JLC@SD

Looking forward to your thread, we did this trip on the Golden Princess in 2006.

Our ship is in San Diego from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM and I am thinking of going to the Maritime Museum (opens at 9:00 AM) in the morning, and then visiting the Midway in the afternoon.

 

A couple of questions...

 

Are both attractions within walking distance of each other, and where ships typically dock?

 

Are both doable in a day? I enjoy walking and exploring.

 

Is there a place to eat lunch, either at one of the two attractions or in between them?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

Easy to do both the same day. Midway will be just south of where you dock and the Museum is just north, both easy walks.

Anthony's has great fish on the waterfront, next to the Star of India at the Museum. We like the window booths in the bar area where you will be able to see your ship.

best website for ships and ports is:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

you can watch the ships live at:

http://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/

I would doubt Princess would build another copy of 9 ships they have already in the fleet. Unfortunately all cruise lines are going for bigger ships.

Great review and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them. We hope to be on the Royal Princess soon.

I think HAL is defenseless in this situation.

Terri

HAL has a defense .....it published the requirements on it's website. Writen notification takes precedence over a chat. Especially a chat in which the birth certificate was not described as "German issued writen in German" .......it was only described as an "original" birth certificate.

That is why I stated in my earlier post that I believe there was a communications disconnect between ejammer and Nikki or Nikki and Dane. The chat shows ejammer saying he is a US Citizen and Resident, but no where does he mention that his birth certificate is German.

....... this is the disconnect .....

No problem. When I checked the jpg it was already pretty large. I will try uploading it again here now. Also, as an additional backup, I made a screen shot copy of the convo, and saved that too (I'm overly cautious that way, and consequent have way too many saved files. My wife calls me a "file hoarder", but one never knows when you may need something. :)). So, I will attach that version in a pdf here now too in case it may be more readable.

Reading the pdf at Post 175, Nikki stated: That's correct, it is WHTI compliant.

Nikki said it should be WHTI compliant, but it looks like this was quickly passed by in the conversation.

and ......an important fact is missing.

Customer: I was born at a US Army hospital in Landsthul Germany. My father was in the Army. My mother is German. I have the original German Issued birth certificate which indicates this. Will this be ok?

To those bashing HAL, I think this indicates that HAL did not give out erroneous information, .........and that HAL did not provide bad customer service.

In the hopes of clearing up some of the misinformation from the past few pages, here are a few facts:

 

1. OP is a US citizen at birth.

2. His Birth Certificate was issued in Germany and is not proof of US citizenship. He is a US citizen born abroad.

3. The WHTI regulation (22 CFR § 53.2 (b) (2) ) which allows US citizens to travel on round-trip (closed loop) cruises specifies only three exception documents accepted for proof of US citizenship for this travel:

-A US government issued Birth Certificate showing birth in the US. (State, County or City issued, not hospital issued)

-A US State Dept. Consular Report of Birth Abroad

-A US State Dept. Certificate of Naturalization

IMO Nikki and Dana were right and the Captain (or whoever made the final decision) was wrong. ejammer had valid proof of US citizenship and a photo ID, and that's all the rules require.

The Captain was correct in rejecting the Birth Certificate. The Birth Certificate pictured in Post 121 is a German issued document and not one of the documents required ......which are listed by cherylandtk.

Of all the situations I have read on CC, yours is the most compelling and in need of resolution.

 

Have you contacted any ombudsman or consumer advocate in Tennessee? Or can you find one in Seattle, where HAL has HQ?

 

Can someone like Clark Howard help? It cannot hurt to ask.

 

You can file a request with your Visa or MC to reverse the charges for your cruise...to at least recover those funds.

 

Your copy of the HAL conversation puts the he said/she said issue to rest.

 

Finally, after all of this, please do not blame the people at the port. The phone reps are notorious (any cruise line) for making things up as they go along. Did you happen to get any names?

 

IMO, if someone working directly for HAL gave you wrong information and you completely missed your ship as a result, HAL has an obligation to make you whole...fine print on a cruise contract notwithstanding.

How can you possibly conclude HAL has "an obligation". All that has been posted is an experience with a very disappointing result.

Bottom line ......what is the "birth certificate" document.

Is it issued by a German hospital or by the German government. Is it issued by a US government entity with the raised seal as required. It seems that since officials at the port were on and off about it ....the document was questionable.

Unfortunately, as reported by the OP, the person with the final authority (and responsibility) the Captain, did not like what he saw and rejected it.

My daughter was born at the 97th in Frankfurt, Germany. We had to go to the US Consulate (as IRL Joanie posted) to get her an official US birth certificate. If the OP has a US consulate issued BC there should not have been a problem. If the BC is something else ........how can HAL be responsible for rejecting it.

I agree with others ...a passport is the best document, especially if you have a BC that could be questioned.

Great photos and review, thanks for sharing your trip with all of us.

Thanks for posting your review and I am looking forward to the rest of it. We were on the Island last year and loved her. I am enjoying your photos which add so much to your review.

Great review and fantastic photos .....thanks for posting them...:)

Enjoying your review and photos. Thanks for sharing them.

We are in our early 30's, very healthy and eat healthy, we are like the work out 6 times a week type people. Both DH and I never had any issues with our health, maybe catch cold once a year??

Healthy folks in their 30s can have accidents .....and can miss the ship as easily as older folks ......;)

Hi, I've been lurking these forums for a while but this is my first time posting.

 

So basically my story goes like this. My fiance and I are in South Korea where we came to teach English. I had always been a nervous flyer but I was never one of those "Oh my god I'm going to die" the moment the door closes types. Well when we got to Korea, that all changed. All of the sudden I could not imagine getting on a plane again, it was just terrifying (bit of a rocky 16 hours of flight here going over the North pole). Naturally when you are 7000 miles from home (in my case Maryland) this can prove to be bit of a problem.

 

In researching ways to get back I found out about freighter travel. I have only cruised once, 5 days on board the Disney Magic in 1999 (loved it!) and have taken ferries a few times for trips which lasted several hours. So I said what the hell and went ahead and booked passage on the Hanjin Baltimore sailing from Busan to Long Beach in the end of March (most likely to change to early April as the ship is dry docking in January). The lack of entertainment doesn't bother me as I spent most of my trip on the Magic hanging out in my cabin drawing and playing gameboy or being up on deck watching the ocean go by anyways... the shows don't really appeal to me.

 

I guess my question is, am I being crazy? Am I avoiding 10 hours of anxious flight for 11 days of anxious sea travel? I know weather patterns are unpredictable but does anyone know what I could expect in the Pacific around April? I don't have a seasickness problem but my fiance does, I know people say that after 2 or 3 days it goes away but I just worry about her (amazingly she didn't hesitate to say she would go with me and meanwhile my Best friend from back home has offered to go along and is quite looking forward to it.) Meanwhile I would prefer not to die if possible :p.

 

I am a writer and a week and a half of relative solitude sounds pretty sweet to me, but as my experience in the open ocean is limited at best I guess I am a bit nervous since I don't know what to expect and was just wondering if anyone here had any advice they could give me. At this point my only options for getting home are this, or being put into a medically induced coma to get on the plane. I have to make a decision to pay the rest of my fare by Jan 5 so as time has come closer to make a decision I have gotten more nervous about making it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Regardless of the flying issue .....I think this would be a fantastic trip.

You would get to know all your fellow passengers as I do not think they carry many.

Great review and great photos. Thanks for sharing them.

Great review and it is obvious you both had a great time. Thanks for sharing your photos of your fantastic trip.

In this case they seem to have a great deal of information, more than usual. Hopefully his wife and the family can also learn the answers to the how and why questions of this tragedy.

I got so involved in this great review, and I was half way through it before I realized it was 2 years old. But it was so good and I loved the photos, I had to finish reading it. Thanks for bringing it up on the boards so we could find it and enjoy your trip.

I have enjoyed your cruise and photos, thanks for posting them.

rare or medium rare ......anything more than that you might as well eat the hide.

.....too much yaking back and forth ....actually buried the "review" ...... and was there a ship on this trip ......all I saw was photos of food .....:)

my vote ..... entertainingly boring....;)

Great review, I really enjoyed all the photos. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

Enjoyed your review .....always like to read the reviews with lots of photos .....makes us feel like we went with you.