Posted on 08/11/2017 9:38:07 AM PDT by BenLurkin
1,900 passengers aboard a 104 day cruise around the world got an unsettling surprise after they departed from Sydney, Australia toward Dubai.
For ten days, the passengers had to endure a mandatory dusk-to-dawn blackout for fear of pirate attacks. “No deck parties, no movies under the stars, no late-night outdoor bar hopping or pool dipping” were just some of the bans included in the blackout ordered by Captain Gennaro Arma, recalls Carolyn Jasinski, a passenger on the ship. The ship essentially become a ghost – all curtains were drawn, all lights were dimmed or turned off.
Arma wanted to remind his crew and his passengers that the threat of pirates “was real and the ship must be prepared for a pirate attack.”
Jasinski says that in addition to the blackout, there were obligatory pirate drills to prepare the crew and passengers in case an actual attack happened.
“[The passengers] were advised to sit on the floor and to hang on to hand rails in case the ship had to maneuver away from pirate ships. In the case of a real threat, those passengers in outside cabins were told to close and lock their balcony doors, then lock their entrance door to their cabin and take shelter in the corridors,” she says in her essay detailing the experience.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It seems to be a matter of love it or hate it. Very few people I encounter think cruising is "just okay".
I'm one who likes cruising, but acknowledge it's getting less pleasant. I avoid anything that's crowded or has long lines, and can have a pleasurable experience.
“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.”—Dr. Sam. Johnson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship
At 82 I’m ready! A hell of a way to go out!
Submarine cruises with the opportunity to torpedo a pirate?
They should have issued a gun to every passenger, and declared it a contest to see who gets the first pirate... free cruise for the winner!
How exciting!!! Pirate Hunting! Do they supply an arsenal or it is BYOW?
...but the rest of the furniture is real.
I'm in! Do they provide an arsenal and body armor or is BYOW?
Another in an ever growing list of reasons not to go on a cruise.
Ten days. One would think if they were that afraid, they’d boogie to the nearest safe port instead of bobbing out in the middle of nowhere without so much as a sling shot.
I was on my own boat this morning and we caught a few redfish, a couple specs, a nice bass and a a few catfish.
I love being on the water and can step out of my camp and get right on my boat.
But a cruise ship, stuck on a huge boat with all those annoying people?
No Way.
Talk about an exciting adventure. Divvy up the booty for prizes. It sure beats arranging the deck chairs.
“Another in an ever growing list of reasons not to go on a cruise.”
The pirates are the least of the problem.
It is the timeshare salesman from Florida that is the most annoying.
They could probably charge for using mini-guns. That would be some serious fun to blast towed targets.
Hell, one of my dreams is hitting the lottery, and turning an small container vessel into a Q-ship. . . .and going hunting. . . .
Diseased ridden passengers, tained food, funk in the communal potties, mold and other nasties in the a/c and pirates willing to kill you. No, thanks. I'm happy taking a few steps down to our little 7 man boat and tootle around the river for an hour and come back to my own quiet peaceful home.
Issue volunteers crossbows: it’d take awhile for the pirates to realize they were under attack!
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