We left the ship early in the day in Puerto Vallarta. When we came back to the pier, my friend noticed many police vehicles with flashing lights. I had been focusing on the unusual long lines of fellow-passengers trying to board.
We stood with three extremely obnoxious guys who took pleasure in telling us that our ship had received a bomb threat. At this point we weren’t certain if passing rumors was part of their charm, or the truth.
It was when we saw the Military with their automatic weapons and the Coast Guards with scuba divers in gear that we realized the threat was extremely real.
Though passengers asked what was happening, we were told everything from, “this was a safety drill,” to “the machines that document passengers coming and going are broken,” to “staff has no idea what is going on.”
The ambiguity in the answers caused undue stress for most passengers. We could see something was going on. And not keeping people informed or lying only increased everyone’s anxiety.
We eventually found out that an hour after we left the ship, there was a lockdown. A bomb threat was phoned in, (by what group we still do not know), while ‘procedures’’ were followed. Even the vendors in the flea market on the pier were cleared out.
No one was able to get off or on. The 2nd and 3rd floors were evacuated while the ship was ‘swept,’ with law enforcement personnel and bomb-sniffing dogs. Passengers that were stuck on board told us that there were a slew of government vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances surrounding the ship for several hours.
Passengers overheard discussions of ‘orderly evacuations’ from top operations staff.
Yet, when fellow passenger Andy Smith from Liverpool, England suggested to staff that precedence be given to the elderly, the disabled, children and pregnant women, those suggestions fell on deaf ears.
Royal Caribbean’s procedures need changing. Passengers have a right to know exactly what is going on…as it is happening. They do not need to hear rumors about Terrorists or the Mexican Mafia. Passengers have a right to choose whether or not to proceed with the cruise, or to fly home.
We certainly had questions. While the Captain did make an announcement of generic details at to what occurred, it was several hours too late and way too vague.
The offer of one hour of free Screwdrivers or Mimosas for our inconvenience was not okay. A bomb threat is far from an inconvenience. The fact the Captain would make himself available for a few minutes, and we couldn’t find was unacceptable. He should have made himself or one of his right hands accessible all evening.
It was a rude awakening to hear that other cruise lines have experienced the same thing, yet it hasn’t been publicized.
Terrorism does cross my mind when I travel, and it is my hope that bomb threat procedures will be re-evaluated, heightened and standardized, as cruise ships are a venue that is extremely vulnerable. How can port security be so careless? Many passengers continue to feel uneasy as we head to Los Angeles.