I have actually been on several cruises in the western Carribean and enjoyed them. An incident like this would definitely ping the suckage meter, though. As far as bringing stuff on board, I have found security to be less strict than at an airport. There are metal detectors at the port entrance, and checked baggage is supposedly x-rayed, but I didn't see that happen. I know there are no drug dogs sniffing stuff when boarding, because the smell of burnt marijuana was quite evident on several occasions once we were underway. I placed my large folding knife, lighters, etc, in my checked baggage and took it out when the bags arrived at the room. I saw several experienced travelers openly place 24 packs of bottled water and packaged snacks with their baggage and no one batted an eye. bottled water and snacks are available on board, but are expensive. If you are leary of trying to carry it in, bring some empty bottles and fill them in your cabin. The onboard water is palatable, but I would have some drink mix for taste. Or just plan for the expense and buy the stuff as soon as you're aboard.

I always have a headlamp and secondary flashlight when I travel, spare batteries, and clothes for one "season" colder than what I expect to encounter, a knife, and charger for the cell phone, and some baby wipes. I am considering a small solar powered radio. All of which would have been nice for this type of incident. The one thing that boggles my mind about this particular incident is the fact that there are no independant generators on board to power refrigeration and emergency lighting, plumbing, etc. Surely someone envisioned this kind of thing when designing a cruise ship? Unless the Captain banned it, I bet alcohol sales went up sharply!