Heavy Metal Hero
Member
I will take my chances at the end of this month....I am not that paranoid.
Cruise ships and guns?
- Thread starter PILMAN
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I will take my chances at the end of this month....I am not that paranoid.
The Amigo
Member
Guns in cruises
Big nono if you get caught you will be having a hard time. You have a right to defend yourself in America but a cruise ship is not US Soil its a foreign flagged ship so they have to obey by whats called ISPS International ship and ports facility security code. Cruise ships are being looked at closely now by homeland security due to being a big target with lots of people (terrorist wise)
Let me tell you a real story since I work for DHS.
Grandma decides to go in a cruise, Grandma puts here baggage and checks it on board. Grandma forgets that she had a gun in her suitcase that here son gave her for protection while traveling somewhere else. Cruise ship security randomly x rays her baggage (cruise ship industry policy after 911) and finds gun, Grandma gets pulled off cruise ship to be questioned.
Cruise ship company calls in to report whats called a security breech. FBI and Coast Guard gets informed when security breaches happen in the US. While grandma gets interrogated about why she has a gun By FBI and US Coast Guard, Cruise ship departs for 7 days. Grandma is pissed now. And guess what no refund for Grandma because cruise ship company clearly states in their brochure and Net site no guns on board. Bad day for Grandma
Do you really want all that headache?
Big nono if you get caught you will be having a hard time. You have a right to defend yourself in America but a cruise ship is not US Soil its a foreign flagged ship so they have to obey by whats called ISPS International ship and ports facility security code. Cruise ships are being looked at closely now by homeland security due to being a big target with lots of people (terrorist wise)
Let me tell you a real story since I work for DHS.
Grandma decides to go in a cruise, Grandma puts here baggage and checks it on board. Grandma forgets that she had a gun in her suitcase that here son gave her for protection while traveling somewhere else. Cruise ship security randomly x rays her baggage (cruise ship industry policy after 911) and finds gun, Grandma gets pulled off cruise ship to be questioned.
Cruise ship company calls in to report whats called a security breech. FBI and Coast Guard gets informed when security breaches happen in the US. While grandma gets interrogated about why she has a gun By FBI and US Coast Guard, Cruise ship departs for 7 days. Grandma is pissed now. And guess what no refund for Grandma because cruise ship company clearly states in their brochure and Net site no guns on board. Bad day for Grandma
Do you really want all that headache?
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MikeyLikesIt
Member
The long shoreman at San Pedro broke a 21 year old bottle of scotch, carry on for me from now on with the wine.
scbair
Member
Heavy Metal Hero stated: "I will take my chances at the end of this month....I am not that paranoid."
I'm not exactly paranoid, either; I go about my daily life, prepared to handle circumstances as they arise, to the best of my ability.
I regard a cruise in the same light as unnecessary air travel; the benefits aren't worth the inconvenience.
I'm not exactly paranoid, either; I go about my daily life, prepared to handle circumstances as they arise, to the best of my ability.
I regard a cruise in the same light as unnecessary air travel; the benefits aren't worth the inconvenience.
Thin Black Line
Member
+1. BTW, did anyone catch the show a couple months ago on modern pirates?
There was a cruise ship attacked by Somali pirates wielding RPGs. This was
around 90 miles(?) off the Somali coast. The cruise ship used a non-lethal
weapon to stop the attack.
When I went to a small US island last year (from the US coast) it was stated
somewhere on the wall in small print that no weapons were allowed on board
since it was a common carrier. We were no where near Somalia.....
Can't tell you about the Caribbean, but I have worked with tourists off the cruise ships in Alaska for the better part of a decade and there aren't any metal detectors anywhere that I've ever seen.
Unless they have metal detectors set up somewhere inside the boat they don't have them.
Unless they have metal detectors set up somewhere inside the boat they don't have them.
ialevy
Member
They are inside the boat. As you step offf the gangway, you have them scan your ID, then go throgh metal detectors and your carry ons go through X-Ray. They took my dive knife, I was able to retrieve it when I went off the ship, but security took it back when I cam back on.
The Amigo
Member
All cruises out of the US have metal detectors now mostly by the gangway as you board or disembark.
Heavy Metal Hero
Member
Well it is when you cant even go on a cruise to enjoy yourself. I bet you aren't nearly as paranoid when you drive your car to the local grocery store, even though your chances of being seriously hurt or seriously dead are a lot higher.
Being prepared and aware is one thing, being paranoid is another.
That being said...
That is a little harsh.
Moondancer
Member
We took a Royal Caribbean cruise last April (that's '06). Flew into San Juan, PR and boarded the ship there. Stops in Aruba, Curacao, St. Marteen, and St. Thomas. The pre-boarding package we received had the "No Weapons" statement quoted above and IIRC there was another FAQ that said knives were not allowed either.
I typically have a knife on me at all times.
I packed (in my checked bag) an older Cold Steel tanto-point mid-sized Voyager. It was scary sharp and something that I had no emotional attachment to, i.e. if I had to lose it, I wouldn't miss it.
Going into port, I had it in a fanny-pack. Boarding the ship, the fanny-pack went through the scanner every time. Nobody ever looked at it twice. Again, I was prepared to say something along the lines of "Dang, I didn't realize I couldn't have a knife. Here, you take it. I don't want any problems."
I still have it. YMMV, as always.
I typically have a knife on me at all times.
I packed (in my checked bag) an older Cold Steel tanto-point mid-sized Voyager. It was scary sharp and something that I had no emotional attachment to, i.e. if I had to lose it, I wouldn't miss it.
Going into port, I had it in a fanny-pack. Boarding the ship, the fanny-pack went through the scanner every time. Nobody ever looked at it twice. Again, I was prepared to say something along the lines of "Dang, I didn't realize I couldn't have a knife. Here, you take it. I don't want any problems."
I still have it. YMMV, as always.
American By Blood
Member
Not a serious suggestion, but a possibility nonetheless:
At every gun show there's at least one table manned by some unfortunate soul who, having had a little too much to drink one night, ordered the "change your life and start your own business" lot of 100+ knives from the "Knife Show" on QVC or the Home Shopping Channel or whatever.
Invariably, these knives are cheap, Chinese, and virtually impossible to offload on end-users for more than five bucks.
Check your cruise itinerary and count the ports of call. With this information in hand head to the next gun show in your area and make the above-mentioned poor bastard's day by purchasing a knife for each time you will be leaving the ship. You'll likely get a volume discount, a kiss, and the vendor's firstborn.
When cruise time rolls around pack the blades in your checked baggage.
Now you never have to leave the ship unarmed and you can quietly dispose of your knife every time you return to the ship, thus circumventing defenselessness and the metal detectors.
As an added bonus, in case of terrorism or piracy you'll have a make-shift arsenal with which to arm a number of able-bodied males among the passengers.
At every gun show there's at least one table manned by some unfortunate soul who, having had a little too much to drink one night, ordered the "change your life and start your own business" lot of 100+ knives from the "Knife Show" on QVC or the Home Shopping Channel or whatever.
Invariably, these knives are cheap, Chinese, and virtually impossible to offload on end-users for more than five bucks.
Check your cruise itinerary and count the ports of call. With this information in hand head to the next gun show in your area and make the above-mentioned poor bastard's day by purchasing a knife for each time you will be leaving the ship. You'll likely get a volume discount, a kiss, and the vendor's firstborn.
When cruise time rolls around pack the blades in your checked baggage.
Now you never have to leave the ship unarmed and you can quietly dispose of your knife every time you return to the ship, thus circumventing defenselessness and the metal detectors.
As an added bonus, in case of terrorism or piracy you'll have a make-shift arsenal with which to arm a number of able-bodied males among the passengers.
Why not? As a police officer, I can say that I have seen a lot more people killed or seriously injured with steak knives than I have with "proper" fighting knives. Sure, they're used because they're cheap and available, but they work.
They lack a lot in the durability department, but they'll work just fine for a stabbing/cutting, either offense or defense. Not my first choice, but if it was what I had...
*shrug*
A cane (and the skill to use it) would be even better, though. Not only can you carry it everywhere ("I have a bad knee. You wouldn't discriminate against the disabled, would you?"), but it gives you reach. You can easily kill someone with a good cane.
Mike
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