richardb

I have no expertise either, but I think the 60 minutes pertains to flights. The following seems to indicate different requirements for a "departure" manifest (15 minutes?) and an "arrival" manifest (24 to 96 hours?). Confused? I am. 😕😕

Edit: So I have no idea where I came up with 72 hours. Maybe a cruise line rule instead of a government rule, LOL.

Current CBP regulations require vessel carriers to electronically transmit arrival passenger and crew member manifests at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours prior to the vessel's entry at a U.S. port or place of destination, depending on the length of the voyage (for voyages of 24 but less than 96 hours, transmission must be prior to departure of the vessel from any place outside the United States) (19 CFR 4.7b(b)(2)). Also, a vessel carrier must electronically transmit passenger and crew member departure manifests to CBP no later than 15 minutes prior to the vessel's departure from the United States (19 CFR 4.64(b)(2)).

The next cruise's manifest has to be turned into Homeland security 72 hours in advance. So you won't be able to book the last 2-3 days of the cruise; book it early in the week.

15 minutes ago, dwightmstone said:

The regular price for the unlimited dining for a 7 day cruise is 199.00 per person. The link in the email is still 199.00 chops is 35.00 per night that would be 245.00 for 7 days and izumi is 45.00 per night that would be 315.00 for 7 nights. Still don't see 55% off anywhere is my point 

Never mind, @awestover89 said it better than i did.

3 hours ago, DerekB said:

Didn't you read the earlier post? You can't speculate! Okay all jokes aside, thank you for the insight - that makes perfect sense...even though it's going to cause someone here to have a stroke. 

Not at all. Chengkp75's observations/speculation are based on knowledge and experience. Compare that to the WAG's pulled out of thin air without a shred of support or evidence. Those are what give me a good laugh.

Obviously there are some here trying to bait me; I'm not going to bite. Keep playing your speculation game if that makes you happy; in the end, they won't make a bit of difference. Oasis will get into dry dock when she does, she'll come out when she is finished, and she'll sail when she is ready.

Good night all, see you tomorrow.

9 minutes ago, scottish67 said:

Hey Richard b, hows this for speculation?? 

 

Sourced from someone who is working on the boat, but what do I know, probably fake right? 🤔

As long as you stick to the facts, your posts are all welcome. BTW, that was a short lived absence, Welcome back!

4 hours ago, richardb said:

 

Don't waste your time, 66 pages are nothing but pointless speculation. For example, everyone was certain she would be in drydock Saturday (some even speculated as early as Friday). Here it is Sunday (afternoon in Cadiz) and she is still moored dockside. 

 

Take anything posted here with a large grain of salt as no one has any "inside" information. But hey, I've found it entertaining to follow this thread.

I can sort the chaff from the wheat. But there are some who can't. They will go to another thread on CC and say "I read such and such", posting it there as fact.

Re-read my original post, I've quoted it above. I was answering DirtyDawg's question without mentioning anyone in particular (more than one speculated on Friday/Saturday). If another member took offense at that, well, me thinks thou protest too much.

But I'm going to continue to follow this thread, as occasionally there is some factual info posted. The rest is pure entertainment.

46 minutes ago, scottish67 said:

 

As such, a reason for a speculated delay could very well be that they need to find accommodations for the many crew members on board. 

Oh please, keep your guesses coming as they are quite entertaining. As the crew was staying aboard during the Bahamas dry docking, what do you base your latest speculation on? Speculation based on speculation; I love it.

Perhaps there is no delay, as she was always scheduled to enter the dry dock on the 22nd, as reported by the Spanish media.

Perhaps a better route might be to wait and see what happens and then report the actual facts.

1 hour ago, DirtyDawg said:

Sorry guys/gals, I don't have the time to read all the 67 pages of this thread. Could somebody provide a Reader's Digest/Cole's Notes version of this thread.  

 

Thank You 

 

Don't waste your time, 66 pages are nothing but pointless speculation. For example, everyone was certain she would be in drydock Saturday (some even speculated as early as Friday). Here it is Sunday (afternoon in Cadiz) and she is still moored dockside. 

Take anything posted here with a large grain of salt as no one has any "inside" information. But hey, I've found it entertaining to follow this thread.

14 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

 

A cruise was cancelled so that the ship could go to Freeport.  They are not going to give up that revenue just because, there must have already been signs of a problem.  They are also not going to issue a statement talking about "repairs" if it was just a preventative maintenance drydock.

Agreed. If the work could have waited until the fall dry dock, they wouldn't have booked her into Freeport last week. The work was not finished, it was barely started, so it still needs to be done at Cadiz.

26 minutes ago, livylotte said:

Thank you for sharing.  Oh I do hope they can fix the Aqua Theatre - it's our first time on this class of ship.  We were really looking forward to seeing this and it is one of the reasons we picked this cruise.

8 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

I understand this, and the Aqua Theater is one of the reasons I choose an Oasis class as well. Unfortunately, things happen and at least they are preparing you. I hope it is ready for your sailing. 

The shows could just as easily be cancelled due to weather; we've had them cancelled on previous Oasis cruises for that reason. 

17 minutes ago, Sparky2019 said:

I was suppose to continue the cruise on may 5 in Barcelona. Do I get a refund for that one or am I on the hook to get over there another way???

At this point in time, you have to get yourself over there another way. We are in the same boat. But my WAG is May 5 will be cancelled shortly. 

I like the Empress, but she's not like the bigger ships. We had been on Allure 2 weeks before and it was refreshing to walk from the dining room to the theater in just 2 minutes. That said, she's not a good ship for families with kids. Cabins are smaller than the newer ships but we had good seas, with very little movement.

If you hadn't been expecting to go to Cuba, then you need to know about the $75 Visa. They (this pertains to RCCL, don't know about the other lines) hand it to you when you check in, don't lose it!! They are numbered and while you can get a replacement, you will be charged another $75. It will be charged to your sea pass and we were told that if we didn't get off the ship, not to fill it out and we could get the $75 charge taken off upon returning the blank Visa to guest relations (again, this is RCCL).

Don't stress over the forms or the Visa. When we arrived in Havana, we were the only ship at that time and were off the ship, through immigration, and our money changed in less than 30 minutes. We were warned that a larger, MCS ship would arrive soon and that lines would then get long.

As others have said, do what you want; ship's cruise, private tour, or just on your own. But do enjoy the sites and the people.

1 hour ago, cruisingschool said:

I looked on the website and there are not any details as to the private tours. Do you have any information as to what you do on the tour? 

 

With Blexie, it is is up to you. We wanted to see cultural and historic sites in Old Havana, as well as authentic lunch, visit to Revolution Square (very disappointing), Hotel Nacional, the cemetery, and a drive along the Malecon.

About 6 hours total, 2 people, 130 CUC for the tour/drive and around 40 CUC lunch for the 3 of us. We tipped both Romilio and our driver.

I'd like to recommend Romillio, one of Blexie's employees. He speaks excellent English, with barely an accent. Probably from his 15 years working as a PR rep for one of the big hotels. He is very knowledgeable of the history of Havana and will tailor his tour to your desires. 

You would need to hire him through Blexie, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

On 9/14/2018 at 2:38 PM, anonmom said:

Hmm, I was worried this might be the case. I guess I'll start researching the bus!

 

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Be prepared to stand the full trip. The buses we saw were packed, standing room only. My take is it is safer to sit, un-belted, than to stand and risk a fall. I suppose if you are older, someone younger might offer you their seat, but don't count on it.

Yes, tell Blexie what you want, he will do it. Romillio, our guide, asked right at the beginning what we wanted to do and see (cultural and historic sites), then tailored the tour to our desires.

BTW, I HIGHLY recommend Romillio. His English is excellent....no accent. He worked as a PR representative for one of the big international hotels for 15 years after teaching English in school for many years.

Our guide took us to a cigar/rum store in Havana, where we bought two bottles of Havana Club 7 year rum for 18 CUC each. In Cienfuegos, we went to a corner grocery, where the same bottle was about 8 CUC. We ended up buying 2 bottles of Havana Club Reserve for 10 CUC each.

I was prepared to pay duty or maybe even have two bottles confiscated (official limit is 2 liters) when we returned to the US, but the CPD officer didn't even ask what we had bought.

I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to sell tourist "counterfeit" rum in Cuba. That would most certainly get them a long prison term. Cuba is VERY interested in increasing tourism and is very protective of it's reputation of being "crime free", which leads me to wonder why so many places had bars on the windows 😦

We just returned last week on RCCL Empress. We did a private tour with Rommilio (works for Blexie), got off the ship and waited/walked around the plaza for an hour until time to meet him.

To give you a practical answer, those OFAC forms will never see the light of day. No way some government agency is going to devote a couple hundred clerks to review each and every one. To do an actual investigation of each would take decades. If they do, there will be hundreds, just from last week's Empress cruise, in trouble.

We got off in Cienfuegos and walked around on our own (not much to see), as did hundreds of others passengers. And that is just one ship out of ??? in just one week. It would amount to hundreds of thousands each year.

Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow :confused::confused:

EXACTLY!!!! And when we complain that they lied after it goes into effect, they will just claim that at the time they answered our questions it had not yet been implemented!

You know this all seems to have started when they removed the free pen from our cabins a few years ago. Chip, chip, chip. Spend, spend spend if you want the free amenity.

Even before that with the pillow chocolates :loudcry:

Look at it this way....

 

Don’t you think there is a lot of Diamonds paying for the package and complaining to Royal they were not getting their free days? Those Diamonds are likely to be staying in more expensive cabins as well and spending money in Speciality Restaurants, Drink Packages, Excursions, Casino....

 

Just a fact jack.

 

 

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No, I don't think so. A lot of Diamonds, just like Pinnacles, cruise as cheap as they can so they can cruise more often. And when I bought a internet package, the $49.98 credit was automatically applied when I signed up. It showed up right there on my package choices without me doing a thing to receive it. Or, I could use it to buy 2 one day packages for nothing.

l just posted the question on Royals official Facebook page and here is their response.

Hey Royal, rumor has it that the internet perk for Diamond and Diamond plus is changing to just a percentage off a package. True or not? You are going to have a lot of upset cruisers if true.

Royal Caribbean InternationalHey, Richard. This isn't true. No changes have been made to the C&A benefits. -Candy

As someone pointed out on another thread, if you only have a small amount left, give them to your waiter or room steward, since they go to Cuba every week

HUH??? Why are you folks trying to justify this jerks bad behavior? He should have seen the concierge escorting those pax.

 

He kinda reminds me of those protesters who block traffic.

95% of the passengers wouldn't even recognize the concierge, let alone know what he/she does.

We are on this cruise. Always part at the port but thinking of parking off site. We can then avoid this and also save money. Can someone tell me the best place to park off site. We will be heading south from Atlanta.

We've always used park Port Canaveral at the Raddison on 528/A1A or directly across the street. $8.95 per day if you pre-pay online. $9.95 per day if you don't. Plenty of shuttle buses.

That amazon lightning deal is pretty good. Here in canada the 2.1 amp ones are 29.99. I did order one anyway. The 1 amp ones are only $11.98

 

It is a bit bigger than I thought it would be but seems very well made. I tested it on my tablet and it charged up as quick as my usual heavy duty charger.

 

dp

Tip of the day:

Anyone buying one of these, DON'T THROW AWAY THE PLASTIC PRONG COVER. It is meant to go in the slot at the other end to give the thing more stability when in use.