Sometimes when Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald does something in the spirit of fun, it actually sparks a useful conversation.
On Jan. 20 he asked a simple poll question that led to somewhere unexpected.
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"Yesterday we spoke about lanyards on the daily poll," Heald posted. "The responses were in their thousands with 14,000 of you saying that you do wear your Sail and Sign card on a lanyard and 7,000 saying you do not."
The brand ambassador also wanted to discuss a specific comment.
"I usually will wear a lanyard," an unidentified passenger wrote. "I like the pax to see that I am platinum vip so they know they can ask me questions and get my advice for free.. I do wear a lanyard except when it’s super windy on deck (almost lost one overboard once when the wind ripped it off my neck) or if I'm dressed up for dinner (I think it looks weird).
"I also won't wear it while in port — I know a lot of people do, but I feel it's a bit of a safety/security issue to have your cards out for all to see. Especially for those who also have their drivers license and CC shoved in a clear pocket around on it."
That led Heald to raise the safety question and to note Carnival's stand on wearing your Sail and Sign card in port. The card is your room key and charge card as well as your on-board identification.
"Thank you and interesting point there – do you wear your Sail and Sign card on a lanyard when you are walking around [ports?] I mean, I don’t think we have ever advised you not to and I am sure it’s fine to do, but this made me think for sure. So do you wear your Sail and Sign card on a lanyard while enjoying time ashore?" he asked.
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Caribbean cruise ports are more dangerous for Americans
With violence up in the Caribbean and many common cruise ports under Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution and Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisories from the U.S. State Department, not showing off that you are a tourist might be a smart move.
Caribbean officials have openly discussed rising crime and murder rates because they are worried about the impact on tourism.
"Judging by the official indicators, they are right to be concerned, with countries across the region reporting a spike in homicides," the U.K Telegraph reported, "Of the 20 countries with the highest murder rates, 12 are Caribbean islands.
"In the Turks and Caicos Islands and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the number of killings in 2023 was 50% and 63% higher, respectively, than in 2019. In St Kitts and Nevis, the murder rate has soared by 121% over the same period."
Americans are being warned about Caribbean travel by the State Department. One of the milder warnings is for The Bahamas, which includes the popular Nassau and Freeport cruise ports.
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The nation is under a Level 2 warning.
"The majority of crime occurs on New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport) islands," the federal agency explained. "In Nassau, practice increased vigilance in the “Over the Hill” area (south of Shirley Street) where gang-on-gang violence has resulted in a high homicide rate primarily affecting the local population. Violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in both tourist and non-tourist areas."
Carnival Cruise Line passengers share safety thoughts
Some Carnival passengers say it's not a great idea to advertise that you are a tourist.
"I wear my lanyard on board but never when in port. Feel like I maybe a target," Tracey Thompson shared.
Mark Singelton says it's safer not to advertise that you are on a cruise ship.
"Wearing a flag that says what ship you are on is a problem. One of the reason I won't wear a wrist band at resorts. We don't need to give people knowledge they don't need. In the military we call it OpsSec," he posted. [That's Operations Security.]
Shawn Caccia takes a practical approach to port safety.
"I would never wear it at port," he wrote. "I don't want anything that screams tourist as much as that would. I feel that it makes me a target for both criminal activity and people selling stuff.
"Look, we all know some ports are nicer/safer than others, while others, you basically have to walk a mile before people stop trying to sell you things. Either way, I'd rather not advertise that I'm just visiting."
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Rachel Skaggs explained why she recently stopped wearing her lanyard in port.
"In the past I have. However, in December we were in Cozumel and I kept getting told by the locals at the shops that they too were on the Spirit. Asking me if I recognized them and such," she posted.
"Now I realize that there might be a few that are legit about that and are helping their family’s shop. But not every one of them. I finally took it off and they stopped telling me that," she added. "It made me feel really uncomfortable that that many were saying the same thing to me."
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