Jeff Dobjeckie
Cruise Line Security Whistle Blower
Senior Security Officer - P & O Holidays
Jeff Dobjeckie
Jeff Dobjeckie worked for P & O Holidays for three years. He says he saw it all as a ten year veteran of cruise ship security.
According to Dobjeckie, the life onboard Pacific Sky was like the Wild West, where passengers broke the law, in a "anything goes" atmosphere. Passengers did what they wanted, all because they were "on holiday", and the cruise line had to protect their privacy.
Once, he was attacked by a passenger, defended himself, and required stitches for his injury. The passenger wasn't removed from the ship, but Dbjeckie was told to avoid the passenger for the rest of the cruise.
He said drunks and binge drinking on the Pacific Sky was a common occurrance, because bar tenders made commissions on drink sales. He remembers bartenders serving five tequila drinks to every passenger in a party, on "last call" at 5am.
Industry standard for "last call" at reputatable liquor licensed establishments, is one drink per customer because last call is given only 15 minutes before the estabishment closes.
He further described Pacific Sky as a "drunken shemozzle" after dark.
Accroding to Dobjeckie, he witnessed illegal drugs and drink spiking on a regular basis. He said it was common knowledge that passengers had ecstasy onboard, were giving it to others, and it was common to spell marijuana smoke pouring out of cabin doors. In spite of knowing that, crew were told to ingnore it.
Dobjeckie says he was told by the staff captain more than once, 'you are only security officers, you are not policemen, you don't get paid to think'."
Even worst, he said he had seen "plenty" of sexual assaults, but few taken seriously. "A report would be done up but nothing would be done," he said.
Jeff Dobjeckie is to testify at the Dianne Brimble inquest. He is expected to testify that P & O created the conditions that made Dianne Brimble's death possible, through inaction and a history of condoning passenger bad behavior, to protect their profits.
In response to this now public knowledge of the P & O policy to give commissions on drink sales to bartenders, P & O says they will continue to do so, as it is an industry standard. This policy is in conlict with Australian law.
P & O says they do not believe paying all bar staff a proportion of total bar takings encourages excessive drinking.
There is no incentive for cruise ship companies to stop paying crew extra for selling more alcohol and a spokesman for P&O says the company has no intention of doing so.
However, in a surprise move, P & O has began a ban on Bring Your Own Booze. Passengers will no longer be able to bring their bottles of alcohol on board. The xray machines will detect the bottles, and they wlll be removed from passengers, and then returned after the cruise.
