Traveling to the Bahamas now worried about robbery sexual assault

Question

Just learned this yesterday, saw this article and now many others urging the same thing.

https://nypost.com/2019/03/02/state-department-issues-travel-warning-for-bahamas-urges-increased-caution/

I have never traveled carnival cruise and this is my wife and I first time. I did sign up for and already pay for a jet-ski water tour with my wife and am thinking of canceling it. According to those articles that is were some of the sexual assaults can occur.

Is anyone experienced with how carnival cruise (out of Baltimore if that makes a difference) does these excursions, do they give you a guide from the boat, are they regulated in any way, looking for advice and any would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you booked a excursion directly with Carnival, you are most likely fine. The cruise ship companies are very motivated to keep their passengers safe and any type of press positive, so they will make sure they work with reliable and capable suppliers (and typically charge a pretty penny for it too).

If you stay with the excursion and don't wander off into a unknown areas and maintain basic safety precautions, chances are you will be quite safe.

Keep in mind that it's only a Level 2 advisory which the State Department gives out fairly easily. For example, Germany is currently on Level 2. I was there last week and in my opinion, Germany is considerably safer then many part of the US at the moment.

Answer 2

Excursions like those are extremely safe. First, simply because there is safety in numbers. Groups, even just a couple are much less likely to be victims of those types of crimes. I always say that 2 people are 10 times more safe than just 1. It is not a statistic but conveys the magnitude in difference.

Carnival cruise organizes the excursions are group outings. Evenone gets off the boat together, is led to where the activity takes place and several crew members supervise the whole process. They are there to tell people where to go, when to get in and out and also arrange the timely and safe return.

There is no need to worry then given that you will be in a large supervised group. Follow instructions and do not wonder off. Keep an eye on the crew hosting the excursion to make sure you are always within their range.

Answer 3

The chances of being the victim of a serious crime are vanishingly small on a tour organized by the cruise lines. You still have to be careful of pick-pockets and merchandise scams but that can happen everywhere.

On such an excursion, you will meet your guide and board a bus/boat at the pier. For the entirety of the excursion, you will likely never be more then 5 feet away from the rest of the group which makes it a safety in numbers situation.

If you think it will make you feel safer, you can ask the Shore Excursions Desk how many people are booked on that excursion. If you fine it's just you and wife, explain that you don't feel safe alone and can they rebook you.