Blondie70

Interesting thread, OP!! (And even more interesting to see how personally folks take your brainstorm question. ;))

Someone said "They are giving stuff that they think is valuable to their long term customers- and most appreciate it." That's correct. It's just that right now, their long-term customers are the older generation who have different appreciation standards/values than those 20- and 30- somethings who have been sailing with their parents all their life and are D already, or will be soon.

When the lounge predominately empties of that older generation and they're on that cruise ship in the sky, RCI will either 1) realize the current D/D+ population doesn't want the current "stuff" and change to new "stuff" they value more, which I agree will include some things on your list....or, 2) as some folks have already mentioned, RCI will determine the ships fill up anyway, and do away with the valuable "stuff" altogether. Oh, they'll still CALL it a VIP program :rolleyes:, but it'll be a substantial decrease in quality and quantity of offers.

Just like with any other business, they'll have to evaluate if it's beneficial for them to change the offers to suit the values of the current D/D+ cruisers. With the trend we've seen in changes on board, I'm also voting the majority of those effected won't be too happy with the changes!

NCL Jade is in port in Coxen Hole today, As for Mahogany Bay and CCL, it was not too many years ago before more dredging the Mahogany Bay port was often closed due to winds and the Port Of Roatan was not real keen on Carnival using their port. Guess it is Karma

Jade is tendering, I guess?

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We are scheduled to port in Coxen Hole on RCI April 25. Looking for some conversation and educated guesses here...

Assuming the structural damage is such that ships are not able/allowed to dock at the pier for a while, what are your (whoever has knowledge or experience with it) thoughts about tendering into Coxen Hole? Are tender vendors readily available? Or would it take RCI a while to get that in place? Is anchoring/tendering possible in that location at all? (Can't imagine why it wouldn't be, but I have no knowledge either way.)

Additionally, who controls what ships port at Mahogony Bay? I believe CCL built the port, but is it actually "owned/controlled" by the town or a port authority? Could an RCI ship port there if necessary, or would CCL have to "allow" it? Has something similar with a competitor exercising philanthropy for the local economy happened before? (I can't think of any other business reason CCL would allow it otherwise, if they control it.)

Hoping that's NOT the case once they assess the damage, but as you can imagine, with 10 days to cruise, I'm curious as to the possibilities.

It's clear there are lots of unknowns right now. Thanks for any thoughts offered.

I've deduced, from various sources, that taxi fair to Coki from port is $10 pp. Is that right? Also, is that $10 pp both ways!? So for two people to get to Coki and back to the ship would be $40? Does it matter price-wise if you use the same driver?

Thanks!

Check out caribya dot com for good info on beaches (along with sightseeing, hotels, etc) in any Caribbean location. From their info, Pampoen Beach looks like a good option. It has public restrooms and chairs/umbrellas available. It's a very good site to find out if a beach has public restrooms. Many don't!!

Just checked with them on their live Chat.

Obviously they charge 25$ for a day pass.

In that case we will probably stick to burwood beach.

I just spoke with an agent via live chat. I told her we'd be on an upcoming cruise and asked about the day pass fee. She said a day pass was $10 a day, which includes all amenities. I inquired as to the $25 fee another person was quoted. She said cruise ship passengers are $10 a day and other guests (non cruisers) are $25 a day. :D

Will be in St. Kitt in early March. Our ship doesn't arrive until 10:00 am. If I make a reservation at Carambola for a party of 6 are my chairs and umbrellas guaranteed? I hear the beach gets crowded early so kind of worried we might get there and there will be no chairs.

Short answer, yes. Just make sure you get a reservation confirmation response and PRINT IT OUT to take with you. When we got there, our "reservation" could not be found in the system. They rented us the 1 umbrella and 2 chairs anyway. For a party of six, you might be in trouble if you can't show proof of your reservation.

Hope you have a blast!!

We'll be in Jamaica Feb 2016 and checking out beaches to go to on our own that have decent amenities. Caribya dot com is a great site that gives info on locations in the Caribbean. If you input Falmouth on the opening page and scroll down to the beaches section, it give great info on all the beaches in the area including amenities, facilities, costs, distance from town, nearby attractions, food, etc. Great resource!

Sherri

Oh dear! What does Tiki Beach look like? I was hoping that user submitted photos on tripadvisor would be realistic.

Actually, it IS very close to the photo! It is beautiful. We went there on a ship excursion in Feb 2015, but felt we were not able to stay long enough. We will be going on our own by cab this time around. :cool:

Can you walk here from the ship?

I'd say it'd be a heck of a long walk. We went by van, and even though they took the scenic route hoping for more of a tip, it was a 10-15 minute drive. It might be quicker just going straight out to the curb and catching a regular cab who knows you're not expecting a "tour" on the way to your destination.

Wanted to go to the coach outlet in San Juan - and now I will! Regards

Oh my!! Location??? What kind of discount?! Thanks!

Doesn't Indy alternate itineraries? This week was supposed to be Eastern and next week was already scheduled to be Western. However, this week was changed to a Western itinerary, so anybody doing a B2B will be doing two Westerns.

 

Yes? No?

YES, Sandy Sails. That is the situation the OP is in! She's on the Indy right now....and will be going back to 2 out of the 3 EXACT same ports next week if they don't stay with the original itinerary. I'd be pretty upset in that situation considering Erika has already passed the ports originally scheduled!!

The Weather Channel is showing Erika on a more due West track currently. You might get an Eastern itinerary in after all.

I've been wondering that since this morning when I saw that she'd taken a western turn, rkacruiser!! She's already LEFT the eastern ports we'll be visiting, so it doesn't make much sense to skip them! And even less sense since it's the SAME ROUTE along the north-eastern coast of Cuba to get to Labadee that we'd take to get to Puerto Rico!!

Hmmmm... less fuel and the RCI-created port at Labadee gets a financial boost. Very curious. ;) I believe the Captain would only have safety in mind, but I am not as confident about the corporate big wigs. :rolleyes:

Still praying they go with the original ports!!

We are non-cruisers that visit St Kitts/Nevis at least yearly. We enjoy the food & prices at Shipwreck.

Thanks Paul! Sorry for all the questions :o. I can look at the proximity on a map, but it's obviously not the same as being there. Is it practicable to walk down the beach from Carambola to Shipwreck for lunch or would it be quite a hike on foot? Thanks again.

Chairs and umbrellas at Carambola are $10 each, so for 3 chairs and 1 umbrella for your group, it'll be $40.

Of course! Grab a taxi & go. If you don't like Carambola stroll on down the beach to Shipwreck.

Paul (or anyone else who might know)--we were considering using the shades and beach at Carambola (nicer shades and larger beach) then walking down to Shipwreck for lunch. I've heard the food prices at Carambola are pretty high, and the food at Shipwreck is less expensive and just as good. What's your opinion?

Did you get a response and if so, what was the turn around time? I ask because I sent a request yesterday and had not heard anything back. I read in a review they are closed during the summer??? There was no indication of that on the website but just thought I would check with those who have been recently.Thanks!

I just received an email response from Daislyn. She said is it customary for them to close during their annual vacation period (which might be what some of us have read/heard about them being closed at certain times), but this year, they decided to remain open during cruise calls and for dinner Thursday through Saturday.

Well, folks, as the OP, I'll bring this circus of a post full-circle. Nothing else fraudulent has showed up on any of our other accounts....so far ;), and we've already filed taxes with no issues.

We're back on RCI in August! Not sure we'll do anything differently except make sure we have an on-board account and cc set up already, so there is no manual action required at any point.

Thanks for all the informative and entertaining comments! :p Keep on cruisin!! :cool:

Paragraphs are our friends.

I'm so sorry!!!! LOL!! Just finding out last night about this, and wanting to share the warning, I was overly ambitious with the run-on typing!

I will confess I was an English major and a copy editor by trade after undergrad. (It's like an addiction meeting...Hello. I'm Sherri, and I forget to use paragraphs.) No excuses--just apologies, my friends. :))

But they got the SS# somehow, and THAT needs to be figured out ASAP.

 

But if you ever forget that one little word, you'll be seriously glad they DO have other ways to change the info.

Sorry for all the confusion regarding the SS#! I know it's difficult to read through ALL the previous posts. I realized after the numerous posts on this thread, and checking my acct on RCI, that ss# is, indeed, not something the cruise line asks for.

However, as stated previously too, the person who changed my cc acct info would have HAD to have known I, not my husband, am the primary card holder, and had a female make the call or be available to take the phone. If a male called, the cc company would've asked to speak to "your wife, the primary card holder" before any changes could be made! Unfortunately, we've been through that several times with this cc company. (And yes, we've sent in all the paperwork to make him an equal card holder. The LAST answer we got about that is that Texas requires that permission every six months. That was new :rolleyes:.) That female who took the phone would've had to have known my name and dob. The cc company doesn't "confirm it" they "ask for it". That kind of information knowledge leads me to believe the information had to be garnered from a database or source that contained both my husband and my information. The timing of the cruise, and access to that kind of information, is what makes the phone call to the cc company suspect.

Molly, I also stated in my original post that there is a part of me that understands the allowance of "other" information to qualify for changing info when someone forgets that one little word. Good grief, who could possibly have ALL this info about the card holder if it wasn't the card holder herself, right!!? Well, unfortunately, that's what allows for identify theft. In speaking to my other cc companies, I've learned after changes are made with them, they send an email to the OLD email and the NEW email (if changed) stating that account changes were made. THAT''s the way to do it!

Pretty much. New address is set to receive tax refunds, part of the tax fraud going around. Its reported that these address can be receiving several tax refunds. OP has not filed taxes yet, I would be all over that, especially if a refund was given in your past refunds

Unfortunately, we haven't received a refund in over 10 years! If the actor would like to pay my $1600 IRS bill, though, he/she is perfectly welcome to. :p

Also, all those pre approved cc applications you receive in the mail need to be shredded.

It really is crazy, Linda, how much havoc one little breach can cause. Since we do ALL of the things the experts recommend to protect our info, it was really just too much of a coincidence regarding the timing of the breach and our cruise. We shred everything with personal info on it...we are members of LifeLock....we have security passwords on all our cc accounts....we call our cc companies before large purchases or trips, etc, etc, etc. Due to my profession, I've even given speeches on protecting your identity. In the end, all of that is only as reliable as each individual employee at each business that has your personal information--yes that includes the cruise line, along with your cc company, your dr's office, and your financial institution. If one rouge employee along the way wants your information, they can get it. I'm convinced that to have both my husband's and my information, it would have to have been something outside a regular merchant transaction. It would have to be garnered from a complete database of some sort, containing all our info, that was hacked or accessed legitimately by an aforementioned type of employee.

Again, if my warning helps one other person catch a breach in their information security, it's worth mentioning.

Possibly to use the new address to get new credit cards in your name? Sherri:)

Thanks, Sherri! We have LifeLock on notice to keep an eye out for new accounts. I understand the "flag" to that happening is that a credit report will be run. If anyone knows any different please let me know.

As for why the OP's card was never used? Once they establish a new address they can apply for more cards in the OP's name using the card only as reference and not tipping the OP off by making purchases. One other poster alluded to this when they suggested checking your credit report for any new credit applications.

I agree, Gregg. We already contacted LifeLock and they have all hands on deck watching for future activity. It's just very frustrating when we've done all the experts say to do to keep your info safe (i.e., calling the cc company when making a large purchase or going on a trip, being a member of LifeLock) and something like this still happens.

This particular instance is ALL because the cc company allowed the person to make changes on our account WITHOUT that one little security password. That's what that stupid one little word is for!!! We're also, of course, calling our other cc companies to let them know of the breach. If it's completely unrelated to our cruise, then the person might have our other financial information also.

I really appreciate all the feedback. One MORE reason I love CC!

My co worker was just contacted by the State of Michigan (where they have never lived or visited) to provide tax information for them to complete their return. The crooks had their names, DOB, SS# etc just not a W2. There was no fraudulent CC activity just their identity stolen to get tax money. They have never been on a cruise or out of the country. There are very clever people out there working hard to get our identities.

I completely agree and hope this had nothing to do with a cruiseline employee! Both my husband and I are in professions that we're familiar with cc abuse and identify theft offenses. Plus, we've previously twice had other credit cards fraudulently used. The cc companies both times caught that activity pretty quickly because it was out of the ordinary geographical area or spending amount for us. (That was a good feeling!) Unfortunately, as Karen mentioned above, LEAs are still hesitant to investigate identify theft, and I think still a bit lost as to how to go about it since the actors are so technologically savvy and it's easy to "get lost" in the web space.

If we are able to track down the source of this, I will surely come back and share--and would likely delete my entire post! I would NEVER want a known false allegation to continue being shared about a cruise line. I love cruising too much!! :)