HBE4
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Everything posted by HBE4
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Agreed. Be aware of your surroundings, use common sense & you'll do okay. Advice that pretty much applies to everywhere in the world.
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Funny, whenever I see military with machine guns whether it be on a resort island or Grand Central Station in NYC, I feel safe. Unless I hear machine gun fire, then I feel anxiety.
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Royal Caribbean Announces New Beach Club in Cozumel
HBE4 replied to Cruising89143's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Speaking only for myself, the baby powder soft sands & crystal clear waters are so much nicer than the NJ or Long Island beaches I can drive to, although I do miss body surfing the waves of the Atlantic Ocean but those days are mostly behind this aging body. What I don't get is why people spend money to be on a billion dollar cruse ship & then pay for a day pass to sit at a hotel pool? -
Royal Caribbean Announces New Beach Club in Cozumel
HBE4 replied to Cruising89143's topic in Royal Caribbean International
This! Exactly how I see it. Not as a Labadee replacement but an alternative to some of the ship-sponsored beach excursions. Pricing is key of course but with food & loungers included, it can competitive. With 3 different beach clubs in various stages of planning, Royal must be confident that'll be a popular option with passengers. -
Royal Caribbean Announces New Beach Club in Cozumel
HBE4 replied to Cruising89143's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Whatever happened to the Royal Beach Club that was supposed to be built in Antigua? It was announced back in 2019, put on hold during the shutdown and the latest google search has an article from Sept 2023 stating that construction was to begin in 2024. Words like "hope" and "expect" get tossed around in the 2 articles below, making it sound less than definitive. They also mention cost is greater than initially expected. I wonder if Cozumel is an alternative? https://antiguaobserver.com/royal-caribbean-to-spend-more-than-us100m-on-beach-club-at-fort-james/ https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-lines-antigua-beach-club-2024/ -
I agree, it makes no sense until my agent explained it to me. When an older car is in an accident, it's more likely to be consider a total loss since the cost of repair is often close to the value of the car. Usually if the cost of the repair exceeds 70-75% of the value of the car, the insurance company considers it totaled & write you a check for the full value of the car so it ends up costing the company more money than if they paid you for the exact same damage on a new car. It probably has to do with the demographics of the area. Maybe there is a history of more accidents or more senior drivers in that area that are more accident prone. Maybe more cars are damaged due to tropical storms than snow storms? Who knows what mystery formula insurance companies used to determine rates. One thing I leaned the hard way is to shop around for insurance every couple of years. I stayed with one company for over 20 years & after a few people were shocked at how much I was paying, I looked around and EVERY other company was significantly less. Right now, I'm paying about 1/3rd of what I was paying 4 years ago when I switched & I might start looking around again soon. The one downside is I bundle auto & homeowners together to save money so if I switch one, I probably should switch the other.
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Disappointing that the Labadee stop is cancelled but look on the bight side. Rather than getting an alternative port where you'd be spending money on food, beach chairs, excursions, etc, you are actually saving money by eating food already paid for, free pool-side loungers and - if drink package purchased - free drinks. Financially speaking, you are getting a better value for money already spent. Be happy Royal isn't adding a surcharge for the extra fuel they are burning. 😀
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I did see your post the other day asking if I went to Sundays game & forgot to reply. Friends of mine went & offered me a spare ticket but I had a previous commitment . Agreed, it was a much better score & game on Sunday. Tuesdays game was the 3rd in 4 nights and 6th in 9 nights and the team was just tired. Brutal schedule coming up too so the better get their rest.
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I was told Ocho Rios couldn't handle the larger ships. And after investing big $$$ into Falmouth, naturally most if not all ships will be directed there.
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The only constant is change.
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The restaurant I was thinking of is called Wiseguys in Bluffton. https://www.wiseguyshhi.com/ I had the meatloaf. It's big enough for 2. Or a snack for Owen @A&L_Ont🙂 We also went to an outdoor restaurant on the water on the island called Skull Creek Dockside https://docksidehhi.com/ For lunch, we sent to Salty Dog Cafe on the island and Calhoun Street Tavern which is on Old Bluffton, within walking distance of a bunch of small art galleries, which was a nice way of killing a few hours.
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I don't know if Royal stops there on the regular but they are allowed to. NCL as well . Carnival gets to keep 75% of port taxes collected. There is a list in this link. https://www.visittci.com/getting-here/cruises Didn't Royal build the pier at Falmouth, Jamaica? Or was part of a joint venture. But they'll let other lines use it. I guess there is a reciprocal agreement among competing cruise lines when it comes to non-private islands?
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Yes, you are correct. It's call Harbor Town @Sea Dog I was in Hilton Head only once, in Jan 2023. Actually, I stayed in Bluffton which is on the mainland across from Hilton Head Island. My BIL was staying there for the winter & I visited for 5 days. However, most our time was spent at his rental house playing games & eating fabulous dinners as he's a fantastic cook. During the days, we walked on the beach or at several nearby parks. Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Not sure how your mobility issues will be but the walks were interesting, thru the swampy, Low Country. Didn't see any alligators as it was too cool for them to be active but did see a bald eagle or two. including their nest which are the size of a small condo. Most of the walking was flat ground like the pic below or boardwalk-type sidewalk over the swampy parts. As noted above, we did go to Harbour Town for a happy hour drink and watched the dolphin excursion boats return followed by a pod of dolphins looking for food. For the next hour, the dolphins frolicked in the marina and put of such a show, we didn't feel the need to actually pay to go on the actual excursion boat! Thank you Flipper and friends! Other than that, we did hit a few local breweries and I did treat my BIL and his wife to a nice dinner. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant. I would have loved to visit on of the plantations or spend a day or two in Savannah but time did not allow. Next time.