blueteam

Barb,

I'm thinking I could get someone from the PREVIOUS cruise to reserve a couple of chairs for us as they get off.... I could mail them a towel and a pair of cheap sunglasses...

 

Whatcha' think?

After they reserve your deck chair, ask them to save my group of 12 an entire row for the show. And maybe get in line for us at the buffet. :D

Was this supposed to be amusing?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek

I hadn't thought of that but it sounds very logical. Mexico waves the need for a visa for those only traveling a certain distance into Mexico and for those visiting (port stops) via cruise ships. Since the OP was officially debarking one ship and embarking a different ship, they obviously had "officially" entered Mexico. $29 is actually pretty cheap. Argentina is going to cost us something like $260 and we are not officially exiting the ship, only passing through. Many countries are equally onerous in their fees (Russia and Brazil come to mind). I wonder if they had a passport (guessing yes due to a visa being issued but not sure). Many passengers choose to do closed loop cruises without one. Had they been forced to fly home it could have been even more of an interesting story.

Now my curiosity and hunger for savvy cruising knowledge are piqued. I went back and read the original post (paragraphs notwithstanding) and the OP is "from England", although living in Arkansas. Maybe she didn't have her UK passport which was WHY a flight home was unavailable. Cozumel's airport is pretty well connected to the US.

Does everyone else always bring passports on shore? Even if I embark with my Passport Card only (very handy), I bring the full passport on shore. We even have a waterproof bag for snorkeling. :)

Depending on whether or not they had their driver's licenses with them, or just their ship cards, would determine whether they could prove US residency as required by your link.

Excellent point. Bringing the passport would seem the smart choice in case you need to fly home, but since they took another ship, maybe proof of residency was unavailable.

"We were told that we had to pay $29.99 each for a visa stamp. This had to be cash."

 

I'm curious what this would be for since they left the country on a Carnival ship ? It's not like they were staying in the country and didn't have a visa. Have never heard of it, but good to know.

http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/paises_visa/en.html

Sounds like creative tip encouragement.

Hi: I will be sailing out of Galveston on the Navigator of the Seas on 24 May...Here are two questions regarding the departure:

 

Is it possible to be out on the bow area of the ship when it is leaving the harbor?

 

What would be the best Galveston Web-Cam for me to recommend to the family back home so they could watch the sail-away?

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Steve

Just got off Navigator and never saw the bow/helicopter-pad closed at all. It's also a nice place to stargaze at night since it's very dark.

The ships are AMAZING! Try an Oasis or Freedom Class... :)

Turning off my cell phone.

And the "Love and Marriage" show!

1. Quest

2. Morning Stretch

3. MDR

I have already booked an excursion for swimming with stingrays when we dock in Grand Cayman! However, our excursion is from 8-11 a.m. and we are unsure of what to do after 11. Any recommendations? There is a group of 15 of us going and it happens to be one of our birthdays so we want to make sure it's a great day!

 

Thanks for your time!

I've done stingrays three times and loved it every time. We found shopping near the port, of course. We also walked to the Post Office once to send the kids postcards with stamps that had the Queen on them.

This trip we're doing the Turtle Farm, never done that before.

I do remember a store on the boardwalk with kids' clothes and gifts. By the carousel. I'm not sure if it's still there, I was on board a year ago.

COULDN'T AGREE MORE !! ENJOY "YOUR" VACATION ! People need to RELAX' date=' and enjoy their vacation / cruise. The staff doesn't really care if you decide to stay in your cabin the whole cruise.[/quote']

 

I can't tell if we're still talking about the Main Dining Room anymore.

We're looking at our first Alaska cruise in May, July or September.

Is there any big difference from one to another?

 

Several lines offer Alaska cruises. We've sailed on most major lines

around Mexico and the Caribbean, usually on larger ships, Any

suggestions on the Alaska options in terms of entertainment,

amenities, food, etc?

 

In the Caribbean it's always better to book your own shore excursions,

with many locals now offering internet reservations. Do the Alaska

ports have similar options and are there any excursions you recommend?

 

Any preference between Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm itineraries?

 

Do you recommend a balcony or ocean view outside cabin?

 

Than ks for your advice.

I have heard that May is bad for weather and the whole infrastructure is a little "rusty" from the long winter break. It's probably cheaper, though.

I think the shore excursion situation is pretty similar. Always options to find on your own that are cheaper and possibly more risky than the ship-booked excursions.

Try the Oasis class, its better, but not perfect. On the ships with the "running" track on the top decks you are fine till about 8am, then it gets tough. Oasis and Allure have a dedicated running track with little ventilation and limited view. You still have to watch out for a few crew members, or in my case an 8' hippo wearing a pink tutu. To make matters worse, Navigator, Voyager, and soon Freedom will have shortened tracks. Unlike the previous poster, I only have 8 marathons under my belt.

Agree fully. (5 Marathons under-belt) Oasis was a sweet running experience. To respond to the hottest topics:

• 
  I also hate treadmills.
  I also hate people getting in the way.
  I don't think anyone on a cruise ship should get angry at people getting in the way. Including jogging track, buffet, and pool chairs. Hate people? Try camping. Alone.
  

We cabbed to Red Hook on the way to St. John, but ferried straight back to Charlotte Amalie on the way back. I had fun seeing the sights both ways, but we barely missed the ferry in Red Hook and had to drink Margaritas on the beach for an hour. :)

If you're rushing, try for a "private cab" instead of the big safari-truck that waits until it's full. Costs more but puts you ahead of the crowd.

You can reserve shows so there shouldn't be lines unless you go standby.

We did Chankanaab one time, and the kids liked it. It's not cheap, but it had a cool lagoon that would be good for little ones enjoying the sand and sea. The food was good, as I recall, but I'm no critic. We spent the whole day there.

Hi we just booked our first RCCL - we have been loyal Carnival cruisers. We are very excited and just did our check in online. I went to book some things and have some questions:

 

1) It says I cannot book any dinners online? Does that mean they are all booked already?

 

2) Is it required to book all the shows in order to go? What happens if we book one and then don't go?

 

We are in an oceanview.

 

Thanks!

:confused:

You might not be able to book dinners yet. It will open up closer to departure.

If you miss one reserved show, they won't cancel your other tickets.

Get ready for BETTER BOATS than Carnival, but slightly more subdued crowd.

At the risk of being repetitive, yes, cash. You can imagine how cluttered a steward's small cabin becomes with a thoughtful memento from every guest every week.

I will be cruising on the Fantasy in April 2016. This will be my first ever Disney cruise as well as my first ever cruise with kids. We will be traveling with friends, so there will be 4 adults and 5 kids ages 3-8. What seating do you suggest? I would like to be able to make all of the shows as well as have some time alone at night as adults with the kids in the oceaneer's club. Any other tips you have to share? Thanks :-)

We prefer late dining without kids and early dining with kids. In our experience, the young ones don't wait until late dining time (8:30 on Royal I think), which means either ruined dinner from a buffet run or cranky whining. Without kids, I like more time to nap between port-return and dinner, or for late departures I still get the dinner.

Do the gyms have free weights or primarily only machines to do strength training?

Both. (At least on the ships I've been on.)

Please budget a HUGE amount of time to get from Maho to the ship. Like 90 minutes, no joke. When I tried to cab it from Maho:

1. I found a cab.

2. The cabbie looked for more people to take with us.

3. The cabbie parked and walked around looking for more people.

4. The cabbie got back in the cab and waited for more people.

5. We drove slowly back to the ship through mind-blowing traffic.

6. We sprinted like Olympic athletes and stepped on the gangway as they were pulling it in.

Not a joke about clientele; but a comedian on Oasis said that when Carnival's Splendor broke down, they pulled it into Oasis's Promenade and no one noticed.

We are flying in the day before our cruise to Miami but our cruise leaves from FLL. Any recommendations on how to get from Miami to FLL - better to rent a car or get a transportation company?? Then where would be a good place to stay the night before?

There are conveniently-located rental car return locations right next to the pier in Port Everglades, but I haven't tried that myself. Unless you're going to do a lot of touring/shopping/beach/restaurants in your rental car the day before, I bet taxi is easier.

Is your hotel in FLL or MIA? If it's FLL, they may provide a shuttle to the pier. It's a cattle-call, but it works well.

Jamaica does not have the really good snorkeling. :o

LuLu

I had read the same thing about Haiti. Over-fishing. Makes sense. Maybe Blue Hole would be fun.