SECURITY PROCEDURES ON RIVER BOATS

River Boat Harbor PoliceQ – What security measures are in effect on the river cruise ships in light of the terror attacks happening in Europe and elsewhere?

A – Not sure which terrorist attacks you refer to. It is far more likely you will be killed by a television set falling from the sky (off an apartment building roof) in the US than a terrorist attack in Europe. But the answer to your question is that river boats have security in place to determine who is and who is not boarding the boat. They use a room key id system. More importantly, while cruise ships are out at sea, a river cruise operates under local jurisdictional control. The local police and swat teams would be summoned immediately were there an incident. It would be misleading, however, to suggest that a highly-trained small security force is a part of your river boat crew. For the most part, security is handled, while in port, by staff with additional on-board responsibilities.

We do not want to offer a cute response. This is a serious topic. But we like to look at statistics rather than FOX News headlines. The most dangerous part of any journey abroad is the ride to your departure airport. If you drive America’s roadways and live under America’s gun laws, your risk of being killed is significantly greater than the “risk” of traveling abroad on a river boat.