We were held at gunpoint in St. Maarten!

[DesrtDrmr]

Jodyflower,

I was so sorry to read of your ordeal. It sounds like everyone, except the nut with the gun, of course, did the very best they could under the circumstances. I admire your courage, and that of your husband with your children.

Thanks for reminding us that we are not in Disneyland when in a cruise port, and to keep our wits about us.

DD

[mctabs]

When I heard your story from my nephew I (like my brother-in-law, CCRyder) thought of you because of previous posts made by you. I had told you we were doing the rhino excursion through shore trips at 8:30 and I recall you said yours was at 10:30, I believe. Our 8:30 excursion was lead by Sasha(sp?). There were only 5 of us at that time. However 2 other groups had gone out minutes before us. Our excursion was uneventful. I am so sorry for such a horrific experience. I am confident your children will be fine because their Mom and Dad protected them, consoled and comforted them and most importantly, talked them through the ordeal. Your children are fortunate that they have a Dad and Mom who's foremost concern was for their babies' safety. (your 13 yr. old will not appreciate the baby part...someday she will know why she, along with your son will always be your babies). If we made every effort to protect ourselves and our babies from the lunacy that sometimes exists in this world..there would be no airplanes, no cruise ships and no need for public places for we would all have to place ourselves in a protective cacoon. But then we would never have the opportunity to see the kindness in this world...people like Jodiflower who go out of thier way to accommodate 2 young 18 year old strangers. My very best to you, your husband, daughter and son.

[chef_drake]

Being the husband of the op(Jodyflower), I can assure drjohn1 that it all happened. It was a very frightening event and (hopefully) will be looked upon in the future as a lesson for our kids (and anyone else travelling) that anything can happen at any time, so be careful and alert at all times. Although we did nothing wrong, and were not in the wrong place, we did however end up on the wrong end of a gun barrel. That it happened in St. Martin on vacation is the only reason it is posted here. This is a forum for people to post their cruise related stories, and share experiences. If this type of incident had happened in say, Los Angelos, she wouldn't have felt the need to describe it in this forum.

The whole thing felt kind of surreal, like it was a movie, and it was going to just stop, but it did not. I was in the water with the kids, we were the only three in the water, about 75 yards off-shore. We were all in life jackets, and I helped our daughter get back into the boat, as our son and I were going back into shore to get to shallow water to snorkel. I was getting my gear out of the boat while still in the water and heard a commotion among the other boats. When i Looked up, a Catamaran, which we had been anchored about twenty yards away from, was now right next to us, and the apparent owner of the boat was screaming in half French, half English at the tour opperator. I climbed back into my boat, not realising until i am typing this, that i was the only one standing up. The tour opperator told the man on the catamaran to "remain calm, I'm untying us and we are leaving" The man said "i'll show you calm" and went below deck. He returned with a gun, and pointed it at the tour opperator. My daughter jumped out of the other boat in her life jacket, and started screaming, my wife grabbed her and our son, put them in between the boats, they were still in the water. The man with the gun was waving it around at all of us and yelled "Americans, go back to where you come from". He then cocked the gun, apparently unsatisfied with our attempts to untie ourselves from each other.

The tour guide had extricated some of the boats, and they took off, I started to pull the kids up, and Jody asked if it was safe. I didn't think anything was safer than getting the hell out of there and said yes. We pulled our daughter out and put her in jody's boat. they were untied, we got her boat started and i told her to go. I pulled our son onto my boat, put him on the floor and told him to stay put. I went to the front of the boat, and after fumbling abit, managed to get us untied, flip on the kill switch, pull the motor cord a few times until the motor started, and got out of there, pulling the boy off the floor onto the seat after 40 yards or so.

We made it back. A bad situation that could have gotten worse. One of the members of the party wrote a letter to the local authorities which we all signed. There were many recounts of what we saw, and it all went into the letter, we agreed on what had happened.

That day we filed a report with Princess, letting them know what had happened. My wife was pretty much in shock over it for a day and a half, thinking about what may have happened to the children. The next few days we ran into two seperate couples who were with us that day. I think they were the only other people from the CB with us. It was very cathartic to speak with them, and we all shared the same opinion that this could happen to anyone, we were just unlucky that it happened to us.

I personally do not beleive the catamaran was from St. Martin. I do not hold the tour company responsible for putting us in harm's way, quite the contrary we thanked them for getting us out of there unharmed, we in fact tipped the tour guide. Would I go back to St. Martin again? Yes, I thought it was beautiful. I would love to see more of it. Would I do the same excursion? Yes, I believe this to be an isolated incident, and hope that this does not affect the business of this tour.

Hopefully, the kids won't be affected by this, they seem fine, but you never know. They go back to school tommorrow, and will have a story to tell thier friends if they wish. I hope that their friends at school treat this account with the same compassion that you all have shown here.

 

Thank you listening, and thanks for the well wishes,

Scott

[Nliedel]

Nliedel - I thank you for your words. If you would care to share, I would like to hear your story. It might comfort me to know another who experienced a horrific incident as a child and who is now an adult and made it through OK.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Well I am hesitant to do it. 1. am pretty sure that I have posted about it in the past 2. This happened in one of my all time favorite islands and it has enough of a bad wrap. Here goes nuthin.

 

I was pretty lucky as a child. My father was an insurance exectutive and one of his favorite parts of the job was creating and then attending the incentive tips for the salesmen. He often took us with him on the trips not only to set up the vacations for the salesmen (back then it was always sales "men") but on the actual trips they got to go on. Now you know why I think people should, if they can, take their kids on vacation!

 

It was 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica. I was about 11 and I was having my first period. It's hard to buy pads in some foreign countries and my Mom was on the hunt.I was in a sea of humilation and that wierd pride girls get when they joint "the Club". I was with my Dad and sister and my father's boss and girl of the moment (he had a lot of those, my Dad's boss. Although Dad says that he recently married a Senators Daughter and is finally settled down) and had just left a friend of the families Art Gallery, Barrington Watson. Excellent work with world wide acclaim. He was commissioned to do the Martin Luther King portrait for a museum. I am going to say Dallas but I may be wrong. I will call my Father, as always, in a while and make corrections if I am wrong. If you are in Montego Bay and have a chance to see his work please do. It's beyond stunning (I would be happy to supply the address if anyone is interested).

 

We had just stepped into a book store to wait for my Mom (who was still on her, futile, hunt) when a man, obviously high, burst into the book store with what looked like a some sort of sawed off machine gun to me (I was 11, it was a gun, it was big, but beyond that the type of gun it was may be severely affected by my imagination. It was not a handgun). I ducked behind the stacks and kept very quiet. At that time Kingston was a hotbed of rioting and other violence. We had discussed several possible scenarios in cas we were placed in danger and had more than the usual warnings about not wandering off. Oddly I don't think it occurred to any of us just not to go. We went to all sorts of places and danger never entered into the decision as far as I knew. My parents did do a lot of talking without us around though so who knows what they discussed (we also had our car almost tipped over by a crowd in Rio when I was 13 because it had belonged to a politician who was ousted, but that's another post).

 

The would be robber screamed and yelled and got money out of the cash drawer and my Dad's boss, Bernie chased the guy down the street in what I can only describe as 70's gold medallion wearing, chest hair out, sporting of a macho attitude that he is lucky did not get him killed. The robber got away with the money and we have quite a story to tell.

 

When my Mom caught up with us we had been instructed to keep quiet about the whole thing but Bernie told the story and made himself out to be a hero. My mother got very upset and shook and cried and we left Kingston that day for Mo Bay instead of staying overnight as we had planned.

 

Truly I was more traumantized by the lack of pads than the whole "gun point" incident. I was about 11. I was horrified and embarrassed by my mothers "Rag" suggestion. When I think back on the trip I remember the "Kotex Lack", my first taste of Lobster, the plane ride to Kingston (very bumpy and scary) and the "gunpoint" incident in that order. I did have some issues with it but truly it was not the thing that stood out. I don't even think I talked about it much to my friends and until this post my husband did not know about it. I had never mentioned it before and I tell him everything. It just did not figure that highly in my memory.

[Nliedel]

I took a shower and remembered a photo of that day. It is at the Kingston, Jamaica airport with the car we rented. It's scanned from a faded photo so you get what you get. That's my sister standing out front. I am the dark haired girl with the (help) David Cassidy haircut in the car. My mom is in the back.

 

[OMWife]

I have been to St. Maarten many times, and outside of one great Golden Eagle catamaran excursion, I have never felt comfotable there. No public bathrooms, no help with directions, and hostile merchants. I know many cruisers enjoy this port, but not my family. In fact we stay on board for another family created "day at sea", our favorite. I took my daughter (she was 10) during her first visit to the island, to investigate the corn row hair do. We were followed, screamed at, and she was terrified. I am very familiar with local Carribbean merchants, and have never felt so uncomfortable. Give me Montego Bay, or Mexico any day over St. Maarten.

 

Sorry for a horrible experience for your family.

 

OMWife

[IKE]

My heart goes out to You and your entire Family. What a terrible experience especially for your children. You sound very concerned that this experience will hurt your children down the line. If it were me, I would bring them to see your Pediatrician as soon as possible and let the Dr. know just what happened to them and get the Dr.s advice. That way, You will have peace of mind. I am sure it will take You All quite awhile to get over this. IKe

[GoBlueCruiser]

Jodyflower,

 

I'm extremely sorry to learn of your horrific experience. DW and I just returned from our second sailing on the CB on Feb.4. On both cruises we booked Princess shore excursions to Orient Beach. These ship-sponsored tours were very well organized and we really enjoyed our time at Orient Beach.

 

For the benefit of the many people who have read your thread, I hope you can clarify whether this Rhino boat tour was a Princess sponsored shore excursion or was it an independent tour?

 

We have always had more confidence in Princess shore excursions and have been somewhat wary of exploring the islands on our own.

 

Again my deepest sympathies for your terrifying ordeal.

 

Mike

[SuiteCruiser]

Nliedel,

 

Thanks for sharing your story too. It's amazing how we process this stuff! Your memory is much more focused on your situation and embarassment and much less on the fact that you could have been killed!

 

I think as adolescent women, our fears are very, very different, and I had a similarish (how's that for a word) situation, no guns at the time, but it is something still in the forefront of my memory.

 

It really tells you about the female psyche. Guns won't do it, but as an adolescent, embarrass us in such a primal way and you'll have done a real number on us.

 

Jody, amazing job of keeping your head screwed on straight. I hope that as a parent I could be so calm, cool and collected in defending my kids. Kudos to you!

[Jodyflower]

Sorry for the untimely response everyone. I was ill yesterday and did not even go near my computer. Am feeling better today though! Anyway, after reading what has transpired on this thread during my absence, all I can say is WOW. Let me explain:

 

CCRyder - I always believed there was a reason for everything we do. It is unbelievable that my husband and I met your son out of the 3,000+ people that were on that ship. They came in late to the show and there was a stool to the right of me and one to the left of my husband - probably the only seats left in the club. I saw them looking around for seats and was still a bit heated by a huge group of people that were saving a good 6-8 chairs for people that arrived at the last minute. So I waved them over and told them to squeeze in because nobody else seemed to be willing to help them out. We ended up in conversation and at the end of the show, I shook both their hands and told them how nice it was to meet two nice, respectable young men like themselves. You have done a good job with your son because he was quite a pleasure to talk with! Please tell him my husband and I say hello and we were glad to have him and his friend sit with us!

 

Percula Clown - I am too sorry we never crossed paths. We did not see your son in the talent show unfortunately, but I am quite sure our kids did - so there is our connection!

 

MCTabs - Read above on CCRyder regarding your nephew:) . Yes, we were on the 10:30 excursion and when we returned, they were bringing out another group. However, they had already contacted the officials and had already sent out a boat back to the location to get the name of the catamaran and to be sure the next tour would be safe.

 

Nliedel - I can't thank you enough for sharing your story. It hit me on a personal level to hear your story and it made me feel better. Kind of giving me faith that my kids will be o.k. That was very wonderful of you to do that and I am sorry that you had to endure that same terror that we felt, but the thing is is that you know that terror and that makes me feel not so alone sharing it with a complete stranger. You are a hero in my eyes!

 

OMWife - I am sorry you feel St. Martin/St. Maarten is a hostile place. It's funny, but even though we went through such a horrific incident, I do not feel that about the island as a whole. The sympathy and compassion the locals showed us upon return from the tour was so real and hearfelt that I do not have any hatred towards their people. Yes, I will be more aware of my surroundings when visiting foreign countries (and even at home for that fact), but I do not hold every person there accountable for our experience. In fact, we would love to visit there again, but probably without the children.;)

 

Ike - It's funny you mention having the children checked out by their pediatrician because they both have upcoming appointments. Again, this reinforces my thoughts that everything happens for a reason because their appointments I made just prior to leaving for the cruise. Thank you for your concern.

 

GoBlueCruiser - Regarding your question as to whether we booked the tour through Princess or independently. As it turns out, this was a Princess tour. In the past we have booked independent tours in other countries because they are much cheaper. Mind you, we always got references for the independent tours through cruise critic members of course! But we do not hold Princess accountable for our experience even though they are refunding our money for the tour. The only thing I wish Princess had done was to send a representative personally to talk with us on the ship when we got back on it. I was in shock for the rest of the day and was pretty useless and I think it would have made me feel better to have a live Princess representative in front of my face to talk to. Not someone to yell or complain at, but just a live person to tell our experience to. My husband and I were quite somber and layed side by side in our room for about 5 hours after the experience and did laundry. The kids (upon their request) went back to the kids clubs once back on the ship. Best thing for them we thought as they would be busy. We checked up on them periodically throughout those 5 hours but returned back to the room. We finally came to a point at about 9 or 10 at night where I had to get out of that room. So out to the shows we went and did our best to enjoy the rest of the evening. What else can you do but move on?

 

To everyone - Your support and prayers mean alot to us. It is a wonderful feeling to know there are such great people out there and there are SO MANY on this board. It is unfortunate there is a small percentage of bad people in this world and we encountered three of them on that catamaran. But we feel we were put through this experience for a reason and are thankful we are still here on this glorious earth to experience more of the good things life has to offer....especially more cruises!:D

 

God bless you all!

[Nliedel]

Jodyflower,

 

Kids are amazing. They bounce back from stuff that would make mince meat out of adults! I look at my preemies and think how they came into the world and those months in the hospital and they are so NORMAL! Just regular guys now. I am not sure when that "bounce back" factor stops kicking in but it does at some point. I was a Foster Mom before the kid explosion and even kids with horrible baggage were just kids under it all.

 

No not every kid bounces back from everything but with a loving mom, like you obviously are, they will. Talk to them, don't push it. Keep the lines open. It's funny cause I was talking to my Dad on the phone today and he was talking about harrowing things that have happened to us in our travels and Dang! I am one lucky kid to be alive! and I am fairly normal. No baggage at all. The difference between a victim and a survivor is the love of the people around you.

[Jodyflower]

Jodyflower,

 

Kids are amazing. They bounce back from stuff that would make mince meat out of adults! I look at my preemies and think how they came into the world and those months in the hospital and they are so NORMAL! Just regular guys now. I am not sure when that "bounce back" factor stops kicking in but it does at some point. I was a Foster Mom before the kid explosion and even kids with horrible baggage were just kids under it all.

 

No not every kid bounces back from everything but with a loving mom, like you obviously are, they will. Talk to them, don't push it. Keep the lines open. It's funny cause I was talking to my Dad on the phone today and he was talking about harrowing things that have happened to us in our travels and Dang! I am one lucky kid to be alive! and I am fairly normal. No baggage at all. The difference between a victim and a survivor is the love of the people around you.

 

Thanks again, Nliedel, for giving me chills again! We are survivors and we have lots of love. You are a good soul...

[Jodyflower]

Well, I just received an email from the Rhino boat company owner. He said "the Gendarmerie were keeping a close watch on the gunman until he departed from the island. In all the time I've been here, I've never heard such a crazy story." He also gave me the phone number of our guide that day so we can contact him personally, which I definitely will do to again express our gratitude to him.

 

I am surprised and disappointed the gunman did not get arrested, but then again I am not familiar with the laws of St. Maarten/St. Martin.

 

For those of you wondering, the kids are doing fine. Our daughter has talked about it openly, even to her doctor today at her annual physical appointment. Our son still does not speak much of the incident and informed me today that he was going to tell his classmates about it at 'show and tell' but decided to show off his wooden pirate ship he got in St. Thomas instead. He said he might share it next week. I told him he can only if he wants to. I think he is just trying to forget it and that's ok by me as long as it doesn't come back to haunt him.

[DrD]

Sad story, but let's not forget you are far more likely to be shot in the US than anywhere else in North America or Europe. I lived in New Orleans for 14 years, and believe me there were plenty of tourists that got shot. And I myself was held up at gunpoint.

 

So let's not take it for more than it is. We're all still far safer in St. Maarten than in most places in the US.

 

Of course one should always be careful although it doesn't sound like it would have helped in this case.

[jcruise67]

Jody...God Bless you and your family. To experience such an ordeal while vacationing is almost unthinkable. I don't understand what is going on. I'm just happy that you all returned safely. again...God Bless!!!

 

jcruise

[ilinda]

Kids do better than adults do with trauma. I would let it alone and life will go on. Adults tend to see all the bad that can happen, kids see the bad but they also just want their parents to protect them. You did just that and they now have an experience to tell. They may not want to go back to St. Martin but that is ok also. Alot of other places to see in this big world we live in. As for St. Martin, I make a point of going there every other year and stay for at least a week. Love the french said more than the Dutch side but it is this terrible experience you have had that makes it sad for you. As all the Caribbean, crime does exist and you must be careful not matter where you are, just as in the USA. I think I worry more about you than the children. Have you spoken to anyone regarding this. You say you think about it every day, that is not good.

I am surprised they did not arrest that man. I wonder what the conversation in French was. Did you ask the guide what he was saying? Anyway, St. Martin will go on and so will you and your family. Thank you for printing the post, it was good to be informed....what is a rhino boat anyway?

[soozaay]

I was on this CB cruise last week....I am so sorry to hear about your horrible & terrifying experience.....I am glad we stayed on the Dutch side & did the America's Cup Regatta (we were originally thinking of doing the Rhino Tour). I am glad to hear that everyone is alive and safe.

[woodofpine]

You're to be commended on keeping a clear perspective on a traumatic episode. Sounds like a hot head, a weapon, and probably alcohol... Like you said, it could happen anywhere, but of course better anywhere else than where I am!

[fourcruisin]

Jody,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I usually frequent the CCL board but heard about your nightmare on the opening page of CC. I am so sorry you and your family had to go through this terrible experience but thank you for sharing and reminding us that we must always be on guard. I usually feel very safe while in most ports (except Nassau!!) but this was a difficult reminder that we are in foreign countries and must always be ready for the worst case scenarios. I am wishing you and your family peace and a smooth recovery from such a terrible experience.

 

I agree that at the least, the nut case should have been detained by the police and charged with some type of criminal threatening. What will stop him from doing this again to someone? I hope your children are doing well. Kids are pretty resilient, but I'm sure it is a trip they will remember forever. Sounds like you and your dh are helping them handle things well.

 

Thanks again,

Nancy

[Lakeman953]

Hi Everyone here at Princess,

I just got off the Triumph and did the Rhino Riders and asked them about this and they told me that Yes the Guy pulled out a FLARE GUN and not a real Gun and they also stated that the Coast Guard Did Arrest him and Confiscated the flare Gun.

[Nliedel]

Good, I'm glad they got the guy. A flare gun is a real gun and can cause serious damage if shot at close range. The fact it was a flare gun does not, in any way, make the fear and concern the OP felt any less real.