The other side of the Freedom/tobacco story

[mk36]

i can see them getting a big payout, the facts of the matter are the substance was legal, end of story, it is up to them how they pack. no matter what people think they may be up to, the fact is, it was legal! It doesn't matter that it was concealed in a can. a previous poster said they store jewellery in them, does that mean this person is planning on smuggling jewellery?? This will get settled out of court, to avoid negative PR on RCI's side.

[gatorJeff]

Just my $.02

 

I think there are a several different issues at play here.

 

Firstly, I think the Captain was within his right to deny them boarding based on the information he had at the time he needed to make a descision. Like an airline, vessel captains are given VERY wide lattitude in who they allow to board. Due to the tremendous responsibility the captain has with respect to the safety and security of the passengers, crew and vessel. This is recognized both domestically and internationally.

 

Secondly, I think they are entitled to a full refund for their cruise fare. Based on the evidence, they did nothing contradictory to the contract of carriage. They paid for passage on the ship and the cruiseline denied them what they had paid for.

 

Lastly, are they entitled to any type of damages for the incident? In my personal opinion, they are not. They bear some responsibility for the whole ordeal through their exercise of poor judgement. I believe I saw somewhere that they said they regretted hiding the tobacco in the can and had they to do it again they would not. Ultimately though, it would be for a judge or jury to decide whether they are entitled to damages should they pursue them.

[Big_G]

i can see them getting a big payout, the facts of the matter are the substance was legal, end of story, it is up to them how they pack. no matter what people think they may be up to, the fact is, it was legal! It doesn't matter that it was concealed in a can. a previous poster said they store jewellery in them, does that mean this person is planning on smuggling jewellery?? This will get settled out of court, to avoid negative PR on RCI's side.

 

Where does the report say it was legal?

[Jumbiecruiser]

i can see them getting a big payout, the facts of the matter are the substance was legal, end of story, it is up to them how they pack. no matter what people think they may be up to, the fact is, it was legal! It doesn't matter that it was concealed in a can. a previous poster said they store jewellery in them, does that mean this person is planning on smuggling jewellery?? This will get settled out of court, to avoid negative PR on RCI's side.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.:rolleyes:

[hazeleyez3]

Where does the report say it was legal?

 

 

The article on CC Says that port officials agree that the contraband was tobacco and not an illegal substance.

[GriffinAlexander]

since reading the earlier posts on this topic, and hence finding out that this may have resembled a substance that is illegal, and it was not that susbstance, the person's should have been able to cruise after the substance as confiscated and destroyed and the "can" was destroyed as well....with that being said....how is it that hairspary and nsucjh can not be carried on a plane ?? but allowed to be in a person's possesion boarding a cruise ship? What is said can was a illegal device? what if it had the potential to cause serious harm to fellow passengers? i commend the RCI security detail for recognizing a potential something that looked odd. But how much of this stuff goes un detected...maybe time for stricter security procedures ???? JUST SAYING....PLEASE do not frag me...this is a question? and my own opinion...

 

I don't think anyone is going to do anyone harm if indeed they did bring any weed on board, except to themselves if they get caught doing it. It's legal or decriminalized (penalty similar to a parking ticket) in 16 states, at least for some of the population, and was only made unlawful in order to further the finances of the Hearst family, who wanted to profit from the vast tracts of woodlands they owned. Making hemp illegal allowed them to turn the paper industry from renewable hemp to wood pulp, from which they profited handsomely, and which decimated the forests of North America. The issue here is that someone would have to be pretty ballsy or stupid to risk losing the thousands of dollars they've spent on a cruise probably for at least a balcony stateroom if they are planning to smoke pot, in order to sneak pot on board. There are dogs that can smell the thought of it from a distance. We may not see them, but they come on board and go through everyone's luggage and everything. I've heard they run them down the corridors of the ships in the middle of the night before people wake up and the dogs can smell anything inside the staterooms that shouldn't be there. So, while I think it should be legal on the federal level and it's part of an American Citizen's right to pursue happiness and all that, if you choose to go on a cruise then you should be able to go a week or two without sparking up. Those who truly need it for medical reasons can get a prescription of a synthetic pill form which is said to be somewhat effective for nausea and pain, and legal to take on their trip. I just can't see that the risk equals the reward for anyone. You're getting on a ship that offers unlimited alcohol to anyone over the age of 18, people can drink till they are physically sick, then do it again the next day, what more do they need? On top of all that, one could purchase a little bit on their shore excursions, use it there and discard it before boarding if they needed it that badly. Though then theres the risk of being locked up in a foreign jail if it's unlawful there. This isn't a physically addictive substance. I could understand someone addicted to coke or heroin or something like that who must have their 'fix' every day or they have withdrawal needing to take that risk; then again, that demographic likely wouldn't be going on a cruise - that money would likely go to the coke or heroin or crack or whatever.

In summary, I don't think that anyone bringing aboard any pot is really going to be any danger to anyone, except maybe they might make the pizza delivery room service guy's job a bit harder. They'll probably mess up their vacation when they get popped. It should be legal but it's not (federally), so one must follow the rules if one wants to sail around the ocean in luxury.

[Aquahound]

Thanks, Aquahound, we've clarified the language. We're being told by PC that there will not be an official "police report" -- triple checking though with officials, so stay tuned. For now, it's just the "incident report" submitted by the police officers.

 

No problem Dan. This is my line of work, so that's why I know all the lingo. ;)

 

The fact the LE Case Number is blank, and further down it says Disposition: No Report, also tells me no case number was pulled. Therefore, there were no intentions to write a full police report, at least, not at that time and not up until the date the CAD report was printed on April 26.

[HB Cruiser]

Whether you side with the passengers or RCCL, here are the facts:

 

1. The husband packed tobacco in a container that had a hidden compartment.

2. The port security found this hidden tobacco, causing them to be suspicious of a possible illegal substance, tested it, and at that time, by the results of their test, deemed it was an illegal substance.

3. The family was removed from the ship.

4. The tobacco was later retested and found to be just that, tobacco.

5. By contract, the Captain has the right to deny boarding due to his judgement of the family being a potential risk. The Captain exercised that right.

 

I'm really sorry for the OP and her husband for not getting to take the cruise BUT had the husband not initiated the original mistake of hiding his tobacco, NONE of this would have taken place. Everything else that occurred after the hiding of the tobacco was the result of his "bad decision." After his "bad decision" nothing happend to this family that would not have happened to any other passengers.

 

Would I be unhappy if this happened to me, heck yes I would BUT I am also one that understands that I am personally responsible for my own actions. If I break a rule or do something to make myself look suspicious, I understand I could be denied boarding, it's in the contract and the contract is written for me and everyone else to follow.

 

Tim

[Jsim2011]

Husband (not thinking) decides the hairspray can is the perfect size to protect his smoking substance. His wife has no clue what he has done. It's not his finest moment, but it doesn't mean he was deliberately trying to smuggle a questionable substance.

 

 

 

Why didn't OP state all that in her original post? Why did she omit the fact that he had hidden the stuff in the hairspray can?

[Jumbiecruiser]

Why didn't OP state all that in her original post? Why did she omit the fact that he had hidden the stuff in the hairspray can?

 

 

Because she was trying to gain support from the masses to be on her side against the big bad cruise line.;)

[postmeome]

this is worse than the other post boring..boring...boring

if you have got 2bacco take it...

if you have got meds take them...

if they are legal no problem...

why make a drama out of a crises...

anyway BOLTONvsTOTTENHAM... on telly at 8 going to pub,anyone fancy a pint.

you can smoke in beer garden:D

[Aquahound]

4. The tobacco was later retested and found to be just that, tobacco.

 

Good post but respectfully, #4 cannot be fact. There is no test for tobacco and it is impossible to find a substance to be tobacco.

 

All that we know is that the substance did not test positive for marijuana.

[bajathree]

Why is it that everyone thinks you have to do something illegal or be arrested to be ordered off the ship or denied boarding:confused:

[lori450]

O.K. at the risk of flamers...again...I'll jump in.

What breach of contract??? They packed something legal in a can meant to hide jewelry, etc. What rule did they break. The stuff was not contraband....what risk??? The contract does not specify what containers you may pack your crap in:rolleyes: Many pipe smokers smoke flavored tobacco, it doesn't matter what they named it.

The supposition that they were testing the waters for other substances is just that, an assumption.

They broke no rules, co-operated with authorities and by all rights should have proceeded on their cruise. Those are the only concrete facts as presented by the above report. It still worries me. Now do I have to watch exactly how and what I pack my crap in???

Go ahead flame away.

 

no flame here. I totally agree. When I first read about the can, I thought that if he had such poor judgement, who's to say what else he might do. But then someone mentioned "dummy run" and all the pieces fell into place. Now, even though I believe that this is exactly what happened, you can't arrest someone in anticipation that they will commit a crime. Even if he was planning on smuggling something back in that can, he hadn't done it yet. Can't convict on what you think someone will do.

[GriffinAlexander]

I don't know, If I want a drink I just find a bar. Carrying it with you seems like a pain. And if you need a drink during the miniscule time a bar isn't open or available you have a problem.

 

We actually had bar setup and took the 2 bottles back home with us unopened. We had CAS cards and also purchased our drinks in clubs/bars/restaurants on the ship. We had no need at any time to use the liquor in the room at all, and DH likes to drink on vacation. We thought we'd save money by having the liquor in the room, but never wanted to go through the trouble of leaving wherever we were to go to the room and refill a drink. Any time we weren't at a club/bar/restaurant we used the CAS cards for free drinks at the cost of only a tip.

[lori450]

Why is it that everyone thinks you have to do something illegal or be arrested to be ordered off the ship or denied boarding:confused:

 

Because we're Americans and we were raised to believe that you only got arrested if you broke the law. It's something that we were encouraged to be proud of. "Other countries" could arrest you for nothing just to keep you quiet or to maintain control via intimidation. So, that's why we all look at it that way.

 

Now, I know you're going to say that the ship isn't part of the US, but you asked... I answered. :)

[nellydean]

Good post but respectfully, #4 cannot be fact. There is no test for tobacco and it is impossible to find a substance to be tobacco.

 

All that we know is that the substance did not test positive for marijuana.

 

And seeing as that is all it was tested for, and it tested negative, that should be the end of the matter.

[marshhawk]

Just another person who is pushing the envelope-see what he could or couldn't get away with, and funny-he didn't. Sometimes you just have to back up and say "Boy am I an A@#$h(&* or what?"

[Aquahound]

And seeing as that is all it was tested for, and it tested negative, that should be the end of the matter.

 

Criminally, it was the end of the matter.

[jonbgd]

All that we know is that the substance did not test positive for marijuana.

 

And seeing as that is all it was tested for, and it tested negative, that should be the end of the matter.

 

And having grown up in Burlingame CA..... Just because a product doesnt test positive for something doesnt mean it isnt it;)

 

 

one word BALCO:eek:

[bajathree]

Because we're American's and we were raised to believe that you only got arrested if you broke the law. It's something that we were encouraged to be proud of. "Other countries" could arrest you for nothing just to keep you quiet or to maintain control via intimidation. So, that's why we all look at it that way.

 

Now, I know you're going to say that the ship isn't part of the US, but you asked... I answered. :)

 

I will give you a perfect example...I was on a sailing....there was a 16 year old kid "suspected" of being drunk in the teen club...my kids witnessed this....the teen claimed his erratic walking on a leg injury...the next day the teen was again in the club and again appeared drunk and started a VERBAL confrontation with another teen...the suspected teens parents were called and the father got into a verbal confrontation with security...both the father and son were ordered off the ship at the next port of call and the mother and their other teen and adult daughter continued on. The rules of the ship are just that....the rules of the ship....doesn't mean that it's always "illegal" or you are going to be arrested.

[Charles4515]

Why didn't OP state all that in her original post? Why did she omit the fact that he had hidden the stuff in the hairspray can?

 

Her posts and the dishonesty in them were all about getting support from Cruise Critic members so that Royal Caribbean would refund the money to make her go away. She omitted facts that would make them look bad and not get our support. It is all about the money. No principles are involved on her part.

[lori450]

I will give you a perfect example...I was on a sailing....there was a 16 year old kid "suspected" of being drunk in the teen club...my kids witnessed this....the teen claimed his erratic walking on a leg injury...the next day the teen was again in the club and again appeared drunk and started a VERBAL confrontation with another teen...the suspected teens parents were called and the father got into a verbal confrontation with security...both the father and son were ordered off the ship at the next port of call and the mother and their other teen and adult daughter continued on. The rules of the ship are just that....the rules of the ship....doesn't mean that it's always "illegal" or you are going to be arrested.

 

Oh, I agree and I understand. I was just responding to your question. You know better than to put such a loaded question in a post. :D;):rolleyes:

[Jumbiecruiser]

Criminally, it was the end of the matter.

 

Give up. She doesn't get it.

[Charles4515]

Why is it that everyone thinks you have to do something illegal or be arrested to be ordered off the ship or denied boarding:confused:

 

They don't understand that the cruise line can make their own set of rules like the ones in the cruise contract. You could be put off the ship for conduct that is not illegal.