|
|
 |
By Hoa Nguyen
The Advocate
February 24, 2006
Jennifer Hagel Smith, who vaulted into the media spotlight following her Greenwich husband's disappearance from a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean, has published a list of 12 safety tips for children and their parents aboard cruises.
Her safety tips make no mention of the events surrounding George A. Smith IV's disappearance and are largely geared toward children and parents, not honeymooning adults.
Although the tips do not match her situation, her Manhattan-based spokesman said Hagel Smith wants to use her experience as a Connecticut schoolteacher to help children and parents traveling on cruises.
"She's a teacher," said Mike Paul. "She feels that she wants to be more proactive as an advocate to help others who are thinking about taking a cruise, as well as others who have taken a cruise in the past and thought they were safe."
Paul, who said Hagel Smith was not granting interviews to discuss her safety tips, wanted to use the media attention to do good.
"The power of her voice right now is huge," Paul said, adding that Hagel Smith wrote the tip sheet herself, and while she does not have direct experience traveling with children on cruises, she researched the topic and asked experts about it.
"She did research in the industry to find out what the top 12 tips are and those are the tips," Paul said.
Hagel Smith is one of the newest members of the International Cruise Victims group, to which Smith's parents and sister and other people who have experienced tragedies aboard cruise ships belong.
Deborah Shaffer, a 54-year-old Tucson, Ariz., mother who said her teenage daughter was raped while aboard a cruise ship, is a member. Out of the members who tell their story on the group's Web site at www.internationalcruisevictims.org, Shaffer is tone of the few who was traveling with her children while on the cruise.
Shaffer said yesterday that Hagel Smith had not contacted her for information and that she was unaware there was a tip sheet for children and their parents -- although she said it seemed like a good idea.
"Anything she does to reach out for public education would be helpful," Shaffer said of Hagel Smith. "Anything would be better than the way it was."
While on a 2003 cruise, Shaffer's then 15-year-old daughter was allegedly raped by the brother of a girl her daughter had become friends with on the ship.
Shaffer said she had always felt completely safe while on the ship and that she wished someone had told her to be vigilant.
"It's one of the worst experiences," Shaffer said. "No one ever said to me, 'Hey be careful.' You have a false sense of security."
* * *
Cruise Safety Tips for Kids and Their Parents
By Jennifer Hagel Smith, International Cruise Victims Member
1. Never walk back to your cabin alone.
2. Run, scream, kick, and resist in every way possible if anyone ever grabs you or corners you, and immediately tell an adult.
3. If you think you are being followed or watched, tell an adult immediately.
4. Always know where your children are and with whom they are with at all times. Make sure an adult you can trust is always present and/or close by if you are not.
5. Meet the families of the other children your child meets. Introduce yourselves and find a comfort level with them. Exchange room numbers and names right away (first and last names).
6. Talk openly with your children on the first day about potential dangers before they happen. Ask children what would be the smart thing to do when they find themselves in various scenarios.
7. Never leave your children alone in the cabin, for attendants have access cards to cabins and can enter when you are not there.
8. If your child finds himself/herself alone with an attendant in the cabin, children should immediately exit cabin and contact parents.
9. Provide walkie-talkies to kids in order to stay in touch, (like parents do at Disney World).
10. Don't assume your children are safe because the ship is seemingly contained. Crimes on cruise ships occur more often than people are aware.
11. Take out additional medical insurance to include coverage for helicopter/air ambulance.
12. Take emergency contact numbers with you such as:
* FBI
* U.S. Embassy/Consular Office in each port
* Coast Guard
* Insurance Company
|
|
