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I guess that explains Freeport... 😇 J/K

We stopped getting off in Jamaica pre-covid, but back then, at least, there was some security on at least some Carnival based excursions. Apparently many of them had a plain clothes cop on board. We didn't realize that until one tour when the cop was late and the bus stopped at the police station to pick him up. Look for single black guys wearing more clothes than most (to cover the pistol) or an extra, over dressed, tour guide who doesn't do anything. From what the other folks on the tours said it was fairly widely known.

My wife explained to me that it was dumb to know what what you are supposed to be going for. All you need to know is how to pick your bet and where to push the button. If you do it for a while and don't win anything then go to another machine. She says knowing what you are going for just makes you miserable. You sit there hoping and hoping, being very disappointed when it is so close... She says just sit there and push the button while you talk to people. I also love the old machines but she might be right. If I had the line above or below the pay line I would be a billionaire and being so close all the time is a bit of a drag...

Here's a sample: https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/06/02/mykonos-bar-american-tourists/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/worldnews/22587245/sunbed-scam-at-greek-bar-mykonos-dk-oyster/

They pretty much couldn't go to any places if they avoided places like Nassau. We feel Nassau is one of the safer places unless you seek out the slums. I've lived in New Orleans (and my wife was born and raised there) and we have walked extensively around Nassau; we were last there a couple of months ago. We feel much safer in Nassau than in New Orleans. It is easy to stay in the "good" areas in Nassau. In New Orleans the "bad" areas are interlaced with the good areas. Short stroll for the bad guys with easy egress. Now Jamaica? That place is a sewer with isolated private areas with private security where you are quite safe. Having been a number of times on tours to the safe places, and been there done that, we no longer get off the ship there. The only port where we don't understand why Carnival goes there is Jamaica.

First though that came to mind was "insane asylum." Inmates hanging out in the common room.

Lisbon pics and info please; pretty please? I don't want the fun to stop.

I'm really enjoying tagging along with you guys. Thanks!

Eight years? Then you are a brave soul. Respect!

You naughty boy! I see you only have 69 posts so you haven't learned yet. Don't take the flaying of your flesh that is to come personally; it is a rite of passage designed to teach you the "correct" opinions to have in this forum. 🤐😁 But I appreciate your observations just as I appreciate the observations of those who love the big ships. (Personally I prefer smaller ships.) Different points of view paint a more complete picture.

My sons had a teacher named Mrs. Butt in elementary school. Word was her husband's name was Harry.

Give it a few minutes for the water pumps to get pressure back up then push that button a few times like priming a lawnmower.

I know you met some furries on a previous cruise, but it seems you found it more interesting than I thought.

I don't know the answer to the OP's question, but I don't think that link provides clear information. At the end of the first section it says: "On occasion, U.S. Permanent Residents may be asked to surrender their Permanent Resident Card and/or passport at time of check-in. This document will be returned upon completion of the immigration inspection at the time of debarkation." So they may take your Permanent Resident Card and Passport and keep it until completion of immigration inspection at the end of the cruise. Then they say, "Guests are required to carry a valid Permanent Resident Card (also known as ARC or Green Card), that includes a photo I.D." Then later they say, "Cruises that Visit Martinique and Bermuda Visiting Martinique: To go ashore, guests must carry a valid Permanent Resident Card and a valid, unexpired passport from their country of citizenship. Bermuda Cruises: For the entire cruise, guests must carry a valid Permanent Resident Card and a valid, unexpired passport from their country of citizenship." It is kind of hard to carry the Permanent Resident Card and Passport when they have taken those things away from you for the duration of the cruise. Hopefully someone who has actually been in the OP's situation will provide some guidance.

So, just an average guy?

Yep! Naturalization and dual citizenship are different things though at times related. I have dual citizenship with no naturalization involved and at one time had three potential citizenships. I was born in Venezuela and they consider native born persons to be citizens no matter what. Then my father was British and my mother American. And then there are countries where you can buy citizenship: https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-buy-citizenship-golden-passport-countries-list-2022-8?op=1

WAY over my head. All I know about beer is you are supposed to pull the tab...

Yeah, when they get around to it the engineers can get it done. Problem is they don't often get around to it. One of my sons was deployed to Al-Tanf in Syria about a year ago. He's a doctor and the doctrine calls for medical areas to be air-conditioned so he had AC. But the rest of the guys got to look at the piles of AC equipment, that had been sitting from before the deployment of the Yankees they replaced, waiting for the engineers to get around to it. But this was a Louisiana National Guard deployment and a lot of them do HVAC work. They got it done and everyone had AC PDQ. Cajuns ain't waiting 15 months for the engineers.

Things are always changing, but in the past the waiters, bartenders, stewards etc. we asked always said they go directly to that person.

It's a secret; need to know basis.

I'm old and confused. What is the big deal. I understood they teach it in sex ed. these days... 😇

I believe this excursion goes to the Puerto Seco Beach Club. If so I don't think you have anything to worry about. It is a private area not open to the general public and let's face it, folks going to the beach don't carry lots of cash and valuables so are not prime targets. Jamaica's public, especially urban, areas we totally avoid. But reasonable size private areas we are comfortable with.

I was responding to another poster who was lamenting the gratuities on on specialty dining. If you book before the cruise you have to pay the gratuity and I was saying they should just consider it part of the price and move on; their vacation shouldn't be taken up standing in lines etc.to fix such minor things. One's time and peace of mind is valuable. Just out of curiosity, since we have never had occasion to look into it, can you dine at a specialty restaurant then, after having signed the bill with the gratuity on it, go to guest services and have the gratuity removed? We don't worry about such things normally but if the waiter were to spill red wine all over us, then be seen dropping my meal and picking the steak off the floor and putting it back on the plate before serving it (of course I would send it back for another) I could be moved to go to guest services to complain and if removing the gratuity is an option I would probably do so while there.

Honest men often disagree and we disagree on this. Please correct me if I misstate your position, but it appears to be that since it is the industry standard and always has been that it therefore is not slimy. My position is that a gratuity is, as Merriam-Webster says, something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service. I think requiring the "gratuity" be paid before the service is received negates the "voluntary" nature of the payment. The fact there is a line on the receipt for "additional gratuity" while there is no line for reducing the amount you were required to pay up front further negates the voluntary aspect. No mechanism is provided to recoup the "gratuity" one was required to pay. In sum, it is not a gratuity but rather a required payment in order to receive the service. I consider the misrepresentation of a required payment for the services as a gratuity to be slimy. Now, I anticipate some will say, "but it goes to the servers and is therefore a tip." I reject that. If you hire an attorney to handle a matter you will bet a bill that will be itemized. It may have $300 per hour for the lead attorney times the hours put in by that attorney, then $170 per hour for a junior attorney times the hours for the junior attorney, then $100 per hour for a paralegal... But the fact the portions of the bill specify that those amounts are for certain people does not turn those charges into gratuities. The key is they are required payments. The fact the entire industry does it (though I dispute they have always done it) does not make the cruise industry less slimy any more than the industry wide practices of used car salesmen makes them any less slimy. We just disagree.

I understand what you are saying and you have a valid point. But I think you are just needlessly frustrating yourself. None of these "gratuities" are really gratuities. They are required charges, part of the price, that you can fight if you want and get back. But do you really want to subject yourself to the aggravation while on vacation? We just take the price plus tips as the actual charge with no tipping required. We treat it just like a place that has a no tipping policy. If we receive superior service we put something on that "additional gratuity" line. If blah service we just leave it blank. They are just disguising the real price with this $xx plus 18% that you are required to pay. Just recognize they are slimy and move on. Buy if the price including slime is acceptable to you. Don't buy if it isn't. But don't ruin your vacation fighting about it - you won't change them.