NCL Dawn Passenger Assaulted in Bermuda

[CRAFTCRUISER]

i was on oct 2010 repo trip. are you sure you don't mean 2009. we did not go to guatemala.

 

Yes, it was in 2009... we did both 09/10 repos and it was 09....It was someone from the Albatrose group..who didn't give up his camera in a cemetary.. sure it was a language barrier, but give up the property, not worth you life for a camera!

[JGetCRUSING]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4528

 

 

This story is false. it was an attack but the person who got attacked was trying to buy Marijuana before the attack.

[2inTul]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4528

 

 

This story is false. it was an attack but the person who got attacked was trying to buy Marijuana before the attack.

 

Oh...my! The plot thickens........

[Got2Cruise]

Hmmm. I wonder where Cruiser Willy got his detailed information. He knew about it before the police did.

 

I have cruised to Bermuda several times, and something about Willy's report seemed off to me. . .I guess I was right.

[CruisingGoddess]

Look like Willy outed a druggie!! LOL!

[leekel619]

Look like Willy outed a druggie!! LOL!

Well obviously Willy wasn't told the truth from his fellow passenger. It was still a good post. Stranger things have happened.

 

'Life in the 21st century on Planet Earth.'

[gym2]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4528

 

 

This story is false. it was an attack but the person who got attacked was trying to buy Marijuana before the attack.

 

 

 

"And now we know the rest of the story"

[cruiser willy]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4528

 

 

This story is false. it was an attack but the person who got attacked was trying to buy Marijuana before the attack.

 

 

Well, well, well. The plot certainly DOES thicken! I'm now even MORE convinced of the Bermudian government's desire to cover-up such attacks!

 

The Bermudian police certainly DID know about the attack. They (2 male and one female officer) boarded our ship and took a detailed statement from the VICTIM. Our ship's key staffers were also involved in the investigation. Other ship passengers witnessed the attack and assisted the victim back to the ship after the assailant was brought down.

 

I'm very concerned about the position the government is taking here. I understand their reluctance to admit the facts, but their denial is troubling....unless they're confusing two totally different incidents.

 

It would be even MORE ridiculous to imagine that a native would punch a tourist in the face during a drug deal....at 4pm....in broad daylight.....directly in front of the entrance to the Maritime Museum. Several passengers (who did not know the victim) confirmed his story.

Furthermore, my original post resulted in several stories coming out on this thread from other folks who've experienced similar attacks.

 

Don't be so quick to believe that article....unless you want to belive the Star and the Enquirer too.

[biker@sea]

Well, well, well. The plot certainly DOES thicken! I'm now even MORE convinced of the Bermudian government's desire to cover-up such attacks!

 

The Bermudian police certainly DID know about the attack. They (2 male and one female officer) boarded our ship and took a detailed statement from the VICTIM. Our ship's key staffers were also involved in the investigation. Other ship passengers witnessed the attack and assisted the victim back to the ship after the assailant was brought down.

 

I'm very concerned about the position the government is taking here. I understand their reluctance to admit the facts, but their denial is troubling....unless they're confusing two totally different incidents.

 

It would be even MORE ridiculous to imagine that a native would punch a tourist in the face during a drug deal....at 4pm....in broad daylight.....directly in front of the entrance to the Maritime Museum. Several passengers (who did not know the victim) confirmed his story.

Furthermore, my original post resulted in several stories coming out on this thread from other folks who've experienced similar attacks.

 

Don't be so quick to believe that article....unless you want to belive the Star and the Enquirer too.

 

The story of The two Dawn crew members assaulted at Snorkel Park this season also got swept under the carpet !!!

[negc]

Wow, this is shocking. I was just in Bermuda with my family in March and it seemed very safe. It was our first time and we just loved it. Actually, I loved it so much that I read all about their immigration policies as soon as I returned. :)

 

Unfortunately, I was not happy with what I read. They have very restrictive rules on who can immigrate to their island... maybe as a result of the change you've seen in the last few years? There goes my dream of living on that beautiful island... hehe. Anyway, I did read about a very disturbing murder case that happened in 1996 to a young tourist. It's easily found via the Google.

 

If you do some further research, I think you will find that Bermuda's restrictive immigration policies have been in effect for decades and are not the result of any alleged change in the demographic of its residents. The reported incident is quite regrettable but if you had to go back to 1996 to find a report of a "disturbing" murder on Bermuda, the island appears to be a much safer spot than most anywhere else in the world. I don't know the crime statistics for Bermuda but I doubt that they are especially worrisome and have probably not changed much in the last few years.:)

[cruiseat50]

While I believe Willy was told this story and relayed it to us to give us a word of caution and I thank you Willy for the post as it reminds us not to let our guards down while on vacation. There is a possibility that the other story is true as we know sometimes cruisers are not always that bright and do stupid things like trying to buy drugs in a foreign country.

 

None of us will actually know the with 100% certainty which version of this story is true.

 

I haven't been to Bermuda (yet) but from what I read it still is a much safer place than a lot of other ports and cities even in the US. But when I do get there someday will keep this in the back of my mind even though I never would be without my DH to protect me.:D;)

[OgtMimi]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4528

 

 

This story is false. it was an attack but the person who got attacked was trying to buy Marijuana before the attack.

 

Thanks for posting this. Something about this story just didn't sit right with me.

[OgtMimi]

The story of The two Dawn crew members assaulted at Snorkel Park this season also got swept under the carpet !!!

 

I saw the story about the two Dawn crew members on the Royal Gazette online when I was looking for any information about the other attack.

[che5904]

Were Bermuda authorities covering up which ever story is true? Sure they were. Does all tourist destination places try to make little or cover up? Sure they do.

 

If they didn't you would have sheer panic like the MR. I'm sure the ships didn't pull out of the MR just because it seemed like a good idea at the time. They pulled out because it was affecting their bottom dollar. The nice thing about cruise ships is they can move areas.

 

I had more people ask me if I was sure I wanted to go to the MR before my last cruise because they read......

 

So of course tourist destinations don't like stories like this to get out to the public. Why? Because tourists like to be in their happy place on vacation and like to think things can't happen to them as long as they are on holidays.

[cruiser willy]

I believe our ship sailed at around 6:15 that evening. I did not consider that odd given our 5pm all-aboard order.

I was told that our ship's "victim" was visited by 3 Bermudian police officers (2 male and one female) who questioned him extensively. Since all three officers were black with varying shades of skin color, they allegedly asked "the victim" to compare the shade of his assailant's skin color to each of theirs.

The victim told me that police had been contacted by the Dawn's security staff. He also told me that he guessed his assailant's height to be around 6'4" and that ironically one of the 3 officers was roughly that height....and that he said to the tall officer "I couldn't identify my attacker's facial features other than his skin tone.....it could have been YOU".

Could "the victim" have totally fabricated his story? Certainly. But if so, and the Bermudian police had no knowledge of this "attack" until I posted on this thread, then how and where did they deduce that there was "drugs" involved?

Where did the word "marijuana" come into the story? Why not just a drunken slip & fall?

If the passenger was indeed soliciting to purchase marijuana or any other type of drug, are we to believe that he approached a law abiding Bermudian who was so appalled by the request that he responded by punching the tourist in the face?.....or after a successful exchange of money / drugs, the Bermudian decided to punch his customer in the face? Why would the Minister of Transport conclude that drugs must have been involved?

The passenger fled to the safety of his ship and reported the incident to the security agents upon embarkation. He told me that the ship's staff contacted the police. Police were seen by MANY passengers on board our ship just prior to our sailing.

The victim told me that he suggested (to the police) that they visit the island's medical facilities to find someone (his assailant) with injuries to the groin and face.

What is the Minister of Transportation's version of the attack (at Snorkel Beach) on the 2 NCL Dawn staff members the week prior?

Only so much dirt can be swept under the carpet before the carpet starts showing the filth.

I personally spoke to the Bostonian passenger. I believed every word of his story. Nothing about his story or its delivery seemed fishy to me.....upsetting....yes, but not fishy. Several passengers seemed to know "the victim" whose name was John. He was white, had thick grey hair and a thick mustache. When I met him he was very tanned with a very pronounced black eye and abrasions on his left leg.

I do regret sharing this story now as I may never truly know the whole truth. I was only reporting what I believed to be an appalling attack on a fellow tourist.

Several years ago, I actually witnessed a similar attack (in St. Thomas) perpetrated on our ship's passengers. A young couple was getting out of a cab near the ship and while the male passenger was paying the cab driver, a (presumably) native male on a scooter drove up along side the couple and grabbed the female's large bag (purse/pocketbook) and dragged her for several yards causing considerable injuries to her. I don't think I was a member of Cruise Critic at that time, and I'm not sure whether I would have bothered posting the details of that attack given the relative frequency of such attacks on that island.

If the recent attack was a fabricated story, I'm truly sorry for causing all this commotion.

If the story is true - I hope the publicity serves to minimize future incidents.

OVER and OUT!!!!

[mitsugirly]

I don't understand why people are coming down on you and jumping to conclusions. That seems to happen on here a lot. If people don't hear something that suits them, then you are wrong.

 

I am very grateful that you posted to let other passengers become aware. You were only posting what you were told by people, what you witnessed and what the victim told you. I applaud you! :)

[garycarla]

Going to Bermuda for the first time in September on the Miracle, scary...

 

I am confused. Why is this scary?

 

I have no idea where if Florida you live, but I am guessing some similar crimes have happened there as well.

[Got2Cruise]

I have nothing against CruiserWilly. He passed along the info that he heard. But, he did not witness anything. It's called hear say.

I don't understand why people are coming down on you and jumping to conclusions. That seems to happen on here a lot. If people don't hear something that suits them, then you are wrong.

 

I am very grateful that you posted to let other passengers become aware. You were only posting what you were told by people, what you witnessed and what the victim told you. I applaud you! :)

[ZoneHPH]

Wow! i haven't been on these boards in a while. The whole race thing. I'm Asian-American...Philippines is my heritage...but Made in the USA.

 

If the news were to describe an assailant as asian, male, and filipino (search Andrew Cunanan and Gianni Versace). First of all:

 

1) i would be PISSED and embarrassed to have been represented by such a low life.

2) you bet i would keep my eye open for someone that looks like that. how would i know what to look for if you don't tell me.

 

Anyone have a boss use the phrase "Get me a rock..."? (look it up)

 

 

Makes me want to say..."you mean there are black people in BDA? gee, i hadn't noticed. I just thought they had really, really dark tans."

 

Sad to hear. Glad the perp got arrested. And you REALLY don't want to mess with a New Englander...especially if he is a Southie (ok...did i just insult Irish-Americans)? :eek:

[alreadypacked]

I believe our ship sailed at around 6:15 that evening. I did not consider that odd given our 5pm all-aboard order.

I was told that our ship's "victim" was visited by 3 Bermudian police officers (2 male and one female) who questioned him extensively. Since all three officers were black with varying shades of skin color, they allegedly asked "the victim" to compare the shade of his assailant's skin color to each of theirs.

The victim told me that police had been contacted by the Dawn's security staff. He also told me that he guessed his assailant's height to be around 6'4" and that ironically one of the 3 officers was roughly that height....and that he said to the tall officer "I couldn't identify my attacker's facial features other than his skin tone.....it could have been YOU".

Could "the victim" have totally fabricated his story? Certainly. But if so, and the Bermudian police had no knowledge of this "attack" until I posted on this thread, then how and where did they deduce that there was "drugs" involved?

Where did the word "marijuana" come into the story? Why not just a drunken slip & fall?

If the passenger was indeed soliciting to purchase marijuana or any other type of drug, are we to believe that he approached a law abiding Bermudian who was so appalled by the request that he responded by punching the tourist in the face?

No, I doubt the individual who punched him was an innocent law abiding citizen...just as I doubt the victim innocently came upon this individual.

 

.....or after a successful exchange of money / drugs, the Bermudian decided to punch his customer in the face?

 

If the passenger really was trying to buy drugs, it wouldn't be the first time a drug deal went bad. My DH is a law enforcement officer--he has told me of plenty of instances where an otherwise law abiding citizen went to buy drugs from a drug dealer and ended up getting robbed and/or beat-up, and/or shot.

 

 

 

 

Why would the Minister of Transport conclude that drugs must have been involved?

The passenger fled to the safety of his ship and reported the incident to the security agents upon embarkation. He told me that the ship's staff contacted the police. Police were seen by MANY passengers on board our ship just prior to our sailing.

The victim told me that he suggested (to the police) that they visit the island's medical facilities to find someone (his assailant) with injuries to the groin and face.

What is the Minister of Transportation's version of the attack (at Snorkel Beach) on the 2 NCL Dawn staff members the week prior?

Only so much dirt can be swept under the carpet before the carpet starts showing the filth.

I personally spoke to the Bostonian passenger. I believed every word of his story. Nothing about his story or its delivery seemed fishy to me.....upsetting....yes, but not fishy. Several passengers seemed to know "the victim" whose name was John. He was white, had thick grey hair and a thick mustache. When I met him he was very tanned with a very pronounced black eye and abrasions on his left leg.

I do regret sharing this story now as I may never truly know the whole truth. I was only reporting what I believed to be an appalling attack on a fellow tourist.

Several years ago, I actually witnessed a similar attack (in St. Thomas) perpetrated on our ship's passengers. A young couple was getting out of a cab near the ship and while the male passenger was paying the cab driver, a (presumably) native male on a scooter drove up along side the couple and grabbed the female's large bag (purse/pocketbook) and dragged her for several yards causing considerable injuries to her. I don't think I was a member of Cruise Critic at that time, and I'm not sure whether I would have bothered posting the details of that attack given the relative frequency of such attacks on that island.

If the recent attack was a fabricated story, I'm truly sorry for causing all this commotion.

If the story is true - I hope the publicity serves to minimize future incidents.

OVER and OUT!!!!

 

 

There was a case here not long ago where a seemingly law abiding citizen, employed by the same company for over 12 years was shot and left for dead. He survived but was unconscious and unable to talk for quite some time. At first, authorities couldn't figure out how this upstanding citizen could wind up in a situation like this. Turns out, he sought out these bad guys in order to buy drugs.

 

I don't wish for anyone to be a victim and it is truly a sad and bad thing when someone is harmed in any way, especially when a truly innocent person is caught in the crossfire....but I have to say that sometimes people put themselves in harm's way by engaging in risky/illegal dealings...such as participating in transactions with drug dealers.

[alreadypacked]

Wow! i haven't been on these boards in a while. The whole race thing. I'm Asian-American...Philippines is my heritage...but Made in the USA.

 

If the news were to describe an assailant as asian, male, and filipino (search Andrew Cunanan and Gianni Versace). First of all:

 

1)i would be PISSED and embarrassed to have been represented by such a low life.

2) you bet i would keep my eye open for someone that looks like that. how would i know what to look for if you don't tell me.

 

Anyone have a boss use the phrase "Get me a rock..."? (look it up)

 

 

Makes me want to say..."you mean there are black people in BDA? gee, i hadn't noticed. I just thought they had really, really dark tans."

 

Sad to hear. Glad the perp got arrested. And you REALLY don't want to mess with a New Englander...especially if he is a Southie (ok...did i just insult Irish-Americans)? :eek:

 

I understand what you are saying, because I have had these feelings too when someone of my persuasion commits a crime or otherwise misbehaves….

 

But, you just illustrated perfectly why many people who are non-white or minorities or however you want to term it, get upset when race or ethnicity is pointed out.

 

They get upset because unfortunately the reality in our world is that the misdeeds of one (or a few) blacks or Filipinos (or whatever minority) reflect negatively on the group as a whole—in a way that the misdeeds of a white perpetrator does not reflect negatively on all white people. That white perpetrator is viewed simply as “one bad apple”, whereas, a non-white perpetrator is often viewed as evidence that “they” are all bad.

[LoraJ]

So the Bermuda article says that NCL stated that the victim did not file a police report. So is NCL in cohoots with Bermuda officials, or is this really a drug deal gone bad?

[ZoneHPH]

I understand what you are saying, because I have had these feelings too when someone of my persuasion commits a crime or otherwise misbehaves….

 

But, you just illustrated perfectly why many people who are non-white or minorities or however you want to term it, get upset when race or ethnicity is pointed out.

 

They get upset because unfortunately the reality in our world is that the misdeeds of one (or a few) blacks or Filipinos (or whatever minority) reflect negatively on the group as a whole—in a way that the misdeeds of a white perpetrator does not reflect negatively on all white people. That white perpetrator is viewed simply as “one bad apple”, whereas, a non-white perpetrator is often viewed as evidence that “they” are all bad.

 

i guess i don't see it that way. not arguing with you. but, i feel, that for me to judge an entire culture on a few "bad apples" is wrong. but one does have to ask themselves. "why is it that when i watch the news i see plenty of (insert ethnic group) causing trouble." (at least the news in my area.)

 

kinda makes it hard for other people to think that it isn't an inherent part of that demographic.

 

bottom line...if anyone witnesses me in trouble...PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PERP TO THE FULLEST. SKIN COLOR, NATIONALITY, ACCENT, SMELL, TEETH, ETC... Don't hold back because you might be the next victim.

 

and now that we don't know if the Massachusetts guy was telling the truth (completely)...it still doesn't change the fact the OP was just trying to be a good citizen. Hearsay or not or whatever, someone said it best...the political correctness has gone way over the top in our country.

[britrob24]

One of our fellow passengers was walking (alone) to the ship from Snorkel Beach on a relatively well traveled walkway in front of the main entrance to the Maritime Museum at 4pm on 6/14. A tall and imposing black Bermudian was walking toward him on the same sidewalk. The Dawn passenger assumed they would walk around each other as they got closer, but instead was punched in the face and knocked to the ground. The assailant began to search through the victim's pockets, presumably for a wallet when the victim came to his senses and grabbed his assailant by the groin and focused every bit of strength on damaging the assailant's testicles. When the assailant was taken down screaming, the victim ( a scrappy 40ish Bostonian ) managed to level a couple of punches to the assailant's face and fled to the ship where he reported the incident to security personnel and customs agents. Bermudian police visited and interviewed the victim in his stateroom. Police identifield the assailant as someone they'd been looking for due to similar previous attacks. The police indicated that such attacks have become more frequent and problematic in recent years.

 

We have noticed a dramatic change in the island's demographic over the past 5 - 6 years. There appears to have been an influx of Caribbean islanders establishing residence on the previously pristine English island now active with gangs and the crimes usually associated with gang activity.

 

We've visited the night club at Snorkel Beach during our last two summer visits. The security protocol (frisking, metal detectors, anti-gang dress code) is clearly designed to combat a growing problem on the island. The demographic make-up of the club's non-tourist guests is stunning. I had no idea that Bermuda had fallen prey to such a scary element. The club is absolutely beautiful, but VERY SCARY. I spoke to a local police officer who told me that stabbings and assaults at the club are not uncommon, but usually perpetrated by and among the island's native population.

.

 

I feel for the victim and the safety of future tourists but I have a hard time following the story when it's delivered in this manner. THIS seems to be a never-dwindling problem.

[mitsugirly]

I have nothing against CruiserWilly. He passed along the info that he heard. But, he did not witness anything. It's called hear say.

 

I would say that he witnessed something...he spoke directly with the victim and witnessed the abrasions to the leg and black eye for himself. That is not hear say. He wasn't getting a story that someone on the ship told their dad, who told their wife, who went to the neighbor in the cabin next door, who said something to the lady up on the pool deck. He got his information directly from the guy claiming it happened to. He has no reason to lie about what THAT guy told him. It would be different if it was a story that was told by another passenger other than the victim. If the victim was lying about what happened or there were drugs involved, then it's the victim lying, not cruiserwilly. He can only tell what he was told straight from the horses mouth. He was just a reporting source that was told first hand, by the victim, his side of the story. :rolleyes: