travsol

Just got back from Cuba on HAL. We took 2 tours, both less than the than 8 hrs? to be able to go on or own. We took the tours and were allowed to "find our way back" to the ship if we wanted to go on our own. The staff on board let everyone know that they are not the police and you do whatever you like. Unless you're being followed by the Gov't. there is no way they could find out where you purchased things and where you visited. When we got back to Ft. L., Customs doesn't even ask what you brought back and they don't care where you've been. One thing I would recommend is if you do take a tour on shore, keep the information for the 5 years. It'll be a good souvenir.

Just found this post. We were on the "final" cruise of the Norway. It started in Ft.Lauderdale and ended in England. We docked in NYC 2 days before 9/11. I have some great pics of the towers as we sailed into NYC. We were in the North Atlantic when it happened. We had just returned from lunch when the Capt. made the announcement. Communication was bad because of our location so we relied on the internet for video feeds. There was a memorial service held that afternoon. What really brought things in perspective was when we saw members of the crew packing side arms. Emotions were running very high the next couple days at sea. People in a state of shock, one man I saw had a nervous breakdown, others - the French passengers on the ship - could have cared less. There were fights in the lounge where there was a video available - reason- the French wanted to watch a soccer game. Crew members were apologizing for their conduct and said they were "old" French and are not the regular French. Our next ports were Scotland, Ireland and France. Scotland and Ireland really took this to heart, there were memorials everywhere, moments of silence and people coming up to us with condolences. In France it seemed to be business as usual and one shop I went into blamed the US and was afraid they were going to be attacked. (He was of Indian decent).

When we got to England, we were the first flights out since the attacks. It was a mess. Once we got on the plane a woman had to be taken off because she was afraid to get on a plane.

We had a connection in Phil. - it was a ghost town, planes were flying but people weren't ready.

The first days home were like catching up on what happen. Disclaimer: I am not anti French, my wife is French but as it brought out the best of people, it brought out the worst of this group.

All in all I'm kind of glad I was on that cruise as it brought out a whole other element to the entire disaster.

Hi

We are going on the Jan.17th cruise. I'm sure they'll be more excursions coming. If you want to see some things that may be available, go to Shoretrips.com and put in your cruise date. Used them before, they're really good.

Talked with the excursion desk yesterday. They confirmed that the site doesn't work. They are "supposed" to be sending us a list of excursions for our cruise. They have to booked via phone.

Hi

I have two gty's on Breakaway for that sailing. It usually depends on how full the ship is before they start assigning rooms. My guess we may not see a room nbr until a few days before the sailing.

I have pics from the upper deck of the towers that day. That was a cruise I'll never forget, especially how French passengers reacted to 9-11. Very sad. The memorials we saw in other countries then where unbelievable.