Sun. Nov. 13th The Red Sea
By Jain
We are somewhere out in the vast Red Sea. The Captain has reported that Saudi Arabia is on our port side and Sudan is on our starboard. From our deck we see nothing but sea, so in my opinion we could be anywhere. Tonight the Captain says we will be close to Yemen. The Middle East as a whole is an unhappy region. Let's just say Yemen is very unhappy and an unstable country with no love loss for the U.S, as seen by the recent missile attacks on our American warships.
Because of our location in a high risk area, the Captain has announced they will be closing off the Promenade deck (deck 7) from sunset to sunrise, since they will be turning off all lighting and setting up security measures. We are again advised to keep our cabin curtains closed and lights off. Passengers are to remain calm and assured the restaurants are open as is the casino and ship stores. I am sure the Name that Tune contest as well as Line Dance Party in the Spinnaker Lounge will go on as usual.
Cruise ships per se have not been specifically targeted more than anything else in the world. But terrorists or pirates have attacked cruise ships in this area. Pirate attacks and holding passengers is not that far fetched. The worst was the terrorist attack on a cruise ship excursion group in Tunis where 17 were killed and 20 injured. In 2013 on a British cruise ship passengers were shot by armed robbers in Barbados and cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint in St.Lucia. Of course there was the Captain Phillips movie about Somali pirates invading a U.S. containership. I hope our Captain is as good as Captain Phillips, played by Tom Hanks. Not a good movie to watch prior to going on a Middle East cruise.
Cruise Lines will change their itinerary immediately in response to any incidents. If they believe they are in danger they simply alter the course. Good to know but I'm not sure that's any help to our ship since there aren't a lot of places to go.
There are no guns on cruise ships. Although they won't specially disclose security protocols, they do acknowledge all ships have undercover security staff. Probably the guys we were chatting with at the It's Five Somewhere bar watching the Karaoke. In case of piracy you are told to move out of your stateroom, stay away from windows and doors and sit down.
The best defense cruise ships have is an acoustic warning device. In the case of an unwanted vessel approaching the ship can use high pitch sound directed at them that causes intense pain. Some cruise ships have mechanism to drop logs on approaching skiffs, and they can always use water hoses to keep bad guys off. Holland America's ship 'Amsterdam' took the direct approach and installed barbed wires on its 3rd deck (that's the first deck the pirates could possibly board.) They also have installed water hoses that point down from the water line. Piracy prevention seems to be everybody's business, when the MSC Melody cruise ship was attacked the passengers threw deck chairs and tables as their first line of defense!
As we approach Yemen the Captain has mentioned it is full throttle ahead, to get as far away as possible. He assures us that safety and security is first and foremost.
On a lighter note he also went on and on about how rare a treat it is for us to experience the super moon. This super moon is very rare event where a full moon in its orbit is closest to the earth, a very spectacular sight. Last super moon was in 1948 the next one will be 2036. He says don't miss it. My question is how are we gonna see it with all the curtains closed?
We are somewhere out in the vast Red Sea. The Captain has reported that Saudi Arabia is on our port side and Sudan is on our starboard. From our deck we see nothing but sea, so in my opinion we could be anywhere. Tonight the Captain says we will be close to Yemen. The Middle East as a whole is an unhappy region. Let's just say Yemen is very unhappy and an unstable country with no love loss for the U.S, as seen by the recent missile attacks on our American warships.
Because of our location in a high risk area, the Captain has announced they will be closing off the Promenade deck (deck 7) from sunset to sunrise, since they will be turning off all lighting and setting up security measures. We are again advised to keep our cabin curtains closed and lights off. Passengers are to remain calm and assured the restaurants are open as is the casino and ship stores. I am sure the Name that Tune contest as well as Line Dance Party in the Spinnaker Lounge will go on as usual.
Cruise ships per se have not been specifically targeted more than anything else in the world. But terrorists or pirates have attacked cruise ships in this area. Pirate attacks and holding passengers is not that far fetched. The worst was the terrorist attack on a cruise ship excursion group in Tunis where 17 were killed and 20 injured. In 2013 on a British cruise ship passengers were shot by armed robbers in Barbados and cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint in St.Lucia. Of course there was the Captain Phillips movie about Somali pirates invading a U.S. containership. I hope our Captain is as good as Captain Phillips, played by Tom Hanks. Not a good movie to watch prior to going on a Middle East cruise.
Cruise Lines will change their itinerary immediately in response to any incidents. If they believe they are in danger they simply alter the course. Good to know but I'm not sure that's any help to our ship since there aren't a lot of places to go.
There are no guns on cruise ships. Although they won't specially disclose security protocols, they do acknowledge all ships have undercover security staff. Probably the guys we were chatting with at the It's Five Somewhere bar watching the Karaoke. In case of piracy you are told to move out of your stateroom, stay away from windows and doors and sit down.
The best defense cruise ships have is an acoustic warning device. In the case of an unwanted vessel approaching the ship can use high pitch sound directed at them that causes intense pain. Some cruise ships have mechanism to drop logs on approaching skiffs, and they can always use water hoses to keep bad guys off. Holland America's ship 'Amsterdam' took the direct approach and installed barbed wires on its 3rd deck (that's the first deck the pirates could possibly board.) They also have installed water hoses that point down from the water line. Piracy prevention seems to be everybody's business, when the MSC Melody cruise ship was attacked the passengers threw deck chairs and tables as their first line of defense!
As we approach Yemen the Captain has mentioned it is full throttle ahead, to get as far away as possible. He assures us that safety and security is first and foremost.
On a lighter note he also went on and on about how rare a treat it is for us to experience the super moon. This super moon is very rare event where a full moon in its orbit is closest to the earth, a very spectacular sight. Last super moon was in 1948 the next one will be 2036. He says don't miss it. My question is how are we gonna see it with all the curtains closed?
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