Cruise Bans Late Night Parties Due to Pirates

A group of nearly 2,000 passengers traveling on a 104-day world cruise from Sydney on the Sea Princess recently had a scary experience when they underwent a blackout, due to fear of a pirate attack. Passengers were forbidden from participating in any late-night revelry on the ship.

As a result, passengers spent 10 days in a nightly blackout period as they traveled through waters with a high risk of potential pirate activity, travel writer and Sea Princess passenger Carolyne Jasinski wrote in a piece for news.com.au.

The "dusk-til-dawn ban on any fun on deck" took place as the ship traveled through the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Suez Canal, with Jasinski writing that at sunset, "all curtains were drawn and all shutters closed." The boat's lights were also dimmed or turned off.

Passengers were also advised what to do in the event of a real threat, with the ship holding a pirate drill in which cruise-goers were instructed to "sit on the floor and to hang on to hand rails in case the ship had to maneuver away from pirate ships."

"In the case of a real threat, those passengers in outside cabins were told to close and lock their balcony doors, then lock their entrance door to their cabin and take shelter in the corridors," she continued.

The ship made it through the potentially dangerous waters without incident, and Jasinski told CNN that while passengers "seemed to be surprised," they "were happy to go along with it."

"The pirate threat should be taken seriously," she added. "I believe the cruise lines have it all under control and the fact that they have these drills and take extra precautions like the dusk-til-dawn ban are commendable."

Princess Cruises, which runs the Sea Princess, said the drill was a precautionary measure.

"Piracy specific training is conducted prior to any of our vessels entering areas of concern," the company said in a statement. "Any measures aboard Sea Princess were simply taken out of an abundance caution and not in response to a specific concern."

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