Today was the very first embarkation day for the Dream out of Port Canaveral.  Carnival was very prepared too, with a lot of extra staff out of their Miami based headquarters to assist. 

One thing that really got to me when I was waiting to go through security was the fact that the passengers were just not prepared to go through the security detectors.   Granted I know a lot of people don’t travel all that often and security has been really tight after September 2001 but seriously?

Have the following items ready to go:

• Have your Passport/State Issued ID/ Birth Certificate available
• Boarding pass issued by the cruise line
• Make sure your laptop is out of the case
• Wallets, Watches, Rings, Bracelets,  Phones, Keys, .. etc, ready to be placed in the receptacle
• If you are asked to remove jewelery, step aside and be courteous to other folks

That is my little rant for the day. If you have any other advice for security embarkation please feel free to let me know!

Carnival Dream on the first embarkation day- Port Canaveral, Fla.

First off let it be known that every square foot of a cruise ship is covered with cameras, hidden and in plain view. The casinos, dining, atrium’s, hallways, the pool, bars … you get the point… everything is covered.

Terrorism

Crew members are specially trained to deal with compromised situations.  The cruise ships have a safety zone around them too, where a vessel has to stay a certain distance away from the ship, restricted areas that only crew members can access like the bridge of the ship and engine room.  Not to mention cruise lines x ray every bag that goes on board the ship and every passenger goes through the x ray too. 

Big Brother

On RCCL Monarch of the Seas, a couple of weeks ago their was this man on the ship that made a scene in the casino, I don’t know what exactly he was doing but I do know that the cameras pegged him were on him like white on rice.   He had no clue he was being trailed by security at first. The only reason I knew because I am very intuitive.  In fact, I would see the guy leave one area of the ship and then a security officer would come around to the other side very casually — right on his trail.  Security often patrols in plain clothes. This is for obvious reasons, passenger safety being the priority.  If I was running the ship, any unruly passenger would be thrown off at the next port, or have authorities waiting for them just like on a airplane if you act up.   So there isn’t much that you can get away with on the cruise ship.

Drink Spiking

On the other side of things, one of the girls were talking about being slipped something in her drink on the ship. Let’s face it, people slip items in peoples drinks to take advantage of their victim.  There is a misconception that this only happens in alcohol drinks– wrong.   I am not going to sit here and say it doesn’t happen or never will but in retort, couldn’t that happen at your local bar too?  If this is something that worries you, stay with your group of friends when you are out and about, stay in public places, and remember you are around about 3,000 every day people — some of them just might not have the best of intentions in mind. 

Now, on the flip side, folks that try to get away with this won’t likely succeed. Like I was saying earlier, every square inch of the ship is covered with cameras (with the exception of cabins and bathrooms).  Just be safe, practical, and no your boundaries when you are on a cruise.  Even at sea you are still in the real world.

I would love to hear your thoughts…