Here's another newest detail of the dangers on cruise ships. Here is the story of Kenneth Williams and his family and their ordeal with Carnival Conquest and the horror they endured and STILL endure.
On June 10, 2007, my wife, 12-year old son, 10-year old daughter, and I set sail on the Carnival Conquest from Galveston, Texas. Being that this was our first cruise, we were looking forward to spending some quality time together as a family. The first stop was Jamaica, when we opted for a Carnival excursion, “Lethe Village Tour”. We selected this tour to show the kids traditional Jamaican culture.
We had no idea how this decision would change our lives forever...robbed us, escaped with approximately two to three thousand dollars.
I am a 17-year police veteran. Before my current profession, I proudly served in the U.S. Army. Safety and protection is my number one goal with anyone, especially with my wife and children. With this in mind, I attended the excursion meeting that was held on the ship by the Cruise Director, Mr. Price.
During that excursion meeting, the Director's words were… “In order to see the true Jamaica, you have to take a Carnival Shore Excursion." He added, “The Carnival Shore Excursions are guaranteed safe." He explained that in the port city, we may encounter some undesirables, attempting to sell marijuana or pressuring us to take their cab. He explained that the Red-Tag cabs were the only registered cabs. He continued to persuade us to take a Carnival Excursion. There were no other warnings mentioned, other than the marijuana and high pressure taxi-sell. After the meeting, I was confident in my decision to take the Carnival Excursion, because of the “guaranteed” safety.
We arrived in Montego Bay on June 13th, where my family and I boarded the excursion bus, along with 13 other passengers. Two of the passengers were my father and step-mother. My father, who is 67 years old, has had two major heart attacks with the last one in July of 2006. This was the perfect relaxing excursion for him.
We drove approximately 30-40 minutes into the country of Lethe, Hanover. Along the way, we observed extreme poverty. The people looked at us as though they were angry with us for some reason...
...As we traveled further through the plantation, we approached a side-road to our right that was also surrounded with vegetation. It was here that our world came crashing down… Two men ambushed our trolley, approaching with guns and a knife. They immediately took control of our lives, pointing a pistol at the driver and ordering him to stop. Visibly shaken, Dalton exited and pleaded for the men not to hurt anyone.
The two gunmen began yelling, "F_ _king foreigners. Give us your f_ _king money, man. Don't f_ _k with us, man. We're f_ _king crazy." They approached on opposite sides and were either madmen or on some form of drug. My two children were sitting behind my wife and me, next to my stepmother and my father.
One of the gunmen placed an 8" revolver in my 10-year-old daughter’s face. My daughter was crying and pleading with the gunman not to kill her. I have never felt so helpless in my life! I still get physically sick thinking about this. As visions of my daughter’s life passed before my eyes, all I could think of was how badly I wanted her in my arms. The gunman kept the gun in her face, as he stole her disposable camera and all the belongings of the other passengers.
...I figured that they knew it was dangerous around there or they never would have had the weapons. As a police officer, it was easy to tell that these guys must have known this area was dangerous and they needed these weapons on-hand for protection. Carnival should have known, as it was a Carnival Excursion.
...We began hearing from Carnival employees, regarding their knowledge of how dangerous Jamaica can be, and their reason for not leaving the ship. Every crewmember to whom I spoke stated that they do not leave the ship, because they fear for their safety; yet, Carnival allowed us and other passengers to leave the ship, guaranteeing our safety?
...Carnival brought a Crisis Intervention Therapist onboard, who met with us. She remained on the ship, all the way back to Galveston, Texas. At the end of the cruise, she recommended that our family seek further counseling, in order to deal with this traumatic event. My wife and I agreed. A letter was also delivered to our cabin from the CEO of Carnival, apologizing for the incident. It also stated that Guest Relation Supervisor, Dorothy Georges, would be standing-by for our phone call on Monday morning, June 18th. When I called on Monday to inquire about the additional counseling, Ms. Georges was not available. I left a message.
When Ms. Georges returned my call, I expressed my concerns and asked how we would go about having Carnival pay for our counseling. She stated that she could not confirm whether or not Carnival would pay for the counseling, and would not have an answer on this for a few days. This infuriated me even more, thinking that if it had been THEIR 10-year old girl, who had a gun shoved in her face and forced to plead for her life, they would have immediately said, “Yes” to my counseling request.
We had no idea how this decision would change our lives forever...robbed us, escaped with approximately two to three thousand dollars.
I am a 17-year police veteran. Before my current profession, I proudly served in the U.S. Army. Safety and protection is my number one goal with anyone, especially with my wife and children. With this in mind, I attended the excursion meeting that was held on the ship by the Cruise Director, Mr. Price.
During that excursion meeting, the Director's words were… “In order to see the true Jamaica, you have to take a Carnival Shore Excursion." He added, “The Carnival Shore Excursions are guaranteed safe." He explained that in the port city, we may encounter some undesirables, attempting to sell marijuana or pressuring us to take their cab. He explained that the Red-Tag cabs were the only registered cabs. He continued to persuade us to take a Carnival Excursion. There were no other warnings mentioned, other than the marijuana and high pressure taxi-sell. After the meeting, I was confident in my decision to take the Carnival Excursion, because of the “guaranteed” safety.
We arrived in Montego Bay on June 13th, where my family and I boarded the excursion bus, along with 13 other passengers. Two of the passengers were my father and step-mother. My father, who is 67 years old, has had two major heart attacks with the last one in July of 2006. This was the perfect relaxing excursion for him.
We drove approximately 30-40 minutes into the country of Lethe, Hanover. Along the way, we observed extreme poverty. The people looked at us as though they were angry with us for some reason...
...As we traveled further through the plantation, we approached a side-road to our right that was also surrounded with vegetation. It was here that our world came crashing down… Two men ambushed our trolley, approaching with guns and a knife. They immediately took control of our lives, pointing a pistol at the driver and ordering him to stop. Visibly shaken, Dalton exited and pleaded for the men not to hurt anyone.
The two gunmen began yelling, "F_ _king foreigners. Give us your f_ _king money, man. Don't f_ _k with us, man. We're f_ _king crazy." They approached on opposite sides and were either madmen or on some form of drug. My two children were sitting behind my wife and me, next to my stepmother and my father.
One of the gunmen placed an 8" revolver in my 10-year-old daughter’s face. My daughter was crying and pleading with the gunman not to kill her. I have never felt so helpless in my life! I still get physically sick thinking about this. As visions of my daughter’s life passed before my eyes, all I could think of was how badly I wanted her in my arms. The gunman kept the gun in her face, as he stole her disposable camera and all the belongings of the other passengers.
...I figured that they knew it was dangerous around there or they never would have had the weapons. As a police officer, it was easy to tell that these guys must have known this area was dangerous and they needed these weapons on-hand for protection. Carnival should have known, as it was a Carnival Excursion.
...We began hearing from Carnival employees, regarding their knowledge of how dangerous Jamaica can be, and their reason for not leaving the ship. Every crewmember to whom I spoke stated that they do not leave the ship, because they fear for their safety; yet, Carnival allowed us and other passengers to leave the ship, guaranteeing our safety?
...Carnival brought a Crisis Intervention Therapist onboard, who met with us. She remained on the ship, all the way back to Galveston, Texas. At the end of the cruise, she recommended that our family seek further counseling, in order to deal with this traumatic event. My wife and I agreed. A letter was also delivered to our cabin from the CEO of Carnival, apologizing for the incident. It also stated that Guest Relation Supervisor, Dorothy Georges, would be standing-by for our phone call on Monday morning, June 18th. When I called on Monday to inquire about the additional counseling, Ms. Georges was not available. I left a message.
When Ms. Georges returned my call, I expressed my concerns and asked how we would go about having Carnival pay for our counseling. She stated that she could not confirm whether or not Carnival would pay for the counseling, and would not have an answer on this for a few days. This infuriated me even more, thinking that if it had been THEIR 10-year old girl, who had a gun shoved in her face and forced to plead for her life, they would have immediately said, “Yes” to my counseling request.
At this point Carnival began handling this incident as ‘strictly business’. There was no compassion whatsoever!
1 comment:
For someone who was 'concerend with safety, a 'former cop' and 'former army', you are one of the dumbest people I've read about in the posts about cruise stories!
2-3 THOUSAND dollars you had on you? MORON! That's what credit cards and travlere's cheques are for, if you even NEED that kind of money on hand.
Sorry, but you were asking for trouble, and you found it. And why would the cruiseline be responsible for your counselling?
Be an alpha male, grow a pair and a brain, and quit crying like a bitch!
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