COMMENT 333996
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2012-10-21 04:45 PM |
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I know Edhat has a policy about responding to other deleted comments, but I ask for a pass to say something. 333089 states that signs posted in the harbor said stay away 1000 yards. But I have a photo of the side of the ship with a sign that says, "Stay away 50 meters." 089, you are sadly mistaken.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-19 09:00 PM |
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Not sure who this Debbie Downer is about cruising, but you can purchase a bottle of vodka for your room from $28 for Smrinoff on up to Chopin or Belvedere for $72 bucks - if alcohol names matter when you are getting pure ethanol. Your call.
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COMMENT 332862P
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2012-10-18 12:18 PM |
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812 is mistaken regarding the scanning of luggage. Luggage being loaded on to cruise ships were NOT scanned before 9/11. The scanners did not come into use until after 9/11 and were implemented by TSA. After 9/11 our government along with the cruise lines thought the threat was great enough to check all persons, carry-on luggage, as well as regular luggage. As a very frequent cruiser as well as a member of the industry I am very glad to see these security measures.
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COMMENT 332812
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2012-10-18 10:53 AM |
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It's always been like that. It has nothing to do with security as much as it does with them wanting you to buy alcohol from them. And I don't think it's critical, it's just that bottles of something as basic of Vodka can go as much as 80 bucks or 6/7 Dollars a drink so they are wanting to save money where they can.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-18 10:38 AM |
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Your luggage goes through scanners before it is taken on board. Ad well as anything you hand carry. If it looks suspicious, they can ask for it to be checked. One does wonder why daily liquor has become so critical to someone that they feel the need to smuggle it in, I suppose. Or is it just the antiestablishment thrill of sticking it to the authorities that drives this need to break rules that are there for a purpose. One very drunk passenger can do a lot of damage in a short time in this sort of confined setting. Take a look at the story about the very drunk passenger who managed to break past barriers and attempt to drop an anchor while the ship was cruising the high seas - could have led to a terrible disaster. Obviously the standard rules of shipboard life were not for him.
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COMMENT 332794P
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2012-10-18 10:15 AM |
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I've never been on a cruise. How do they know if you bring liquor aboard? Do they search your luggage? If so, has it always been like that, or is it just since the unpleasantness of 9/11?
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COMMENT 332767
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2012-10-18 09:11 AM |
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If you want EVERYTHING but shore excursions included... NO TIPPING, alcoholic beverages included, there are some cruise lines that fit the bill. My wife and I went on a 7 day cruise on the Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia. 5 different islands. The ship had around 320 passengers and 220 crew. Since the ship is not one of the monsters it anchors INSIDE the barrier reef close to shore. Whole package included Air Tahiti Nui to and from LAX. Great restaurants and food and since the ship sailed between islands at night there, for us anyway, was little reason to pay for an upgrade from the 2 portholes of the lowest fare cabins that had much more room than the lowest fare cabins on the big ships we'd been on.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-18 09:02 AM |
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Holland America' website policies says you can bring aboard unlimited wine and champagne for in cabin consumption, but not beer or hard stuff. However, now many/most ships have a no-smoking policy in the cabin and often throughout the whole ship except a few designated areas - casinos still tend to be smoky places. Otherwise it might be confined to a few outdoor spots. And that means no "non-commercial" or "medicinal" smoking in your cabin either. Know this before you go because the captain will bounce off any offending passengers at the next port, if not sooner. Amtrak can take you right to the San Diego cruise port if you don't want to drive and park for the week. The cruise port is located right across the Amtrak parking lot. Airbus is great for the Los Angeles/San Pedro departures and I believe they might also do the Long Beach ones as well -- need to check..
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COMMENT 332754
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2012-10-18 08:58 AM |
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501: well said, totally agree! The beauty of edhat is that discussions abound and can meander off original topics... That's what conversation and communication is all about! Dan: you cannot OWN anything but your photos , and you chose to show those off to all of us. Nice work!
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RDH
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2012-10-18 08:16 AM |
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Absolutely wonderful shots, Dan
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COMMENT 332654
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2012-10-17 07:55 PM |
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506 Holland America will let you bring as much wine or beer as you want and you can buy more and bring it on at any port. The only rule is you are supposed to drink it in your cabin. Fill your wine glass in your cabin and buy the same beer that they sell like Alaskan Amber or Heineken and take to the lido, no problemo.
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COMMENT 332862P
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2012-10-17 07:40 PM |
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501, as a travel professional that specializes in cruise vacations, I can assure you there are cruise lines that include gratuities and some include the shore excursions. You might want to check our Regent Seven Seas as an example. Regent also includes most of the shore excursions along with the drinks, etc. Lots of other misinformation in this thread but hey everyone is allowed to post their own "facts". Thanks Dan for posting the photos of the beautiful Sapphire Princess. I have lots of clients from around the world that book cruises to see beautiful Santa Barbara. Our local economy is strengthened by all of these visitors as is my personal economy. :)
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SHOREBIRD
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2012-10-17 06:55 PM |
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Santa Barbara Air bus will take you to San Pedro port. No worries about leaving you car for a week.
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COMMENT 332599
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2012-10-17 05:47 PM |
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590, it is my thread, it's not my site. Yes I took the photos and I emailed them. I agree with you there.
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COMMENT 332812
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2012-10-17 05:33 PM |
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546. Don't worry. I'll use the money that I saved for the vacation, on the vacation. In addition to spending money while on VACATION, I'll drink my wine that 'NOT ONE' cruise line will let me bring in my cabin.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-17 05:26 PM |
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The port stops in Mexico are safe or else cruise lines would not go there - that is unnecessary fear mongering. Sadly they are still staying away from Mazatlan - one of the better Mexican Riviera stops of them all - great restaurants and a very pretty restored old town. Plus cruising is also about cruising and relaxing onboard, being lazy, reading some good books, whale and dolphin watching, feeling the wind in your hair, meeting new people, enjoying lectures and classes, watching spectacular 360 degree sunsets, and seeing sights right from the ship like the spectacular cruise through Magdalena Bay. You can bring your own wine onboard Holland America ships and no, the ship does not charge you for this because you arranged this yourself. They charge extra only if you order it through them. No charge if you bring it on board for your own in cabin use.
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COMMENT 332590
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2012-10-17 05:07 PM |
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Dan - This is not YOUR thread. You didn't create it. You are not the moderator. And you have no say about who posts in it. You simply took a few pictures and emailed them. High horse dismount please.
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COMMENT 332589P
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2012-10-17 05:04 PM |
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Wow, even more professional looking photos. Very nice. Looks like I need to upgrade my skills in order to keep up with all the pros on Edhat these days.
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COMMENT 332573
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2012-10-17 04:16 PM |
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Anyone want to talk about how beautiful it was last evening? If not, create your own thread. Dan
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COMMENT 332550
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2012-10-17 03:52 PM |
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332541 - No thanks visiting Mexico. The whole reason we see these cruise ships so often here is because it is way too dangerous to visit Mexico. BTW your Holland America example doesn't really apply. First, Holland America is more than double the price of Carnival, and second, Holland America gets a nice little profit when you order wine like that.
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COMMENT 332590
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2012-10-17 03:47 PM |
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332506 - WooooHoooo!!! You are allowed to bring ONE BOTTLE of wine aboard. One WHOLE bottle for the WHOLE trip. Don't go crazy with that!!!
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-17 03:38 PM |
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Holland America lets you even order cases of wine at your embarkation port and have them delivered to your cabin. Mexican Riviera on Holland America starts around $600 per person inside cabin from San Diego, and yes there are taxes etc so it is not your final price, but it is the final price you pay upfront. Anything else you add later is your own business. Most of the ports are very DIY on the Mexican Riviera, except for the 60 cent local bus ride it takes in Puerto Vallarta to get to the downtown area. Save your aluminum cans and you can swing for that port excursion. The rest you just walk to and enjoy the sights for free.
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COMMENT 332537
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2012-10-17 03:32 PM |
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We just wanted to get a good paddle in. Out a mile or so off of SB, and what a sight to see. Barron, my camera is low $. Fuji XP. 493, a sign on the side said, "Stay 50m Away." We were beyond that. And 416, that's funny. I was hoping to be invited to the Lido Deck.
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COMMENT 332536P
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2012-10-17 03:27 PM |
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Not condoning this, but friends recently went on one of those Mexican cruises and managed to sneak their hard liquor aboard by putting it in wine bottles. Pretty sneaky.
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COMMENT 332812
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2012-10-17 02:37 PM |
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501, Most cruiselines wont let you bring hard alcohol onboard. I'm booked on a carnival NYE cruise and wine is perfectly fine to bring on. Some will let you bring beer. And yes, some travel agencies will pay your gratutites as an incentive. Cruise Compete . com does that alot because it's nothing more than travel agencies competeing for your business. Cruising is inexpensive compared to alot of other forms of vacations. Don't want to pay for a shore excursion? Don't go on one. Want to go on one and not pay the cruiseline 2-3x the cost? Do the research ahead of time and book an indepedent tour.
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COMMENT 332590
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2012-10-17 02:30 PM |
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332496 - Sorry, there is NOT ONE of the lesser-expensive cruise lines that will let you bring alcohol on a ship. NOT ONE. Tipping is NEVER included up front. Exactly how many cruises have you been on?? You can choose to PAY EXTRA to have your tips included with you bill, but tips are never included in the originally advertised package price. Of course you can do shore excursions on your own. Doesn't mean they are free. Unless by "shore excursion" you mean "walking along the beach". And clearly, if you are a teetotaller you will spend less than someone who drinks. But frankly, I'd much rather spend my time in the company with fun people who drink than some pole-in-butt teetotallers.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-17 02:23 PM |
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One can easily do shore excursions on their own, particularly on the Mexican Riviera and some ships let you bring your own booze on board, if you can't go 7 days without it and don't want to pay extra for it at standard drink prices. One can easily control onboard expenses. It is all about planning and enjoying everything that already is included, so the choice to run up extra costs is entirely yours. It is easy to walk off the ship with no extra expenses and many cruisers do just that. Even tipping is included up front.
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COMMENT 332493
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2012-10-17 02:19 PM |
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Yeah, the rest of us stayed away at the distance we were supposed to. He is lucky DHS didnt shoot him.
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COMMENT 332550
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2012-10-17 02:11 PM |
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332456 - All in one package, yes, if you decide to stay on the ship the entire time and drink nothing but water or kool-aid. I have been on many cruises, and on every single one the up-front package price was (in some cases much) less than half the total price when all was said and done.
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COMMENT 332465P
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2012-10-17 01:53 PM |
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Now THOSE are cruise ship photos! None of that sissy long distance stuff! What a perspective.
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COMMENT 333514
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2012-10-17 01:44 PM |
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Cruise life is good and far cheaper than most people think. Room, board, transportation and entertainment all in one package. Take a look at the prices for inside rooms first and then work up from there as your budget allows. Try one of the 7 day Mexican Riviera cruises first to see how you like it -- maybe as little as $100 a day for all of the above. Princess, Carnival, Holland America, Disney and sometimes Crystal all leave from LA or San Diego so you can drive to the port and save airfare.
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THE BARRON
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2012-10-17 01:42 PM |
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Nice shots. Dan. What kind of camera are you taking out there on the water with you? An iPhone 5?! Bet not. That must have been a pretty interesting feeling being so close to that monster down there on the surface.
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COMMENT 332416
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2012-10-17 01:07 PM |
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Did you ask them if they had any Grey Poupon?
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*** 3 comments were deleted from this thread by the Edhat Board Nanny for violating Edhat Comments Board policy. Click Here to see them.
