jcc1025

Labadee is on the oposite side of the island from Port-au-Prince were all the problems are and you can only get there by boat. They have huad this issue down there several times over the year and it has never effected Laberdee because of its location and there is so significat benifit for the rebels who are trying to take over the goverment and if they do will need every tourist dollar they can get. I would not go down to the south, but have been to Labadee during previous uprising like this and Royal monitors the situation and we never felt threatened. So I would tell my college age kids not to worry but by the way don't go to walking around in Jamaica.

Anybody can file a lawsuit. Many have no status and are dismissed but the only the first post will be publized. Many are filed because their lawyer has convinced them that the ship will settle rather than spend the money to fight it and so they will be some payment. Is"s a sleazy move but then some people don't care. 

2 minutes ago, Cruising to Retirement said:

Trying to arrange flight home- looking at booking an American Airlines flight that departs SNA- John Wayne Airport at 11:40am.. Want to walk off with Bags and catch an Uber.  Can anyone assist with the first available time to walk off the Ship.. Arriving on 5/24 after a 4 night cruise... Greatly appreciated

 

Is it doable??? Thank you  

If there are no delays they will start walk offs between 7:30 - 8. The bigger issue will be souths traffic on 405 at that time of the morning to SNA but should be ok. 

On 1/31/2023 at 6:57 PM, bgoff60 said:

+100 on the Cucumber Martini

One of the best drinks ever. We always look forward to this cocktail. Got the recipie and have done it at home but its just not the same. We are going back late summer on Harmony and can't wait to go to 150. 

23 hours ago, Jetswdo said:

  My cruise departs from San Pedro port.  I live about 1 half hours from the port, so we are planning on just driving to the port in the morning and would like to get there about 10:00 am.  As I am completely ignorant of how this works, I would really appreciate it if someone can explain the procedure.

Here are my questions:

1.  Is it difficult to find a spot, and do you just park anywhere in the lot?

2.  When we enter the parking lot, are there sections for specific cruise lines.  (This is for Celebrity Eclipse- 1041  B93, whatever that means)

3.  If you just park anywhere in the lot,  do you get on with your luggage on a shuttle?

4.  I believe there are two ships in port that day:  Celebrity Eclipse and RC Navigator.  A there porters specifically for each ship, or do you bring your luggage inside the terminal building.?

Thanks for any knowledge of the above, and any other tips.  Anita

 

We live about 20 minutes from the port and park there all the time. If you get there at 10 there will be lots of parking available. You get a ticket when you come in and pay with a card when you leave. The lot is not separated by cruise ship. The B93 is the pier number, you will see them when you arrive. Parking for the Battleship Iowa is separated to the west of the cruise ship parking. A tip we got from a shuttle driver once was to look for the tall tower to the west end of the lot and park near it. I will be a longer walk to the terminal but when you leave the parking lot can be very congested and from that location you can get out easier than if you’re parked up close. Last time we came in we were off the ship, through customs and out of the lot in about 45 minutes. If you park close just need to be prepared for a longer wait to get out of the lot upon return, they are just across the street from the terminals.

There are shuttles that tour the lot when you come in. You must take your own luggage from the parking lot to the terminal. Porters are available at the terminal, but this is the one area where patience is needed as it’s not the best organized operation but still did not take long. Have fun, happy cruising.

We just got off a seven day Mexico cruise and in Mazatian booked a pvivat van tour through Mazatuan Van Tours. It was very convenient and they all have none private tours. The driver was excelent, we took a tour up to the Tequila Factory. We had lunch at a great authintic Mexican resturant which is not included in our tour. It was a great day and we could recomment it. You can see them on trip advisor. 

On 5/16/2023 at 11:50 AM, CruisinShips said:

Worth it, or does it make more sense to wander around on our own at this stop?

 

Thanks

Most of the area around Cataline is a Marine Protected Area so there are many differnet species of fish and wildlife. It is a favorite of recreational suba and snorkeling. You would still have time to wonder around town, which is also very cool after the tour. 

Plus using the ship excursions they know where you are and will not leave without you if some problem comes up in thring to get back. 

Besides using the currency of their country you can put up some savings on the exchange rate. Businesses can set their exchange rate as a please. Even when you exchange dollars for pasos at your bank you will be charged some exchange rate but it will always be equal to or lower than what the local business will charge because they also will be charged the exchange rate when they convert dollars to paso's in Mexico put the time and problems of getting them exchanged. Besides the fact that even in our high tourist location with the exception of a few places right on the boarder, we do not take paso's but expcect them to take dollars. We always take some paso's for small things and shops and use credit cards in resturants since the bank makes that exchange for them. 

The Malicon in PV is very safe. Lots of art works along the beach and resturants and bars, if you keep waking you get into the Romanic Zone which is also nice and more shopping if that is what you are interested in doing. Its kind of a walk for us from the port, we take a taxi both ways. 

Depending on your home bank we order some local currency from our back before we leave. Will be the most up to date exchange rate and has been very convenient. 

Much of the area around Catalina is covered by a Marine Protected Area and is either off limits to all fishing or highly regulated for both commercial and recreational fishing in the area. If you do go out need to find out what gear is approved and in which locations. The area is monitored by California Fish and Wildlife to insure compliance. 

We always print a copy just in case of some glich in the phone or trasmissions at the port on that day. The app check in is great but I always like to have a non tec backup in these situations. 

Might check when you first get on board. They may only allot a specific number of tables prior to sailing so they can accommodate those who come on board. We have seen this as well and then when we got on board they were selling single reservations and packages. 

Not unless you can convert on board credits to cash and I don't think so. Never done it but don't think you can convert on board credits to gambling credits on board. 

They use to show some of the standard excursions on each sailing but post Covid the choices are very fluid due to both company and local restrictions. As things relax they should loosen up but right now its hard. We are sailing in 30 days and the excursion list has changed several times with more coming on as they meet Royals standards I suspect. 

18 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

Okay, that is really good to hear! My husband hated San Pedro so much he doesn't want to sail Royal out of CA anymore and would rather do Carnival out of Long Beach, but if there are improvements in the works that could change things. I liked Carnival - don't get me wrong. I just liked Royal better, and he agreed on all points but San Pedro. Haha

I get it. You have to do what is best for you, vacations should be fun. I hate Carnival and refuse to sail with them so I am knid limited between Royal and Princess in the LA areas and we have some status on Royal and like the purks so will put up with the dock. If you can get the ealiest check in at 10:30 it is not so bad. Happy cruising ahead. 

18 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

Okay, that is really good to hear! My husband hated San Pedro so much he doesn't want to sail Royal out of CA anymore and would rather do Carnival out of Long Beach, but if there are improvements in the works that could change things. I liked Carnival - don't get me wrong. I just liked Royal better, and he agreed on all points but San Pedro. Haha

1 minute ago, jcc1025 said:

Jumping in out your post becuase we live in Long Baach and are also happy they are back. We have done four cruises out of the port, a cople of the test two day cruises and a couple of regualr 4 days. The port is not as good as most of the ports you might sail out of. Galveston and Ft. Lauderdale are much better but I understand that a new terminal out at the end of port area is in the works so that they can support bigger ships. We like Navagator a lot, but then we like about any ship although the Oasis class is our favorite. So I think the port experience will get better, especially as the new San Pedro warf project finishes next year. 

We are on the same seven day the end of this month and really apprciate your insite into the ports, its been a few years since we have been down there. 

13 hours ago, Ashland said:

Sorry you had a bad experience at San Pedro. It's our home port (45 min drive) and we sail as often out of it as we can. Perhaps it makes a difference as we use the suite check in line and it couldn't be easier. Our most recent cruises were January 2022, October 2022 and January 2023. Have to skip January of 2024 but we're booked again for February 2025. 

 

So glad RCI has returned to our coast and hoping they'll stay. And I certainly agree the iSkate Reach For The Stars is the best ice show fleetwide.

Jumping in out your post becuase we live in Long Baach and are also happy they are back. We have done four cruises out of the port, a cople of the test two day cruises and a couple of regualr 4 days. The port is not as good as most of the ports you might sail out of. Galveston and Ft. Lauderdale are much better but I understand that a new terminal out at the end of port area is in the works so that they can support bigger ships. We like Navagator a lot, but then we like about any ship although the Oasis class is our favorite. So I think the port experience will get better, especially as the new San Pedro warf project finishes next year. 

8 hours ago, Hutcha said:

 

What makes you think that tips added to the bill are shared by all those on board?

I have had several convesations with the bartends on the ships over the years and thay have all told me this is how it works. Since the bartenders rotate amoung the bars weekly, and some of the bars are better than others for tips its not fair to those in low volume bars. The barternders I have talked with are all ok with this and know it evens things out. Cash tips are held at the specific bar and shared amoung all those bartenders. Same way it works on land bases resturants. 

As on land and knowing what the issues are I confess to overtipping. After paying a lot for the cruise I don't worry about another doller to two for the servers. For the bartenders I use often I may put in a dollar cash for a drink and at the end of the cruise add another five or so. Like on land tipping in cash goes stright to the servers, bar backs, etc.. The tip on the card is added to their salary and is reduced by taxes and other elements and shared among all those on the ship. The bars on board share the cash tips amoung the bartenders and servers in that bar so I like that idea. Its a personal issue and I get it if people don't want to add more, this is just how feel being on the other side of the issue. Hope everyone has a great cruise. 

This is our favorite ship because of all the space options. Really feels smaller to us than some of the smaller ships like Radiace that we also like. The deck chair issue I beleive is true on every ship when you sail at high volume dates in popular locations no matter the size of the ship. We have sailed this ship during winter periods and found the deck chair issue not so bad. A full ship is always going to have this issue no matter what ship our line you sail. 

We always pack ours. 

May should not be a problem. I work on a whale watching tour out of Long Beach and its not bad enought this time of the year to cancel tenders in Catilina.

I admit that being from the service industry I overtip for the front line people just trying to get by, especially in Mexico so we always tip drivers, and food service workers including street vendors. Given the exchange rate a few bucks helps and its not a big deal for those of us who paid a lot more for our cruise. I know everyone will not agree with my position and that is ok but we are going down there in June and I have already started to stockpile ones and fives for our trip.