Zacharius

12 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

Kinda sorta. I believe it's still the case that, if you are on a closed loop Caribbean sailing, you don't need one. If you are on a cruise that begins and ends in different places, even if they're both within the US (ie - it starts in Fort Lauderdale and ends in San Juan), you need some sort of passport book/passport card/NEXUS/SENTRI/FAST...maybe you can get by with an enhanced US drivers license? Not 100% sure about the latter. 

Yoooo, I have no idea how I quoted myself but apparently I did...

46 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

Passports are highly recommended for many reasons, but not required on Caribbean sailings.

Kinda sorta. I believe it's still the case that, if you are on a closed loop Caribbean sailing, you don't need one. If you are on a cruise that begins and ends in different places, even if they're both within the US, you need some sort of passport book/passport card/NEXUS/SENTRI/FAST...maybe you can get by with an enhanced US drivers license? Not 100% sure about the latter. 

I have no answers but I love the idea of being able to spend the night partying in Vancouver and then stumbling on to your cruise to start the vacation 

I have seen them a lot on longer East/Southeast Asia cruises, especially in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and sometimes even Xiamen. 

On 11/9/2022 at 3:53 AM, khas said:

Got off quantum today and can confirm plenty of Corona on board!

Hopefully not the virus kind

21 hours ago, Matt said:

Enchantment of the Seas April 30, 2023 Bayonne to Rome

I heard that's how Tony, Paulie, and Christopher got to Italy for that episode of the Soprano's. 

You'll see no evidence of the real Haiti when you're at Labadee, for better or for worse. A lot more would have to happen (either politically or natural disaster-y) for them to change plans.

This is a fairly uncommon document, and the issue you're going to possibly run in to is not that it's invalid, but that those tasked with accepting or not accepting it are not aware or educated about its legality. While you may have reached out to them by phone, it may also be worth getting it in writing. 

2 hours ago, TexanTwoStep said:

LOL...those are rookie numbers.

I think we all just need to take a breath

42 minutes ago, Censored said:

Ive cruised enough and sat in enough hot tubs on board and pools and bars to witness the absurd amount of drinks people order with the plan. One guy was up to 21 drinks on my last cruise.   I think there needs to be a cut off point.  I have to disagree with you.,

Was that person causing any issues? 

10 minutes ago, Censored said:

Seems its a common occurrence to experience intoxicated cruisers aboard .   They can become loud, obnoxious, annoying, angry, and get involved in fights.  Personally I think this is due to the offering of the Unlimited Drink Plan.  People simply want to take liberties and drink as much as they possibly can. Then come the consequences .   Time to stop this plan or change it?  

I would wager that 99% of people using the UDP are perfectly calm, quiet, responsible people who are just enjoying their vacation. Maybe they get a little loud and rambunctious at night, but they probably would without the UDP anyways. I can only imagine what small percentage of UDP customers are causing issues. 

1 hour ago, FireFishII said:

Thanks for this information.  I never knew that you could get your passport stamped at location that normally does not stamp your passport.  I am always sad when I visit a country and don't get a stamp.  I have learned something new today.  Thank you.

Do be careful though. I have known someone who got their passport stamped by some unofficial touristy thing in Mexico and the US government was not thrilled when they saw it in his passport coming back in to the US. Gave him a "warning" for lack of any official term. 

2 hours ago, ScooterScott22 said:

There is another office that you might be thinking of, I'm referencing one right next to the port.  The other office is about 3 miles away.

 

That looks like the office where Bahamians would go to get their passports, not where visitors would have any option of getting one stamped. At least, that's how it appears to me. 

I'm a big fan. I don't worry so much about "trying to get my money's worth" because I know that some days I'll drink less, some I'll drink more, and I'll also take advantage of juice at breakfast, soft drinks, a coffee each morning after my run, and bottled waters. I may try drinks I wouldn't otherwise, and at low risk - if I don't like it, get something else. I also am able to stock up on bottled waters for shore excursions, which may help offset any "not getting your money's worth on shore days" feelings. 

St. John is an incredibly beautiful, amazing, and peaceful place. We have gone there on a cruise and on a land-based vacation, and have nothing but the greatest of things to say about it. Have not been to Magens Bay, but really can't say enough good things about any beach on St. John. 

St. John is also very easy to get to on your own, so don't limit yourself to a ship excursion. Going on your own also opens up options for beaches on St. John beyond just Trunk Bay. 

It really depends on your comfort level. Falmouth as a town is a pit. I have walked around it and had drinks at a local bar. But I am extremely comfortable in developing (and, frankly, non-developing) countries, and I ...well, blend in a bit more than many on this forum probably do  I do understand the hesitancy of many people, and unless you're very comfortable in that type of place, I would recommend skipping the town itself as a visit. 

6 hours ago, memebag said:

An island is land that is surrounded by water. That makes all the land on earth “islands”. A peninsula of an island is still part of an island.

12 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Much easier to market a private island than a private peninsula

And much easier to market a "private island" than it is to promote a "peninsula attached to a country that a lot of people are uncomfortable visiting"

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

it is my favorite private island by far.  

1 hour ago, Allen2 said:

extra caution may be necessary on this island.  

Just because I'm a professional nit-picker - Labadee is not an island, it's a fenced-off peninsula. It's fully connected by land to the rest of Haiti, and only a 20-30 minute drive from Cap-Haitien, one of the largest cities/towns in Haiti. 

Haiti is a wonderful place with incredible people. It's also incredibly poor and undeveloped. It's not for the faint of heart, but I've never had an issue during my visits there. 

That being said...as my predecessors on this thread have said, you are only "kinda sorta" in Haiti. For all intents and purposes, you are anywhere put Haiti and you will never see the real Haiti, for good and for bad. It's a beautiful place, enjoy. 

San Juan is fairly compact and easy to get around when it comes to the touristy areas, so while your ship may leave out of Pan American, don't hesitate to stay on the beach or in Old Town. The ride from either to the pier is fairly short. Even the airport isn't that far away, but I definitely recommend either Old Town or beach-front for the hotel. 

We've stayed at Decanter Hotel and enjoyed it. 

17 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

And calling it anything "10" proves the University Presidents can't count!

note - this phenomenon is not unique to the former Big2-Little8.

I have degrees from a "Big 12" which has 10 schools, expanding to 14, and a degree from a "Pac 12" school, which is about to go back to having 10. Weird...

2 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

I find this phenomenon amusing.

The credit card companies charge retailers a "swipe fee" (in the US it's usually $2 or two percent of the purchase amount, whichever is less) on every transaction. So "credit card only" stores are paying out $2 (or more) for every purchase I make. If I buy a pack of gum for $1.29 plus tax using a credit card, the store loses money on the transaction by refusing to accept cash. Makes that $2 bill look pretty good, doesn't it?

I think it depends on the business model and the competition. For example, I know that a lot of breweries are card only...because, uh, I visit a lot of them :). Those that are card only have made the conscious decision to add 2-3% to each beer price, but make it a nice round number like $7 instead of $6.80. Nobody notices, nobody cares, and the majority of their clientele will be using a card anyways in 2022. No need to count money at the end of the night, visit banks to make deposits, etc. etc. Pros and cons. 

17 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Besides if it wasn't for the CFL where would all those Big 10 players not good enough for the NFL end up? 

14 hours ago, CharmMicah68 said:

One of the funniest things I've ever read.....as a BIG 10 Fan (Go Blue!)!  Classic!  I    will be taking this as my own personal slam to other BIG 10 Fans!

You mean B1G 10? Because their grads can't spell either

14 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

I didn't wait for our seat to be assigned by the airline, but rather paid to select our seats when everything was straightened out, only ended up being about $30 (concerned with overbooking could we get bumped otherwise).

In the case of overbooking, an airline doesn't really consider if you have a seat allocated (purchased or otherwise) or not. They're going to look at things like airline/alliance status as well as fare codes. The fact that many cruiseline procured flights are on special, non-published fares (read: often low priced) is likely to put you at a little higher risk of being bumped than not having a seat allocation would.