is completely safe anymore), there is perhaps some brief reminders they can provide to passengers. It's easy to forget about the usual precautions when you are living in your vacation bubble.

Responsible legally, or morally?

I suspect if cruise lines and agencies were legally responsible, we'd be listening to all kinds of disclaimers and signing waivers.

Morally? You gotta look out for #1, always. Never trust strangers to be conscientious.

That said, there IS something very wrong if a line or agency KNOWS of a current problem, but holds their tongue.

I don't feel safe anywhere in the Caribbean. I still visit but opt to stay on the ship in many of the ports. Jamaica is one that I always remain onboard.

The thing is just be aware of your surroundings and use common sense in the usual travel precautions.

One customer(when I had my store) told me this horror story of being pick pocketed in St.Petersburg, Russia. His passport got pick pocketed along with his wallet. Lucky he had a photocopy of his picture page and # to the U.S. Embassy, helped him out with getting a new one. So this is why always keep your passport,and a photocopy on your cell phone(picture page) in case its stolen, also phone number and address of US Embassy or Consulate in that particular country just in case. This may be a rare situation but it could happen. I don't feel safe crossing the street at times- (drivers who think they can text and talk on their cells and drive- pay attention the road!!)now thats dangerous.

Happy and safe traveling

A few minutes' basic research and reading (including CC!) should give people at least an awareness of any potential risks (one man's "risk" is another's "adventure") so I think we need to take some personal responsibility on this one. The information IS out there and easy to find and assess if we bother to look but unfortunately a lot of people are either too lazy or believe that when something bad happens it's always someone else's fault (ka-ching! "who do I sue?"). Violent crime is a problem everywhere, not least the US, so use some common sense.

Everyone should research their ports -- know what to expect -- even the unexpected.

We did a ship's tour to Coki Beach -- in a van -- and went through the same area -- it could have happened to us. So it doesn't make any difference whether you tour independently or through the ship -- these things can happen.

There have cases all over the US where people have been killed innocently by gang wars that suddently break out.

I voted other. I think that anyone with information regarding personal safety that would influence their own decision regarding visiting a destination should share the information if the opportunity presents itself. That would include the Cruiseline, TA, Cruisecritic and others.

First and foremost, adults are responsible for themselves. That being said, if I have chosen to use a travel agent to plan a vacation, that TA is absolutely bound to give me all the information I need to keep myself safe in a place I've never been before. I believe this both as a consumer and a TA.

For a Ships Passanger to get truthful and timely information on the internet, the posted information must be accurate. That can be hard to verify. falsehoods and hiding the facts are rampant in on the web. Even past stories from local news sourses can be unhelpful as well as temporary. With a teen daughter I try to do my port homework and find it dificult to pin down the best safety options. Thats to bad, because we end up with "when in doubt, don't". As a result, we limit ourselves. In Nassau this August, were just staying on the ship and in St. Thomas were taking a ship excurstion To B.V.I.

Yes, we are all responsible for our own safety. But, in this situation, this young lady was on a tour, not on her own, with family members, and I am sure, the adults on this tour, thought they were safe in the hands of a local tour group. Unfortunately they were not. Perhaps if they were aware they were going through a drug, crime and gang infested area, they would have chose to go somewhere else. In this case, I think the local tour operator could have gone a different route to keep his passengers safe.

Crime can happen anywhere. I don't think the Cruise Ships should have to say anything other than the obvious such as stick with your tour and don't stray away from the group. Should the announce people have been murdered on Cruise Ships?

I think your Travel Agent, not Cruise Critic, is responsible for divulging any information about an area that they know to be fact. Just like a Real Estate Agent is legally responsible for divulging any information they find out about the house a client is about to buy.

I think travelers should use resources such as Cruise Critic to research the ports to which they are traveling, but it is not Cruise Critic's responsibility to go out an collect crime data for us to rely on. If they post a story about it, that is a huge benefit and we all appreciate it, but it should not be their obligation.

This question has many levels to it. What I consider to be safe is not the same as for another.

My first thought is YOU are responsible for YOU. With the internet, and technology where it is today - you can research anything including crime, and safety of anywhere. Researching for an hour before you go is worth it.

However I do believe that if they dont already it is also part of the cruiseline that you travel on to ensure that the locations they travel to are 'safe' for their passengers as well as their crew.

I agree. I avoided any cruise visiting Ochos Rios for years and years, having heard and read so many horrible reports from past cruisers. When I finally visited, I had a great time. It may have been my favorite port of call on that cruise.

However, I do think the cruise lines, cruise forums and TAs do bear SOME responsibility for letting customers know about events such as the one happening recently. Many of us book private excursions and might not know to check the route those tours will take. This recent tragedy could have happened to any one of us. That's is exactly what makes it so shocking.

We warn our children about strangers, we warn people about wearing seat belts, they make you do a lifeboat drill on board, in order to protect the passengers. So why not warn people about these ports? I am new to cruising and I would appreciate information from the cruise lines, from my TA, from anyone about how safe a port is. Not that I wouldn't try to find out for myself because I would. But not everyone is as computer savvy as I am. So, let's face it...every time you look at the excursion blurbs they warn you about how strenuous the activity is going to be, what kind of clothes to bring, how far you are going to have to walk...people need this kind of information. Why shouldn't people share this type of info?

People need to warn themselves when they step off the ship and onto a port.

Where I live you would think it's a nice, peaceful place for many toursits, we have beautiful mountains and lakes but there recently there was a stabbing right next door to my cousins house and he has young children.

When his wife was 14 she was attacked by a masked stranger. We don't live in a city either! There may not be as much crime but my friend took a risk walking to the bus stop that day. Things like this happen. Anywhere, anytime, any day. We need to be aware of our own surrondings at all times, even if we cannot prevent random things from happening.