NCL Pearl Crew member killed in Roatan?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

For those of you who demand the cruise lines stop visiting Roatan, consider they should also stop visiting Tampa, Miami, Galveston, Long Beach, New York, Seattle, Hawaii as well due to crime.

Now hopefully you get the idea.

I totally agree, there is actually far more crime and murders close to all of these cruise ports in the US, it is a sad statistic. Might as well add St Thomas in the mix and San Juan. And while this hit home and close to Norwegian Cruise Line and I feel very bad for the crew of the Pearl for losing a fellow crew member and the crew members family, don't think for a minute this is totally on the good hearted nature of the cruise line and thinking of only the safety of their crew and passengers while I am sure this is a small part of what they are doing this for remember.... EVERYTHING a cruise line does is all about the MONEY!! While I do not know statistics but it is a fact that the cruise line such as NCL makes far more with on board spending while at sea. Then the major reason a cruise line goes to a port is to make money selling shore excursions. When the private excursions start to OUT SELL the cruise line it is time for that cruise line to move on, which is why Trijillo/Banana Coast is being developed, for the past year Roatan has not been the least bit profitable to NCL. It will take a few years then everyone will be telling everyone of this great private excursions to take in Trijillo. Just like what has happened in Roatan. Don't think for a minute this was solely about the grievance.

Much the same happened with Mazatlan Mexico on the West Coast. I know several inside sources at cruise lines and they were getting to a point that they were lucky to sell a hand full of excursions in Mazatlan yet thousands would get off the ship and head off on a private excursions. The violence in Mexico was a convenient excuse to stop making calls in Mazatlan or just plain pulling out of sailing the West Mexico because the West Coast people were not spending money on board :rolleyes: Now that the Private Excursion operators have now gone out of business the cruise lines are starting to return.

[MzMelissa26]

This is a sad event for this individual and his family! But look around and see how many other reports there have been in the last 10 years involving cruise ship passengers or crew in Roatan.

 

Actually they are becoming more frequent and there was another issue just in January

[MzMelissa26]

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2014/01/articles/crime/crime-in-roatan-shots-fired-armed-robbery-of-carnival-cruise-passengers/

[rolloman]

While many of you are chiming in with the old "it can happen anywhere bit...maybe you do a little research before you speak. Try going to Cruise law news and you will find the U.S. State Department issued a warning that the murder rate in Honduras is the highest in the world. IMO all cruiselines should cease going there immediately or at a minimum forbid exit from the port gated area.

Edited April 8, 2014 by rolloman

[gemsm]

More and more cruiselines are creating private cruise centers hoping to keep passangers safely in and locals out. I know Royal has Labadee in Haiti and Carnival has a few including Grand Turk. Does NCL have any cruise centers in the works ?

 

Actually Grand Turk has nothing to do with passengers in and locals out...Grand Turk has no crime and the locals there are some of the nicest people you ever want to meet. That private center is more because there isn't really much on Grand Turk.

 

Carnival did post on Facebook that they are advising their passengers to stay in the Mahogany Bay complex while in Roatan. Personally I feel less comfortable in ports like that or Labadee. When I see armed guards protecting the port area I really have no desire to be off of the ship.

[gemsm]

While many of you are chiming in with the old "it can happen anywhere bit...maybe you do a little research before you speak. Try going to Cruise law news and you will find the U.S. State Department issued a warning that the murder rate in Honduras is the highest in the world.

 

Yes but the sad part is up until this last year that didn't translate to Roatan because it is so isolated from mainland Honduras. Apparently the riff-raff from the mainland are making their way over to the island.

[Mysto]

I'll leave others to discuss the whys - causes and cures. Good luck to you all.:rolleyes:

 

NCL had a death of an NCL crew member from a current NCL ship in Roatan two days ago. It is fresh on the current cruisers minds. The NCL CEO had to be perceived as "doing something about it". What else could he do in a couple of days. He cancelled the port. I would too. Not because of safety but because I'm sure the majority of the passengers expected something and this was really the only choice in this short time frame. I'm sailing on the Dawn in less than two weeks and we'll see what happens then.

[PCLMassachusetts]

I am pleased to see NCL stand up and give notice to the Roatan authorities that they must control crime or lose business.

 

This may be construed as saber rattling but it may also have a widespread effect in making all the ports safer for cruisers.

 

If NCL did not take quick action, the local authorities could sit back in their comfort zone and continue to allow crime to flourish. This will bring pressure on them to do something about the problem.

 

How much notice are they really giving and is this an appropriate response from NCL?

 

Last month Tunisia would not allow a group of Israelis to get off of the Jade and NCL cancelled all remaining ports of call as well as the possibility of any future ports of call there in response. IMO this is the appropriate response.

 

This week one of NCL's own "family", a crew member who contributes to NCL making a profit, was brutally killed in Roatan. NCL's response to this was " In an abundance of caution for our guests and crew, we have cancelled calls to Roatan this week for Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Jewel."

 

passengers not being allowed off a ship = cancelled for good

crew member gunned down in port = cancelled for a week

 

I, for one, do not feel that NCL has reacted appropriately to this most recent situation.

[swedish weave]

I believe some additional information needs to be posted to dispel the idea that the decisions to pull out of ports is solely based on money.

 

Mazatlan spent 3 million dollars installing a cobblestone marked route to the central district and spent 50 million installing security cameras all over town. This helped to get some cruise lines to start calling on the port again, but had no impact on the ability of the cruise lines to sell tours.

 

I was in Mazatlan last month and saw no decrease in the number of Pulmonia taxis, tour vans, or tour peddlers at the terminal.

 

The decision to cancel stops at Roatan was IMHO to get the attention of local authorities to take appropriate action to reduce crime at that port. It was indeed a reaction to an NCL crew member being shot, but the financial impact on the locals may help to get the authorities to act on the crime problem. As it did in Mazatlan, if all cruise lines stopped calling at the port, you can rest assured that action would be taken on the crime problem in order to lure the business back.

 

Cruise lines must do things to generate revenue, but they walk a fine line when their decisions affect the safety of their guests. It isn't all about money.

[thecruisers723]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Jacob's family. This is just horrible. I've walked in Roatan and never felt unsafe. I walked down the street taking pictures with my cell phone the whole time. It would have never dawned on me that this could have happened because it was day time in a touristy, heavy populated area. But based on this picture of the crime scene, there were many people around where this happened and I'm sure Jacob felt perfectly safe as well.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=708980932498967&set=pcb.708980942498966&type=1&theater

Edited April 8, 2014 by thecruisers723

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I believe some additional information needs to be posted to dispel the idea that the decisions to pull out of ports is solely based on money.

 

Mazatlan spent 3 million dollars installing a cobblestone marked route to the central district and spent 50 million installing security cameras all over town. This helped to get some cruise lines to start calling on the port again, but had no impact on the ability of the cruise lines to sell tours.

 

I was in Mazatlan last month and saw no decrease in the number of Pulmonia taxis, tour vans, or tour peddlers at the terminal.

 

The decision to cancel stops at Roatan was IMHO to get the attention of local authorities to take appropriate action to reduce crime at that port. It was indeed a reaction to an NCL crew member being shot, but the financial impact on the locals may help to get the authorities to act on the crime problem. As it did in Mazatlan, if all cruise lines stopped calling at the port, you can rest assured that action would be taken on the crime problem in order to lure the business back.

 

Cruise lines must do things to generate revenue, but they walk a fine line when their decisions affect the safety of their guests. It isn't all about money.

I agree in this case it is not all about the money but trust me it has come into consideration, every decision made by any cruise line considers the $$$

I for one hope this is just temporary and they are trying to send a warning to the government of Roatan to have more protection for the passengers and crew.

[gemsm]

...just stating a fact my friend...are you saying I shouldn't have flown into New York or Houston last week because someone was killed in those cities? Yes, NCL has to respond and I respect that...and feel VERY sad for the victim and his family, but only two incidents on an impoverished island over the years deserves SOME sympathy for an island of very kind and giving people, who have their share of troubled youth, just like wherever you are from....try not to be so quick to condemn a whole island because of one act of tragedy. If we lived by your logic...you would not be living anywhere in the world, because something bad happened there before you came...

 

Um its been many more then 2 incidents. Maybe only 2 deaths but a lot of people have been robbed and some threatened to be kidnapped. I used to want to retire to Roatan until speaking with an American expatriate that basically said they feel unsafe having anything that even speaks of her having any money for fear of her safety. She lives in Belize now in a gated property with security guards

[Midwestgal]

While many of you are chiming in with the old "it can happen anywhere bit...maybe you do a little research before you speak. Try going to Cruise law news and you will find the U.S. State Department issued a warning that the murder rate in Honduras is the highest in the world. IMO all cruiselines should cease going there immediately or at a minimum forbid exit from the port gated area.

 

It's actuality for Honduras , yes I know Roatan it part of Honduras but it's a stand alone island just off of Honduras. I've been looking for crime rates in just Roatan but I'm not finding much.

[swedish weave]

passengers not being allowed off a ship = cancelled for good

crew member gunned down in port = cancelled for a week

 

I, for one, do not feel that NCL has reacted appropriately to this most recent situation.

 

The above statements may be a little misleading. The ships now calling on Roatan will be repositioning to other areas within the next couple of weeks, so the time frame mentioned has no impact on NCL's decision or the severity of the incident. NCL can always cancel or change ports for next season.

[ColinIllinois]

I believe that in this unfortunate situation just like the situation in Tunisia NCL and their management is "damned if they do, damned if they don't". They aren't going to make everyone happy either way with how they handle it.

[triptolemus]

It's actuality for Honduras , yes I know Roatan it part of Honduras but it's a stand alone island just off of Honduras. I've been looking for crime rates in just Roatan but I'm not finding much.

 

I think you're splitting hairs.

 

The advisory issued by the Department of State is prudent. It makes no explicit distinction between mainland or island areas. Although the advisory indicates that additional special police forces have been established in areas frequented by tourists, violence in those areas is "still high by international standards." The advisory goes on to say that the "location and timing of criminal activity is unpredictable in Honduras," again, making no geographical distinctions.

 

The fact that "the vast majority of serious crimes in Honduras, including those against U.S. citizens, are never solved" is likely why you cannot find much in the way of crime statistics and the reliability of any statistics you did find would need to be seriously questioned.

[MzMelissa26]

Yep one site said out of 50 murders of tourists, only two were solved

[Midwestgal]

I think you're splitting hairs.

 

The advisory issued by the Department of State is prudent. It makes no explicit distinction between mainland or island areas. Although the advisory indicates that additional special police forces have been established in areas frequented by tourists, violence in those areas is "still high by international standards." The advisory goes on to say that the "location and timing of criminal activity is unpredictable in Honduras," again, making no geographical distinctions.

 

The fact that "the vast majority of serious crimes in Honduras, including those against U.S. citizens, are never solved" is likely why you cannot find much in the way of crime statistics and the reliability of any statistics you did find would need to be seriously questioned.

 

Look at the mainland of Mexico and then Cozumel , while crime is escalating in many areas of Mexico , Cozumel remains pretty safe and is not included in the travel advisories.

My point is that their using data from the mainland of Honduras.

[triptolemus]

My point is that their using data from the mainland of Honduras.

 

And my point is the advisory makes no such distinction.

[hawkeyetlse]

passengers not being allowed off a ship = cancelled for good

crew member gunned down in port = cancelled for a week

The situations are very different at every level, and the reactions are different. NCL sends two or three ships to Roatan every week. They were scheduled to go to Tunisia like once every 3 weeks, if that.

 

The Tunis thing was a problem with the government of Tunisia. If NCL goes back there, it's going to be the same story every time: everyone can get off the ship without a visa except Israelis, and there will be a big stink all over again.

 

When people hear about this murder, they're going to cancel their excursions and stay on the ship for the next few weeks. So cancel the port. Until the news blows over, then everyone will forget about it, and NCL can go back there.

[antsnanny]

I was referring to any animal who shoots, kills and robs a man, but way to make it about you. So sorry you were offended.

 

Thats how I read it! In no way did it seem like you were trying to offend anyone..

[djacobson]

passengers not being allowed off a ship = cancelled for good

crew member gunned down in port = cancelled for a week

 

I, for one, do not feel that NCL has reacted appropriately to this most recent situation.

 

The above statements may be a little misleading. The ships now calling on Roatan will be repositioning to other areas within the next couple of weeks, so the time frame mentioned has no impact on NCL's decision or the severity of the incident. NCL can always cancel or change ports for next season.

 

I just wish NCL would announce a clear statement that the ships, such as the Jewel, which is repositioning to Alaska, will or will not dock in Roatan next week.

[kurukthemal]

I am not sure where I stand on this issue of avoiding places like Roatan. NYC had 333 murders in 2013 and 849 shootings. Should we cancel all tourism visits there? Probably not.

 

My ex-wife recently took my three daughters (aged 8, 7 and 5) along with our baby sitter on the Carnival Dream during last February break. To be honest, I was scared sh*%less about them stopping in Roatan. I read all the news report, crime reports, etc. and had her send me an email saying they were okay.

 

The result? It was their favorite island on the trip. Also, during the same time period, I was off on the Brilliance of the Seas with my first stop in Cozumel. Again, I read the reports and was just waiting to be mugged. We had a great time there.

 

So, I guess we owe it to ourselves to be vigilant and perhaps stick to approved excursions, etc. There will never be a guarantee of safety and we can live in under rocks all the time. About 34k people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2012. Do we stop driving?

[swedish weave]

The situations are very different at every level, and the reactions are different. NCL sends two or three ships to Roatan every week. They were scheduled to go to Tunisia like once every 3 weeks, if that.

 

The Tunis thing was a problem with the government of Tunisia. If NCL goes back there, it's going to be the same story every time: everyone can get off the ship without a visa except Israelis, and there will be a big stink all over again.

 

When people hear about this murder, they're going to cancel their excursions and stay on the ship for the next few weeks. So cancel the port. Until the news blows over, then everyone will forget about it, and NCL can go back there.

 

I would be very surprised if NCL goes back to Roatan without some firm commitments from Roatan officials regarding safety of crew and passengers.

 

Think of the liability issues with any cruise passenger or crew being harmed if the other cruise lines continue to call on this port or if NCL goes back.

 

Lawyers like Walker and some others would eat the cruise line alive in a court case.

Edited April 9, 2014 by swedish weave

[turquoise 6]

This is a very disturbing story. My sympathy to

His family. The Philippines is also a country

As Honduras that has economic and social problems.

He tried to raise above it and make a living to support

His family

Very sad