princevaliantus Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas have received a letter from the captain warning them of the possibility of a pirate attack as the cruise ship sails through the Gulf of Aden. See letter attached for further information. 4ensic, CruiseLife72, RestingBird and 4 others 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Wow. This is somewhat alarming. Certainly I have heard of such things but who knew that you would ever get a letter from the Captain like this ! I guess it will be something to tell the Grandkids ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Deleting that cruise from my bucket list ... although to be fair I have read similar stories previously on ships transitioning through that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLA Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 From what I know, this is actually pretty standard for any ship sailing through that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 7 minutes ago, jticarruthers said: Deleting that cruise from my bucket list ... although to be fair I have read similar stories previously on ships transitioning through that area. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Wow, I have heard of other cruise lines sending the same information, but to actually see it in print from the Captain is startling. I would still sail though if it interested me, sounds like he has everything under control as best he can. I like the fact that RC and the Captain are so pro-active informing the passengers. RestingBird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 33 minutes ago, Boston Babe said: Wow, I have heard of other cruise lines sending the same information, but to actually see it in print from the Captain is startling. I would still sail though if it interested me, sounds like he has everything under control as best he can. I like the fact that RC and the Captain are so pro-active informing the passengers. Agreed. Comforting to know they are aware and have a plan. Much better than coming up with something in the heat of the moment. Boston Babe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted April 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Glad I won't be sailing anywhere near that area. I have a B2B for the holidays next year on the Quantum of the Seas out of Singapore. Very much looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Well, there goes my good drunk I had been working on.... Says the guy who hasn't moved from the Schooner Bar in hours... WAAAYTOOO, Boston Babe and PrincipalTinker 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbieajd Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Holy wow. How stressful for that captain and his crew. And how scary for passengers. I think I’d skip that itenerary. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 This is standard for ships traveling through that area. Pirate activity has lessened compared to several years ago, but precautions are still taken, as they should be. Remember, the overwhelming majority of sailings passing through the Gulf of Aden are without incident, not matter how many past articles, YouTube videos, etc one finds. You can look at this similar to visiting Cozumel - yes, crime happens, yes you can find worrying stories about incidents in various parts of Mexico, but the vast majority of tourists and locals wake up each morning, go about their day, and go to sleep at night. All of that in mind, it's important to follow the advise of the crew and the carefully rehearsed procedures - in the same way muster drill is important, as is safety instruction at the beginning of a flight (as we saw with the recent SWA incident, many passengers clearly paid little attention to those announcements). RestingBird, MikeK, Carlos A. and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Interesting to see that much detail. Personally I don't think I would be so worried about an actual pirate attack. But the inconvenience would be annoying during those 4 days to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff L Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Do the security of the ship have guns or rifles in case of pirates trying to board or how do they defend themselves beyond water canons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 27 minutes ago, Jeff L said: Do the security of the ship have guns or rifles in case of pirates trying to board or how do they defend themselves beyond water canons? Guns on any ship (that isn't military) is generally frowned upon and violates the principles of entering a foreign country's port. Merchant vessels can freely sail the world in a large part because they are in theory unarmed. Ship's are tight lipped about security protocols when they are sailing in known pirate areas such as the Gulf of Aden. Bad guys use the internet too. Jeff L 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 There are plenty PLENTY other itineraries to sail. Crossing that one off my "list" doesn't even make a dent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeves Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Note that this was not a regular cruise, but part of the repositioning of Mariner, from the Asian cruises it had been doing previously, to the drydock and refit in June. I don't know if that's bad news [was the crew inexperienced regarding pirates?] or good news [despite the inexperience, they seem to be well-prepared]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 We don`t worry about that kind of stuff. It is so rare these days. If one was to come under attack I would not be surprised to see a fighter jet or a submarine engage the pirates. We went to Turkey 2 years ago and it was worth it and actually never feared a terrorist attack. Your chances of winning at the casino or at lotto are much better than being engaged by pirates. Or struck by lightning for that matter. It is re assuring tho that measures are in order to provide for passenger and crew safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLA Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 19 hours ago, Keeves said: Note that this was not a regular cruise, but part of the repositioning of Mariner, from the Asian cruises it had been doing previously, to the drydock and refit in June. I don't know if that's bad news [was the crew inexperienced regarding pirates?] or good news [despite the inexperience, they seem to be well-prepared]. This kind of protocol is typical for any cruise ship passing through that particular area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowBro Ty Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 Gee Just Thinking That The Explorer Will Have To Do The Same Thing Next Year To Get To Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 I'll go, just as long as they provide me a Barrett M82 and plenty of ammo. 4ensic and FlowBro Ty 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 10 minutes ago, mworkman said: I'll go, just as long as they provide me a Barrett M82 and plenty of ammo. Do not forget earplugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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