Spoiledliz

Would you happen to have the Cruise Compasses?

If I may jump in...we are flying in to Port Everglades on February 19th to cruise out the 20th. Betterbidding.com lists the 4* properties as Hilton, Hyatt Regency and the Renaissance. The price is around $156 for 4*. Can I go wrong with any of these? Looking for a hotel near shops to give us something to do!

We have stayed aft before and loved it. I will take a look at the above mentioned afts! Husband is not a fan of the coves. I showed him a YouTube video and he was creeped out by the proximity to the ocean.

Good morning everyone!

I'm a Royal Caribbean cruiser trying Carnival for the first time!

I need some help choosing a balcony. We will be sailing on the Carnival Magic on her February 19th sailing for 4 nights. Our first getaway without the baby!!! So I have been reading there is an expanded public deck; deck 5. I would prefer not to look down and see this deck but we do prefer a midship stateroom. What are our options?!

I was wondering - which port was the add-on for the holiday cruise?

 

I'm sorry, but I don't have copies of the compass. I used to keep every piece of information/stationary from our vacations, but then I had a big rubbermaid box filled with vacation memorabilia that I really had no use for!

 

Yes, there was a Ben & Jerry's in the Promenade.

It was worth a shot! Thank you anyway!

One of my favorite parts of the Liberty cruise we went on was enjoying an ice cream later at night with my husband and just people watching in the Promenade! So I am beyond excited that the Adventure too has a Ben & Jerry's!

And your stops were St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Dominica, St. Lucia and Barbados, correct?

My cruise is stopping in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix.

Thank you for taking the time to post a fantastic review!

I sail on the Adventure in 3 weeks and your review has me over the moon excited!

I have two questions for you, would you by ANY chance have a copy of the cruise compass? I'm going on the same route! (Well, somewhat..our cruise is 7 days, not 8) And is there a Ben & Jerry's? I loved enjoying an ice cream each night on the Liberty :D

how much fun can this cruise be if every day you worry about re-entry into this country? It just takes one ya-hoo and bingo...ruined (and expensive) cruise. Think risk-reward...

Am I an awful sister if I am only worried about him getting on the ship versus when we return? At least we will have had a great vacation if there were ever a problem! I mean, he'll eventually get home right? LOL

I hope that it all works out for you and your family. For what it's worth I think that you handled all of the ?'s , comments and opinions posted with a great deal of class. I hope that you come back and let us know how things worked out for you. Enjoy your cruise.:)

I appreciate your kind words, thank you!!

It sounds like your question has basically been resolved. One option not mentioned here is to appeal to your home state to have the no-passport order lifted since he is meeting his current contract with them to pay the monthly and the arrears. It might take too long, so I am glad he is able to travel on His BC and DL, but might be worth pursuing as well. If the no-passport order is lifted in time, an expedited passport might be in order to be on the safe side.

Thank you! We are actually going to pursue this. I highly doubt it will be done before this cruise but it would relieve a lot of stress going forward!

Thank you to all of you for your comments and posts. You all brought up very good points that gave me questions to ask. Thanks again and safe travels to all!

So I just contacted the US Passport Office and they stated that because he does not need a passport to board the cruise he will not have a problem boarding the ship with the proper birth certificate. She stated that the arrearage issue is solely related to obtaining the passport and does not restrict his traveling if a passport is not needed. She said it is the equivalent of traveling state to state.

I commend your brother on his sobriety and hope he continues on the right path. HOWEVER, maybe your could better spend your money paying the $2500 FIRST to the mom raising his child without benefit of support for many years (probably also had to deal with his "wrong path" shenanigans). Sure he has been sober 5 years but obviously he hasn't paid his debt so this is a pretty big reward. Maybe you could send his child and mom on a cruise too.

Not judging your family personally but these types of behavior in general cost us all money.

I understand what you are saying but I assure you, the mother and my God-daughter have never gone without anything. My brother wasn't always able to be there but we always were. And yes, I have taken my niece/God-daughter on several vacations so again, I assure the skeptics out there that the mother and the child are supportive of this trip.

You might have him check the quality of his birth certificate. Some companies require that the BC have an embossed (raised) seal from the county/hospital on it. I know that we just had to do this for something else.

 

Just check on that! I would hate for everyone to give you all of this advice and it all comes down to a BC without a seal.

Thank you for the recommendation!

We did just obtain a long form with the perfectly raised seal! Knowing he wouldn't get a passport, we made sure the birth certificate and license are perfect!

Just want to mention, that there are many reports of people in exactly this same situation being detained upon return to the US when going thru Customs and Immigration coming back into the Country.

 

As others have said, he probably needs at least a letter from the Case Manager approving the trip or even a letter from the Family Court Judge allowing the trip.

 

Just to be on the safe side and make the vacation enjoyable.

I actually found this, although it is a bit outdated. (Go to page 6)

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pubs/2008/csr/csr0804.pdf

According to this article, these two men were detained because they had warrants out for their arrest for nonpayment of child support. My brother has no warrants or anything like that and pays his child support.

I just called our travel agent and she is going to talk to some people for me but quite honestly, I am too worried to just take her word for it.

A very big difference--even though departing and returning to the same US port, the ship will be leaving the US! A person ineligible for a passport cannot cross the land border to Canada or Mexico; to me it is a pretty safe assumption that it would also be illegal to travel by sea to any Caribbean nation. I'm not making any legal conclusions here--I don't know what will happen when ICE sees his name on the ship's manifest, just that it behooves you to find out in advance.

Thank you. This is exactly what I am attempting to do, albeit a bit late.

Would you be able to recommend a source that I might contact?

Thank you for all of your advice.

My brother had taken the wrong path after the birth of his daughter for several years. He has been paying his weekly support in addition to his arrears for 4 years now. This cruise is a gift from my husband and myself to him to celebrate his 5 years of being sober. I understand the preemptive strikes against his character but I ask you to judge when all facts are known. He has made his mistakes and is working diligently to correct them.

I understand due to this cruise being a closed loop cruise he does not need a passport but my concern lies with the fact that if because he is not able to possess a passport, does that mean he cannot board a cruise ship? I can't seem to find any information on the DOR website or WHTI or Royal Caribbean.

I contacted DOR and they said even though he is not in default and even though he is paying his arrears, he is not able to get a passport but they did not mention that he is not able to travel. As I said previously, he was able to board a plane and fly to St. Thomas. Is there any difference than him flying to Puerto Rico and boarding the ship given that its a closed loop cruise?

Hello all!

My brother and sister-in-law are joining my husband and I on a Royal Caribbean cruise next month leaving Puerto Rico and visiting Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix. (We are leaving from Boston, MA)

The problem is this. My brother is not able to obtain a passport because of outstanding child support. He currently pays his support and continues to make payments to his previous outstanding obligation. But because it is over $2,500 he is not able to obtain a passport.

He has a driver's license and a government issued birth certificate but is there any reason he could be denied boarding? Or entering and exiting the ports? Will he have any problems?

He visited St. Thomas 2 years ago and had no problems but obviously this is a bit different and I just want to make sure there won't be a problem!

Reading some of the previous messages, I have come to the conclusion that there are some very sad and selfish cruisers out there!! We have sailed with a 2 year old and again with a 5 and 2 year old and they have joined us for all meals. They have been very well behaved (better manners than some adults around us) and their parents received numerous comments re their well behaved children.

 

As another poster said, to each his own.......but, I am happy that we have not encountered some of these posters on any of our cruises.....maybe they need to have their own 'exclusive' (i.e., snob) cruises!

I've tried refraining from this discussion but calling people snobs for not wanting children in venues where they are not entitled to be is ridiculous.

I am 28 and my husband is 30. I hope that one day I am able to have children but right now I love spending time with my nieces and nephews and have the ability to give them back! With that being said, when I pay a pretty large sum of money for my husband and I to take a cruise, the LAST thing I want is to hear is a child screaming/crying/being reprimanded/ etc. while I am enjoying the Solarium or an expensive meal. If I'm in an area/venue where I know children are welcome then I have NO RIGHT to feel that way, after all, they are kids, but if I am enjoying a quiet meal in a specialty restaurant then dammit, I want it without having to be called a snob, or selfish, or sad!

Wow, I didn't know they allowed donkeys on the ships. Can donkeys attend the Chef's table dinner?

You, my friend, are AWESOME!

I'm pretty excited that I am on the cruise immediately following the dry dock. There shouldn't be any waits....From customs or for our rooms!

Hello!

Could you tell me what rental car companies that are available at FLL airport that also provide a shuttle from MIAMI airport to the Port of Miami?

I plan on renting a car in FLL and returning it to Miami airport and then taking a shuttle from Miami airport to the Port of Miami.

I keep reading that this company no longer offers shuttles and this one does right now but only until the end of the year. I am cruising the end of January.

Can you please shed some light?

Anyone have a clue when Jetblue will be opening theirs???

It has been May 3rd since I booked my cruise in August!