Money stolen from room safe.

[frofro]

Interesting......

 

How could a cabin steward open your safe? They can't....period.

 

Security can open it' date=' the hotel manager can open it, some bridge officers can open it.....they have passcodes....but, cabin steward, nope.

 

Something entirely different went on in this situation.[/quote']

 

 

Maybe his wife needed some extra cash and forgot to mention it? :eek:

[1greencar]

What strikes me odd about this is that you carried all that cash and yet you never spent any of your own money throughout your cruise?

[1greencar]

Wow, 37 prior cruises and you are just discovering CC?

 

Problem on the ship:

 

 

My biggest problem was that somebody got into my cabin safe and stole $200.

I have been on 37 cruises and never had this happen before. I took $2,000 in cash on the trip. Some people would say that's a lot to take, but I would rather buy with cash at the ports than charge.

 

I had $1,400 in hundred dollar bills tied with a rubber band, and left in the safe as soon as we boarded about 1PM.

 

I went to the buffet for lunch and then back to the cabin where I was greeted by my cabin steward who said to me he "took the liberty" to put my luggage in the room.

 

It's now about 5 PM and I'm changing for dinner and opened the safe to put my cell phone in it. I counted the money and to my surprise only had $1,300.

 

I told my wife and the other couples that traveled with us. They all said maybe I miscounted, or something to make me feel better. I work with money all day. I never miscount or make errors with cash, but I wasn't going to allow this to ruin my vacation. I counted the money as I spent it and kept tabs on the amounts.

 

On Friday night before dinner I had $1,200 in $100 bills in the safe. I marked the bills.

 

After dinner we began packing. We were walkoffs at the dock so I didn't need to pack and leave the luggage outside. I went to the safe, counted the money and to my surprise only $1,100.

 

Another $100 bill was taken. I called security. They came to my room and took a report. I filled out a loss form that was signed by the pursers office. Now I have to call Miami and fight to get my money back.

 

They checked the lock and the only people to enter my room was my wife and I and the cabin steward.

 

When we arrived in NY I wanted NYPD or PA police. I was told that the cruise line would handle the investigation and that the steward would be questioned as well as searched. I do not know the outcome to this.

 

In the future I will only bring travelers checks.

I'm still trying to figure out how he got the pin number. It's a 4 digit number and he had plenty of time when we were out on excursions or at port.

I foolishly did not change the pin after I suspected the first loss.

I have never has this happen. I travel to Vegas, Atlantic City, really everywhere, and I always use the room safe and never questeded it's safety until now.

 

I don't want any lectures on "why did I bring so much in cash." Like I stated, I had my personal reasons.

 

If however anybody has any constructive answers to get results from the cruise line, I would be thankful.

Thanks,

Al

[travelntreats]

You my friend are 100 correct.

 

Also as I stated before.

 

After thinking about it, it's not that hard.

 

Here's what I think he did.

Fact=Most people use a birthday as a code...

 

Four digits most starting with 0.

Example Jan 1st to Jan 31st= 0101 to 0131. That's all the codes for Jan

0201-0228 for feb

and so on and so forth

Answer is that even though there are 10,000 numbers in a four digit code, only 365 are really ever used.

 

How long would it take him to figure out the code?

Less than 1 hour......

While I am sad to hear your $$ was stolen, I certainly do not agree with your so called "Fact" that "Most people" use their b.day as a code. I never have and those that do this are just being naive and opening themselves up for possible theft.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

What strikes me odd about this is that you carried all that cash and yet you never spent any of your own money throughout your cruise?

 

HA!

 

This was my very first thought while reading the original post!

 

He was very lucky to bring $1400 in cash along and not spend a single penny of it all week!

 

:eek:

[travelntreats]

HA!

 

This was my very first thought while reading the original post!

 

He was very lucky to bring $1400 in cash along and not spend a single penny of it all week!

 

:eek:

Maybe I misread the OP, but it said there was $200.00 taken, but he started with $1400.00 in $100 bills and yet states that in the end there was only $1100 ??? That would mean $300.00 was stolen ?

 

And why would you not move the $$$ to say a safety deposit box and or report this to the pursers desk immediately ? Or why not change the code on the first dfindings of money missing ??

Something is just not right in the OP's claim(s) or action taken. :rolleyes:

[nfcu]

I'm sorry, but I do not believe a word of this story. This guy is full of it.

[Ethel5]

Sounds like he lost it in the casino and didn't want to tell his wife!:D

 

I find it very difficult to believe that each time the thief took only $100.

[eandj]

Maybe his wife needed some extra cash and forgot to mention it? :eek:

 

 

My thought too was the wife took some extra spending money that she didn't want her dh to know about. Either for herself or maybe to loan to their friends.

 

We NEVER use our birthdates for security codes. I'd think most people especially travelers facing those safes often, would figure out another number code to use. Not hard to do.

[Gonzo70]

I told my wife and the other couples that traveled with us. They all said maybe I miscounted, or something to make me feel better. I work with money all day. I never miscount or make errors with cash, but I wasn't going to allow this to ruin my vacation. I counted the money as I spent it and kept tabs on the amounts.

 

 

 

Sorry, but I am not buying this story. You were certain you had $100 stolen from your safe, yet you put over $1,000 right back inside the safe afterwards and left it there all week? That makes no sense to me.

 

Also, where are you hearing that it is a "fact" that "most" people use a birthday as their code? I would think that only a small percentage of people do this. Just because you and your travelling companions did this, does not make it a "fact" that "most" do this.

[codycats]

Sorry, but I am not buying this story. You were certain you had $100 stolen from your safe, yet you put over $1,000 right back inside the safe afterwards and left it there all week? That makes no sense to me.

 

Also, where are you hearing that it is a "fact" that "most" people use a birthday as their code? I would think that only a small percentage of people do this. Just because you and your travelling companions did this, does not make it a "fact" that "most" do this.

 

Exactly what I wrote is what happened.

If you don't believe it, what can I say. It's the truth 100%.

 

Also, let me make this perfectly clear.

I brought about $2,000 total.

$1,400 were in $100 bills. The rest was in mixed bills.

 

The money was missing.

 

As I said, I started with $1,400 in hundred dollar bills. One was missing the first night. I cashed one before we went to Grand Turk. That brings it to $1,200.

I had $1,200 in hundreds on Friday night. Not only did I count it before dinner, I also marked the bills. Friday evening after dinner I removed the money. Only $1,100 was there.

Total stolen $200.

[Gonzo70]

Exactly what I wrote is what happened.

If you don't believe it, what can I say. It's the truth 100%.

 

Also, let me make this perfectly clear.

I brought about $2,000 total.

$1,400 were in $100 bills. The rest was in mixed bills.

 

The money was missing.

 

As I said, I started with $1,400 in hundred dollar bills. One was missing the first night. I cashed one before we went to Grand Turk. That brings it to $1,200.

I had $1,200 in hundreds on Friday night. Not only did I count it before dinner, I also marked the bills. Friday evening after dinner I removed the money. Only $1,100 was there.

Total stolen $200.

 

You ignored the two points I made:

 

1) If you were certain $100 was stolen from the safe, why would you put large qauntities of money back into the safe?

 

2) What evidence do you have that it is a "fact" that "most" people use birthdays as the PIN for the safe?

[lman2b]

Codycats, I understand what you were saying and how the money amounts added up. I probably would have done what you did. When I first discovered the money gone and I told my friends/spouse, I'd also wonder in the back of my mind if maybe I was wrong (I'm assuming that is what you did). What I would have hopefully have done differently was to change the codes after the first time, but honestly I do a lot of things and wonder after "what was I thinking?" b/c I was rushed or scattered or something like that.

 

But once you marked the bills and then found another gone, then it was obvious somebody was accessing your safe. It seems to me that the easiest way to get caught would be to take it all at once. Of course someone would call the authorities instantly. But to take it slowly like that makes it much easier for someone to get away with it. I think a lot of people on vacation are having fun and possibly not taking care to count every penny, especially when there is a husband and wife using the same safe. It would be easy for the spouses to assume the other took some money, just as many on this post have assumed, probably something the thief was counting on :( I wouldn't be surprised in the least if this was somewhat of a common practice for a few of the crew, somewhat of a little theft ring.

 

Sorry you lost your money :(

[codycats]

You ignored the two points I made:

 

1) If you were certain $100 was stolen from the safe, why would you put large qauntities of money back into the safe?

 

 

What would you do with it?

 

Should I Take it with me to the beach? Take it to the pool? I thought the safe would be the safest place. That's what it's there for. I truely didn't want to believe that the safe had been compromised. The second $100. was taken on the last night.

 

What I don't understand is why you are questioning me? I posted this in the hopes of helping people not to be called a liar.

 

I can not tell you how stressed out I am about this.

 

I also can't believe that people would think this is a made up story. Why would anybody make this up? I am telling you guys what happened to me in the hopes that it never happens to you.

 

 

I spent a good portion of the day canceling my credit cards that were in my wallet, just in case they too were compromised.

 

All the thief needs to do is use his cell phone camera to take pictures of the credit cards.

Maybe they won't be used for months down the road, then all of a sudden charges start appearing from other countries.

I would rather be pro-active and get new cards.

 

I really hope this post helps, and thank you again.

 

 

 

 

2) What evidence do you have that it is a "fact" that "most" people use birthdays as the PIN for the safe?

 

No facts. It was just a general statement.

I asked the other 3 couples in our group and they all used birthdays.

 

I will never make the mistake again.

[codycats]

Codycats, I understand what you were saying and how the money amounts added up. I probably would have done what you did. When I first discovered the money gone and I told my friends/spouse, I'd also wonder in the back of my mind if maybe I was wrong (I'm assuming that is what you did). What I would have hopefully have done differently was to change the codes after the first time, but honestly I do a lot of things and wonder after "what was I thinking?" b/c I was rushed or scattered or something like that.

 

But once you marked the bills and then found another gone, then it was obvious somebody was accessing your safe. It seems to me that the easiest way to get caught would be to take it all at once. Of course someone would call the authorities instantly. But to take it slowly like that makes it much easier for someone to get away with it. I think a lot of people on vacation are having fun and possibly not taking care to count every penny, especially when there is a husband and wife using the same safe. It would be easy for the spouses to assume the other took some money, just as many on this post have assumed, probably something the thief was counting on :( I wouldn't be surprised in the least if this was somewhat of a common practice for a few of the crew, somewhat of a little theft ring.

 

Sorry you lost your money :(

 

 

I want to thank you for your support, because what you wrote is correct.

 

I can not tell you how stressed out I am about this.

 

I also can't believe that people would think this is a made up story. Why would anybody make this up? I am telling you guys what happened to me in the hopes that it never happens to you.

 

 

I spent a good portion of the day canceling my credit cards that were in my wallet, just in case they too were compromised.

 

All the thief needs to do is use his cell phone camera to take pictures of the credit cards.

Maybe they won't be used for months down the road, then all of a sudden charges start appearing from other countries.

I would rather be pro-active and get new cards.

 

I really hope this post helps, and thank you again Iman2b.

[jocap]

I taught in an open plan school, where we all left our bags with purses in, in a locked store room. None of us took much money, mainly small notes and loose change. We had a work-experience girl with us for a few weeks.Gradually we all noticed that we never seemed to have enough to pay the tea money, aloaf of bread or even a newspaper on our way home, and naturally blamed ourselves for not taking enough with us in the morning-how often do you check your loose change? Of course, it turned out that this young girl was clever enough to take just a little from each, as it would have been stupid to remove the lot when you have to be with the same people for a number of days. On a ship, where you are living together for some time, it would be even more stupid-a little a day, here and there would be better. I believe most crew members are honest, but this does sound suspicious.-jocap.

[lman2b]

Gonzo70, I didn't get the idea he did put the money back in once he was "certain" it was stolen. At first, he must have been less certain and probably assumed he might be mistaken. The next time, he said he called the authorities promptly b/c he had marked the bills. I doubt that marking them would help him now, but he must have counted them very carefully if he took the time to mark them, so once he counted one missing, I assume he then knew it wasn't just a mistaken counting. Sounded very plausible to me.

 

Some read that his numbers didn't add up. He wrote that he took $2000 total, with $1400 in hundred dollar bills. He must have been spending the money throughout his trip and only accessing the hundred dollar bills when he needed another. His numbers all added up the first time.

 

I think this guy is just letting us all know to be careful and watch our money while traveling (even in a safe), and hoping someone might have some info on how to approach the problem of having money stolen from your room.

[lman2b]

Oh Jocap, thats interesting. Back when I was younger and need a car wash weekly as that was so important at that time, it took me awhile to realize that the change in my change holder (The cigarette ash holder) was being taken. They just took small amounts, but when you take from each car a small amount, it must have added up significantly!! Anyway, I finally learned to remove the change when I went there. I also knew a person who was a valet parker and I remember him talking about how they would take things from the cars, especially the nice ones. I remember once he talked about how he got in a car with scattered casette tapes (obviously a long time ago :) ) all over the floor, so he took a bunch of them assuming the owner would never know until it was too late. There are some pretty shady people out there unfortunately :(

[1greencar]

 

I spent a good portion of the day canceling my credit cards that were in my wallet, just in case they too were compromised.

 

All the thief needs to do is use his cell phone camera to take pictures of the credit cards.

Maybe they won't be used for months down the road, then all of a sudden charges start appearing from other countries.

I would rather be pro-active and get new cards.

 

I really hope this post helps, and thank you again Iman2b.

 

I don't get it. Your wallet was with your bundle of 100.00 dollar bills or the bills were in your wallet? All was locked up in the safe?

[mecarroll]

This all sounds fishy and interesting how all the new "details" are revealed to us to make sense of all the former vague "details".

 

You took $2000. I get that. I also get that you put $600 in your wallet ($2000-$1400) but never took anything else out? Why take $2000 if you are not going to spend it? And don't give me and lectures about asking this question. If there are personal reasons, you shouldn't have posted this post to begin with unless you are willing to share ALL the "facts".

 

And, why cancel your credit cards if you had your wallet with you with what I am assuming is $600 (less money spent).

 

BTW, I DO agree with wanting to spend only cash on the trip. My reason, I just don't want to use my credit card abroad.

[weLuv2cruz2MUCH]

I was so impressed with the safe our cruise ship provided for us - when we got home we bought one for our own personal use at home -- and to my surprise - there is a bypass key that came with the safe just incase you might forget your code or you have no battery power.

 

So there you go - there is another way to get into the safe without the code.

[travelntreats]

I was so impressed with the safe our cruise ship provided for us - when we got home we bought one for our own personal use at home -- and to my surprise - there is a bypass key that came with the safe just incase you might forget your code or you have no battery power.

 

So there you go - there is another way to get into the safe without the code.

Never been a doubt there is a way for someone to get into the safes WHEN AUTHORIZED to do so.... question is WHO got into the safe w/out AUTHORIZATION. Of course there would be an alternate method to getting in the safe.... duh !

[navybankerteacher]

No facts. It was just a general statement.

I asked the other 3 couples in our group and they all used birthdays.

 

I will never make the mistake again.

 

There is an old saying: "A fool and his money are soon parted." Sorry if I sound cynical, but the whole story sounds so unlikely that I have to believe it is either made up, or simply the tale of a fool being parted from his money. Six people travelling together who "...all used birthdays."

 

Come on!

[codycats]

This is not a question of whether you believe me or not.

 

Personally I really don't care what you believe.

 

Trust me, everything stated is facts. BTW there were 8 of us total. And yes we did all use birthday codes. You think that sounds strange?

I don't. It's the easiest number to remember.

 

I contacted Princess and was told a full investigation is being done.

 

One thing that my wife pointed out that may have helped provide the code was a very foolish thing I did without thinking about it.

 

I used my daughters birthday code which is in June. I also celebrated my wife's birthday on board the ship on the last formal night (Thursday evening) There is a list of birthdays on board. Thursday morning there were balloons above the door.( My daughters birthday and my wife's are not the same, but close enough)

 

I still suspect the steward.

 

Why anybody would defend the steward is beyond me.

Sure, he was nice and did his job, but certainly he would be first on my list. Here's a guy that you see for the lenght of the cruise. Nine(9) days in this case, comes from a third world country, and you think he's the picture of trust and honesty?

You think backround checks like the kind done here in the USA are given to these employees?

I think not!!

 

Hopefully this will never happen to any of you people reading this, but if it ever does I hope you are not called a liar, as some of you folks have called me and my wife.

 

I find this really hurtful.

We are both professional people.

 

Some people can't understand why I cancelled my Credit Cards.

You have to be kidding me.

Where do you think my wallet was in Bermuda and Grand Turk? Where do you think my wallet was while at the pool?

In the safe, where else.

 

Why did I take so much cash?

 

I really didn't consider $2,000 so much. I was planning on buying a nice jewlery gift in St Thomas for my wife's birthday gift, but the ship docked in an area I had never seen before. It wasn't in the usual place where all the shops were. It was also pouring that day, so I didn't leave the ship.

I bought her the gift when we got back home.

 

All these personal facts are irrelevant.

 

The only fact that should concern anybody is that my safe was opened by somebody other than my wife or myself, and cash was stolen.

[travelntreats]

could have been ANY crew member, not necessarily the stateroom attendant only !