bouhunter

Key West is not "just Florida":D It is unique and different.

Make sure you walk the old waterfront - have a drink at Schooner Wharf while there.

Lots of bars will have live entertainers, walk Duval and take your pick.

For a diversion the Hemingway House or Truman Whitehouse offer nice tours.

walk on the historic area docks and see the schooners docked there and see several places along the docks to eat or quench your thrist.

 

If you are into history, there are the Hemmingway House, the Truman Winter White House, the Key West Lighthouse--a fun climb.

 

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I second these recommendations. In addition to, of course, some bars on Duval Street:D

Scavenger hunt assignment - find the Chart Room Bar:) Assignment #2 - find Jimmy Buffets recording studio:)

do i want to go ny and be stuck with a big floppy slice that doesn't have the fortitude to stand on its own or do i want to go chicago and chew on something so full of crust i need chainsaw to cut it down to size. :p

 

i'll take neither and go thin crust. :d

Too funny. Chicago style almost reminds me more of a casserole in a crust.......

There are a few shops and vendors right at the pier, it's at least worth getting off for an hour or two to take a walk around.

What I did say was that on one island, if the crime is so bad as the OP stated, I will simply stay on the ship that day. .

So an unknown person on an internet forum can post whatever they want about what "maybe" happened once on an island, and you'll let that determine your vacation and plans for your visit......????:rolleyes: Guess you better stay out of Chicago, New York, LA, and every other US city, you know crime happens there all the time.......

We were on Adventure a year ago. Public areas were in great shape. Our room was showing definite wear (scuff's/scratches all over the furniture, drawers, etc), carpet well worn. We had a great cruise but the room definitely needed work.

We toured with Thenford Grey last week: Friendly, professional, timely, clean modern shuttle. All in all a perfect day and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Thenford or tour with him again!!!:)

Pretty funny that people actually believe in something like dice control. Lots of internet sites supporting it which isn't surprising. Here's one that lends some common sense to a theory that's pretty much impossible:rolleyes:

http://brokopp.casinocitytimes.com/article/dice-control-fact-or-fiction-502

But of course you won't change the opinion of the believers. I've seen LOTS of people win 1500.00 who weren't delusional enough to claim dice control as the reason :rolleyes:

The part where the ending "Lonely Man" theme from the Hulk show plays, someone tells the story about how their great-grandmother made their door decorations from the tears of children in concentration camps and spun them into hope, dreams, and magic. How these decorations had been appraised at ten thousand dollars each, how they had been put on every door for the last 45 cruises they had been on, how these decorations actually cured the common cold, how children with debilitating illnesses would come to touch them and walk again, how the captain himself came down and thanked them for decorating their door...

 

and then someone came in the night and stole them! This ruined their cruise and made them loose faith in the whole of humanity! This one event shaped them into a hardened lump of coal and they will forever more be cursed to tell this tale as a way to warn others about the evils of mass market cruising. They will talk of the "good ol' days" when men wore tuxes to the pool and women never even wore white underwear after Labor Day! How a man with a hat on would be scolded to tears with just a glance from the ship's crew, how children sat awake at night fearing the Decorations Demon would steal their soul if they even THOUGHT about touching a door decoration, how cruising was for the Rothschilds, the Gettys, the Rockefellers, and them.

 

Read some of the old threads.

Bengal's fan's are known to over-react:D:p

Chill out at Sloppy Joe's and drink margaritas .. see http://www.sloppyjoes.com/ .. enjoy!

Chill out anywhere but Sloppy Joes. There are many better places to hang out than the town's biggest "tourist bar".

The suggestion for the trolley is good if you haven't been there, good way to see the old neighborhoods and homes and hear some history. Check out the old waterfront, maybe tour the Truman/Southern Whitehouse or Hemingway House. And the Pelican Poop Shop has some nice stuff!

Thanks to everyone who posted their first hand reports on Guadeloupe. We're looking forward to getting off the ship there in a few weeks!:)

We're lowly platinum members and have have had robes placed in our room each year. For us it's a Caribbean warm weather cruise and we have no interest in a warm robe, have given it back to our room attendant each time....:rolleyes:

Fantastic review, thanks for sharing. We've done the same route on Adventure twice - awesome islands, your pic's brought back lots of great memories. We leave for San Juan in 6 weeks to board Brilliance, reading your review has made my day thinking about it!:)

Does anyone know the name of the cruise ship they were on during the filming of Boat Trip with Cuba Gooding Jr.? It says "Olympic Voyager" on the back of the ship but I can't find anything about a ship of that name. Just curious. BTW - terrible movie!!!!

 

Thanks, AJ

Have to admit I watched it, yes a terrible movie! I don't think Cuba Goodings career has recovered from it yet:rolleyes:

Tell your husband not to worry, the Lions will lose again. He should go and do anything else other than watch the Lions. Given the 6 hr time difference, it seem like it will be close to dinner time. ;)

As a Lions fan I watched them lose again today. Agreed, MUCH better things to do on a cruise than watch the Lion's lose again.:(

I'll be in San Juan in 4 weeks and am staying 2 nights in a hotel in Old San Juan post cruise. I'll be with a friend the first day and night and then alone.

 

I've been reading this thread for a while and just want to be sure I understand what I've read which is a) He might be a bit pushy but is not considered dangerous, b) there might be more than one and c) Just ignore him and definitely don't give him money.

 

Do I have it right?

Don't worry, Old San Juan is a safe place. Odds are you won't run into this guy anyway, we've been going there for years and have never seen him. If you do see him, it's up to you whether or not to give him money:D

going in a few months and this makes me pause for thought.i had planed on doing a self guided walking tour ending at a fort.should i rethink this or am i being overeactive.i know what my wife will say if she sees this but she wont;).as usual we are arriving kinda late 3pm till 11pm

Yes you're being overeactive. I've missed this thread before somehow, I'm going upstairs to tell my wife about the guy, she'll get a laugh out of it and probably hope she runs into him next March:D

We've visited Old San Juan before and during cruises 4 times and spent a week there on a land vacation. Have walked it extensively MANY times. Sometimes we split up and my wife and daughter go their own way (shopping while I visit a fort or something). Have never worried about them in Old San Juan.

Why? Seriously......I appreciate the option and take advantage of the service frequently, but I don't respond positively to "have to"s, "must"s, and not having the option without a sensible reason.

Maybe the "sensible reason" is that they are aiming for a quick and efficient way to process thousands of passengers and pieces of luggage:rolleyes:

Mr. Pibb is cherry coke, as is Dr. Pepper

Neither are "cherry coke":rolleyes:

As I recall, a small thing of dried fruit that was OK, and some inedible "cookies" we threw away. It looked nice but was pretty much a waste of packaging and money:rolleyes:

It is what it is, why spend time worrying or wondering about it.....:rolleyes:

I'm a big fan of the hump. I love the convenient location, and I try to get a cabin in the center of the hump where I have a view both forward and aft.

Our thoughts exactly!:)

We've had first-timer's with us twice (with linked reservations) and both times they went with us and checked in fine. Of course both times we were there pretty early with no lines to speak of so it didn't matter much anyway:D

They offer free coffee, tea and water. I think they have free iced tea but don't quote me on that. They have free cookies, small desserts, pizza and mini mini croissant sandwiches. The sandwiches vary and sometimes they are egg salad, tuna salad, ham and cheese, cheese and turkey, etc. You get the picture. There is also the Seattle Best counter where they sell mochas, cappuchinos, lates, etc. and the Ben and Jerry counter where you can buy ice cream delights. Also there is a soda counter where you can buy soda or if you have the soda card get a soda or refill there.

You'll probably get 20 more responses, but none better than this:)

In response to some above comments:

El Siboney is great, though off the beaten path.

I wouldn't bother eating at Conch Republic but it's fine for drinks.

Fogarty's is OK, nothing special but outdoors and good for people watching on Duval. Same for Carolines. Food is just as good or better at Jack Flats but you're indoors.

We hadn't been to Turtle Kraals for a few years but were there a few weeks ago and had a nice dinner.

If you want something special and above the average bar food, go to tripadvisor and you'll find lots of good suggestions.:)