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First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions



 
 
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  #81  
Old November 7th, 2006, 10:51 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Charles[_1_]
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Posts: 3,112
Default More questions [long]

In article . com,
wrote:

1.Labadee : ??? we don't have any plans for this place, we thought
about excursion from RCI but we couldn't find any intresting beside
SeaTrek Parasail, do You have any idea what to do there??? Have You
ever tried parasail in Labadee?


Labadee is a beach day. You don't need to do anything. If you would
like to parasail this would be a good place to do it.

--
Charles
  #82  
Old November 7th, 2006, 10:53 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Charles[_1_]
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Posts: 3,112
Default More questions [long]

In article . com,
wrote:

2.Ocho Rios: We thought to rent a car and go to Montego Bay, but we
worry is it enough time? We would like to see Dunn's Falls also, do You
know how far is it from the port? Where is the best place for shopping?


You don't want to rent car in Jamaica. And Montego Bay is really to far
away anyways from Ochos Rios. Do Dunn's River Falls.

--
Charles
  #83  
Old November 7th, 2006, 10:55 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Charles[_1_]
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Posts: 3,112
Default More questions [long]

In article . com,
wrote:

3.George Town: snorkeling, can You recomend any place? We didn't want
to take our equipment, where we can rent something? We heard there is a
place where we can see stingrays during snorkeling, do you know
anything about it?


Definitely do an excursion that does snorkeling and stingrays. If you
do an excursion equipment will be provided.

--
Charles
  #84  
Old November 7th, 2006, 11:01 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Charles[_1_]
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Posts: 3,112
Default More questions [long]

In article . com,
wrote:

4.Cozumel: is it enough time (9 hours) to get to Tulum? how is with
ferrys? How did You spend Your day in Cozumel? I really would like to
see ruins in Tulum, but we afraid it is too complicated?


Tulum is worth doing. Take a ship's excursion and it won't be
complicated as they take you there and back. When you get back stop at
Carlos and Charlies for a drink.

--
Charles
  #85  
Old November 7th, 2006, 09:17 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Jean O'Boyle
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Posts: 2,354
Default More questions [long]


Answered Inline:

wrote in message
ups.com...
Thank You sooooooooooooooooo much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We decided - 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal
Caribbean )) We decided to take just oceanview cabin, it was huge
diffrent between balcony cabin (at this date), we think it's better to
stay in Miami longer.
Ehhh... It took 3 weeks, but we booked our first cruise, finally....
Now we have more questions than before, I'm exetremly happy I found
Your group and You are so helpful... THANKS!!!


Eve,
We just got off the Carnival Conquest this past Sunday, and I ended up with
a bad cold (zimno i kaszel) so I did not read your post until today.
Having sailed on the Royal Caribbean Radiance and the Celebrity Zenith, I
would have chosen the Radiance over the Zenith.
Not only because the ship is so beautiful but because I prefer the ports
that it is visting. I would NEVER have taken the Zenith for a 10 day
cruise...She has no balconies and the experience that we had on a 7 day
cruise to Bermuda on the Zenith in 2003 was terrible. From recent reports
and after talking to a friend who just returned from a cruise on her, she
has improved...But ten days on a ship like her would not be my cup of tea,
for sure!
I have never been on the Voyager of the Seas, but have heard good things
about her...at least she will be more enjoyable than the Zenith for your
very first cruise!

BTW, We are from Poland, we have polish passports and we will be back
before 31st of December, so i think we don't have "passport" problem.
We have valid american visas.



I knew right away that you were from Poland...not only from your name but
the* poczta* (mail) and pl
I correspond with some friends in Poland and can read some Polish as my
parents were both born in Poland.


Our plan:
1.Labadee : ??? we don't have any plans for this place, we thought
about excursion from RCI but we couldn't find any intresting beside
SeaTrek Parasail, do You have any idea what to do there??? Have You
ever tried parasail in Labadee?

2.Ocho Rios: We thought to rent a car and go to Montego Bay, but we
worry is it enough time? We would like to see Dunn's Falls also, do You
know how far is it from the port? Where is the best place for shopping?

We read about Ocho Rios and we afraid it's typical industrial place and
there is nothing to do. Any sugestions?

3.George Town: snorkeling, can You recomend any place? We didn't want
to take our equipment, where we can rent something? We heard there is a
place where we can see stingrays during snorkeling, do you know
anything about it?
What do You think about visiting turtle farm? Is it anything
interesting in Hell?
What else do You recomend?

4.Cozumel: is it enough time (9 hours) to get to Tulum? how is with
ferrys? How did You spend Your day in Cozumel? I really would like to
see ruins in Tulum, but we afraid it is too complicated?

5. If You know anything about our ports of call (Labadee, Haiti; Ocho
Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico) we would
love to "hear" everything, all kinds of information would be very
helpful



Others have replied to your questions so I will make mine brief.

Labadee..no excursions as it is a stop at a beach where you tender in for
water activiites and a lunch prepared by the ship.
There are some natives who sell trinkets there if you are interested in that
kind of thing.

Ocho Rios...I would not rent a car to go to Montego Bay. Since this is your
first cruise experience, I would check out what the ship has to offer
excursion wise...Ocho Rios is a very poor place and not a very safe one,
where you will be stopped and pressured continuously to buy anything from
native made goods to drugs and you have to be VERY firm about saying *No*
and walking away. It is not a very pleasant experience and being this is
your first time there, I would play it safe by going with a group organized
by the ship. After several visits there, you learn where to stay away from
and whom to avoid.

Georgetown....you have shopping, Seven Mile Beach (which we were told by a
guide who took us to Cpt. Marvin's Stingray and Snorkle Excursion, is now
Five Mile Beach) because of the destruction caused by the last hurricane
there. Arranging a snorkel excursion is not very difficult..You can do it on
the internet and there are many vendors at the dock holding up signs.
You will be tendering from the ship into Georgetown, also. Captain Marvin's
Website is www.captainmarvins.com and you can see what he has to offer. We
took the 10:45 am, 2 hour stingray and snorkeling tour just last Thursday
and it was a lot of fun..There is not that much time on that one for
snorkeling so you might want to choose a longer one that visits two reefs
instead. It was a lot of fun.. the the stingrays were very tame. They swim
around you and when they brush against you they feel velvety... more like a
"slimey" mushroom!

We have been to Cozumel many times but never to Tulum, so I can't give you
any information there.
There are some nice beaches there and lots of shopping...Margaritaville and
Senor Frogs, etc!

We always play it safe and are on board the ship at least one hour ahead of
the departure time...You definitely do not want to be left behind somewhere
like Ocho Rios! If you are on your own, be sure to be onboard before the
designated time..If you are with the ship's excursion, it is their
responsibility to get you back on board on time and if they are a bit late,
the ship WILL wait for them, but it will NOT wait for you if you are on your
own adventure!

We use a taxi when we go. A group of us will get together and split the
fare between us...We all talk over and decide where we want to go, for how
long and what we want to see. We then talk it over with a couple taxi
drivers or dispatchers and see who will do what we want for the best price.
Do NOT get into a cab without confirming a rate first. Sometimes we take a
taxi van if there are more than four of us. I prefer taxis over buses
because you can decide to shorten or lengthen your times at different sites,
while on a bus you have to go by the bus schedule and then I'm not patient
about stragglers and having to sit on a bus waiting because someone decided
to go buy something they forgot.

Happy planning i piekna pogoda fo your cruise! ;-)

--Jean






  #86  
Old November 7th, 2006, 09:24 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Jean O'Boyle
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Posts: 2,354
Default More questions [long]


"Jean O'Boyle" wrote in message
m...

Happy planning i piekna pogoda fo your cruise! ;-)


That was meant to be, "Happy planning i piekna pogoda FOR your cruise! "

--Jean


  #87  
Old November 7th, 2006, 11:15 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Dillon Pyron
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Posts: 1,051
Default First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions

Thus spake Joseph Coulter :

"Frank F. Matthews" wrote in
:


At this point it is really unclear what the need is for a passport. As
you say they have delayed the requirement that returning US citizens
have a passport when returning with the cruise. What the situation is
if you leave the cruise is unclear. I suppose you can always swim the
Rio G and ask them why they think you were ever out of the US.

If you fly in it could get touchy at some point.


At this point it is just silly not to get the passport. the requirement for
flying is a passport as proper documentation. Airlines are fined for not
having all pax with proper documents and will not allow a pax on board
without proper credentials. So one is on a cruise and has an emergency and
needs to come home from say St Martin - without a passport, no plane home.


RCI is requiring passports for cruises returning after Jan 8. So that
makes the rest of the discussion moot for them (I haven't seen
anything from Celebrity, I assume they are doing so as well).
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.
  #88  
Old November 7th, 2006, 11:17 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Dillon Pyron
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Posts: 1,051
Default First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions

Thus spake Charles :

In article et, Brian
K wrote:

Regardless. Cruise lines will require a passport after December 31,
2006,


Which ones? I just did a check of Celebrity, Princess, HAL and Royal
Caribbean. None of them now require it next year for travel to the
Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico if no air travel to
those places is involved. They only recommend a passport.


Charles, the last press release I have from RCI says that they are
requiring them, due to the possibility of having to fly home. DCL is
"strongly recommending" them for much the same reason. I have an
email in to my Carnival DSM about it, we'll see what she has to say.
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.
  #89  
Old November 7th, 2006, 11:40 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Ray Goldenberg Ray Goldenberg is offline
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First recorded activity by TravelBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,639
Default First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions

On Tue, 07 Nov 2006 16:15:12 -0600, Dillon Pyron
wrote:

RCI is requiring passports for cruises returning after Jan 8. So that
makes the rest of the discussion moot for them (I haven't seen
anything from Celebrity, I assume they are doing so as well).


Hi Dillon,

As a matter of clarification, the above is not correct. Royal
Caribbean dropped the passport requirement after the law was changed.
The cruise lines lobbied heavily for this law change.
From Royal Caribbean:

Domestic Sailing Requirements:

U.S. Citizen Passport Requirement

Air Travel

Effective January 8, 2007, passports will be required for all U.S.
citizens flying to or from all international destinations. This
includes all areas of the world in which our ships sail, such as the
Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Central
and South America.

"Cruise Travel

As early as January 1, 2008, subject to U.S. Government amendment,
passports will be required for all U.S. citizens cruising to or from
all international destinations. This includes all areas of the world
in which our ships sail, such as the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the
Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Central and South America.
Until that time, the following travel document requirements apply:

International Travel
A valid passport is required; visas are required where they
apply. This includes Europe, Asia, Central and South America.

Domestic Travel
For domestic travel which includes: the Bahamas, Bermuda,
Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, a passport (valid or expired) is
highly recommended.
In the absence of a passport, a birth certificate (original or
a certified copy), plus a picture ID card issued by a federal, state
or local government agency is required.
A voter registration card or Social Security Card are not
considered to be proof of citizenship.
Children under 16 years of age do not require a picture ID.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
--
  #90  
Old November 7th, 2006, 11:42 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Ray Goldenberg Ray Goldenberg is offline
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First recorded activity by TravelBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,639
Default First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions

On Tue, 07 Nov 2006 16:17:59 -0600, Dillon Pyron
wrote:

Charles, the last press release I have from RCI says that they are
requiring them, due to the possibility of having to fly home. DCL is
"strongly recommending" them for much the same reason. I have an
email in to my Carnival DSM about it, we'll see what she has to say.


Hi Dillon,

Royal Caribbean changed their policies several weeks ago. See my
other post on this subject where I quote Royal Caribbean's current
policy.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
--
 




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