Momis2

We were on a South America cruise on The Splendor. I had gone to the Deli for a sandwich and an older man passed out right in front of me. His face was dark purple! The medical team was called and they took him off on a stretcher. I found out later that he had died. On the same cruise a man fell in the shower and broke his hip so he was taken off the ship along with his family and all their luggage. The " ambulance" was a pick-up truck and he was just loaded into the bed for his ride to the hospital. This was in Fortaleza , Brazil.

As others have said, make a copy of the passport page with your picture and other information. Leave your passport in the safe on the ship and take the copy with you. If the copy is lost, damaged, or stolen, the guest services desk on your ship can make you another copy. If your REAL passport is lost, damaged , or stolen, you will have some problems until you get home, you may be certain!:eek:

What a horrible thing to have happen. I can speak from experience what a pain in the tuchis it is as we were on a 30 day Polynesian cruise and had the toilet overflow like you did only it happened 5 different times over the course of the cruise!!! We were on a first name basis with the plumber. He would just randomly stop by the cabin to see how we were doing. It was happening ship-wide so it wasn't something we did or did not do. Even the public bathrooms were involved.

The whether to bring your passport question is much debated here. It depends on which you think the greater risk is: Missing the ship and needing the passport to fly home, or getting pickpocketed/mugged while on the island and having the passport stolen.

We make printed copies of the " info" page of our passports and take those copies with us when we get off the ship. It is all the info a consulate or embassy would need and it folds up really small so I can keep it in a tiny pouch I tuck inside my bra. Some money and the Sail and Sign cards fit too. No one will pickpocket that without me knowing about it! :D

The herring on HAL! Pickled, in sour cream, wine sauce, any way I can get it. Also the lamb, steaks, and prime rib. I live with 2 vegetarians and get the stink eye when I have red meat on my plate!:mad:

We were on a land tour, not a cruise, in Europe in mid-May of 2014. We went to the Keukenhof Gardens outside of Haarlem and most tulips and hyacinths were at their peak. The earlier blooming varieties and daffodils were done. The flower fields had already been harvested too. Go to Keukenhofs website and you can probably get more info on bloom times. Weather affects the flowers too and is hard to predict at best. We are from Southern California so just seeing ANY tulips was a treat!

I did a B2B on the Triumph in Feb this year.

Even if you decide to stay on the ship you will have to disembark and then come back on. The ship has to be cleared with all passengers off before you will be allowed back on. We had quite a wait in the terminal before being allowed back on so I would suggest you go out for a few hours at least. At least a couple of hundred did the B2B.

We were on this same cruise and got off the ship. We enjoyed our day in San Juan very much. We took a walking food tour through old San Juan that lasted a good part of the day and we still had time to visit the Cathedral, both forts and the cemetery on our own. The walking tour included 5 stops for local food and drinks( price included in the tour)

People who got off the ship and tried to get right back on had long waits as the port officials did not seem to know what they were doing. We avoided all that by seeing beautiful old San Juan. I suggest getting off the ship and spending some time in the city or going to El Yunque, the rainforest.

Last time we went the cruise offered an all-day excursion to Chichen Itza which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Well worth going to but bring your own food as the "lunch" that is provided is very small and not too tasty. Also, be aware that the weather is VERY warm. That being said, I would still go again!

I heard it on good authority (Carnival employee) that yes Splendor is coming back to Long Beach!! Yeah!! I love that ship! Took MANY wonderful cruises on her. :-)

Also heard (from the same person) that they are going to be revamping the Long Beach pier/checkin/boarding area as well. I'm excited to welcome Splendor back, planning on *fingers x'd* doing the Panama canal trip to bring her home. :-)

We sailed her to New York from Los Angeles in 2013. The canal was too small so we went ALL the way around South America. I am hoping the canal won't be finished so we can do that trip in reverse. A B2B2B that lasted 48 days!! Yowza!!:D

Love the B2Bs!

Our first was a 48 day B2B2B from Los Angeles to New York around Cape Horn in South America. Talk about jumping in with both feet! We have done 2 more since then the latest being 21 days in the Caribbean. You really get to know the ship from top to bottom. After a while the MDR menu does get boring as there is not much variation from the typical 7 day menu. The same things over and over and over. This is the only downside.

I usually buy something unique to the part of the world I am visiting. I bought some tiny carved lapis and onyx penquins in Ushuaia, Argentina and some beautiful black pearl jewelry in French Polynesia. The penquins were inexpensive and easy to pack and the pearls....Well, I could not have afforded to buy them in the States!!

No one has mentioned Holland America. They cruise out of San Diego. Some long cruises to French Polynesia and South America and some shorter ones to Mexico.

Fivearms is correct. You pay via credit card online when you book your excursions. You will get a confirmation in your email box which you should print and bring with you in case of an error or cancellation. By booking online and not on board, you will be assured of getting the excursions that you want as some can sell out before the ship leaves. Do not try to book on embarkation day!!! There is ALWAYS a long line at both the excursion and guest services desk and I am sure that you would rather be enjoying your time on the ship than standing in line!

We did 2 back to back. Galveston to Puerto Rico 10 days and then Puerto Rico back to Galveston 11 days for a total of 21 lovely Caribbean days!!:D

I did a whale sharks snorkel last month with Cabo Adventures. I booked thru my resort in Cabo but I am sure that you can do it online. The sharks have pretty much left this area by now as they are migratory and usually are gone by the end of April. We saw 3 and the water was very murky. You better be an Olympic quality swimmer to keep up with them!!! They look like they are just cruising along but they are really moving fast.

Hi all: Trying to decide which cruise to take to So. America in Jan, HAL Maasdam (47 days), HAL Prinsendam(67 days), or Ocean Princess (64 days)? Has anyone taken a long cruise on any of the three? Input greatly appreciated as this will be a big commitment/decision, thanks!

What exactly do you want to know? Do you have questions regarding the ships themselves or the ports? We took a long cruise around South America but not on any of the ships you mention. Looking at the itinerary of all, I would go on the longest one. Cape Horn and the Chilean Fjords are bucket-list material!!

We were the first U.S. home port for the Splendor.

She had to go the old fashioned way, around South America.

We were on the Splendor when she went back to New York all the way around South America. 48 days of cruising and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Best cruise I have ever been on.:D

I think it would be allowed but I would still call and ask. There were 2 people with bikes on our French Polynesia cruise this past October. They took the bikes off at each port, even the tender ports. It was a BIG inconvenience on the tenders as the bikes took up a huge amount of space.

1 and 1/2 days until the first and 10 months 'til the second for this year.

Would you be taking a ship excursion to either place or going on your own? The reason I ask is that the Chichen Itza complex is quite a long way from Cozumel! You would have to take the ferry to Playa del Carmen, drive to highway 180 in Cancun and then take 180 almost halfway to Merida! When I went to Chichen Itza, I ported in Progresso which is on the other side of the Yucatan Penninsula and it was still a VERY long bus ride! Tulum is just across from Cozumel so only the ferry ride would be needed.

If none of this is a concern, however, I would vote for Chichen Itza. It is a much larger complex. You could spend hours walking around and still not see the half of it. It is in the middle of the Yucatan and VERY hot. Tulum is much cooler since it is on the coast but smaller and much less to see. I would do some research on both sites and check out a good map of the area so you can be better informed as to what you want to do.

If you don't like the flight back, book 2 cruises back to back. We are leaving on a B2B in February. Galveston 11 days Southern Caribbean to SJ and then SJ 10 days Eastern Caribbean to Galveston. Now if I could only figure out how to get back to California without flying.

Be sure that you book the same cabin for both cruises. That way you don't have to pack up and move. You will love doing B2Bs, they are very addicting!

It's so nice seeing all the passengers get off and knowing that you do not have to. :D

Dark and Stormy made with Goslings Black Seal rum or Big Black Dick :eek: dark rum ( there really is such a thing) and Goslings ginger beer. Refreshing, tasty , and not so sweet that you feel like you are drinking dessert.

I am on your cruise and got the same email. Clicked on it right away and was already expired!:mad:

Feb 9 and 20. This is a B2B on the Triumph .

Nov 16 thru Dec 18 on HAL Amsterdam.