jamessemaj

My husband and I have been mistaken for locals several times in Europe. We try to not look like obvious tourists (have camera when visiting major places but just as often it's locked in a safe while we sit in a sidewalk cafe enjoying people watching. How do I know people think we are local? They've either started speaking in the language of whatever country we were in when in outside the tourist area restaurants and shops (not tourist shops, but places like grocery stores) or others who were obvious tourists have come up to us on the street asking for directions to this place or that.

I have had the same experience many times. Approached for directions or information by "locals" who are nationals but not local. Just tourists like me. I think it is silly to "not look like a tourist", and I think a fanny pack would be fine. Security is more a matter of knowing where you are, who is around you (mostly other tourists, lol), and just being aware. I do think the fanny packs are kind of cumbersome; I prefer carrying a pouch with shoulder strap, cross body. Same for camera.

Just goggle "Cuba tours from US" to find companies who offer tours from the US. They have a special license issued by the State Dept. to conduct "cultural tours". The prohibition of spending money is waived for these tours. The group program must be adhered to, so it's not the same as individual travel and it is much more expensive than you would be able to do on your own if there were no restrictions. Also, there are special exemptions for American who have relatives in Cuba. That segment is not as restricted as the rest of Americans. Otherwise, there is no legal alternative for Americans, not on a cruise, and not traveling from Canada or another country. Some Americans do risk it, and Cuba will issue a separate visa slip rather than a passport stamp, but it is still illegal for Americans. I have not heard of any prosecution for this. My next thoughts would enter the political realm, so I will defer.

I also followed the thread and just came back to see if there was an update. No. Kind of surprising given the elaborate puzzle and all in the year before. A year!!! My imagination runs wild as to an explanation))).

Wifflebat, OT, but your photos are nice and certainly there would be no question of the appropriateness of your formal wear in either case (I see you wore civilian formal wear on the veterans cruise))). Sgt. Davis also caught my attention because I was stationed in another artillery unit near his at Ft. Hood at the time he was awarded the Medal of Honor. I didn't know him personally, but knew others who served with him in Viet Nam. There is no end to the surprises on the CC boards. Have great 50th anniversary and veterans cruises. I know you will. Thanks for an interesting discussion.

I am sure there are people who don't like St. Pete, but the majority are fascinated. I think full appreciation does require some knowledge and interest in history. But the biggest drawback to me is that I don't like group tours and prefer to go on my own. Very difficult to do in St. Petersburg, obviously. Having visited with a visa on my own for 8 days, and having seen all of the major sites, I have been very reluctant to go again with no visa, but the visa hassle is not worth the short visit on a cruise.

At the risk of drawing flames, I have to say that my dress blues and other uniforms are stored in a footlocker, and although I view them occasionally in nostalgia, I have never and would never have worn them at a civilian function. I also cringe at the sight of military men traveling in fatigues, as it was not allowed during my service (Viet Nam era).

Seeing the reports of special attention and free drinks just causes me to wonder at the motivation. To each his/her own, but know that there will be many, if not most of the American men of a certain age on board who are also fully entitled to wear the uniform, but don't, and it's not for lack of patriotism.

At the risk of seeming too negative, this is the last time I click on this thread. I don't see the point of it...

We can only dream about it now. Whenever we cruise into San Juan I imagine it's really Old Havana..LOL

 

bosco

Good point. Puerto Rico is as close as you can get now, and it's very close culturally and historically. Aside from the communist influence, and there is some of that, Puerto Rico is more Cuban than American.

boscobeans, that is amazing what you have tried. A question that occurred to me was instead of the whole cruise group being together to meet the requirements, would several smaller groups traveling on the same ship be more feasible? Each smaller group would follow whatever the requirements are, but do so separately.

I really like that!

 

Here's my problem. More than once, we've arrived last, through no fault of our own, usually because the bus was gathering people up from several different starting points. As the last on, we got the least desirable seats - everybody else had the chance to stake out the better spots. So are you telling me it's good etiquette that those who had the advantage in the first place get to hog their good seats throughout the entire trip? We all paid the same amount for the trip, after all.

 

And no, I've never had the experience of anyone saying to me, "Gee, you've been stuck in the back of the bus by the toilet for the last two hours. Would you like to exchange seats with me so you get a good view and some fresh air for awhile?" Nah, never happens.

 

As for a tour guide who orders people to stay in their original seats, if I was stuck in a bad seat, I'd be pulling that guide aside and having a conversation, believe me.

Oh, no. Those people who followed the schedule and got on the bus before you, and waited for you to board, should ask you (politely, hat in hand), if you would prefer their seat. Are you joking?

Funny, no one seems to ever want to share my MD 20/20 in the MDR. Guess I cruise with snobs. :rolleyes:

LOL. Do you carry it in a brown paper sack and drink directly from the bottle?

Thanks for the post.

Cos I'm with you & the waitress - never heard of the stuff.;)

 

JB :)

I too had to look it up; never heard of it. Now that I know, I can think of no way it would offend. Maybe you had to be there? Now if she insisted I use it in my water, that would be another thing.

You will see very few to no children on any transatlantic, repositions in the spring and fall, that is. Just go with a ship and itinerary you like.

I guess the forgive me part fell on the deaf ears of mommy dearest. Give me your e-mail address and I'll send future posts for approval beforehand.

I violated my own claim that I would know better than to challenge the illusions about what is best for every parent. I don't really care about this issue, and shouldn't have chimed in. Forgive me.

Wow I really don't understand the point to this post. So a land vacation with your kids is better than a cruise vacation? You don't think mommy and daddy find some time to connect while allowing the kids to also enjoy? So you think it is better to drop the kids of with whomever and trot around the world on a cruise ship? This will be my third cruise and second with kids and I have enjoyed the prior so I doubt this one will be any different. I enjoy showing my kids parts of the world even I have not seen. My kids are well behaved and never caused a problem for anyone else. We all have fun our own way apparently most responding to OP is with their family and OP is on their own.

Nobody said anything about not enjoying time with the kids, or dropping them off, or whatever. The issue is whether the best time for the kids, especially infants and pre-school kids, and fellow passengers is on a cruise.

I agree with the OP. I know enough to not even begin to tread on the illusions of parenthood. It's not about the kids. It's about the parents. What the kids enjoy, or what others enjoy, or what anybody thinks is appropriate or well spent money, the parents live in a dream world and will be offended at any question of what they do as absolute perfect parents and fellow travelers. I think a cruise experience before the age of about 10 or so is a waste of money.

I didn't mean to cause a stir. In my cups, I used some intemperate language, "cheap", and "dark corner". Sorry for that. My point is that there is a wide spectrum out there. Those who want to pay extra for an exclusive gay crowd I support fully.

I should have just said that I agree with the OP and left it at that. Forgive me.

This is one of the most interesting threads I have read here.

My take is this. No, I would never go on a gay cruise, even if the price weren't way above what a mainstream cruise is. To me, that is accepting, and sitting on the back of the bus. I want to be a part of mainstream society, not a dark corner. As I somebody mentioned earlier, gay cruises are cheap; I avoid the whorehouse analogy.

I would be much more out of place and my comfort zone on a gay cruise than a mainstream one. I also don't go to gay bars or cruise gay zones. Those who like it, I would support your freedom to do so, but to me it is cheap. More than that, as I said earlier, I want to be an accepted person in the mainstream society. Gay cruises are not conducive to that end.

I have taken 3 cruises as a solo on RCI, Celebrity, and Princess, and have found little difference as far as feeling comfortable. I enjoyed them all. Taking another on Princess in April. As for price, I have reconciled myself by reasoning that you are paying for space, like a hotel room. It's a matter of semantics. A single pays $200 for a hotel room, and a couple pay $100. pp. Another complication is the bottom line, price drops from the original price. I look for value and it is there. The time, itinerary, etc. all affect that.