World cruise under threat from Pirate Attack

It’s a sad world we live in at the moment, even if it is easier and quicker to get to far away beautiful Bucket List destinations.

Airport security checks are getting tighter and longer, police with machine guns are part of the furniture and the Foreign Office are sending out action plans for terror attacks whilst in resort 🙁

Even ships in the middle of the ocean are not safe.

Imagine going on a 5 star cruise line with all the mod cons, great evening entertainment, a glass of wine or beer on top deck, watching the ‘movies under the Stars’, all things we can’t wait to do when booking our far away cruise.

Well for some Princess cruise passengers these dreams were dealt a blow, not for 1 or 2 nights but for 10 nights, all to do with the fear of a pirate attack.

 

Captain Gennaro Arma addressed the ship and apologised for alarming passengers, but nevertheless insisted the threat was real and the ship ‘must be prepared for a pirate attack’.

No deck parties, no movies under the stars, no late-night outdoor bar hopping or pool dipping,’

‘No lights, no party atmosphere, no lapping up tropical breezes on their balconies. All around the ship, as the sun set, all curtains were drawn and all shutters closed. Bright lights, which normally signal the presence of the Sea Princess on the ocean, were dimmed or turned off altogether.’

Ms Jasinski, a media specialist who was a guest speaker on the ship, said that the Captain later announced that ‘as well as the dusk-till-dawn blackout… we would have a compulsory pirate drill’.

She said that passengers joked that they knew what to do because they had seen Captain Phillips, a movie which depicts a hijacking by Somali pirates, starring Tom Hanks.

However, it quickly emerged that ‘this pirate threat was not something to be joked about’; the captain even shamed the residents of three cabins who refused to take part because, apparently, they did not want to abandon their game of bridge.

Any remaining smirks soon disappeared as the pirate drill alarm sounded and the crew was instructed to move to their designated muster stations,’ she continued.

Passengers were sent back to their cabins so they could be counted. They were advised to sit on the floor and to hang on to hand rails in case the ship had to manoeuvre away from pirate ships.’

The threat prompted passengers to constantly alert officials on board of nearby ships that emerged on the horizon and were believed to be potential threats.

Can you imagine this? What a nightmare, no ones fault but still a nightmare.

Perhaps if you had booked the full World Cruise you could put up with it but if you were on a 10/ 15/ 20 night sector that was the whole holiday ruined.

What do you think to the captains handling of the situation?

Have you ever done a Pirates Muster Drill?

And a word of advice, if a captain tells you to do something in the interest of safety, do it. Normally Captains do not mess around and they are quite happen to chuck you off at the next port of call without any kind of trial.

 


About Me

Hi, I'm Trevor Smith and I joined the travel industry in 2001 as a part time travel consultant. Over the years and as the industry took a grip of my career I have moved through the ranks. Going full time in 2002 I soon went into management, training and development.…

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