"Predator" Check?

[jfs9900]

I wonder if there was a male passenger trying to book a room by himself, with no tie-in to any other travelers, if that would trigger some sort of red flag. I know that at our local Museum Center in downtown Cincinnati, they will not let any unaccompanied males enter the Children's Museum.

I hope they never do this - as I fit into the category of solo male traveler. I have cruised solo, with family, and friends - if I was ever questioned about taking a cruise on my own for ill intentions I would be extremely embarrassed (if it was DCL or another cruise line).

Second, from personal experience, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is VERY through in it's check of passengers - before, during and after the cruise. If someone was sailing solo (or with a group) and had a conviction CBP would most likely question that person before sailing.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I wonder if there was a male passenger trying to book a room by himself, with no tie-in to any other travelers, if that would trigger some sort of red flag. I know that at our local Museum Center in downtown Cincinnati, they will not let any unaccompanied males enter the Children's Museum.

Thats discrimination and sexist. If Disney ever did something like that I would be ashamed and embarrassed to be an employee of the Walt Disney Company. The ships manifest is handed over to US CBP and is very thoroughly checked. I don't feel Disney needs to take it upon themselves to conduct additional checks.

 

[Caropooh]

All good points. I am very over-protective, so I am not planning on my kids having sign-out abilities. I am sure that is going to be tough with a 12 year old tween, but you just never know!

So, I would be able to get a pager for my 11 yr old dd, right? There is no way I would let her wander the ship alone. I don't mind when she is with her 15 yr old sister and their 2 friends who are traveling with us but alone... No way! It would be so easy for an adult to pull a child into a room and no one would know.

I'm not sure if it was because our DD11 had sign in/out privileges or not, but we did not have a pager for her this summer on our Baltic cruise.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Lastly, I wasn't talking about a criminal background checks, simply a search for a sex offense conviction. I would think that should be simple, and believe their is a national database of registered offenders. While it would not flag the the internationals, it would be a start. I don't care who had DUIs, etc. But I do care if there is a convicted sex offender on board.

Believe it or not, even sex offenders have the right to cruise.....and not all "sex offenders" are pedofiles.

 

[kay1864]

Believe it or not, even sex offenders have the right to cruise.....and not all "sex offenders" are pedofiles.

Under many state laws, registered sex offenders are not allowed to reside within 1000 or 2000 feet of a school, park, or daycare center.

I don't have any problem with the same guidelines being applied to sex offenders attempting to book a cruise (and yes, there is a national sex offender registry). For the duration of the cruise, they are residing near groups of children.

I would definitely support such guidelines being adopted by cruise lines, including checking name and address against a national registry, and notifying the passenger (upon a reservation being made) that their reservation was being canceled due to their sex offender status. In my mind it's no different than if they attempted to rent an apartment next to a school.

 

[TDC Nala]

As I would classify DCL, as opposed to the other cruise lines, as catering to kids I wondered whether they might take that extra step.

I would certainly not support this for Disney alone because there are "more kids." If one cruise line does it they should all do it.

Nor should it be done for just men, or just men traveling alone. If they're going to check they need to check ALL passengers.

Actually I'm not for doing it at all. They could mistake someone for a person on a registry. You would think that with full names and birth dates it wouldn't happen, but it does. There could be people whose relatives used their names when arrested. I've seen incidences of persons who keep coming up on criminal record checks because their brother or cousin used their name and it is recorded as an "alias." There are some persons on registries because they had a high school fling with someone younger and not because they are the type of child predator who would molest kids on a ship. All these things happen.

It's kind of like stopping people at the gate of a Disney park and running their name through the registry before they can enter. Don't want to go down that road.

 

[SoMosMom]

We got off the Wonder on the 23rd of this month (wonderful cruise!) We had two kids who were doing the Out-and-About thing. We were very strict on a few rules:

1. When you did the Out-and-About stuff, you stayed with that group unless we came and got them.

2. You go to Oceaneer Lab when all else is finished and have us paged if you want us to come and pick them up.

3. You stayed together... including going to the restroom together (we have two DSs.)

Those are our rules. They were hard and not up for negotiation. And if they were not followed, your privileges of checking yourselves out would be revoked.

But here's something that was funny: when my wife wanted to know where I was, she would go to Oceaneer Lab and page me. Also, make sure that you can hear or feel your pages because I had to put mine on vibrate. I had to feel it in order to respond.

LOVE the rules!!
And laughing about your wife paging you from the Oceaneer Lab - hmmm....Note to self for Alaska Cruise next year... GREAT THINKING!!

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Why stop wtih sex offenders? I'd like to know if my temporary "neighbor" has ever been arrested for selling drugs, robbery, murder, spousal abuse, or DUI? Some states require criminals to be registered on the sex offender registry when the offense didn't even involve sex. You ever hear the term "sexting"? That’s when people, often teenagers, send nude photos of themselves or others via cell phone. Under some state laws, those who do it may also be forced to register as sex offenders alongside much more serious criminals, such as rapists and pedophiles. Nothing is ever as black & white as it seems.

 

[MTmomma]

Right now, in MT, I personally know two men who are required to register as sex offenders for life, because of a statutory rape conviction while in highschool. TWO. Did you also know, that in MT, if you are caught sexting, you can be charged with child pornography? What about that 15 year old girl, that sends a pic of herself topless, to her "boyfriend" and his parents see it and call the police? She would then be (upon conviction) forced to register as a sex offender, and her crime would be listed as child pornography.
I am not sure I like the idea of doing checks further than they already do, at customs. It is FAR too easy to screw this up!
Life is NEVER black and white, and as parents, it is our responsiblity to practice due dilligance in maintaining protection for our children.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Under many state laws, registered sex offenders are not allowed to reside within 1000 or 2000 feet of a school, park, or daycare center.

I don't have any problem with the same guidelines being applied to sex offenders attempting to book a cruise (and yes, there is a national sex offender registry). For the duration of the cruise, they are residing near groups of children.

I would definitely support such guidelines being adopted by cruise lines, including checking name and address against a national registry, and notifying the passenger (upon a reservation being made) that their reservation was being canceled due to their sex offender status. In my mind it's no different than if they attempted to rent an apartment next to a school.

Not all sex offenders are pedophiles. That part of the registry system is, to me, unconstitutional. I have no love for sex offenders, I'd rather see them stay in jail, but if they do not target children then they should not have restrictions on where they live related to children's gathering places.

I do not want to have to pay more money for an already expensive cruise cause DCL had to hire a bunch more people to do background checks on all their passengers.

It is all about teaching your kids properly how to deal with situations.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Right now, in MT, I personally know two men who are required to register as sex offenders for life, because of a statutory rape conviction while in highschool. TWO. Did you also know, that in MT, if you are caught sexting, you can be charged with child pornography? What about that 15 year old girl, that sends a pic of herself topless, to her "boyfriend" and his parents see it and call the police? She would then be (upon conviction) forced to register as a sex offender, and her crime would be listed as child pornography.
I am not sure I like the idea of doing checks further than they already do, at customs. It is FAR too easy to screw this up!
Life is NEVER black and white, and as parents, it is our responsiblity to practice due dilligance in maintaining protection for our children.

It's amazing how a single, totally stupid act, when you're young can totally screw up the rest of your life.

In CO, if there is a 3 year difference in age (under 16) sex between a consenting couple, it is considered statutory rape...so if a 19 year old boy dates a girl who says she is 16, when she is really 15, he can be convicted of statutory rape and will be a "sex offender" for life. Believe me, there is no shortage of 15 year old girls who will stretch the truth of how old they are to hook up with a cute guy. I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16 (I feel ancient!!)....today I see girls that can't be more than 13-14 sucking face with much older boys at the mall, theaters, etc. I tell my boys, before you date, ask the girl for their ID card....

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

So, I would be able to get a pager for my 11 yr old dd, right? There is no way I would let her wander the ship alone. I don't mind when she is with her 15 yr old sister and their 2 friends who are traveling with us but alone... No way! It would be so easy for an adult to pull a child into a room and no one would know.

I'm not sure if it was because our DD11 had sign in/out privileges or not, but we did not have a pager for her this summer on our Baltic cruise.

11 yr olds on the Magic would go to Ocean Quest. There is no pager system or sign in/out there. Kids can come and go and they please. Most times, the door is kept open.

 

[Tower]

We had a gentleman travelling once. A real nice guy, and friendly with everyone both on the boards and on the cruise. One family kept him around them. My personal thinking was 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'. At least they knew where he was.
It could be just paranoia on my part.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

We had a gentleman travelling once. A real nice guy, and friendly with everyone both on the boards and on the cruise. One family kept him around them. My personal thinking was 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'. At least they knew where he was.
It could be just paranoia on my part.

Most sex offenders I witness (which is daily through work) are married or in a relationship. This is a little paranoid, and I don't mean that mean-spiritedly, I'm just saying I wouldn't target a lone male as being suspicious.

 

[Jey12]

I am disgusted by true sex offenders, I'd say what I'd like to do to them but it's probably not appropriate for these boards. I know someone who is on the sex offender registy because in his early 20's he urinated in public. Ended up with an exposure charge and now is registered as a sex offender. I agree with PP's that this isn't a black and white issue and by doing so could possibly harm more people than it would help. I don't think saying Disney should do this over other cruise lines is fair. The children on other cruise ships are just as important as those on a Disney one.

It might be important to note that most children who are sexually abused are abused by a family member. This means your yearly holiday gathering is a much more dangerous place than a cruise ship, statistically speaking. I know all anyone wants to do is keep our children safe, and educating them is how we are going to do it. Keeping an open line of communication and being up front and honest about dangers is the best course of action.

 

[Caropooh]

11 yr olds on the Magic would go to Ocean Quest. There is no pager system or sign in/out there. Kids can come and go and they please. Most times, the door is kept open.

Thank you! I knew there was something different about that age group for the Magic and the Wonder, I just for the life of me couldn't think of it!

 

[kay1864]

I do not want to have to pay more money for an already expensive cruise cause DCL had to hire a bunch more people to do background checks on all their passengers.

Actually it's not a "background check" per se. It could easily be done as a one-time programming change to current cruise line reservation systems. Hence no hiring of people needed, and you don't have to worry about paying more money for an already expensive cruise. Once a reservation is booked, if there's an exact match (name and address), then the reservation is canceled.

Again, no different from existing laws.

It is all about teaching your kids properly how to deal with situations.

Using that line of reasoning, no sex offender involving a child needs to be barred from living near a school or park, or even to register at all.

 

[kay1864]

Not all sex offenders are pedophiles. That part of the registry system is, to me, unconstitutional. I have no love for sex offenders, I'd rather see them stay in jail, but if they do not target children then they should not have restrictions on where they live related to children's gathering places.

Agreed. Many states are updating their laws to distinguish between "non-children" sex offenders and those involving children.

And if the person is an actual 'child' sex offender, I have no problem excluding them from living near playgrounds, schools, parks, daycare centers--or cruise ships with child care (which is pretty much all of the cruise lines). If the national registry doesn't make that 'child' distinction, it certainly needs to. But I see no reason to place a cruise ship in a "different" category than the currently excluded areas above.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Actually it's not a "background check" per se. It could easily be done as a one-time programming change to current cruise line reservation systems. Hence no hiring of people needed, and you don't have to worry about paying more money for an already expensive cruise. Once a reservation is booked, if there's an exact match (name and address), then the reservation is canceled.

Wow, that sounds really consititutional! How about we just let them board the ship, and then, when we are in the middle of the ocean, (maybe on Pirate Night, to truely get into the spirit!) make them walk the gang plank.....

 

[kay1864]

Wow, that sounds really consititutional! How about we just let them board the ship, and then, when we are in the middle of the ocean, (maybe on Pirate Night, to truely get into the spirit!) make them walk the gang plank.....

Do look up the term "strawman". And "Constitutional".


Let's see now:

1. Cruise lines already require name and address...check.

2. Cruise lines already require valid ID...check.

3. Sex offender registry already has name and address...check.

What exactly is it you're objecting to?


ps I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the US Constitution about cruise ship reservations.