No JOY for passenger who had cannabis in their cabin that was sniffed out by drug dog

[LadyBerard]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I have no dog in the hunt regarding the whole cannabis thing. Personally, I don't care what you smoke, nor the reasons you smoke it, as long as you don't smoke it around me.

 

You're medical condition that prompts you to have it with you, is not the point.

 

I don't know how much clearer the non-U.S. ports, the cruise lines, the Caribbean Countries, etc have to make it.  They don't allow cannabis usage...regardless of its legality anywhere else .  

 

While I wish the Federal Gov't would get off their posteriors and legalize it like some States have, it's still a (unenforced) law that you can't possess and/or use it.

 

It's not like you can't smell it.  I'm more of the mind this guy was smoking it on his balcony, someone smelled it and reported it.  I can't seen a Bermudian drug sniffing dog pinpointing a single cabin (out of thousands) it was able to identify.

 

What is even more of a head scratcher to people smoking cannabis on board or in a port, edibles are readily obtainable.  If you insist, why bring the most easily recognizable scent of burning weed when you can have the edible variety that doesn't cause a smell?

 

 

Dogs can and do smell drugs through the doors when they are walked up and down the corridors.  Many years ago, my husband and I were on the NCL Majesty docked in St. George's and were on the promenade deck while we were waiting for my inlaws to get ready for dinner.  Anyway, my sister-in-law came running out and said that there were numerous people (ship's security, etc.) outside our door and there was a dog with them.  We went to our room and were asked if this was our room and could they come in.  We said certainly.  The dog started hitting on our safe.  They asked if I would open it.  I obliged.  All that was in there was my purse.  They asked what was in my purse.  I emptied it out in front of them.  The dog kept hitting on our safe.  (Meanwhile, my husband and I thought this was so cool......watching the dog in action.  We knew we don't do any drugs and were innocent.)  The dog's handler gave the dog a correction and everyone apologized profusely stating that in the previous sailing, there were drugs in there.

[graphicguy]

12 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

Dogs can and do smell drugs through the doors when they are walked up and down the corridors.  Many years ago, my husband and I were on the NCL Majesty docked in St. George's and were on the promenade deck while we were waiting for my inlaws to get ready for dinner.  Anyway, my sister-in-law came running out and said that there were numerous people (ship's security, etc.) outside our door and there was a dog with them.  We went to our room and were asked if this was our room and could they come in.  We said certainly.  The dog started hitting on our safe.  They asked if I would open it.  I obliged.  All that was in there was my purse.  They asked what was in my purse.  I emptied it out in front of them.  The dog kept hitting on our safe.  (Meanwhile, my husband and I thought this was so cool......watching the dog in action.  We knew we don't do any drugs and were innocent.)  The dog's handler gave the dog a correction and everyone apologized profusely stating that in the previous sailing, there were drugs in there.

Well…if the dog thought it noticed drugs and found none, doesn’t that kind of defeat their purpose?

 

Interesting encounter, however!

 

[yakcruiser]

It all boils down to their country, their rules. If you don't like it don't go.

[LadyBerard]

Just now, yakcruiser said:

I bet the previous passenger had stored their weed in the safe.

Exactly.  The dog did not hit on my purse, (or on our person), but continuously hit upon the safe.  We tell anyone we are traveling with that we know who smoke weed this story and tell them, do NOT try to bring any drugs with you to Bermuda.  Well, one of my husband's cousins did NOT listen to our warning and brought some a couple years ago.  He said, "It'll be fine, I have it in shoe, wrapped up with baby powder", yadda yadda yadda.  Well, he did get caught, got thrown off the ship, had to spend a couple days in Bermuda (on his dime!) and was charged a very hefty fine (which he could not pay).  Thank God his father was with him and paid it (but took it out of his inheritance).  It was thousands!!!!  He learned his lesson!

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Bermuda has fined passengers caught bringing edibles.

As they should... since it is against the law. 

[justhappy]

Shouldn’t we be having this discussion tomorrow?! 🤔 😂

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, ChiCruzr said:

Nothing in the linked article says the guy was a cancer patient using it for medicinal purposes.  Not that it would excuse breaking the host country's laws or NCL's rules.  Maybe he just had it for funsies.

 

Whether or not the guy was a cancer patient is totally irrelevant. It is against the law (cancer or not) and against the cruise line rules (cancer or not). The guy was fined and should have been thrown off the ship and should have been deported from the country. 

Edited April 19 by BirdTravels

[PATRLR]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Since the presence of drugs puts the cruise line at risk, NCL should have packed all of their belongings, and thrown them off the ship. Lifetime no-sail ban. 

3 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

How does it put the cruise line at risk?

I thought there was international or maritime law that stated weed was illegal to have on a ship.  I don't know who or what enforces those laws though or what the risk of breaking those laws is.  @chengkp75 - am I misremembering something here or can you elaborate?

[BirdTravels]

Carnival provides a bit more rationale behind drug prohibition:

 

Carnival recognizes that some states in the U.S. have legalized the use of recreational and/or medical marijuana. However, cruise lines are required to follow U.S. federal law, which strictly prohibits possession and use of marijuana and other illegal substances. Consequently, marijuana, including marijuana for medical purposes is not allowed on board. Under U.S. federal law, all cruise terminals in the U.S. are federal facilities and, along with our ships, are drug-free zones. Customs and law enforcement authorities in U.S. homeports and foreign destinations are present and have the right to conduct routine and random inspections with the assistance of narcotics-sniffing dogs. There is zero tolerance for possession of narcotics (which includes marijuana, even in those states where marijuana has been decriminalized). All guests and their personal items may be subject to screening by law enforcement and any guest found in possession of illegal drugs and other prohibited items may be subject to fines, arrest, and denial of boarding without refund or compensation. This is beyond Carnival’s control. Furthermore, Carnival reserves the right to deploy narcotics-sniffing dogs in terminals and on board our ships in order to enforce our obligations to uphold federal law.

[BirdTravels]

Carnival does what NCL should have done:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2023/11/16/cbd-gummies-carnival-cruise-lifetime-ban/71611590007/

 

 

Royal Caribbean: https://www.royalgazette.com/court/news/article/20181005/american-woman-has-cannabis-on-cruise-ship/

 

 

[hladygirl]

When We were on the Boston to Bermuda last July we were shocked to see people smoking weed in the smoking section and no one said a word to them. This happened the entire cruise.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

I thought there was international or maritime law

The IMO would dictate the substances allowed on a ship, and I believe weed is one of those prohibited.  It's not even US Federal law (though that does apply to buildings through which you traverse to board the ship) or the laws of the country/countries you visit.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

7 hours ago, Davechipp74 said:

I would think the first place to hide anything would be, not your stateroom.

What other options are there? Going to “prison pocket” it for the week?

[david_sobe]

For authorities and a dog to go to a certain cabin tells us there was an informant or someone snitched the person out and they went to investigate.  There is simply not enough time in the day to keep doing drug sweeps in every cabin after every port.

Here in Miami people are profiled all the time.  They take a cruise, get off in port, wear different sandals back to the ship filled with cocaine.  They are profiled and watched or again there is an informant working with authorities.  Its put under wigs, in wheel chairs, sandals, etc. 

[LadyBerard]

14 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

For authorities and a dog to go to a certain cabin tells us there was an informant or someone snitched the person out and they went to investigate.  There is simply not enough time in the day to keep doing drug sweeps in every cabin after every port.

Here in Miami people are profiled all the time.  They take a cruise, get off in port, wear different sandals back to the ship filled with cocaine.  They are profiled and watched or again there is an informant working with authorities.  Its put under wigs, in wheel chairs, sandals, etc. 

In Bermuda, they walk the drug sniffing dog up and down the corridors when you arrive in Bermuda.  I've seen it numerous times.  Now for another story, we were on a Holland America ship last year (the Statendam), not going to Bermuda, but sailing the Caribbean.  The very first night, we were sitting in the aft pool area (the smoking area).  One guy came and joined our group and lit up a joint."  We were at a table very close to the bar area.  I told him it was not allowed on cruise ships.  He said it was legal in his state and he didn't care.  I told him that did not matter, and if he was going to smoke weed, he should be a whole lot more discreet about it other wise, when we get to port, he may be arrested. Now, he also smoked cigarettes, as did we.  This is the area the majority of people go who smoke cigarettes.  Well, we never saw hide nor hair of him after that night.  We think he may have gotten arrested and put in the brig and then put off the ship at the first port of call.

4 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

I bet the previous passenger had stored their weed in the safe.

Exactly.  The dog did not hit on my purse, (or on our person), but continuously hit upon the safe.  We tell anyone we are traveling with that we know who smoke weed this story and tell them, do NOT try to bring any drugs with you to Bermuda.  Well, one of my husband's cousins did NOT listen to our warning and brought some a couple years ago.  He said, "It'll be fine, I have it in shoe, wrapped up with baby powder", yadda yadda yadda.  Well, he did get caught, got thrown off the ship, had to spend a couple days in Bermuda (on his dime!) and was charged a very hefty fine (which he could not pay).  Thank God his father was with him and paid it (but took it out of his inheritance).  It was thousands!!!!  He learned his lesson!

[MSUjohn]

8 hours ago, shof515 said:

how do they sniff the cabin? does security need to enter your room?

a dog can "sniff your room" through a closed door in the hallway.

[ChiCruzr]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Whether or not the guy was a cancer patient is totally irrelevant. It is against the law (cancer or not) and against the cruise line rules (cancer or not). The guy was fined and should have been thrown off the ship and should have been deported from the country. 

 

Agreed. That was my point, if I wasn't clear.

[david_sobe]

10 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

In Bermuda, they walk the drug sniffing dog up and down the corridors when you arrive in Bermuda.  I've seen it numerous times.  Now for another story, we were on a Holland America ship last year (the Statendam), not going to Bermuda, but sailing the Caribbean.  The very first night, we were sitting in the aft pool area (the smoking area).  One guy came and joined our group and lit up a joint."  We were at a table very close to the bar area.  I told him it was not allowed on cruise ships.  He said it was legal in his state and he didn't care.  I told him that did not matter, and if he was going to smoke weed, he should be a whole lot more discreet about it other wise, when we get to port, he may be arrested. Now, he also smoked cigarettes, as did we.  This is the area the majority of people go who smoke cigarettes.  Well, we never saw hide nor hair of him after that night.  We think he may have gotten arrested and put in the brig and then put off the ship at the first port of call.

Exactly.  The dog did not hit on my purse, (or on our person), but continuously hit upon the safe.  We tell anyone we are traveling with that we know who smoke weed this story and tell them, do NOT try to bring any drugs with you to Bermuda.  Well, one of my husband's cousins did NOT listen to our warning and brought some a couple years ago.  He said, "It'll be fine, I have it in shoe, wrapped up with baby powder", yadda yadda yadda.  Well, he did get caught, got thrown off the ship, had to spend a couple days in Bermuda (on his dime!) and was charged a very hefty fine (which he could not pay).  Thank God his father was with him and paid it (but took it out of his inheritance).  It was thousands!!!!  He learned his lesson!

Many of the dogs you see at ports are not exclusively are the ones trained for narcotics. To keep the port safe they have dogs that sniff explosive materials.   An island like Bermuda is going to keep itself safe and not allow certain food items to come in either.  Its a false pretense to assume every dog at the port is looking for drugs. I have never seen a dog some to someone's cruise cabin before.  Its likely there was a source of information on that one.  There are dogs that sniff currency too.  Each dog is trained for a separate contraband.

Edited April 20 by david_sobe

[rrraydon]

17 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Way too harsh for a couple joints. He was using, not selling. It's not like he had a kilo coke. As absurd as it is its Bermudas law. Know the risk when you bring it

 

Maybe NCL should stop selling alcohol to all the idiots who get absolutely sh$t faced while on a cruise. I've see a heck of a lot more people wasted from drinks than weed on cruises 

 

 

Funny, I was thinking this exact thing! Make it all illegal. Alcohol does the same thing, if not worse.

[PATRLR]

23 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I have never seen a dog some to someone's cruise cabin before.  Its likely there was a source of information on that one. 

Of course you not seeing it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  I'm another one who has seen trained dogs walking the halls of a cruise ship.  I don't remember exactly when/where, but if I had to guess it was probably Bermuda.

[david_sobe]

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Of course you not seeing it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  I'm another one who has seen trained dogs walking the halls of a cruise ship.  I don't remember exactly when/where, but if I had to guess it was probably Bermuda.

Of course.  But its sort of impossible to hide dogs walking the halls during a cruise.  Of all the cruises I have been on I have never seen them in the halls and going in sniffing cabins.  What I am saying is there is a ton of intelligence data behind the scenes that you are not aware of.  If they are bringing dogs on board there is intelligence to do so.

The point I was making is the countless threads of people seeing dogs at the port and people post here they were checking for narcotics.  Not always.  There are multiple kinds of dogs.  Its all done for passenger's safety.  Its also like when people see police on board thinking someone is being arrested.  Not always.   Cruise lines do not let police to board with drug sniffing dogs to blindly go on excursions and start opening everyone's cabins or random cabins to sniff for contraband unless there is some sort of reasonable suspicion.
Lastly these port calls are pick up places.  Even if someone is suspected of smuggling drugs they usually will wait until the ship gets back to a U.S. Port to discover it and make the arrest.  Not saying it cant happen but ports of entry are much more intrusive than sail away ports.

Edited April 20 by david_sobe

[hallux]

36 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Of all the cruises I have been on I have never seen them in the halls and going in sniffing cabins

So you spend your port days wandering every hall of the ship looking for these dogs rather than getting off the ship and enjoying the places you've paid to visit?

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, david_sobe said:

An island like Bermuda is going to keep itself safe and not allow certain food items to come in either. 

Yup. We have been through bag searches disembarking in Bermuda multiple times. And there are always piles of contraband foods sitting there. Cartons of milk. Piles of fresh fruit. Piles of half-eaten breakfast. Imagine if they decided to arrest and fine everyone carrying prohibited items off the ship.

 

And there is always a big pile of bags and bottles of pink sand at the bottom of the gangway in Bermuda from people trying to carry it back onto the ship.

 

When we were in Tortola a couple of weeks ago, the lady in front of us was stopped with a bag full of rocks she was trying to take home with her. 

 

Cozumel is another port where they frequently search for contraband food.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

Of course.  But its sort of impossible to hide dogs walking the halls during a cruise.  Of all the cruises I have been on I have never seen them in the halls and going in sniffing cabins.  What I am saying is there is a ton of intelligence data behind the scenes that you are not aware of.  If they are bringing dogs on board there is intelligence to do so.

The point I was making is the countless threads of people seeing dogs at the port and people post here they were checking for narcotics.  Not always.  There are multiple kinds of dogs.  Its all done for passenger's safety.  Its also like when people see police on board thinking someone is being arrested.  Not always.   Cruise lines do not let police to board with drug sniffing dogs to blindly go on excursions and start opening everyone's cabins or random cabins to sniff for contraband unless there is some sort of reasonable suspicion.
Lastly these port calls are pick up places.  Even if someone is suspected of smuggling drugs they usually will wait until the ship gets back to a U.S. Port to discover it and make the arrest.  Not saying it cant happen but ports of entry are much more intrusive than sail away ports.

It is the port, Bermuda, that is searching onboard ships that are docked in their post. They are checking for narcotics. Every cruise season there are articles in Bermudas media, the Royal Gazette about them finding drugs and fining passengers. I usually post about one of the bunch every cruise season to make cruise passengers aware because some think because weed is legal in their state or that they are using it for medicinal reasons that it is okay. The article I linked to provided more detail than usual. I don’t have any idea if those caught were informed on or not. It does not really matter. The dogs have great noses and they can detect from the hallway. I don’t know if they enter cabins and do checks without some indication. 

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Many of the dogs you see at ports are not exclusively are the ones trained for narcotics. To keep the port safe they have dogs that sniff explosive materials.   An island like Bermuda is going to keep itself safe and not allow certain food items to come in either.  Its a false pretense to assume every dog at the port is looking for drugs. I have never seen a dog some to someone's cruise cabin before.  Its likely there was a source of information on that one.  There are dogs that sniff currency too.  Each dog is trained for a separate contraband.

Yeah...been to Bermuda 3 times (soon to be 4X).  I have never seen drug sniffing dogs (or sniffing for anything) on any of the cruise ships I've sailed (~20).

 

If someone reports it, the cruise lines' security will investigate.

 

As far as dogs going up and down the hallways, not something I've seen.

 

And, unless the cabin steward sees the edibles, and is certain they are cannabis edibles, I doubt a drug sniffing "anything" can identify it.

Does that make it "OK" bring illegal substances on the ship?  Absolutely not!  

 

You agree to the Ts and Cs on your ticket.  If you disagree with them, white to the crime line and log your complaint.  But, if you're rolling them and smoking them, after all the warnings, excuses should fall on deaf ears.

 

Pay your fine, or worse, as a lot of foreign countries have stricter drug laws, you do jail time.  If that's not enough of a deterrent, the U.S. Consulate is NOT going to bail you out (even if you're offered bail by the courts).

 

Pretty big risk just for a "high" or not looking for other means to deal with whatever ailment you use it for.