NPCIN

I wish the OP would come back and chime in on how their post was just to poke fun of what annoys them or many other people who cruise. Many think its a serious post.

As many of you know...many of the ports that the cruise ships visit aren't safe and some passengers due fall victims from the locals. Best thing is to be aware of your surroundings, use common sense, and listen to your gut. If it doesn't seem right...it probably isn't. I've not attended any port of call talks on the ships in many years as I've cruised many times before. When I used to go...The cruise director used to always stress that the safest thing to do was to take a ship tour in Jamaica. Also mentioned don't get in anyone's car to get your hair braided etc as they'll rob you. Also if I remember correctly don't get in taxis with a certain color license plate as it wasn't really a taxi and they'd probably rob you. I was in San Juan probably 5-7 years ago and I got to talking to a policeman on the street. He warned me to be careful there. He said that year like 30+ tourists had been killed that year there (it was in October when I was there). He said they keep it quiet as they need the tourists money for their economy.

Excellent review Sean. One of the best reviews I've seen on CC as well as Spaniel Lovers reviews.

Never mind...I contacted Campo Rico and received an email back from the owner (Jeff). Jeff says that they cant do outside bookings while Carnival ships are in port due to they have a contract with Carnival and I'd have to book directly with Carnival. I'm all for businesses making money, but for Carnival to charge $109 for the same "tour" that only costs $55 when the ships aren't in port is sad.

I was thinking about booking direct with them instead of the cruise line. Can someone please tell me their experience getting from the ship to the ranch. It says on the website that its $15 per person roundtrip with a taxi. Didn't know if any of the taxi driver gave much of a run around on price or not?

I work for CBP. Unless they are operating an outbound operation (very rare for cruises), you DO NOT go through Customs when you are boarding a ship. You're going through port security, who enforce the rules of the cruise line, so that the port and ship can confirm that you aren't bringing anything dangerous or otherwise prohibited (alcohol, drugs, weapons, etc.) onto the ship. Just because it's a security line, does not mean that it's a Customs line. Customs is CBP and CBP alone, not TSA, not Port Authority, not Air Marshals, etc.

 

Believe me, I've had variations of this argument with passengers that I've taken stuff from before. "But I asked you guys on my way out what I could bring back!" "Did you ask the people in bright blue shirts or dark blue shirts?" "Bright blue!" "That was TSA. TSA has nothing to do with what is allowed INTO the country, they only regulate what is allowed ONTO THE PLANE once you are ALREADY in the country, and they generally have no clue about CBP regulations. You asked the wrong people. So yes, I'm taking your stuff."

ldlewis45 should know as they work for CBP. When going through metal detectors and cruise lines scanning or checking bags they are security officers looking for prohibited items as mentioned...weapons, alcohol, drugs. One time going through the ships security during embarkation the security officer saw my badge in my wallet as it was getting scanned. He stopped me and specifically asked if I was bringing handcuffs on the ship. I told him "No" and he said OK and let me through. I'm not sure what that was about...but an odd question for me.

I sailed on the Pride last December. This was the second time I've sailed on her. This was the first cruise in a while that I never had to adjust my times going to eat in the lido area due to the heavy traffic at certain times. I never had to stand in a line for more than a few minutes to get what I wanted as well as I never had to walk around trying to find an open seat to sit down to eat.

Excellent review. I was considering sailing on this ship since the renovation. A co-worker of mine just sailed on the Sunshine recently. I think it was his 7th Carnival cruise and he didn't have too many good things to say about the Sunshine and said he'd never sail on her again. He commented on poor layout of the ship like mentioned in this review. He said the Serenity was very loud during the day and at night for the movies...the adults would take their kids in the area to watch the movies at night an were disruptive. He said water was leaking from the ceiling on the floor his cabin was on. He said his toilet wouldn't flush on three separate days and had to get maintenance to come fix it.

We were delayed because of fog. I was zone 1 and we were called right near 12 noon.

Thanks for the information SKosto.

Looks like it docked about 9:50 or so according to the webcam. I'm glad my flight is at 2:50 and didn't book anything much earlier as I know I'd be on the ship midweek starting to stress over missing our flight or not due to fog.

Mickide, nobody said it was Carnivals fault for the fog delay. I guess I could've explained it better. My friend said he sat with a group of 10 for dinner and they were upset as someone decided to do the muster drill just as the main courses were served in the MDR. Said by the time they got back...everything was cold as the food had been sitting there for so long. He mentioned some other things that could've ran better, but this thread isn't a "bash Carnival" thread so I'll leave that be. He was in good spirits when he called last night. Its his 6 Carnival cruise and he booked it just last week as he got one heck of a deal on it. I told him I was sorry to hear he was stuck in port and he replied "heck...I'm on a cruise ship in Florida when I could be stuck back at home in Indiana with 30 degree weather. I've got no complaints." He's got the attitude of Gatorfan and many of us on here. I wish I could cruise with everyone that has the same mentality.

A friend of mine is on the ship...won't leave until tomorrow and will skip grand cayman. He said everyone was dismissed from dinner to go to a safety meeting. He said there's a lot of ticked off passengers on board.

Just spoke to someone on the ship. They're going to stay docked tonight and leave tomorrow.

I've been following the recent Pride threads on CC to see if the upgrades were done in time, what they think of the new upgrades, and how well the ship looks just coming out of dry dock as I'm sailing on her December 14th. As we're all seeing...there are some mixed reviews. Hopefully the Carnival execs are watching the CC message boards and see the reviews and they get the bugs and kinks worked out soon so everyone's cruising experience is more enjoyable. This will be my 18th cruise. Sure things have declined over the years with cost cutting measures taking place, but its still a cheap way for me to go on vacation and a good bang for my buck. I've cruised enough that Ive already got enough pictures over the years, often find it cheaper to book my own excursions, don't gamble, don't drink alcohol etc....so the cruise line doesn't make a ton of money off of me. I always sail with the mindset that "a cruise is better than no cruise at all" and I'm just happy to be sailing than being at home.