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As someone who travels on a fairly regular basis, I am used to the routine of hotel stays and some of the things I do to make sure my wife and I as well as our property are secure during our stay. On a cruise ship you have room stewards going in and out of your cabin sometimes multiple times a day. Is there any reason to be concerned about someone entering your cabin without your permission for nefarious purposes?
In this TikTok video several methods of safety precautions are demonstrated to secure both the cabin door as well as the balcony door. I always engage the deadbolt lock in hotels as well as onboard a cruise ship to prevent someone mistakenly opening the door while I am asleep. I have checked in to hotels more than once and been issued a keycard only to find someone already in the room that I was told was empty. I have never had this happen onboard a cruise, however, and find it highly unlikely anyone could gain access with just my keycard. The cabin number is not listed on the cards, for one thing, so I would have had to tell them my cabin number for that to work. They could try it on every stateroom door until they found mine I suppose, but that would likely draw security’s attention.
There is a keyhole in the cabin door in addition to the electronic locking mechanism. The only people onboard with those master keys are security personnel and the carpenter. When you engage the latch for the deadbolt even your room steward’s master key card will not open your door. Even the safe inside your cabin or hotel room can be opened via electronic access if necessary.
What about your balcony door? Again, engaging the deadbolt lock will prevent the door from being opened from the outside. In forward cabins with a balcony the door is double, the outer door being a watertight door (for obvious reasons). While this watertight door does have a keyhole, those keys are only in the possession of a very limited number of people.
There are reported incidents of sexual assault as well as other crimes on cruise ships every year. The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) was enacted in 2010 to ensure proper training for reporting and handling these incidents. The statistics are available on the DOT website.
The real key to being safe onboard is to use common sense. As we covered before, there are some real dangers at sea but most can be avoided. Watch how much alcohol you consume, lock your doors at night, be aware of your surroundings and then you can enjoy your cruise vacation safely! – René
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Not exactly sure where you got that the “carpenter” has an emergency hard key. But the post is correct that those keys are extremely strictly controlled just as they would be in any hotel. I’m not sure what the tik-toker suggestions were, but hotel or ship, it’s best not to barricade your door to where outside help cannot get in. Just think about medical emergencies, etc. also, maybe more of a nitpick, but the door in the picture is a “Weathertight” door, not watertight. It’s only designed to keep out heavy weather/ moisture, etc. it’s very strong but not nearly as heavy duty as a watertight door which are only located inside on or under the waterline. (5 years of working on ships in leadership roles)
@Anthony – Our writer who has almost two decades onboard ships shared, at least on his line, who has keys to the lower lock. As to water tight, if the sea is at my front balcony door I think the ship is sinking – I meant watertight from driving rain or breaking waves (the reason for the door).