Nassau crime wave hits cruises
(The Telegraph): A series of armed attacks on cruise ship passengers in Nassau has raised fears about the safety of visitors to the Bahamas. Several Europeans were among a group of 18 tourists held up by two men wielding shotguns during a guided tour of an eco-park close to Nassau last weekend. Their local guide was tied up and a woman hit in the face with the butt of a gun as the robbers took money, cameras, mobile phones and passports from the passengers. Last month, in another daylight incident, 11 cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint as they stood at the top of the Queen’s Staircase, the city’s landmark attraction.
Category: World News
Looks like we will stay aboard ship in Nassau when we cruise there in March. Not worth the risk. We were there in early 80’s – didn’t like it then and surely it seems worse now.
Have been to NAS four times this year and I was there on all times for much longer than a weekend I had no problems with the people only had good experieinces, except for one silly old fool down by the straw market one day who was whining about foreigners but you get xenophobic people everywhere including here thats there hang up and something they have to deal with mentally not me. As for the dilapidated bulidings you refer to on the way from the Airport well I have never seen any on that route, I have seen some elsewhere on New Providence in certain areas but you see them here as well in some areas eg, look how long Hurley’s on Walkes road was an eye sore for. As for the bars on the windows you refer to,they are in down town NAS and are on some shops at night when they are closed for business, maybe they should do that here and there would be less places broken into.
I am a lone female I drive from NAS Airport by myslef, I am cautious however and like anywhere in the World I drive would never stop if flagged down unless it was a cop in a marked car
I have walked around NAS in the day time alone and with friends over the years and never had a problem, I go out at night to restaurants ect, granted. I dont go out alone at night but I wouldent go out at night alone here either.
You want to be more careful about calling someone a silly old fool for being xenophobic and ranting against foreigners as there is much of that happening here in Cayman, listen to Cayman Crosstalk on Tuesday mornings.
I met extremely hateful people in my 2 week vacation in Nassau and you can have it as I don’t plan to return.
All Xenophobic people are FOOL PERIOD !
You have got to be kidding me !!!
Bahamas, well lets see… the last time I went we were carjacked driving from the airport to Hilton Hotel… the Dunkin Donuts across from the Hilton… this is right in the cruise ship area… has an armed guard with a shotgun… so does the burger joint next door.
I have been from one end of Nassau to the other, there are literally thousands and thousands and thousands of broken down buildings…
Driving from the airport to the Hilton there are many… many buildings that are vacant and have clearly been vandalised.
The streets are cracked, the sidewalks are cracked… every building has bars… every house has a wall, gate, metal shutters with padlocks that are closed every night and when you go out.
Everything… and I mean… everything in Nassau is broken… the rain gutters are hanging off the side of almost every house you look at… the landscaping is overgrown everywhere you look… nothing has been painted in ten years… the walls of everything are really dirty…
The two streets in the cruise area are extremely unclean and they smell. The merchants are very aggressive and will yell and you…
As for service… 007… I have no idea where you went but… with a few exceptions they are some of the rudest people in the world… and they’ve had that reputation for a very … very… very long time.
More often than not… pretty much anywhere in Nassau… any kind of request no matter what … will have the person sucking air through their teeth and giving you a dirty look…
The last time I was there… in the lounge for the flight back… there were several Caymanians… and I asked so… how was yourtrip… they all replied with the same answer…
We can’t wait to get the hell out of here… .
Ask anybody is Nassau… how to get to someplace and they always say YOU CAN’T WALK THERE AT NIGHT…
There is no nice area in Nassau…
Anybody that complaining about Cayman… go to Nassau for weekend…
You will come home and kiss the ground… trust me…
I visit there weekly for business and this reader is talking utter rubbish. Whilst it is certainly not the nicest place on earth, it is ridiculous to talk of security guards carrying shotguns and getting car jacked. It is a bigger, dirtier cayman but the crime level is similar. There’s a lot more people and more tourists etc and more cirminals, but in proportion to its size.
There are definately rough areas, just like there are in Cayman. There are becoming many places it is unsafe to walk at night in Cayman. Not just the traditional bad areas of Mcfield lane, boilers road etc but most of georgetown and even West Bay road has a few armed robberies a month.
The cruise port area is similar to Cayman but it’s true it is more rundown. There is exactly the same limited and very dull range of activities and stores for Cruise tourists. Unless they want jewellry or poncy goods there isn’t a lot to do.
The Cayman that this poster is remembering is long gone. Due to years of government failure to fund the education system and punish bad parenting. The young Caymanian society had been brought up thinking it is ok to steal and beat up people, heck it’s in their birthright. They’ve watched their Dad beat their mum every night and steal from work and they’ve watched succesive governments steling and pilfering funds away from the taxpayers.
In Summary, Nassau is quickly becoming a hellhole, but that will only make it a bigger hellhole than Cayman is becoming.
How many people reading this article have thought that its only a matter of time before this happens in Cayman? Most I would expect. It maybe happening elsewhere in the Caribbean but if it continues then tourists will avoid the region.
To all those on the radio talk shows who boast how great the Bahamas are and how Cayman should follow their lead I say, "forget about it."
I wouldn’t take Nassau as a gift and I hope Cayman is never like the Bahamas.
I can only boast of the people as i found them to be very polite unlike many caymanians these days .And one thing we can boast of is the people of Bahamas come first in their country unlike us who are 2nd class citizens on or own island even 3rd class somtimes .My 6 day trip to the Bahamas was WONDERFUL and it was the real Bahamas people serving me in every Shop ,Resturant ,TAXI ,Hotel and every where else we went .Not like here where we have everything from every planet except Cayman Islands serving you thats a shame.Wish i was in the Bahamas now .
Sounds acurate Bahamas supports Bahamas the only thing is I don’t like hte American influence but besides that sounds good
Well…!!!.Don’t let the door strike you in the back as you leave!!!!!
Then take the first step and take a job in the tourism sector.
The only reason that "we have everything from every planet except Cayman Islands serving you" is because nearly all Caymanians don’t want to work in tourism, so they have to find people to do them job outside of Cayman. What to expect that toursts serve themselves?
As for being a third class citizen in Cayman, feel even more sorry for the expats that treated even worse, no right to vote so no power, can’t complain as will be deported, get taxed when trying to send money home for their children to afford food etc, etc.
Caymanians used to work in tourism – then they started asking for overtime, fair share of gratuities, vacation, pensions, cost of living increases and outrageous stuff like that.
Some used to drive taxi’s. Some of them even next to invented recreational diving as a sport.
Now because they don’t drive BMW’s and cannot live on the 1,000/month a short term "dude" can accept between college and life, there is no place for them.
Catch of the day is salmon. You want some Mahi with that?
how come people can come fro half way across the world, live modest quite lives, not committ crime, save money, send money home?
how come caymanians cannotdo that in their own country?
how comes a caymanian would rather make $0 per month instead of $2,000 per month? (yes that whats they make in the service industry after tips)
Because expats (in tourism) are mainly passing through. Two years of something interesting to do in a beautiful tropical place with basically nice people before they settle down. They aregenerally single, and will share 4 to a 2 bedroom apartment. They are not usually on a career path, but filling in. They do not generally have a spouse and children to support, and have no mortgage to pay. They don’t give a damn if their grats get split with their manager. As long as they have enough to party and buy a second hand car when they get back to Calgary, that is enough.
Does that help answer your question?
it’s the same in every country in the world, but somehow caymanians expect to be paid CI$50k a year to serve drinks…..
No, 30,000 a year (a living wage) for 6 days a week/10 hours a day would be enough. Just so can pay bills and clothe a child. Is that too much?
don’t forget about a blinged up $30k SUV too……
answer the question: why do some caymanians prefer to earn $0 than take a basic job in the service industry?
Because about 3 or 4 hundred are unemployable and would never be employed and about 5 or 6 hundred are employable and are not given a fair chance.
and then you price Cayman out of the tourism industry even more. No tourists mean no jobs in tourism.
And if you can’t afford to clothe and feed your child, why are you having one?
This anti-children / family attitude is why your girls are disappearing and your boys are shooting everybody. They feel unwanted. That attitude has to change if you want less crime.
Don’t have kids you can’t afford and expect us to be forced to employ you because of it. I am not "anti-family" but rather as an employer I don’t consider "has mouths to feed" a reason to employ someone.
you didn’t answer my question – why would a caymanian prefer to earn $0 rather than take a service industry job?
Judging from the profile of unemployed people turning up for the Government clean up program, there are quite a few young Caymanians who would fit your description of the expats employed in tourism, so why aren’t they working there? They probably live at home, no mortgage, no wife, maybe no children and no money coming in.
Why not start at the bottom in tourism, with a view to working their way up, as is the case in every country on the planet? Who knows, maybe a couple of years of solid work will give them an employment track record other employers will take seriously down the road.
Time to recognise that not every Caymanian youth is or can be, on a career path. Sometimes you just have to get a job to pay the bills and see where it leads.
"Beautiful tropical place"? I thought we were talking about Cayman which is bascially flat scrub and sand with some ghastly architecture. There once was a marginally attractive island which was defaced by money grabbing. . . .
please tell me where that job is because i want to apply. when I worked in the service industry i made $800 a month.
Probably you made so little because you were incompetent and rude to the clients so they did not tip you.
Providing good service like our American cousins do will encourage people to tip well. If you serve them with a sour face, kissing teeth and muttering under your breath which is the standard caymanian greeting you cannot expect to make good money in tips.
I am a Caymanian-American # 1. I was preferred over all other bartenders and was asked for specifally to serve at any special functionsin addition to my shift @ the hotel bar.
"I never kiss my teeth or mutter under my breath." I have a beautiful face and beautiful smile. I’m sorry if you were served that way but I have never served anyone that way and neither did any Caymanian people that I saw.
Sorry, but the sour face is a permanent look for some people. They just miserable period. It’s in the genes or maybe it’s just because they are slaves for the Cayman men and children and realise their happiness is over from the time they slipped on that wedding band. Whatever response you have to this I just say blah blah blah. It’s the truth take it how you want.
Well, at least we know it is not only in Cayman.