Hiding on the ship during disembarkation

[squirk]

Disclaimer - I am NOT endorsing this idea. Just idly wondering how it would play out.

What do you suppose would happen if somebody tried to hide on the ship on disembarkation day with the intention of stowing away for a freebie second cruise? Granted, it's crazy because you'd have no stateroom to sleep in, no place to store your personal effects or clothing, and no valid KTTW card to use to make purchases or get off/on the ship at ports. Nonetheless, I am sure that more than one loon has tried this, thinking they'd stay on the ship the entire time, living out of a backpack, and trying to find secluded places in public areas to sleep.

Where would DCL/Customs/Port Authority/DHS nail you? My guess is the first flag would go up when the manifest identifies passengers who did not scan their KTTW card in the exit gangway. But would they start looking for you then, or would they (at least initially) chalk that up as a "fell between the cracks" thing where the person is presumed to be off the ship, but simply failed to swipe their card in the crowded rush through the gangway?

I assume the real alarm would start when there is a discrepancy between the manifest and Customs. Then the ship-wide search would take place with Port Authority police, Customs and Homeland Security involved?

The ships are so big with so many places to hide. Would they tear the ship apart, reviewing all camera footage looking for you? Could they use the longer-range RFID scanners to locate your KTTW card (assuming you did not ditch it)? Could the next sailing not embark until you are found? If (for the sake of argument) you somehow were able to pull this off, I don't see how you could get past Customs at the end of the second cruise.

If anyone has encountered a situation like this, I'd love to hear what happened.

 

[Saimaeve]

Considering how much they clean the ship between turnover, I think it would be highly unlikely you are not found before it even becomes an issue.

 

[squirk]

Considering how much they clean the ship between turnover, I think it would be highly unlikely you are not found before it even becomes an issue.

I agree, but again, I would not be surprised if at least one determined crazy person found a creative place to hide.

I mean, there are people who have snorkeled across Bay Lake at night, with all of its dangers, to sneak onto Discovery Island, for crying out loud. I would not put it past someone to try and hide in a waste processing area (or something else gross) on one of the ships.

 

[gotomu212]

We were on the ship when the cast member disappeared (very very sad) and they did a full ship search which included coming into our rooms looking in the bath, closet, and under the bed. They have a pretty thorough and in depth process for searching the ship.

 

[xlxo]

they have a photo of you when you boarded. They will know who to look for.

Then again, I wonder what was the longest time it took to find a lost kid. I had a terrible time trying to find a lost senior on the Wonder by myself.

 

[squirk]

they have a photo of you when you boarded. They will know who to look for.

Sure, they will know what you look like. Even if they didn't, any guest found on the ship after 9:00 a.m., be they lollygagger, stowaway or lost child/senior, would be detained, I think?

For this plan to work, you'd hypothetically have to hide, 100% unseen, until the next sailing started boarding, and then try to blend in with the new passengers.

Even then, I suppose they could use the facial recognition technology to try and pick you out of the crowd. I just don't see how boarding could even start until all of the prior sailing's passengers were accounted for.

 

[jrabbit]

well here's what I did










.....

 

[apathetic]

Something tells me they can't board until they clear the ship. They are very efficient in making sure your card is scanned so I doubt they would just assume they missed 1 card. To be honest, there is the logic of wanting to hide that makes it an unlikely scenario. Unless you know someone on the next cruise, you couldn't get into a room. There is no way you could hide with luggage. So (at best) you get a free cruise where you wear the same clothes and sleep on a deck chair. Sure, I guess it is possible, but why would you want to? Not to mention I'm guessing there are legal ramifications. The crews are very well trained and probably have a nice list of places they've identified as hiding spots.

 

[timrousbeastie]

well here's what I did [...]

Where did jrabbit go? Right here, and then .... poof.

 

[squirk]

Something tells me they can't board until they clear the ship. They are very efficient in making sure your card is scanned so I doubt they would just assume they missed 1 card. To be honest, there is the logic of wanting to hide that makes it an unlikely scenario. Unless you know someone on the next cruise, you couldn't get into a room. There is no way you could hide with luggage. So (at best) you get a free cruise where you wear the same clothes and sleep on a deck chair. Sure, I guess it is possible, but why would you want to? Not to mention I'm guessing there are legal ramifications. The crews are very well trained and probably have a nice list of places they've identified as hiding spots.

I agree. Like I said in my OP, it's crazy. But, again, I point to the Discovery Island snorkelers as "Exhibit A" of what crazy people will do when Disney is involved.

Good point on the laundry - I guess there is no way to wash clothes without a valid KTTW card.

I don't think this happens very often, and I have no doubt people always get nabbed. I just wonder how far they tend to get.

 

[RedSox68]

Something tells me they can't board until they clear the ship. They are very efficient in making sure your card is scanned so I doubt they would just assume they missed 1 card. To be honest, there is the logic of wanting to hide that makes it an unlikely scenario. Unless you know someone on the next cruise, you couldn't get into a room. There is no way you could hide with luggage. So (at best) you get a free cruise where you wear the same clothes and sleep on a deck chair. Sure, I guess it is possible, but why would you want to? Not to mention I'm guessing there are legal ramifications. The crews are very well trained and probably have a nice list of places they've identified as hiding spots.

It also means you'd never be able to get off at any ports. So really, what would be the purpose. Kind of an awful holiday with having to be paranoid about being caught. But it is the stuff that movies are made of.

Then again, there was that older woman who twice years ago stowed away on flights to California (or Hawaii)!

 

[kiford]

When we did a B2B a few years ago we spent some time chatting with one of the CMs who check people in and she was telling us a bit about what they have to do to close out the last cruise before letting new people on. They do indeed check to make sure that everyone has departed the ship before they can close out. And she told us that, yes, occasionally someone does try to stay on board either with the intent of just not leaving or just being really slow to get off because they're lazy or they want to waste time before going to the airport so they don't have to wait there. They will, if they have to, search the ship but usually there are so many CMs cleaning, fixing, setting up, etc., it's hard to avoid them and they get caught and escorted off. They do make very sure that everyone scans off because they're also making sure that everyone getting off has fully paid their account. She told us that sometimes someone leaves and hasn't paid their account (frequently because a child has run up a bill without the parent's knowledge) so they are stopped when they try to scan out.

 

[Laundress]

I would imagine because of the computers ......
every time you enter or exit the ship it's recorded. Someone has to be in charge of making sure the ship is at zero.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It also means you'd never be able to get off at any ports. So really, what would be the purpose. Kind of an awful holiday with having to be paranoid about being caught. But it is the stuff that movies are made of.

Not to mention the awkward conversations when you finally try to disembark to go home.

 

[RedSox68]

When we did a B2B a few years ago we spent some time chatting with one of the CMs who check people in and she was telling us a bit about what they have to do to close out the last cruise before letting new people on. They do indeed check to make sure that everyone has departed the ship before they can close out. And she told us that, yes, occasionally someone does try to stay on board either with the intent of just not leaving or just being really slow to get off because they're lazy or they want to waste time before going to the airport so they don't have to wait there. They will, if they have to, search the ship but usually there are so many CMs cleaning, fixing, setting up, etc., it's hard to avoid them and they get caught and escorted off. They do make very sure that everyone scans off because they're also making sure that everyone getting off has fully paid their account. She told us that sometimes someone leaves and hasn't paid their account (frequently because a child has run up a bill without the parent's knowledge) so they are stopped when they try to scan out.

Ah yes, the old settle the account matter. I forgot about that -- when we were getting off NCL last trip there were several families they had to send back because their accounts weren't paid.

 

[Prose]

I have heard on other lines of boarding being delayed because some people were slow to disembark - I think this is especially prone to happening on turnover day between a charter sailing and a regular one. They would most likely hold embarking passengers until you were found...and you would face a few thousand very angry folks as they "escorted" you off the ship.

 

[squirk]

It also means you'd never be able to get off at any ports. So really, what would be the purpose. Kind of an awful holiday with having to be paranoid about being caught. But it is the stuff that movies are made of.

Then again, there was that older woman who twice years ago stowed away on flights to California (or Hawaii)!

Yes, but I am sure we all can totally imagine someone (mentally ill like that lady, or otherwise) just wanting to soak up the ship for a few more days. More Golden Mickeys, more Aladdin, more Cabanas, more MSDA, more whatever.

I mean, when you think about it, there's a lot you can do on the ship without ever swiping your KTTW card.

 

[RedSox68]

Not to mention the awkward conversations when you finally try to disembark to go home.

Oh, didn't even think about them having to disembark eventually! I'd love to be a fly on the wall for THAT conversation LOL

 

[RedSox68]

Yes, but I am sure we all can totally imagine someone (mentally ill like that lady, or otherwise) just wanting to soak up the ship for a few more days. More Golden Mickeys, more Aladdin, more Cabanas, more MSDA, more whatever.

I mean, when you think about it, there's a lot you can do on the ship without ever swiping your KTTW card.

So true, you really could just hang out for a week onboard and enjoy the sun and food. I really would love to know if anyone has really tried this. Maybe in the past before they had swipe cards.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

One time my preteen daughter lost her key to world between breakfast and leaving ship. We got to exit when she told us. I asked if we needed to go find it or make a new one. They said no and They wrote her name and cabin number down. We went on off ship.