port msp

On a cost per day basis, cruises are a great value. I'd be hard pressed to get similar transportation/accommodation/food/entertainment for anywhere near the same cost on a land-based vacation. As soon as I'm onboard, I'm no longer responsible for the logistics of transportation, food, or entertainment. I like that I can do multiple activities offered each day or do nothing at all. I like the "big boat" aspect of cruising, and especially enjoy seeing other ships at sea or in a working port. I like that I get to see an interesting place each day, then return to my quality accommodation for relaxation and a good meal, watch some entertainment, go to bed, and wake up to find that my floating accommodation has taken me to a new and interesting place. I only unpack once and don't have to spend time each day repacking my belongings, wondering if I've forgotten something. I enjoy sea days, sitting on my balcony, watching the world go by. I really like the behind the scenes tours on the ship and talks given by ships officers.

Could you make it? Certainly, if everything falls into place and goes off as scheduled. There are lots of moving parts in the "travel machine" and any one of them breaking down will cause delays, likely causing you to miss your early flight. The ship has to dock on time, the ship has to be cleared quickly, CBP has to be working efficiently, etc etc etc. Getting to FLL isn't a problem, there are lots of taxis, but how many other ships docked that morning? How many thousands of people are trying to get through security theater at FLL? Can you make it? Likely. I've made it to FLL from Port Everglades before 8am on several occasions. But I've also docked 5 hours late and missed a 1230 flight. Should you put this kind of pressure on yourself? Why would you?! You're on vacation! Relax. You said yourself you're more excited for your boyfriend than for yourself. You want him to enjoy this, yes? How happy is he going to be, and how much is he going to want to repeat a cruise vacation, watching you stress out the last two days of the cruise, all because you're worrying about making an early flight? Trust me, we know when you're stressed, and when the Significant Other is stressed, nobody's happy! This is sort of like a first date, vacation-wise. Make it a good first impression and he'll want to go out on a cruise ship date again. ;) It took my wife ten years to talk me into a cruise. We're now planning number eleven in eight years. Build in some time to allow for issues. Book the later flight. Enjoy!

It's all about what you like. I like to wander around old forts on the islands. I thought Brimstone Hill was worth the time on St. Kitts. We hired a cab to take us there, wait while we walked around, and then take us back to the port. (I didn't want to spend 4 hrs sitting in a van touring the island) The view from the top is great! Old San Juan is fantastic for wandering, (wear sturdy shoes, the cobblestones and uneven sidewalks would be tough and painful in flip flops). Plus there are two forts to explore, El Morro and San Cristobal. I liked the museum in Grand Turk. I thought it was worth the hour. There's a small display near the port shopping area in Grand Turk about John Glenn splashing down in Friendship 7 near the island. The beach is nice, the beach bar (to the left of Margaritaville as you look from the ship) seems to have a continuous loop of Bob Marley playing (one of my fondest memories from cruising for some reason; sitting on my balcony listening to Bob from across the beach and water). Margaritaville isn't a bad place to park yourself for a while. You've got time to plan. Get some books, do some internet research, and plan your days. Enjoy.

First cruise was '07 Celebrity Millennium e. carib. It had taken my wife 10 years to talk me into a cruise. I'd listened to friends and didn't want to vacation with the newly wed, over-fed, or nearly dead. I had been misinformed (mostly). We've been on 10 cruises in all and will continue because it's a nice way to get warm in the winter. First HAL cruise was '09 to Alaska on the Westerdam. '10 brought us to the carrib. on Eurodam and the infamous "anchor" incident where they couldn't get the anchor up at Half Moon Cay and got into port late. We'll probably sail HAL again, but I've gotten to like Celebrity.

BUT our real disappointment-Sept 2010. We had booked the Alaska to Beijing trip. We made SPECIAL arrangements to get off the ship in Vladivostok. We purchased our own Russian visas for entry into the country. We were taking the trans Siberian RR to Mongolia and Moscow, then flying home. We had the requisite "permission" letter from the Captain allowing us to disembark in Vladivostok. When we attempted to board, we made it through the initial check in process but were met entering the ship by people from special services. They told us we COULD NOT get off at Vladivostok. They very carefully separated the two of us. I'm the one with the big mouth and the world travel experience. My dear departed DH was a "go along with the program" person. One person was telling DH the ship was oversold, they would refund our money immediately and give us two free cruise certificates. He was NOT a wave maker.

The other person was telling me my visa had NOT been verified by THEIR visa company, Zierer, so they could not allow us to depart in Russia. We would have to continue to Beijing. I kept demanding the Captain show up to settle the argument. I kept waving the "permission letter" he had signed allowing us to get off the ship in Russia. He was no place to be seen. It got into almost a threatening situation. I felt if we didn't leave, they would call security/the cops and we would be thrown off the ship and possibly jailed if we didn't leave.

We finally left. Flew to Moscow, then to Vladivostok. Got there the day before the ship-train was leaving the day the ship arrived. I wanted so very badly to go to the ship, flaunt it in their face-"look where we are-how did we get here if our Russian visas were no good in Anchorage?". But DH asked if I wanted to spend time in a Siberian gulag? NOT a pleasant thought so I stuck close to the hotel until it was time to board the train. SUPERB trip seeing things most people will never see. Ulan Baator Mongolia particularly. But sure missed those 7-8 sea days of pure, unadulterated relaxation on the ship.

I think I remember this thread from years ago. (I lurk on these boards much more than I post) Wasn't the initial contention that the cruise line said you needed a visa for China even though you weren't planning to go that far and you didn't think you needed one? Did you end up with a visa for China as well?

Trans Siberian Railway is on my bucket list. If you've written anything about it, please point me to the blog. I'd love to read your account.

Eurodam, Feb 2010. Last day of cruise at Half Moon Cay. They couldn't get one of the anchors up due to mechanical trouble. We left many hours late. To add to the complexity, the southern US was socked in with a weekend storm and thousands of flights had been canceled. Doing the math, I knew we wouldn't make our 1230 flight. I couldn't get through to Delta's call center to rebook. I got online and rebooked for later in the day on another airline that connected through Charlotte, figuring ATL wasn't going to deal well with the ice they had gotten, and Delta had days worth of canceled passengers to rebook. We usually self disembark, we pack pretty light, so we hadn't set out our bags for pickup. The next morning, we made our way to the gangway area when instructed. The area was packed with very angry people who weren't self-disembarking (many just had small tote bags instead of luggage). They were told they couldn't get off the ship if they weren't self-disembarking because their luggage wouldn't be ready for collection for a while and they weren't allowed to wait in the luggage hall until all the luggage was unloaded from the ship. (or something to that effect, it was 4 years ago;-) It was quite a scene. One lady standing behind us, I'd guess to be in her 70's, yelled, "this is a cluster @!#$, I'm going to miss my flight!". I was so shocked to hear that come out of her mouth that I laughed. I turned to her and said that most everyone was going to miss their flights. I'm pretty sure that didn't help.

We got to the airport, and just for fun, I went to the Delta counter and asked when they'd be able to get us out of FLL and back home. I was told late Monday night or Tuesday morning. (it was Sunday)

The whole scenario just reinforced my strategies of packing light, handling my own luggage, being flexible, and taking it all in stride. I think I earned some karma points for helping some "less than computer savvy" fellow passengers rebook online in the internet cafe.

The bbq place in the Charlotte airport wasn't bad. We got home late Sunday night and were back at work Monday morning with an interesting story to tell. I will never forget the cursing granny!