Again, a sobering moment about cruising. Again, a news item that makes people nervous about going…anywhere. Again, a reminder about the world we live in today.
In case you missed it, police in Germany questioned a 22-year-old Austrian who a year ago this month was returning from Pakistan and discovered — after weeks of breaking codes of digital information he was carrying on him — that one al-Qaeda plot was to attack cruise ships.
As reported on CNN, investigative journalist Yassin Musharbash — a reporter with the German newspaper Die Zeit — was the first to report that one plan was to "hijack a passenger ship and use it to pressurize the public."
The plan would include dressing passengers in orange jump suits, as if they were al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and then videotape their executions.
If that makes you nervous about cruising, think how the cruise lines feel…and the ship captains. And in case you're inclined to "jump ship" remember that in today's world, it seems you're really not 100% safe anywhere any more.
Carnival Splendor
7 nights
May 27, 2012
Long Beach (return): Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta
Inside: $619
Cost per day: $88
www.carnival.com