Family of 5 Robbed and shot at in Rotan

[Family Travel Story]

Wow, that's crazy. I have gone off with my family several times in Rotan on snorkeling trips and have actually felt pretty safe. Maybe it is the whole safety in numbers when on a ship sponsored excursion.

[iron9er]

Wow, that's crazy. I have gone off with my family several times in Rotan on snorkeling trips and have actually felt pretty safe. Maybe it is the whole safety in numbers when on a ship sponsored excursion.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought, but really it can happen anywhere. At the bottom of that article it states that 55 people got robbed on a ship sponsored excursion lat year in St Lucia and 30 some on a ship sponsored excursion in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Stuff happens.

 

But, we just got back from Roatan a couple of weeks ago. I always feel safe there and love the island. I have taken tours with Victor Bodden and Island Marketing and it is good to be on a tour led by locals who know the island. But, you always have to be aware, even in your own city.

[golfb4cruzing]

Safer than Detroit or D.C.

 

Or Cleveland

[nybumpkin]

That lets England out for me :eek:

In all seriousness, the one time on a cruise vacation where we ever felt concerned about being possible crime victims was in - Dover, England. We had walked from our B&B to a restaurant not too far away. On the way back we stopped to look at an old church - and found ourselves with three rather sketchy folks eying us. We very quickly made our way out to the main road, the sketchy characters not too far away - but there was enough traffic around to deter them, if in fact they were planning something. We let our guard down when we stopped to look at that church, and lesson learned: never let your guard down, no matter where you're traveling.

[Duncandad]

Right, use "common" sense. Also, absolutely beautiful photos CJ!

[DebJ14]

Sad. Between that family's experience and the murder of Nedenia Post Dye (owner of Spa Baan Suerte) Roatan tourism may be impacted. We have always either gone on a ship's excursion or with Victor Bodden Tours.

[OCruisers]

The poster who experienced this and originated the other thread seemed to be totally honest and sincere ... just wanted to warn others not to rent a car and go on back roads "off the beaten path" places in Roatan.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[mikenhe]

In all seriousness, the one time on a cruise vacation where we ever felt concerned about being possible crime victims was in - Dover, England. We had walked from our B&B to a restaurant not too far away. On the way back we stopped to look at an old church - and found ourselves with three rather sketchy folks eying us. We very quickly made our way out to the main road, the sketchy characters not too far away - but there was enough traffic around to deter them, if in fact they were planning something. We let our guard down when we stopped to look at that church, and lesson learned: never let your guard down, no matter where you're traveling.

sketchy people near a church in England?

 

they were priests..... :p

[joeyancho]

Wow, that's crazy. I have gone off with my family several times in Rotan on snorkeling trips and have actually felt pretty safe. Maybe it is the whole safety in numbers when on a ship sponsored excursion.

 

I'm sure that family felt safe right up to the time the bullets started flying. 3rd world countries are never safe, regardless of how one feels. Simple arithmetic, you have money, they don't.

[tigercat]

I bought a necklace in Roatan a couple of years ago. It broke and the owner said that if he got it he would see what he would do. We will be there in Oct. and I was thinking of taking a taxi to the place instead of doing a whole tour just to get there. I have been there several times so was not really looking at doing much at all. Not sure that Victor Boden would like it if that is the only place I want to go.

tigercat

[lifes-a-beach]

before this gets locked i'd just like to make an observation. i could qualify my statements by saying i have travelled extensively, not on vacation, and in my experience the farther away a place is the easier it is to be convinced its dangerous. a good example was bagdad while u.s. troops were there providing security. one of the safest cities on the planet yet to hear news reports visiting was all but a guarantee you would be beheaded. on the other hand very few people would hesitate to fly to detroit or houston (to which i live close) for a long weekend even thou both are statistically much more dangerous. i've learned that if i just chill out and pay attention there are very few places i won't go. not none but very few.

[riclop]

What a shame, pretty soon we will have no where to go.

[babyher]

I think it is like anywhere else in the world.

 

I am sure everyone knows an area right in their hometown (no matter where it is) where you just don't go day or night unless you want trouble.

 

Just because you see pretty beaches and palm trees and beautiful sunsets doesn't mean it's paradise.

 

Be aware of your surroundings and don't venture off the beaten path

[mapsmith]

Safer than Detroit or D.C.

 

Or Miami?

[sharecruises]

Sad. Between that family's experience and the murder of Nedenia Post Dye (owner of Spa Baan Suerte) Roatan tourism may be impacted. We have always either gone on a ship's excursion or with Victor Bodden Tours.

 

Nedenia Post Dye is a tragedy BUT should not scare away anyone - it was obviously someone she knew...her "friend" (domestic) and that can happen anywhere

 

BUT the armed robbery of this family is very frightening - and a good reminder why I don't rent cars in these ports.

 

I went to Roatan (Coxen Hole) before they built Mahogany Bay and I had a good time at the then "fins and flippers" for $20 - which is now called Maya and is a much more expensive cruise line excursion - but the "town" itself was very run down and sketchy, agressive sellers - and it smelled like pee pee....poor skinny doggies too

 

I have been glad of Mahogany Bay and have no real desire to go anywhere else there JMO

[gck1249]

Like everyone said you just have to be aware, it can happen anywhere. A couple of years ago we were staying at the Holiday Inn across from Bayside in Miami for a pre cruise night. It was 3 ladies and we had dinner at Bayside and were walking around the shops when I had a feeling of being followed by some young men. I pointed it out to my sister and we all ducked into the Ladies room, dumb move, they actually followed us in there. Lucky for us there were a few other people in there so we turned around and took off, found a security guard and told him what happened. He said he couldn't leave the center but walked us to the light and said he would stall them from crossing the street till he saw that we were safely inside the hotel. It was a pretty scary night, never will walk around Miami at night again!

[kona_wahine]

Only been there once and we did a carnival excursion: canopy tour and Tabayna beach. From what I heard and saw from the bus I would be a bit scared to venture out on my own. There have been a couple murders there in the last year. I know there was one right after we were there of an American.

[sharecruises]

Like everyone said you just have to be aware, it can happen anywhere. A couple of years ago we were staying at the Holiday Inn across from Bayside in Miami for a pre cruise night. It was 3 ladies and we had dinner at Bayside and were walking around the shops when I had a feeling of being followed by some young men. I pointed it out to my sister and we all ducked into the Ladies room, dumb move, they actually followed us in there. Lucky for us there were a few other people in there so we turned around and took off, found a security guard and told him what happened. He said he couldn't leave the center but walked us to the light and said he would stall them from crossing the street till he saw that we were safely inside the hotel. It was a pretty scary night, never will walk around Miami at night again!

 

Right and I would not walk around Orlando at night ever - yowsers

 

Taking risks can lead to bad results - and IMHO driving a rental car on an island is not a risk I want to take (not to mention various tales of woe with "accidents" in Mexico, police shakedowns etc)

 

Cruiselines can - and have - pulled out of ports if dangerous - well especially if the island does NOTHING about the danger/criminals

 

St Croix is a good example - I was there in the 90's they had a brand new port, dancers, steel drums, stiltwalkers - soooo happy to get ships there

 

sadly - robberies, assaults - a Carnival cruiser was stabbed on the beach - the government of St Croix (anti US/anti being a territory etc) refused to do anything about it - and Carnival corp pulled out - bam - today few ships call there - their loss

 

It will be interesting to see how Roatan addresses this . Carnival maybe knew what they were doing when they made it "hard" for cruisers to pick up outside tours ? Mahogany Bay is nice - maybe it should just be a private island , like Royal uses "Labadee" which is NOT an island just a private RCI ONLY resort, only open for ships - and fenced off to ALL others in or out?

[hillbilly73]

Isn't there a number of expats living on Roatan? I would like to hear from some of those folks but if you already live on a island no need to cruise I guess.

[Keel Haul]

sketchy people near a church in England?

 

they were priests..... :p

;)not at night, they were UKIP supporters looking for people to convert.

[ibcnusoon]

This is so sad, and frightening too.

 

We went to Roatan in 2011 on Carnival, we took the ship excursion to Tabyana Beach. The beach was breathtaking, the snokeling the best in the Caribbean.

 

They did have someone making sure that no one from the outside went pass the waterline onto the beach area so the locals would parade up and down the beach holding their wares, then stand off to the side. There was another gentlemen, supposedly hired by Tabyana/Carnival(?) who walked around and made sure locals weren't digging into any beach bags. I didn't know the island had a "high security warning", as I would have probably been aware of my surroundings more.

 

Is there a website where we can check the levels of security? I wouldn't know to check before a cruise, but I do now.

[ibcnusoon]

Well, this is alarming:

 

The vast majority of serious crimes in Honduras, including those against U.S. citizens, are never solved; of the 50 murders committed against U.S. citizens since 2008, police have only solved two. Members of the Honduran National Police are known to engage in criminal activity, including murder and car theft. The Government of Honduras lacks sufficient resources to properly investigate and prosecute cases, and police often lack vehicles or fuel to respond to calls for assistance. In practice, this means police may take hours to arrive at the scene of a violent crime, or may not respond at all. As a result, criminals operate with a high degree of impunity throughout Honduras. The Honduran government is in the early stages of substantial reforms to its criminal justice institutions.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/honduras-travel-warning.html

[Sammycupcaker]

We ended up docking a coxes hole when we were there in Oct. we had planned in spending the day at Mahogany Bay. We tried walking in the town a bit but it just didn't feel right so we went back to the ship. We had 2 school aged girls together asking us lots of unusual questions and a guy who wanted to give us a tour of the island in his personal car. I'm sure it was fine, but it didn't feel right so I went back to where I knew I was safe. How tragic for the family.

[blue_water]

Just an FYI, an earlier thread the the victim started here was closed due to ongoing rude responses from a few folks. I also started a thread on tripadvisor to get validation for the OP from folks who live there and the event was validated. So as always travel smart and use common sense just as at home.

[overthehillcruiser]

You pay Victor the same regardless,and I would think the less they have to drive you around, the less fuel they use. We have just used them as a taxi with nary a complaint..

I bought a necklace in Roatan a couple of years ago. It broke and the owner said that if he got it he would see what he would do. We will be there in Oct. and I was thinking of taking a taxi to the place instead of doing a whole tour just to get there. I have been there several times so was not really looking at doing much at all. Not sure that Victor Boden would like it if that is the only place I want to go.

tigercat