bmckim

What was the result bmckim? How was your sailing?

I had the flier and the Guest Services Officer had to check with the Bar Manager to honor it. They honored the packages, so my wife got the cup and sticker. But we did not get the wine as they didn't have any of it. Frankly it was fine by us as I had the package so I preferred to get wine off of it.

So at the end they honored it. Just make sure you have the flier to show them.

Captain just updated us. Looks like we are going to be able to tender to Cococay!

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That was my periscope. The captain just made an announcement that due to the Medical Emergency we are going to be attempting to anchor at Cococay around 930-10, which is about 3 hours late.

He said there are still swells that may mean we will have to miss the call all together. Frankly I'm surprised they are even trying. Last tender from Cococay is scheduled at 315. But I'm at happy they are at least trying to salvage the stop.

Any luck?

I'll know on Sunday...

Anyone have any luck with the Ship honoring the promotion from the Summer with the Free Replenish or Refreshment package when an Ultimate package was booked? I know they kept changing the terms until finally that you had to sail by the end of August, but I was looking to see if anyone had any luck with them honoring the promotion.

Are you saying there was good deals to be had on this 4 day cruise? On one hand I would expect to see good deals to fill up the ship when the schedule is thrown off by a charter as it was. In the past, they haven't been there, so I didn't even look.

The deal we got was a steal. We booked a month out, and it was very clear where the prices where at that they were having a hard time filling up the ship.

To give you an idea of price, we were looking at a last minute cruise for this timeframe, and it came down to a Carnival Fantasy Class Ship (Oldest Class) on a 4 night cruise, or this one for a 3 night cruise, and they were about the same price.

Anyone know of any Excursions that go to Drake's Seat?

My favorite place is the Big Kahuna Rum Shack. Great food, decent prices, and a very good atmosphere. I wrote about it on my wife's blog if you want to check it out for further pictures and details.

There is also a great Beer Garden downtown that is in a nice courtyard, quiet, and pretty cheap. It's called Beuchel's Beer Garden.

If you declare it then I don't get why you would bother shipping it. Why wouldn't you just put it on the plane with you? To me it would be a diet to just take a taxi and go straight to the airport, get a luggage cart and just check it in with my other luggage. The way you describe means an extra stop at FED EX and paperwork to fill out and shipping costs. This seems like more hassle and it would not be any cheaper either.

Because of weight limitations on luggage. Depending on how much we get we would intersperse it in our luggage. But paying for an extra bag would be more expensive than shipping it. Not to mention I trust Fedex more than I trust the baggage handlers of United Airlines.

Sorry just dawned on me. You said that you will take it off of the ship. That means you will buy it and bring it on the ship in a box or suitcase. After the cruise you will then need to go through customs at the port. This IS technically when you are importing into the country is it not??? The reason I say that is because if you drove from your disembarkation port say Florida to New York state you would not have another customs/immigration/border crossing call it what you want to go through. Bottom line here is, when you get off of the ship in the US WITH your wine purchased in St. Maarten aren't you at that point IMPORTING/BRINGING your wine into the US and therefore it would need to be declared?

Yes, I always declare everything. Despite declaring 2+ cases (Between my wife and me) of liquor on a few cruises, CBP does not really care enough for the few dollars of duty they would charge.

I even declare t-shirts etc., everything. I am a Nexus holder, and my Nexus card can be revoked if I don't, so I don't chance it. The few dollars of duty I potentially may have to pay isn't worth it.

I have no clue how it works with Canadians transporting through the US if you have to pay duty, etc. I believe you won't until you get to Canada where I believe I am told they are more strict about such things, but I am not sure.

This is very interesting to me. We are only allowed to bring a limited amount of alcohol to Canada even if you ship it. Are you certain that you are allowed to ship a carton of 12 bottles of wine to your house in the US without paying duty or customs and simply just pay for the shipping itself? I think our limit is very low like 2 - 26 ounce bottles.

I never said I wouldn't be subject to duty. But Duty on wine is very inexpensive even if I had to pay it, but in my experience, more often than not CBP does not make you pay duty, but YMMV, especially as a non-american. My intention is to bring it back, and once we get off the ship, between the port and the airport go to the fedex office and ship it back, that way yoiu don't have to deal with importation via shipping.

p.s. the post does have me thinking about that $40 for shipping, though. That sure sounds cheap.

My business does a lot of shipping through Fedex, and we have a very good negotiated account that gives us very good discounts off of the normal shipping costs. I forget what the normal price via FedexGround was, but I would imagine $60+ a case.

Wow thanks so much. Booze it up's lists look really interesting, particularly the exculsives. That was really what I was looking for. It wasn't so much about price, more so getting wines that I can't usually find in the states.

Thanks so much for your help. I only now need to convince my wife that it is a good idea to buy a 3l bottle of wine!

Wow! A case or two? Can I ask how you're getting it back to Albany? :)

 

Wow. That is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. As for getting it back to New York, Depending on how much we get, it will either go in the suitcases (well packed of course) or we will be stopping at a FedexOffice on the way to the airport to ship it back. I checked the price, and it is only about $35-$40 to ship it back through my fedex acct. If the wine is cheap enough, then the shipping averages to about $3 a bottle. Well worth it for cheap good wine you can't get in the states.

I probably am looking for more premium wine, to make it worth my while. Thinking in the realm of Chateauneuf-du-pape. Thinking of buying up to a case or two, but will probably get a variety, including some vin de pays, as sometimes they can be the best wines/value.

I will probably have a private tour driver, driving us around for the day, so holding onto it and transportation back to the ship shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for your help!

I have heard that wine in St. Martin (particularly French Wine) is at a good price in St. Martin because they have to sell it at the same price they do in France.

Where is a good place to buy french wine in St. Martin/Marigot?

We did the Glory for our Honeymoon Cruise in 2013, (Nassau instead of HMC) and loved it. My wife did a review that is in my signature if you want to see what we did.

We didn't do many excursions, as I am the type that likes to plan my own stuff. Congrats to your daughter!

They ran out of Boddington's on tap a few days in to the cruise. Pretty sure I saw it in cans, though. Boddingtons is fair, but definitely not a session beer. It'll definitely slow you down. Try a Young's Double Chocolate Stout to "slow down" with real flavor. :D

 

A more impressive choice for this pub would be something like Belhaven or Smithwick. The former might be a little exotic for the ship (though not for a good America pub), but the latter can be found in just about any decent Irish or British pub. I've never seen anything that I've been excited about on an RCI ship. The closest was one ship that had both Murphy's Red and Stout on tap. Can't even seem to find a Dos Equis Dark or Negra Modelo. I have the feeling that they expect their Caribbean passengers would prefer lighter beers. More likely, that beer connoisseurs are not a big demographic.

I love Young's products. The Chocolate Stout is my least favorite though, I wish they still distributed the other selections in the states. Smithwick's would be easy for them to get, as it is a diageo import, Belhaven would be a bit harder. But probably the middle ground would be Kilkenny which is now owned by Guinness/Diageo. The issue would be that you would need the nitro tap.

We are thinking about booking for 2017 on some of the itineraries coming out this week. Between now and then we are going to go on a cruise. Is there anyway we can get a next cruise certificate or go to the loyalty desk on board to get on board credit for this cruise?

They had Boddington, Beck (not dark), and Stella on tap. The beer selection is shameful for a "pub." We had to make do with bottled Bass, Sierra Nevada, and canned Guinness. The menu referenced above was not available on this ship.

I love Boddingtons. It's what I drink to slow down. I don't disagree with some of the beer selections, on RCI and frankly all cruise lines. Do you know if the Boddington's on tap is included in the Drink Packages? I see it isn't in the can, and wonder if that is why.

There are companies that offer small logoed items like sunblock, lip balm, etc. that are cruise related. My wife's cousin runs one. Do a search on Promotional Products. Arizona Sun should come up.

That is what I am thinking. There are so many promotional items, I am trying to get a sense on what cruisers would like/use. We are limited obviously by budget, but still trying to think of something different.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum. If it is, mods please move.

My company is looking to do a promotional giveaway (think small swag at a vendor table) and wantedd to do something cruise related/something useful on a cruise. Any suggestions? I had thought of a palm tree keychain, sunscreen packet, things like that. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Anyone have any pics from the Freedom of the Seas Room #8712? I saw a few pages when I searched, but they are all dead links. I didn't see anything on the external sites to see the rooms.

Thanks!

Looking for the best place to buy French Wine. I would assume the best selection in price would be on the French side. Thanks!

I've been having a similar problem. Can you not register until you've made final payment?

Maybe you can consider storing your luggage and take advantage of an activity in Manhattan until it's time to catch your late train.

You can right at Penn Station. Its fairly inexpensive too.