Olympia man missing from Caribbean cruise

@NorthwestEconomist @Stock Woodie So you feel safe in the US? Who will you sue if a criminal kills you? Having something bad happening to you when on vacations is a bummer, regardless of what happens with the money afterwards. You can't ask the justice to send you back in time to have a better vacation, you know... Life has risks...

 @NorthwestEconomist So you need to be able to "sue" someone if something bad happens in your life?  Please.

 @SoTweetie Hey, there's a million dollar business opportunity in the making, Life(ring)Alert: "I've fallen! And I can't bob up! Blubllbblubllbluuh..."

 @katiemcc  @NevadaBob  @Larry*X*K unless there was identification fraud involved! there's so many scenarios that could of happened but there's one truth about this whole thing, there is no "accident" anywhere.

 @NevadaBob  @Larry*X*K  @katiemcc I don't see how he could have been "never on board", at least with the card check system that Princess uses.  If he hadn't gotten on initially, they would have record of it & when reported missing, they could have easily said he wasn't ever there to miss.  Every time we disembarked, they scanned our id card (the same one we used to get into our rooms) & verified the picture matched the one taken when we first got on.  Then when we came back they checked us again.

I could agree with the "jumped" theory - or he's hiding someplace on board to fake his disappearance, though I don't know how he thinks he's going to get off & not get caught.

 @Damian  @VikingMom Damian - What I meant by my comment was that people from third world countries may have different sanitation standards and are often preparing/serving food without washing their hands - hence the likelihood of passing germs to unsuspecting passengers. I have read many CDC inspection reports on cruise ships and the things that I have seen would horrify you, including MANY incidents of unsanitary conditions. If these same things happened in a restaurant in the US, the Health Department would shut it down but people going on cruises often don't realize that the standards are NOT the same....I travel outside the US frequently but I am always aware of the fact that I am in a foreign country. My point is that many cruise passengers assume that US standards and protections are afforded to them while onboard the ship and they find out too late that is NOT the case.

@VikingMom First of all, my cat looks so much better than yours :) I think you are going too far. Of course employees are from poor countries, but I don't think that necessary means they have diseases! After all, many cruises visit poor countries (Jamaica, Belize, etc.), and when you leave the ship on each port you are exposed to a lot of stuff (crime, sanitary issues, etc.) If you are so afraid of those things, stay in the US, you can go to Hawaii. I prefer visiting other places, but I'm from a poor country myself, I understand the risks and I don't take for granted the many wonderful things I have in the US.

 @Damian  @VikingMom ...AND they use those flags to avoid liability for any of the things that can, and do, go wrong, while at sea. Those "slaves" are usually from 3rd world countries, which is why the incidents of Noro-type viruses are rampant, but not fully reported. Or they have criminal records, including murder, rape, or child abuse but there are no background checks required. The cruise industry markets itself as being just like the nicest hotel in America but you get to visit cool places while you stay there - the only problem is that once you step onboard, you ARE in a foreign country and NONE of the laws and protections that we take for granted here are valid anymore. Sadly, too many people don't know that and find out only when something bad happens.

 

@VikingMom They use those flags to avoid taxes and be able to have the kind of contracts they have with their slaves, cough cough, employees. I don't think there is an evil conspiracy here, but with millions of passengers, there is going to be whatever you can imagine.

 @Headwrench  @VikingMom More like 1500 or 2000 guests on the bigger ships.

There is a difference between "babysitting", which I agree is not possible or even desirable, and neglience or outright criminal activity. However, because of the international laws, the cruise lines cannot be held liable for even the most egregious of behaviors. The sailing public has no idea of what really happens because there are no requirements to report crime or illnesses/deaths on board.

@VikingMom it has to be difficult to babysit each of the 500 or however many guests, you have to admit that!

@unobtanium Statistics. My point is, how common are these things on cruises and how that compares with whatever happens in other places, for example a city? In air travel, we can talk about hundreds of tragedies, however statistically you have to be incredibly unlucky to have that happening to you. I wonder how common are these things in cruises, and for that I'd need data. Or I could just keep cruising and enjoy without worrying :P

 @Damian  @unobtanium 

anecdotal; I agree - how do you prove otherwise?

@unobtanium I understand your friend, it's almost slavery. Regarding the "data", that is anecdotic evidence. Millions of people take cruises, of course there are some accidents, incidents, crime, whatever you can imagine.