The other side of the Freedom/tobacco story

[BecciBoo]

O.K. I'm getting bored with all this....now for some cruise planning for MY Freedom cruise.....let's see....no cans, check.....no tobacco, check...no Rum Runners, check....no booze, water or soda, check.....no stupidity, check......

Geez I'm almost packed.:D

[Rockfordcruiser]

O.K. now with all this said (and I mean ALL) what do we do in regard to legal prescription drugs? As mentioned before, I do carry the big (I'm blind too) day labeled container instead of the 8 bottles with me, if I have the prescriptions. Do I have to stop that now? Don't see anything mentioned about it in the contract.

 

Best way is to carry with you in carry on. By (and yes now ill use the word) Law, they have to be in their original container with your name on them. This doesn't matter if your on a RCCL cruise or any other cruise line or flying or even just crossing a border. It's a federal law.

[BecciBoo]

Probably, I would certainly stop if any of those were prescribed "happy pills" or anything similar.

 

I.

 

Nope, nothing like that. Just general IBS and blood pressure meds.

 

Pooh, ya mean I have to carry all the bottles. Prescription bottles, check.....

[RnBluvher]

O.K. I'm getting bored with all this....now for some cruise planning for MY Freedom cruise.....let's see....no cans, check.....no tobacco, check...no Rum Runners, check....no booze, water or soda, check.....no stupidity, check......

 

Geez I'm almost packed.:D

 

 

If there was a like button I would be all over it with this one.....LMAO!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D

[Cruising89143]

Although it might have been entertaining to allow them to board and then monitor them very closely upon every return to the ship...

 

 

Maybe they should count their lucky stars that they didn't allow this to happen. Things could be much worse right now.;)

[RareBird]

maybe ship's test was positive if they tested the pipe and found weed residue on it?

 

But the police only tested the tobacco and it was OK?

[DRD07]

Always depends on who is calling the shots during a particular situation. We were sailing on a well known cruise line that had experienced several breakins of cabin safes, only they realized they were not breakins, they were being opened by staff that had access to the tools used to open a malfunctioning safe. Turned out to be a security team member.

 

I happen to take heavy narcotics for a condition and asked about what if the bottles were stolen during the cruise knowing they were irreplaceable upon ship. The suggestion made to me by the chief of security and chief purser was this:Do you happen to have either one of those false bottom cans that look and feel real or a book with a false compartment built into it. You could hide your medicine in one of those and they will probably be safe because a thief will be moving quickly and wont take the time to check every container. Just an interesting aside to the original storey. You just never know when it will be you in the hotseat.

the cruise line made a decision based on facts or feelings we will never known the reason for and a couple lost a vacation that may not have even bothered another security team once they knew the substance was legal. Life is truly the luck of the draw.

[BeagleOne]

I don't take any prescription meds, so IDK if this is possible...if the original containers are big, could you ask the doctor or pharmacist to repackage them in smaller containers with all of the correct information on them?

[BeagleOne]

Maybe they should count their lucky stars that they didn't allow this to happen. Things could be much worse right now.;)

 

But just think of the fun we could have on CC with THAT thread! :D

[FLACRUISER99]

Does anyone have an accurate time line of the events on boarding day?

[johneeo]

Need to read all policies for any company you deal with then. RCCL, Carnival, American airlines, Holiday inn, etc...

 

Maybe you could do it for me.

 

What are the specifics of packing legal items that can result in being denied boarding?

 

Are there any clauses for sweaty fat guys with beedy eyes?

 

Just an aside, some clauses in contracts can be deemed unenforceable and determined irrelevent in a court of law. Honestly, I do not read my cruise contract, so, there could be a clause in there such as "anyone found to be in possession of smuggled alcohol will be executed at sea".

 

How do you think that clause would stand up should it go to a US court of law?

 

I go on a cruise, and I conduct myself in a considerate and reasonable manner at all times, that is my contract. I would hope that the cruise line would also. However, not the case here.

 

And stupidity is becoming the motis operandi of RCI. At least they are getting consistent with some things.

[Cotswold Eagle]

How interesting that in the OP's 60+ posts on the original thread she NEVER ONCE mentioned or alluded to the fact that the tobacco was in the false bottom of a fake hairspray can.

 

Yes, even though she said the reason for posting was that she just wanted to let everyone know what had happened as a cautionary tale.... :)

[johneeo]

Now your throwing out cliches? Once they step on the ship, its not a country at all, its the land of Why not!

 

When I step on the Oasis on June 23, what country will I be in?

 

Please advise.

[mrsdoc3]

I still feel sorry for the OP. I'm not sure that she did anything wrong (not that she'd have wanted to cruise alone on their anniversary). She's a much nicer person than anyone I know, because in her shoes, my friends and I would be staring daggers at the husband for YEARS to come. (In fact she did appear to be very nice and polite in her posts.)

 

She probably knew about it all along and that's why she wasn't mad at her husband.

[mrsdoc3]

Quote: "I do think it's a little messed up that people actually smuggle and attempt to smuggle alcohol onboard all the time, but he "smuggles" on a legal substance and can't board the ship? While the argument that he displayed the fact that he had the equipment to smuggle illegal substances onboard is definitely valid, I wouldn't ignore that the officers were probably embarassed/disappointed that they didn't have a real drug bust and wanted to make sure that in the end, they still won. Probably a mixture of a safety precaution and power trip."

 

Did RCI win? The got to keep the cruise fare, but they would have had that even in they were allowed back on the ship. By not allowing them to board, then the cut off a possible income stream from the purchases they would have made on board.

 

So, they did not win financially in the short run, and the (bad?) publicity from this incident may cost them passengers in the future.

[orville99]

When I step on the Oasis on June 23, what country will I be in?

 

Please advise.

 

 

It all depends. Will you have a forward cabin or an aft cabin:D

[mjldvlks]

. . . By (and yes now ill use the word) Law, they have to be in their original container with your name on them. . . .It's a federal law.

 

No it isn't. It may be a good idea, but it is not required. Look at the TSA website, for example.

 

As to the article, I may be more confused now than ever. RCI says there was a positive test. OP said there was not The remainder of the article is unclear, but the port folks don't say anything about the positive test and seem satisfied the substance was legal. To me those two facts don't seem to add up. Assuming the article is reasonabley accurate, I think OP mis lead us. But RCI's side of the story doesn't seem consistent wither. I also have a question about how the can was discovered in the first place.

 

I guess the bottom line for me is, as other have said, once everyone decided it was legal, what part of the policy was violated? If I were a business, I would not want to go to court relying on what I thought they might do. I can understand relying on concerns to turn them away. But to turn them away and keep their money based on a suspeicion doesn't seem like a very solid defense to me.

[genegri]

Thank you for the link. It's great to know the other side of a story. When I read the original story by Hagerz350, I always thought it was a bit strange that she kept saying her husband felt guilty and I thought she was not as angry as I would expect. Now I know why.

 

That being said, I still don't think they should have been denied boarding, unless they really breached the customer contract. Yes, they showed poor judgement trying to conceal a legal substance. But RCI gave the wrong judgement denying them boarding.

[PH8]

If you go to the link within CC article called Halo Hookah you can see the actual cans of "Tobacco". It is flavored tobacco, that's all.

 

I see the original names still Kathy, what are you referring to??

You are :confused::confused: confusing me......you are saying it is called Halo Hookah but it is NOT Hookah,only flavored tobacco?? :confused::confused:

[bighairtexan]

As far as bringing medication through the TSA there is SO much misinformation out there. The Rx medication does NOT have to be labeled and CAN be in the daily dose containers.

 

This is from the TSA website:

 

We do not require that your medications be labeled.

 

Medications in daily dosage containers are allowed through the checkpoint once they have been screened.

 

http://www.tsa.dhs.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1374.shtm#4

Towards the bottom of the page under the heading: MEDICATIONS

 

However it may delay your screening. If I were doing this I'd bring some kind of photocopy of either my RX's or I'd bring the labels or a copy of them.

 

But is is NOT illegal to bring unlabeled RX medications on a plane.

However on a ship the Captain is the ultimate authority. Could he find daily dose containers suspicious and deny my boarding? I suppose so. But if they do that to everyone that brings on daily pill containers then there will be LOADS of empty cabins and LOADS of folks going to other cruise lines. They don't WANT to lose customers. I know Captains are not gods (Costa Concordia springs to mind) but the vast majority are clear thinking EXPERIENCED folks who have seen it all and have a good idea what to be alert to.

[bajathree]

If someone wanted to bring an illegal substance to smoke on board it would be very easy. All you would have to do is roll some very nice looking joints and put them in your cigarette pack. Or fill the cigarettes with the stuff or the easiest of all is to just put it in your pockets. They dont search your pockets when returning to the ship. I doubt the guy had intentions to use a false bottom shaving cream can to smuggle stuff onto the ship from the ports. Why would you bring a can of anything off the ship in the first place.

 

Because they don't check you bags getting off the ship...and then you can conceal anything you wanted in the can on the way back on the ship along with a receipt for a real can that you bought and threw out ......and say you just bought it on the island;)

[BecciBoo]

General term "hookah" referrs to a water pipe or bong.

The cans of tobacco sold by Halo company are named "Hookah tobacco" and have different flavors, i.e. pino colada, etc. It is loose tobacco supposedly made to smoke in a Hookah or water pipe.

[MauiGirl55]

These people sound like TT they probley saved along time for the trip so when they got where they where going they may of thought they were going to bring enough home to pay for trip and make alittle money on the side.there is a thing i found out in life their is alwayes some one hire up than you. You all miss the point the Captain has the final say so it's his ship not yours not those peoples it 's his final decission.He does not care what RCL policy is it's his ship.

[jennmaybe]

Ok, so I found the other thread.....

 

Perfect example to the saying "There are 2 sides to every story"! I think everyone on her thread just believed what she was saying without hearing the other side. Like so many others said, she obviously left out a ton of info!

[johneeo]

These people sound like TT they probley saved along time for the trip so when they got where they where going they may of thought they were going to bring enough home to pay for trip and make alittle money on the side.there is a thing i found out in life their is alwayes some one hire up than you. You all miss the point the Captain has the final say so it's his ship not yours not those peoples it 's his final decission.He does not care what RCL policy is it's his ship.

 

U. S. laws have no relevence concerning the actions of a Captain while docked in Fort Lauderdale?

 

I do not think so.