17 People robbed on Conquest Jamaica excursion

[MINIDRVR]

Agreed. All these comparisons are ludicrious. Like you said no one is disputing that crime doesn't exist in the US or the world for that matter. These are victims on a cruise vacation. These are victims of a Carnival cruise sponsered excursion. These people chose this excursion because they were told by the cruise line that it is safe.....

Jamaica has had a reputation of being unsafe for quiet awhile. The cruise lines even tell you that.....

You step off the ship and have to face these sleeze ball druggies.......

The cruisline tells you to just ignore them. Why don't the port authority have them removed from the area..

No other port that we have been to have this trash waiting to great the cruisers...

You guys can compare this to the crime in the U.S. all you want. I'm sorry but I have never seen drug dealers standing at any U.S. port to greet us with the deal of the day.:rolleyes:

I'm sad that this had to happen. But maybe it will take something like this to beef up the security if the cruise lines so choose to keep Jaimaca on their intinerary...

 

That's the bottom line...........WHY? Won't know until we hear from the head of the cruise lines..........$$$$ must be involved somewhere.............follow the $$$$$$$$$

[lornadoons]

Hey.... maybe they could replace it with Haiti.:D

 

lol! Oh no... now there will be a new discussion/comparison on Haiti... :eek:

[oakbend]

Oakbend, I was wondering if you knew that the robbers were caught or killed in a shoot out with the police while you were still onboard the ship?

 

I did not know for sure as I was NOT one of the 17 people on that excursion, I had breakfast with one of the families who were robbed and at that time there was no word on the outcome of the robbers. I knew that Jamaica is a AWFUL and NASTY place thanks to CC, my big beef is that the Supper Shopper Neil Chatterdom (not sure of exact last name) told us the day before that Jamaica is a great and safe place to visit:confused: and the best way to have a safe excursion is to book it thru the ship. Other posters thought it was the Cruise Director that gave this speech and it was not. All this BS about there is crime everywhere and no one can protect you is all garbage. There are possibilities and probabilities and yes it is possible you could go to Target and get robbed, just not that probable. You step foot in Jamaica and it is not only probable it WILL happen that you will have a very unpleasant situation occur. It is a AWFUL place to visit and if you are going on a cruise soon to this port I challenge each and everyone one of you to ask your person who is giving the speech that Jamaica is safe to stand up and bring up this incident and ask if they will be liable for your safety!!!! :mad:

[Texas_Diver]

Us locals know there is alot of crime in Houston and that is why we choose to live in the suburbs and not in the city. And technically Houston does have a cruise terminal. It had Norwegian cruising out of there until recently. It is on the east end of the ship channel (a suburb) and there are plans in place now to remodel and turn it into a terminal that will accomodate 3 cruise ships.

 

Actually, they are not rebuilding the old ship terminal. They are building a new one in a different location. :D

[DqALEX]

Agreed. All these comparisons are ludicrious. Like you said no one is disputing that crime doesn't exist in the US or the world for that matter. These are victims on a cruise vacation. These are victims of a Carnival cruise sponsered excursion. These people chose this excursion because they were told by the cruise line that it is safe.....

Jamaica has had a reputation of being unsafe for quiet awhile. The cruise lines even tell you that.....

You step off the ship and have to face these sleeze ball druggies.......

The cruisline tells you to just ignore them. Why don't the port authority have them removed from the area..

No other port that we have been to have this trash waiting to great the cruisers...

You guys can compare this to the crime in the U.S. all you want. I'm sorry but I have never seen drug dealers standing at any U.S. port to greet us with the deal of the day.:rolleyes:

I'm sad that this had to happen. But maybe it will take something like this to beef up the security if the cruise lines so choose to keep Jaimaca on their intinerary...

I could not agree with you more. I have never seen trash in any other port waiting to push drugs on me. That was the only port that happend to me. Where there are drugs you can bet there are guns and a lot of problems.

[karenh1127]

Actually, they are not rebuilding the old ship terminal. They are building a new one in a different location. :D

 

 

Ok thanks for correcting that. I knew there was going to be a terminal for 3 ships as I read that in my local paper a while back. I guess I just assumed it would be in the same location. Do you know where it will be?

[Snoozeman]

Ok thanks for correcting that. I knew there was going to be a terminal for 3 ships as I read that in my local paper a while back. I guess I just assumed it would be in the same location. Do you know where it will be?

 

 

Bayport

 

http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/cruiseinfo.html

[MARRIEDATSEA]

Hey Kwilliams,

was watching a show on the Travel channel called "The Do's and Don'ts of Cruising"...the show had a segment on shore excursions and the cruise line representative (from RCCL but nonetheless) said "we check everything out (meaning for guest safety) and take full responsibility (and that's why you should always book them through the cruise line)." I thought of your tragedy in light of what happened.

[texdeb]

I wonder what ships will be going out of there? That will be great to have another option for us.

[todzie]

I grew up in the big bad city of Houston and yes, it can be a very dangerous place. I was a victim of an armed robbery as a teenager in my workplace (fast food) and again following a concert. Those things you can generally anticipate happening....though it didn't make it any less traumatic.

 

There is a big difference between those occurences and what happened to the passengers in Jamaica. I'm sorry, but with as much money as is being dropped in that country, there's no excuse why at least the port area is not better protected than it is. I realize that they have a lot more to deal with than just foreign visitor safety, but where does the money come from to provide whatever protection there is to begin with? Put a dent in the tourism money and everyone will suffer. Adequate port safety, at the least, should be a given. Bottom line.

 

Speaking of the Houston/Galveston cruise terminals, it appears that RCCL is pulling out when their contract is up this year? Any further info on this?

[Texas_Diver]

Ok thanks for correcting that. I knew there was going to be a terminal for 3 ships as I read that in my local paper a while back. I guess I just assumed it would be in the same location. Do you know where it will be?

 

Bayport.... across from the Kemah Boardwalk as I understand it.

 

A.

[starketcher]

Oakbend, I was wondering if you knew that the robbers were caught or killed in a shoot out with the police while you were still onboard the ship?

 

 

The death of one of the robbers is being reported by a known corrupt police force and by a tourism ministry that realizes the catastrophic effect this could have on Jamaica. So I really have my doubts whether one of the robbers were killed. One got away with all the loot though. And regardless of whether one was killed or not, that does not negate what happened to the cruisers!

[crystalblue0610]

Speaking of the Houston/Galveston cruise terminals, it appears that RCCL is pulling out when their contract is up this year? Any further info on this?

 

RCCL isn't pulling out. The Rhapsody is leaving and the Voyager is taking over. But RCCL is still going to be out of Galveston

[kwilliams6045]

Hello again,

 

Real quick on the comment about Houston and the high crime. You do here everyday about a homicide or shooting. 97% or gang related.

 

In Jamaica, from what I have read, the robbery and violent crimes are mainly directed at toursit. If you pulled the statistic of toursit / visitors that have victims violent crimes, I beleive Jamaica's percentage would be greater than Houstons or any US city.

 

I have done crime stats during my carreer and you only go by the REPORTED crimes. There are several crimes reported in the US just to get something covered under insurance. I am sure that several crimes between locals go un-reported, knowing how the local authorities behave.

 

I am sure that the Jamaican crime stats are not correct.

 

Thanks

[lornadoons]

Hello again,

 

Real quick on the comment about Houston and the high crime. You do here everyday about a homicide or shooting. 97% or gang related.

 

In Jamaica, from what I have read, the robbery and violent crimes are mainly directed at toursit. If you pulled the statistic of toursit / visitors that have victims violent crimes, I beleive Jamaica's percentage would be greater than Houstons or any US city.

 

I have done crime stats during my carreer and you only go by the REPORTED crimes. There are several crimes reported in the US just to get something covered under insurance. I am sure that several crimes between locals go un-reported, knowing how the local authorities behave.

 

I am sure that the Jamaican crime stats are not correct.

 

Thanks

 

Oh, I guarantee (uh, oh, there's that word again :rolleyes: ) that Jamaica's crime stats are incorrect and must be higher. Look at the legal system :confused: (do they even have one?????? that's not corrupt??) and the police who seem to work with them in cases... and the cruise industry would keep this all hush hush if it weren't for us tourists who refuse to put up with this and actually try and do something about it when we can... ie: seek our own legal advice, put the word out on boards like this, etc... When I heard about Jamaica's crime YEARS ago, that was before computers, internet etc. Imagine what was not reported to us little people out here. Everything is wide open now, and they will suffer because of it. I didn't even hear about the 17 people who were robbed at gunpoint until I came HERE! And at first it was from one of my CC buddies on our Roll Call who emailed me a link she found from the Jamaican newspaper/report she found!! How sad is that??? It may have been on the news, but I didn't see it, nor was it in our papers here on the East Coast. And if it was, it was just a blurb, no headlines that's for sure.

I have traveled the Eastern Caribbean most of the time... this was a first to the Western, and all of the different Eastern Carib cruise times (5) to the islands "on the other side", never have I been pushed around and seen anything like Jamaica... nor when getting off the ship, seen or heard these unusual "greetings" from the locals. We've seen devastation from hurricanes at St. Maartens etc, and the people there were so apologetic and wonderful trying to make their island more accomodating so we wouldn't have a bad impression when we first docked. Oh, well... Jamaica will always be Jamaica as we know it (good or bad) unless there are major changes...

Everyone going soon, have fun, enjoy but BE SAFE... this forum is telling everyone to watch out... THAT'S ALL....the word is officially out here, that's for sure!

Have a great weekend everyone, wherever your travels take you!

[Madkitty]

About 10 years ago I was in Mexico with Mum and we went on an organised army jeep safari into the wilderness - we had 2 armed guards with us for protection from bandits. Better protection of trips today would be possible but only really at this extreme.

[ksjserv]

I surely wish that the Powers that Be of the Cruiselines would scoot over to these boards and read some of the posts here. Maybe then, they would choose to go to a different port and rule out Jamaica. We are cruising this coming week, firt port of call is Montego Bay and have decided that the farthest we will go in MB will be the terminal and then back to the ship. We had a stop this past October in Ocho Rios and we did not have any problem there, but we did stay in the so called "safe" area which was Island Village.

 

I would not even be disappointed if RCI decided to change their itinerary & chose to go to Key West instead of MB.

[KruznKel]

I surely wish that the Powers that Be of the Cruiselines would scoot over to these boards and read some of the posts here. Maybe then, they would choose to go to a different port and rule out Jamaica. We are cruising this coming week, firt port of call is Montego Bay and have decided that the farthest we will go in MB will be the terminal and then back to the ship. We had a stop this past October in Ocho Rios and we did not have any problem there, but we did stay in the so called "safe" area which was Island Village.

 

I would not even be disappointed if RCI decided to change their itinerary & chose to go to Key West instead of MB.

 

I dont know if you saw Wennfreds poll.. he has sent that to HO for Carnival.

Please remember that only maybe 1 or 2% maybe it has grown of cruisers view this site;)

[mzloolue]

I dont know if you saw Wennfreds poll.. he has sent that to HO for Carnival.

Please remember that only maybe 1 or 2% maybe it has grown of cruisers view this site;)

 

I wonder if he will receive any response...

 

And I have read the comparisons of crime in Houston as compared to crime in Jamaica.

 

I too live in a very violent city...but the thing is that most of the crime is committed by someone the victim knows.

 

If you don't know anyone who wants to kill you, then you are fairly safe.

 

We have been burgled twice and had two cars stolen...in 20 years...

 

And someone stole the little statues out of my garden.

 

But those were non-violent crimes of opportunity.

 

And this past winter, my son had a gun held to his head.

But he was in the dark parking lot of an apartment complex in the middle of the night. He was terrified, but the guy did throw his wallet and cell down and he was able to recover them later. The guy just wanted some cash, probably to buy some crack.

 

Still, my son was not singled out because he was a tourist.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

I would be shocked if a tour bus was held up by armed robbers here.

Tourists here do not stand out too much, especially if they are careful.

 

BUT how can I go to Jamaica and not stand out?

I think for most it would be impossible.

I might as well be carrying a sign that says

"I am a tourist.

I don't know anyone here.

I have to be back at the boat few hours.

I am unarmed.

My cell phone doesn't even work here.

It will be very difficult for me to report anything.

 

And if I have older people or children with me, then I can't even run away."

 

We are all vunerable even in places that are generally considered safe.

But after reading of people being hassled by the locals right on the dock, then it seems that Jamaica is not even making the effort to make things at least look "nice".

 

If I can see the worms on the outside of the apple, do I really want to take a bite even if there may be some good spots?

[Kurbanfan]

 

 

 

If I can see the worms on the outside of the apple, do I really want to take a bite even if there may be some good spots?

 

Great analogy!!

[KruznKel]

I wonder if he will receive any response...

 

And I have read the comparisons of crime in Houston as compared to crime in Jamaica.

 

I too live in a very violent city...but the thing is that most of the crime is committed by someone the victim knows.

 

If you don't know anyone who wants to kill you, then you are fairly safe.

 

We have been burgled twice and had two cars stolen...in 20 years...

 

And someone stole the little statues out of my garden.

 

But those were non-violent crimes of opportunity.

 

And this past winter, my son had a gun held to his head.

But he was in the dark parking lot of an apartment complex in the middle of the night. He was terrified, but the guy did throw his wallet and cell down and he was able to recover them later. The guy just wanted some cash, probably to buy some crack.

 

Still, my son was not singled out because he was a tourist.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

I would be shocked if a tour bus was held up by armed robbers here.

Tourists here do not stand out too much, especially if they are careful.

 

BUT how can I go to Jamaica and not stand out?

I think for most it would be impossible.

I might as well be carrying a sign that says

"I am a tourist.

I don't know anyone here.

I have to be back at the boat few hours.

I am unarmed.

My cell phone doesn't even work here.

It will be very difficult for me to report anything.

 

And if I have older people or children with me, then I can't even run away."

 

We are all vunerable even in places that are generally considered safe.

But after reading of people being hassled by the locals right on the dock, then it seems that Jamaica is not even making the effort to make things at least look "nice".

 

If I can see the worms on the outside of the apple, do I really want to take a bite even if there may be some good spots?

 

Crime happens everywhere.. just lastnight here where I live 2 people died in a gun fight.. My father an ex cop called me today to ask did you hear those bangs last nite.. I said yes but that was firecrackers.. that shooting happened hours earlier:( Jamaica has never bothered me or us (my SO) and we will be there in Jan of 08 and really cant wait!!

[FlorenceItaly]

protect ourselves. In many states, you may carry a weapon if you have a concealed carry permit, thus defend yourself! When out of country this is not an option. And, dealing with the justice system, or so-called justice system when you are out of country is very RISKY.

 

 

 

Marie

[slick52]

Just to add some REAL statistics to this thread. Try reading this http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita

You'll see that Jamaica is #37 and the U.S. is #8.

[Kurbanfan]

Just to add some REAL statistics to this thread. Try reading this http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita

You'll see that Jamaica is #37 and the U.S. is #8.

 

This is not what this thread is about.

One of the victims is in law enforcement I'm quite sure he does not need to be reminded over and over the crime statistics of the U.S.:rolleyes:

[slick52]

This is not what this thread is about.

One of the victims is in law enforcement I'm quite sure he does not need to be reminded over and over the crime statistics of the U.S.:rolleyes:

 

Lighten up a little, I understand the point. I was just trying to show that crime is more likely to happen in the US than in Jamaica per 1000 people.