Part 1 - How to Have a Safe Mediterranean Cruise Vacation

Don’t want to be a crime victim on your Mediterranean cruise? Cruise vacation is one of the safest place you can take a vacation but you will never know when you will have bad luck. Here are tips so you can have a safe Mediterranean cruise vacation.

Step 1: Packing Your Luggage

Don't rush out and buy expensive luggage. Plain-looking luggage is less likely to be a target. Some thieves might equate expensive luggage with expensive contents. Make a list of everything you have put in your luggage, and take pictures of it while packing in case of loss. Don't pack medications, eyeglasses, and valuables in your checked luggage for your Mediterranean cruise vacation. (Better yet, don't take valuables like expensive jewelry with you on the cruise.) Although you need to put external (and internal) tags on your luggage, don't list your full home address on the outside. This is a signal to expert thieves that you won't be home for a week!

You really don't want to advertise to everyone at the airport where you live.
Although you don't want expensive luggage, you do want luggage that will not pop open at an inopportune time. I've seen all sorts of baggage contents (including some "unmentionables") come out on the luggage carousels at the airport, and always felt sorry for the owners whose bags had come open. Consider using an extra band, airport plastic wrap, or duct tape to help secure your bags. You can buy self-locking plastic tags from travel or home improvement stores for about a dollar. These work well on zippered bags.

Step 2: Before You Leave Home

Make copies of your passport, driver's license, credit cards, wallet contents, and travel documents (plane tickets, etc). You also should make a copy of the credit card "lost or stolen" notification phone numbers to include with this package. Leave one set of copies at home with a trusted friend or family member, and take the other set with you, packed separately from the originals. Many Mediterranean cruise ships will hold your passport to expedite clearing the ship in foreign ports.

Therefore, I always make a couple of extra copies of my passport to use to take for my Mediterranean cruise.

Buy an under-the-clothing money bag and use it. These can be quite comfortable, and will thwart "cut and run" thieves who have been known to cut purse straps or waist packs right off their victims.

Okay, that’s the first two steps. I will continue this article in part 2 where I will cover three more steps. Hope you have a great Mediterranean cruise