Now we have something more to think about before heading out on a nice relaxing cruise: robbery.
It seems that a band of hooded banditos robbed 23 Carnival Splendor passengers at gunpoint as they traveled on a bus from a hiking trail back to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They banditos took everything from the passengers, all their valuables, cameras, money, and identification. The upside? No one was physically injured during the robbery.
But it begs the question? Where are people safe anymore? Carnival shut down the hike excursion, we assume at least until it can be deemed safe. But how many incidents like that can an industry sustain before there are no stops?
It’s odd in a way, but several years ago when my family was going on a Carnival cruise along the Eastern Caribbean (think islands, like Puerto Rico, etc.). I gave a great deal of thought to insuring my camera and camera equipment. If I only had a pocket camera, I would say who cares. But the camera I use for shooting sporting events carries a hefty price tag, and the lenses are even more expensive. So what’s a shutterbug to do?
For me it was simple. After finding out that my homeowners policy probably wouldn’t cover the loss, since I use the camera to make money (say it ain’t so, you horrible capitalist), I tried to find an insurance company that would write a policy covering the items. They are not easy to find, and they are quite expensive. It ended up costing me $400 for a year to cover $5,000 worth of equipment.
But I was going on a cruise, and the thought of someone lifting $4,000 worth of camera equipment by simply cutting my neck strap weighed heavily, no pun intended. So I bit the bullet and bought the insurance. I didn’t like how much I paid for it, but I did feel secure in taking my camera around and shooting pictures all over the place.
As time has gone by, I have wondered about whether it was really worth purchasing the insurance, and now lo and behold we have this incident in Mexico that makes me think I had a good idea in purchasing the insurance, even if I did see the need ahead of time.
It’s beguiling to me how these kinds of things can happen. But the realist in me knows they go on all the time. When I lived in Italy, there were rampant stories of people whose cameras and purses and other items were stolen while they were still on a strap around their necks. What would happen is a thief would come up behind them, lift and slice the strap and pull hard on a loose end. More than likely, the object suspended by the strap ended up in the hands of the thief.
That kind of stuff was happening back in the late ‘70s, in an area that was pretty tame by today’s standard. With everything that has been going on in Mexico, I would be extremely wary about carry anything valuable with me on a hike or a tour. But since my avocation is shooting pictures, it would be hard to do without my equipment. I guess, in the end, if I put myself into that kind of situation the only thing to do is to purchase the insurance.
In the latest incident, Carnival has stepped up and has said it will “make good” on the lost and missing items. But that still wouldn’t make me feel good while traipsing around the area with a big dollar sign hanging around my neck.
Guess I will have to figure in the price of insurance for any future cruises, or for that matter any vacations. Just because this happened in Mexico doesn’t mean it can’t happen here. Right?
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