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CruiseReporter
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Post subject: Bahamas Nassau Cruise Passengers Robberies
 Posted: Nov 27, 2009 - 01:44 EST
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Site Admin
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
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Bahamas pledged to place more police in the tourist sectors of Nassau after a spate of crimes against cruise passengers in the last few weeks, but at least one victim is saying that is too little, too late.
Carly Milne was one of almost 30 cruise tourists that have been robbed while on Nassau shore excursions in the last two months.
Last week, she was robbed at gunpoint while on a Segway excursion, one of 18 passengers in two groups that were targeted on the same day.
None of those passengers were hurt, and the cruise lines involved, Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International, are no longer offering the Nassau Segway tour. In a similar October incident, 11 Carnival Cruise Lines passengers were robbed near Nassau's Queen’s Staircase attraction, also at gunpoint.
Milne, who declined to mention what ship she was on, said she was shocked to learn that none of these were isolated incidents.
On the day her group was targeted, she met a woman at the Nassau police station whose husband had been robbed in the shopping district. Later, Milne read an article citing another man robbed that day of his wallet.
“We were repeatedly assured by police that ‘this never happens,’ and yet, 21 people were victims of aggravated theft in one day, each in busy tourist areas that are supposedly safe,” Milne said. “I was horrified when I started doing the research online and saw just how much armed robbery, theft and violence is happening in Nassau these days.”
Milne said if she had known this, “I would’ve never gotten off the ship."
A travel writer, Milne said she has been all over the world, and knows well that tourists are often targets for criminals. But she believes Nassau is not doing enough to counter what is clearly a trend.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that if a city or country is experiencing a vast amount of criminal activity that targets tourists, that they take as many strides as they can to ensure their safety to the best of their ability,” she said. “That means armed guards and police presence at heavily populated tourism destinations. As I walked with our group from the cruise ship to the taxi through a little of the shopping area, I saw no security presence. As we drove through town on the way to the Segway tour, nothing. And at the tour itself, zero police – at least, not until five minutes after we were violently robbed.”
Milne believes that cruise lines and their passengers should not visit Nassau until the town beefs up its security.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/ ... 02832.blog |
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