imsulin

How nice of Princess to be sympathetic. Now that is the type of "guarantee" that would have me running to their recommended stores :)

 

Hank

Yeah. Me, too! :)

I bought a diamond ring at Tanzanite International in Cozumel. About seven days later, right before we got to Grand Cayman, I noticed one of the small outer diamonds was missing. I asked the shopping advisor about it and she and her husband offered to take the ring in for me, but I had plenty of time after diving and didn't want to give up the ring. The TI in Grand Cayman was very helpful. obtained the right-sized stone from the DI store and replaced the stone in about two hours. My understanding was that if I didn't do it then, I would have had to send it to the New York store.

 

I've since traded that ring in against a much nicer set at the St. Martin DI store and had my jeweler make a custom ring that is similar in design. Worked out well all the way around.

Tanzanite International?? What's next? Irridiated Topaz International?

Bought a ring on March 5th at Diamonds International St. Thomas. Paid $1,099 for it. I looked at the ring today and there is a diamond missing. What are my chances of getting my money back? What kind of customer service can I expect? I am so disappointed. Went to two diamond lectures on Ruby Princess and they really pushed this company. Is there any point in contacting the cruise line?:(

Actually, I would advise you to contact Princess Customer Service with your booking number and date of sail. I don't know if it would help, but let them know the number of lectures you attended (dates would be good, as well as the name of the lecturer...if you can remember. That's why it's a good idea to keep copies of the daily Patters). If you have the receipt of your purchase, give them that info. as well. Did you receive anything in writing from Princess while attending these lectures about a guarantee? There should be something from Princess regarding that. It may turn out that you may have to send the ring back to DI to have the missing diamond replaced, but you won't get your money back for the price of your purchase. And the replacement diamond will most likely be....schlop. Could be a cheap industrial diamond. Princess isn't the only line that markets DI....because they make a good referral revenue from them. Think kick-back!! And DI isn't the only jewelry company that cruise lines market. ALL the major cruise lines do this. Years ago (many years), I got burned, too. Today, the only thing I'd buy in St. Thomas might be a T-shirt. Better yet, I wouldn''t even get off the ship!!~ My absolute least favorite port....and I've been there MANY times! We live and learn. Good luck to you!!

I'm trying to figure out which cruise lines and which ships can accomodate 5 in a cabin (2 adults, 3 kids - ages 6yr, 5yr, 7mos).

 

Trying to go somewhere hot this spring (Caribbean or Bahamas)

 

I don't want to get 2 staterooms.

 

Can anyone suggest some cruise lines and ships to try.

I think you're more than a bit late to book any ship with these requirements for this year for THIS "Spring"! You might want to look for a cruise for next year. Spring cruises fill up pretty early due to "Spring Break". It reminds me of a sad story, which I can relate.

I have to admit this is one of the things that has always amazed me about "twins". Trust me my nose is short and it is difficult to down from it but really, REALLY? Do adults think its cute to dress alike?

I should have clarified. This was a married (boy-girl) couple, so they were not "twins" in the usual sense. They were probably late 30's - early 40's, and wore matching outfits EVERY day! That's why we referred to them as "twins". We saw at least three matching outfits every day of this 7-night cruise, and the outfits were never the same. Funny thing - we never saw them at any port!

1. Big Hair Cruise. Two ladies (of suspect character) were arrested while trying to re-board the SS Norway in St. Maarten. In line right in front of us.....you had to tender back to the ship. Apparently, they had drugs hidden in their Really Big Hair. We had all noticed the "RBH" for a couple of days beforehand, because it was so weird! I mean REALLY Big Hair!! Circa 1993

2. The Mullet Cruise. DD and I cruised on an NCL cruise and met a great family with a DD the same age as mine....21. Their DD kept a "scrapbook" of really bad mullets and took lots of pictures. Every night at dinner, we pored over her new passenger mullet pictures, and the waiters asked if we were OK because we were laughing so hard! Their DD had been updating her scrapbook for a couple of years, and had taken pictures in more than a few states. Circa 2002.

3. The Tangerine Lady. I'd won a free 7-night cruise on Carnival through a booking contest

(sadly interrupted by 9/11, but re-scheduled for mid-Dec. 2001 on the Inspiration Western from NOLA.) There was a "lady" who was tall and thin, and wore a tangerine-color leather mini-uni. Low-cut, sides cut out, and very short. Long bleached hair and probably my (older) age. Too much sun, too much make-up, lots of wrinkles, and toting around a young Buck who was much younger, much shorter, much wider, and obviously compliant. We figured out he wasn't her son due to the non-stop kissing and caressing. This was the ONLY outfit she wore throughout the entire cruise (even off-shore) and was the talk of the ship! Early Cougar???

4. The Twins Cruise. In 1991, we did our first cruise on the SS Norway. (LOVED that ship!!) There was a couple we observed loading multiple trunks (yes - trunks!) at boarding. It was a 7- night cruise, and this couple wore matching outfits the entire time! They changed their outfits at least three times a day and paraded themselves around the decks. We never saw them in the same outfits twice. Never saw them on-shore, either. Apparently, she was a "Beauty Queen" at some point in her life.

Book. Just finished "In the Woods" by Jana French. Couldn't put it down!! (NY Times Bestseller). Two more to go in the series. I'm a big fan of Amazon and have several bookcases that have housed my favorites for years!

I got married on the Caribbean Princess in 2005 on deck at sea and my sister-in-law did the same in 2007 in the chapel - and we both attended each others. Our's was where she got the idea of course. :rolleyes: But two vastly different experiences.

 

I think alot of it has (unfortunately) to do with the luck of the draw on your cruise staff. Our captain was warm and wonderful; her's was harried and clearly not interested. Our wedding coordinator on board was awesome and her's didn't seem to have a clue (but my SIL was kind of scattered, so maybe it was cause and effect.) We loved our photos, she hated her's (her photographer seemed inexperienced to me; I did alot of post processing for them removing lanterns sprouting from their heads and stuff like that.)

 

The other factor is your personality type and how you go into it. Some of this has already been said, but since it's a big deal, I'll voice it again. The pre-cruise planning is not Princess and it's rather cookie-cutter ... limited choices. If you're a real control freak, or resistant to change, upset by the unexpected, or need things to be exactly so, then I would say maybe it's not the best choice. On the flip side, if you can roll with the punches and are not the type to get all upset if your cake is the wrong color, then it can be alot of fun. We personally found it pretty hassle free and had a blast.

 

PS I agree; defintely buy the disc with your picture images. it will seem like alot of money, since there will be many many pictures on there you don't want to keep, but without the digital images you don't have rights to copy and you'll wish you had them later. With the disc, you can have anything you want made up at a later time.

What a great post!! (You weren't one of those scheduled to be married on St.Thomas while cruising the CB in Sept. 2005, were you?) It's always good to get info. from someone who has actually done a cruise wedding! I was a TA, and just booked them (and paid to go on two of them). This was in 2000, so well before internet booking. One was RCI. One was Carnival. Very different experiences for both bridal parties.

I agree imsulin... I think the onshore wedding people we dealt with were not Princess employees...probably had never been on a ship They could not answer alot of our questions... we had to deal with a supervisor and even that was not the best. That is why I highly recommend that the first thing when getting on board is to get with the ship's wedding coordinator and go over your paperwork/contract and make sure he has all the info he needs. He will make it right if there are any disconncets. The communications between the onshore people and the onboard coordinator left something to be desired.

 

The onboard wedding coordinator was a ships officer...uniform and all. Did a great job.

You're right! Wedding Departments (which are usually variations of "The Wedding Experience") are independently owned and operated, but do contract with cruise lines, so there IS someone onboard to help you....who DOES work for the cruise line. I agree with you about the lack of cruising experience among the "wedding" planners - who are again - independent agents. Tons of paperwork, and I also agree with you about the poor coordination and information between the Wedding planners and the cruise line. I'm SO glad that all worked well for you and your lovely daughter! Great pictures, and I would also recommend Princess if you want to be married aboard a cruise ship!

Something you really need to consider is that March, for years, has been "Spring Break" month, and many families with all ages of kids, and college kids who like to "Party-Hearty" will be onboard just about every ship doing Caribbean cruises. While the weather is generally very good this time of year, the prices are also higher, and the ships tend to fill up quickly. I stopped cruising over Spring Break after 2003 - too many problems! In mid-September of 2005, I cruised on the Caribbean Princess, which was supposed to do an Eastern itinerary. Because of Hurricane# 1928375 that year, we were re-routed to a Western itinerary, and didn't find out until we boarded. It turned out to be a great cruise, but there were two couples - with family and friends - who had planned to be married on St. Thomas. Since we couldn't/didn't go there, both couples were married onboard on a sea day, by the Captain. The cruise line's Wedding Department is completely separate from the cruise line itself, and has an additional charge. If you're considering an on-shore wedding, some ports, like Princess Cays and Grand Cayman are tender ports, and there's no guarantee you'll get there. Good weather and prices are (IMO) late November after Thanksgiving through mid-December. Check out the Wedding Board - you'll find lots of good information there! I like Princess - great cruise line! Happy planning, and best of luck to you!

BobT - great pictures!!

Now I'm really jealous.

 

When my in-laws had a place on Ballston Lake, we used to drive up to Lake George quite often, and usually made it a point to visit Fort Ti at least once a season. Pretty part of the country.

Aunt and Uncle have lived in Ticonderoga for many, many years, and when I was a kid (Army Brat), we visited as often as we could. I went to a dorky day camp called "Wee Woozles" with my cousins. I'm retired, so you can imagine the decades that have passed! Great memories of upstate NY and New England! Worked for a couple of years at a Girls' camp in Maine while in college. I'm a Southern "transplant", and am still trying to acclimate, but the fresh-water fishing is really good. (I'm the only neighbor with no boat or fishing gear of any kind). Check out Southern fresh-water fishing. Pontoon boats and large-mouth bass are the "thing" down here. I have a non-pontoon Honda and a large mouth eleven-year-old Cocker Spaniel.

Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass on the marlin. I'm essentially a fresh water fisherman, and my pride and joy is a five and a half pound smallmouth bass I caught on a fly rod. That excursion only cost me the price of a quarter tank of gas as the bass pond was only a few miles away from my home. There's an old saying about fishing that is near and dear to my heart....."The gods do not deduct from man's allotted time those hours spent in fishing." At this rate, I ought to live to be 120.

 

Happy sailing,... and tell your husband that when it comes to fishing, it's not the catching that's important, but the going.:D

Love your posts, Iddam! That marlin is now going for 50 cents, and I'll pay for the shipping, as DH is no more. I always hated that thing! I'm from Colorado, so grew up with trout (which Dad and brothers loved catching. I cried when those fish were bopped over the head). I now live in the Deep South, and my step-dad has three privately stocked ponds with bass, crappies, and catfish. We also have tons of rivers, so come on down! You'll not find me near any water except our private swimming pool, and I'm too cheap to pay for the over-priced condos at our beaches. We are also infiltrated by Bass Pro.

BTW - spent many pleasant summers on Lake George in Ticonderoga, NY with aunt and uncle...about a hundred years ago. We didn't fish, but went swimming and water-skiing.

They either kept them or we released. All except the "lunker" that was hit by a barracuda just as it was being brought to the surface. That one the barracuda kept.;)

 

Apparently, the above poster was dissatisfied with Bubba, and each is entitled to his/her opinion. I don't know what they expected, and I'm sorry they were disappointed. Before we booked Bubba, I did the same as you are now doing...I asked about the excursion on these boards, and knew what to expect. Drift fishing is drift fishing. You board the boat, go out to the reef, set your lines, drift across the reef and wait. As I said, it's very similar to any party boat experience available in any number of places near salt water. Maybe the above poster expected a "deep sea fishing" excursion complete with outriggers and trolling for "the big ones", and if so, I can understand the disappointment. All I can do is iterate that WE had a great time, and I'd still do it again.

Thanks for the explanation, Iddam! I know squat about fishing, although we ate a lot of Dad's trout. I was just wondering if this was a Catch and Release thing. Now, if you're really interested, I have a beautiful stuffed and mounted Blue Marlin that DH caught (with help) during a chartered deep-sea trip in 1981 when we rented a beautiful villa with private pool in Manzanillo, Mexico. That trip and fish cost thousands, but I'll sell it to you for $1 plus shipping. I'll even remove decades worth of dust. :)

My wife and I went fishing on Bubba's boat last year when we were on the Solstice. All in all, we had a great time. Bubba furnishes everything you need and the two-man crew was fantastic. Not only did they help with everything, but they kept us in stitches. Both of them obviously enjoyed what they were doing and also enjoyed interacting with visitors to the island. If you've ever done salt-water drift fishing on a party boat, the experience is very much like that. One big plus for us was that Bubba's boat has a good sized canopy over most of the boat which allowed us to fish and still be in the shade.

 

Best summary of our experience..."I'd do it again."

So - what did you do with the fish you caught?

My favorite beverage comes out of a tap but it isn't put on ice. :)

Ha Ha!! Now, I like my ROOT beer on tap - a float with ice cream. Oh, wait. No ice cream near your tap! Guess it's off-the-rocks for you! With no ROOT. Now - about those chilled glasses.........

I still think it's the water. How does heat and humidity explain why I swelled up and got puffy on two Alaska cruises. I discovered that if I quit drinking the tea and water poured in the dining room, and stick to bottled water-the problem is eliminated.

Maybe because you did a lot of walking in the port-intensive Alaskan cruises. Also, you probably ate over-salted ship food. The problem was eliminated because you drank a lot of water - bottled or not. I still say it's not the water. It's the food. Salt is a preservative.

I agree - it's more the food than the water. Especially seafood, which I love! I rarely salt any food I eat in restaurants (probably because it's already oversalted). I like unsalted peanuts and potato chips...just don't care for salt directly on the tongue. However, I LOVE my V-8, but rarely drink it in the summer, to avoid the heat/salt effect. My favorite beverage is tap water on ice.

Expect hot and humid weather at every port. I live in the Deep South, where hot and humid weather haunts me for eight months each year. Multiply my hot and humid by two for a normal day in the Caribbean. Hurricanes should not be a problem (the last two years have been pretty mild), but 2004 and 2005 broke some records. Trip insurance is a good thing!

Just be careful about those one-way international tickets. It could set you up for extra screening. Or worse.

Mr. would-be Christmas Bomber had a one-way ticket AMS - DTW.

is there an area on Orient beach that is not clothing optional?

thank you

The restrooms? Dawn Beach (Yawn Beach) on the Dutch side (St. Maarten) is very nice, but not nearly as big or active as Orient Beach. You'll see a lot of families, but you still have to pay for beach chairs, and the food is still expensive.

Thank you, that is the kind of info i was looking for. I still have a few years to plan, so i haven't really been doing to much. I have talked to family and friends, they are willing to pay their own way if we go with this idea. We are not looking for a hugh thing (keeping up with the Kleins), rather something small and meaningful and something my son will enjoy.

 

I did though finally talk to my aunt about the idea (she is Hasidic) We don't even have to have a rabbi at the service. We can have our own little service in a room his cousin (just graduated from a Yushivia) will oversee and have a private party afterwards.

 

Now the decision is what cruise line and where to. if we go on a weekend cruise alot more people will join us. If we go on an Alaska or European cruise it might just be immed family and very close friends. The kids like both ideas and keep going back and forth. Disney Dream or Europe????? I just don't know

Looking into a group cruise (with perhaps discounted rates and some good perks!) might be something you'd want to do. Every cruise line has a Group Department that you can call directly. Deposits and final payments work differently than booking an individual cruise. Not all cruise lines offer kosher food (which must be pre-ordered and is pre-packaged) if you need it. Sounds like you're doing some great pre-planning, anf good luck to you!

Your comment on the legalities of weddings on board ship were both irrelevant and not completely accurate.

 

And just how would you know what my life experiences have been?

Well, I pretty much know because of your very negative replies to my posts, even though I clarified the first one by stating: "This was posted by a Protestant". I was simply stating my observations and experiences. After retiring, I worked as a TA in a Brick & Mortar agency for several years, and booked numerous weddings through the cruise line, so what I stated was true. I can state with certainty that my experiences have been more varied than yours. Have a nice life.

No lockers at airports any more! Best post-cruise excursion is the Everglades tour. Nice A/C bus with bathroom and knowledgeable tour guide. Great airboat ride and lots to see. Luggage is safely locked in bus. You'll be taken directly back to either FLL or MIA airports by 1:30, though, which leaves you lots of time. Too early to check your luggage for an 8 pm flight. I say rent a car and go to a nice FLL public beach. Check other car-rental sites. I'm sure you can do better than $130.00! Unfortunately, you're cruising right smack in the muddle of (shudder) Spring Break, so prices will be high. Good luck!

I remember this thread from when it was first posted, neat thing.

 

One reason why graves are above ground, is because of high water tables, think of the old cemetaries in New Orleans or in St Augustine.

Second best post-cruise excursion was a tour of NOLA, including the above-ground cemeteries. Shove a new one in, and the old ones will drop down and just kind of "disintegrate". And be shovelled out. The high water table was the same reason we were given for the old graves we saw in Fiji.

I believe this is the El Rancho rest. This is just off I-70 Here's a link to menu.

 

Buckhorn Exchange has Liquor License #1 from early day in Colo.

 

Morrison is where "THE FORT" is in Morrison and also has wild game including buffalo. This is south of I-70 near hwy 285 located on hwy 8.

Thanks, donna5! Between you and Colo. Cruiser, you have answered my questions! Thanks for the memories!