Although cruising is generally considered very safe, it’s always best to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Taking a few extra steps for precaution is never a bad idea when traveling. In particular, female solo travelers often share personal experiences on how to maintain safety while traveling or cruising alone. One recent TikTok, created and shared by user @victorias.way, showcases the extreme lengths that some people choose to go to in order to feel safe while traveling.
The viral video has been viewed nearly 11.5 million times with over 405k likes and 19.7k comments. Victoria's TikTok content focuses heavily on safety and travel tips, which she shares frequently with her 517k followers. However, the TikTok video has ignited quite a response from others online, questioning the need for such extensive safety protocols in a cruise cabin.
In the video's caption, Victoria explains how her 12-step safety procedure feels necessary given a recent cruise incident. The caption explains, “A recent case on a cruise where an employee hid cameras in rooms and recorded guests shows how important it is to stay safe.”
Continuing, she states, “Always check your cabin, mirrors and hidden spots just in case. It helps avoid unwanted situations and keeps your privacy protected. Stay alert, your safety comes first.”
Although she does not specify, a former Royal Caribbean crew member was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after allegedly hiding a camera in a cabin bathroom onboard Symphony of the Seas. The former attendant was charged after guests found a hidden camera in the bathroom.
These incidents are rare on cruise ships, but precautions should always be taken to ensure a safe vacation. The viral TikTok might have intended to highlight some of these security measures but instead sparked a debate. While some steps are practical, others seem unnecessary and unconventional to many. Take a look at the TikTok user’s extensive process to feel safe in her cruise cabin.
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First, Victoria secures her cabin door on the first night of her cruise before going to sleep
The beginning of the TikTok shows Victoria preparing for bed on her cruise ship. Her cabin appears to be an oceanview stateroom, possibly onboard one of Celebrity’s Edge Class.
First, Victoria places the “Deep Sleep” sign on her stateroom door, which is essentially the “Do Not Disturb” sign. Next, she shows how she uses an additional lock on her stateroom door for extra protection. Some people, especially women traveling solo, prefer to pack these portable door locks.
An additional door lock could help reinforce protection from an unwanted visitor. The TikTok shows Victoria installing a portable lock on her cabin door as the second step of her safety process before bed; however, it's important to note that all cruise ship doors have deadbolt locks already.
The third step in Victoria’s process is to ensure the peephole is closed on her cabin door. This protects her cabin from unwanted onlookers trying to peep into her stateroom during the night. Most would agree this is best practice before going to bed while traveling to maintain privacy.
Victoria takes further steps to secure her cabin, including closet hangers, a bathroom towel, and a chair
Most would likely feel safe enough with these precautions, but Victoria takes things a step further. The TikToker's fourth step involves utilizing closet hangers from her stateroom for a makeshift barrier.
While this is definitely creative, Victoria’s hanger strategy feels unnecessary considering the previous steps already taken to secure the door.
Using two hangers from her stateroom closet, Victoria clips the two hangers together to create a larger barrier. One side of the hanger is connected to the cabin door while the other hanger is hooked into the bathroom door hinge.
Next, Victoria continues her 12-step process with the fifth step, which involves a bathroom towel for another barrier. The TikTok shows the cruiser rolling up a medium-sized towel and placing it behind the stateroom door handle, presumably to make it more difficult to jiggle open.
Continuing with her door security measures, Victoria uses an alarm door stopper and chair for additional precautions
The viral TikTok continues with Victoria taking even more precautionary steps to secure her cabin door. After nestling the bathroom towel into the door, she shows how she installs a door stop alarm as her sixth step.
These travel-sized door alarms are placed on the ground near an entryway door and sound a loud, harsh alarm if an intruder tries to open the door.
Victoria continues to barricade her cabin door with a heavy piece of furniture, which is her seventh security step. The video shows her pushing one of the cabin chairs across the stateroom towards the door.
Victoria places the chair directly against the door to prevent any attempted intrusion.
Next, Victoria shows viewers how she installs a wireless camera above her bed and hides cash in an unsuspecting hairbrush
Taking her safety precautions to the next level, Victoria’s eighth step involves the installation of a wireless security camera. The video shows her placing the wireless camera directly above her bed before she goes to sleep.
However, due to restrictions onboard with internet connectivity, this camera could be difficult to actually use. All devices require purchased internet access to utilize the ship’s network, so connecting a wireless camera might be unattainable.
The next unconventional tactic in Victoria’s safety routine is stashing away money in a secret storage container in her hairbrush. She grabs her inconspicuous hairbrush and unscrews the top of the brush in her ninth step. This unveils a secret storage compartment in the hairbrush, where she places her rolled-up cash.
Cruise cabins provide cabin safes for guests to store their belongings and documents. However, travelers looking to take extra precautionary measures could purchase one of these diversion hairbrushes to store more valuables in a less obvious location. The covert storage provides a secure hiding space for jewelry, money, and other small items.
Before heading to bed, Victoria’s final two steps involve looking for hidden cameras and checking the surroundings from her cabin window
After barricading her cabin door, Victoria shows viewers in her viral TikTok how she continues to further secure her stateroom. The tenth step includes checking the mirrors for hidden cameras using a portable RF scanner. Victoria carefully examines the cabin mirror using her RF scanner to identify potential wireless signals using infrared scanning technology.
Following her mirror scanning, Victoria moves towards her cabin window in an unusual safety step for the eleventh step. She grabs a pair of binoculars and positions herself in the cabin window to “check the surroundings outside the window, just in case.” In the TikTok, Victoria uses the binoculars to look at the ocean as the ship sails into the night.
As the final twelfth step, Victoria shows viewers how she uses towel clips to keep her window shades closed. Towel clips are popular for cruisers, as they are versatile travel essentials and keep your beach towel clipped to your chair. In addition, Victoria shows how you can use towel clips to keep your cabin curtains closed.
The viral TikTok ends with Victoria sitting in her stateroom chair against the door. She can be seen letting out a big sigh and taking off her face mask before heading to bed.
Most of the comments overwhelmingly criticized Victoria for being "paranoid" and "insane"
Although Victoria appears to be serious about these proactive safety steps to secure her cabin, most commenters questioned the need for such extreme precautions. In fact, some even questioned whether these safety precautions could actually be dangerous in the case of an emergency.
One of the top comments reads, “Please do not make your only emergency exit this difficult to use. This response garnered 35k likes from fellow viewers.
“As someone who worked on a cruise ship, please don't do this. Just imagine an emergency, heaven forbid...and you have to get through all of that.”
Many people agreed with this sentiment, questioning how Victoria would evacuate her cabin quickly if needed. “Or if she had to call for help due to a health emergency and nobody can access the room,” added the commenter.
“Imagine emergency services need to get to you and they gotta get through a 10 step authentication process”
The majority of responses found Victoria’s nightly routine to be too time-consuming and impractical. Many also questioned why the TikToker would even want to cruise if she was this worried about her safety.
“Like I could see the curtain clips to keep the sun out, checking for cameras okay… maybe even the portable camera. But the rest is a lot,” responded one commenter. Another remarked, “You lost me at checking your surroundings with binoculars looking into the ocean.”
One commenter stated, “I would prefer to stay home at this point, this is a paranoid attitude.” Echoing this sentiment, one user replied, "If I had this much fear of a cruise ship, I wouldn’t be booking that vacation in the first place.”
“Why go on a cruise anyway if you are scared like that just to be there?” questioned one person. Some commenters were shocked by Victoria’s paranoia while cruising. “Hey, so this is actually insane,” exclaimed one commenter.
“Are you in witness protection?” joked one person in the comment section. Another user responded, “Looking out the window with binoculars? Are pirates actively looking for you or something?”
Are cruise ships safe?
When it comes to safety, cruise ships are generally very safe. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, cruise travel is safer than virtually any other form of travel. “Even with an increase in cruise capacity, cruise lines have maintained an exceptional safety record – making cruising one of the safest ways to travel.”
From 2009 to 2019, the cruise industry increased capacity by 68% but overall operational incidents have declined by 41% during the same time period. Overboard incidents have also declined by 35% over the 10-year period based on reported data.
These improvements in safety are due to robust training safety for crew members, strong safety standards and regulations, constant improvement from technology, and necessary precautions from cruise lines.
However, this doesn’t make cruise ships immune to crime, safety, or incidents. The FBI reported 180 incidents of alleged criminal activity on board cruises in 2023, reminding passengers that serious crimes can still occur on cruise ships. Most of these incidents involved alcohol as a major factor in many of these criminal cruise cases.
Cruise ships are essential floating cities where you should still maintain self-control, use common sense, and remain vigilant. But, don’t be afraid to relax and enjoy your vacation while still exercising caution when needed.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
