Freckles83

theres a green seaweed wrap/massage thing with a floatation bed .. its unreal :)

Key West is an amazing stop to get off at and look around. Lots of cool history and fun little bars and restaurants to check out. Great food, amazing people and totally worth the stop.

For a first visit walking down to the Hemingway House is a nice way to admire some of the architecture and learn about some of the history of the island. Also the Hemingway House has polydactyl cats :) :)

Try some Key Lime Pie or go to Kilwins on Duval for the best fudge ever!

the wifi was essentially useless while i was there at the beginning of November 2017. It said i was connected but nothing would send/receive as i was using it to iMessage my husband. Maybe it was too slow ? But it wasn't like i was downloading a movie just trying to send a message.

It is odd that you had no other options. Were there no independent tour operators available at the pier?

 

igraf

there was a booth there that had rentals for toys/facilities you could use in the water park (i.e. floaties, zip lining etc) but since we weren't able to get into the park it was of no use to us. There may have been another booth operating tours outside of the port area but i never came across it and i did walk around the area looking at the shops and the nice views.

that sounds awesome! I would cruise so much more if i lived near a cruise port. I keep saying they should bring one to Toronto even though it would be a loonngg sail out to the atlantic. :)

theres a really great sub forum on this website thats specifically for Key West Florida. Lots of great ideas there and helpful info.

Key West is my fave place to go! Lots to see just walking around the port area over to Duval where all the bars and shops are. Hemingway House is nice to go through and see the cats. You can pretty much walk anywhere you want from the Port Area as long as you're physically able. Everything is nice and close by that way.

IF you are going to tip extra, over and above the added service charge, there may be an advantage to writing it in on the slip and adding it to your ship account, vs. giving it in cash. When added to the account it counts toward the bonus Mariner days for every $300 spent.

One never knows when those little added extras will credit another day.

I love reading your posts RuthC, always chiming in with a great tidbit. :)

Pay attention to this knowledgeable lady!

Last time I used the Spa Services there was an automatic 15% (?) or thereabouts gratuity applied and then there was another option to add more if you wanted to on the actual receipt which would be charged to your stateroom.

Noticed one of our stops has changed from Turks & Caicos, Grand Turk to Bahamas, Nassau.

Excited to learn about the rest of the changes! :)

My husband and I were at a mariners luncheon and the "gentleman" beside us - and i use the term loosely - was having an in depth conversation about his wife and how he could "never be with anyone smarter than him" with the poor couple stuck at the table with him.

It was a bit too much, and if you had heard what he said before hand you would realize how low the bar was set for his wife's intelligence. I could barely bite my tongue. Bless his wife, she must have the patience of a saint :')

Another comment from this one guy who was whining to his wife about how the performers on board were "negligent" in regards to their fitness and shape/size/weight. :rolleyes:

Sometimes just listening to people's conversations are the best form of entertainment.

Just a quick review of the Bahia Mar as promised. We stayed in the Marina building with a view of the parking lot. The room itself was very clean and modern/updated. Didn't notice the musty/dampness other guests have mentioned on tripadvisor/other review sites. We did notice the rooms have pretty thin walls and had some young adults partying next to us which made it hard to sleep but hey, I was once too a 20 yr old lol. My only other complaint was there seemed to be a lot of doors opening and closing all night long which we could hear and feel while we were trying to sleep. We received warm cookies upon checkin which was a nice treat. Overall I'd stay here again.

thank you!

Just doing some last minute double checking of visa/vaccine requirements for my husband and I (Canadian Citizens)

Wondering if a Canadian Passport is sufficient proof of citizenship for entry? An example used on the Canadian Government website uses a birth certificate as an example of proof of citizenship and I don't really want to bring those with us unless absolutely necessary.

Can any Canadians who have recently travelled to Grand Cayman please confirm what documentation they brought with them ?

Thanks

Sailed on the Breakaway earlier this year. Though I wouldn't go so far to say my personal experience was as off putting at the OP's .. it just wasn't HAL.

Im soooo looking forward to my upcoming trip on the NA though. I think being on the Breakaway will make me appreciate this next vacation so much more. :)

LOL. I think what you said is funny. The manager is from New York and his bark is worse than his bite. What you think is aggressive is just a New Yorker. ;)

He is like a live action version of Peter Griffan from Family Guy.

If you can look past his offensiveness and look at him like a character from a tv show or something it can actually be kind of entertaining.

They told us NO. We had a long nice chat with a photographer.

hmm thats too bad, in the past we've purchased some nice pictures as singles that way.

We were onboard Oosterdam and got off Sept 30th. Candid shots were $19.95 each. Posed pictures were sold in packages starting at $195.

ok thank you. were the posed pictures not sold as singles at all?

just checked out the prices on the HAL site and was wondering from anyone who has been on board recently what the cost is per picture for the candid/activity shots sold by themselves and also the cost of the formal/posed pictures are sold as a single print as well?

I seem to recall the candids being $20 per pic and the formal shots around $35 per pic, can anyone confirm this?

Thanks

I actually learned this technique by accident when I was in college. My friends and I were bio majors. One day several of us went into the snack bar for lunch, still discussing a difficult lab we'd just left. I think it may have been how hard it is to get the cartillage away from the shark's brain without damaging the cranial nerves. Something about a dissection. Anyway, all of a sudden, we realized that the people at the table next to ours had moved to a table much farther away. Or maybe we just smelled of formaldehyde... :eek:

i use this technique all the time. it works wonders for when you're in a line up (say at the grocery store or DMV) and the person behind you seems to -

1. think that by standing super close to you the lineup will move faster and

2. has no idea what personal space is.

Its incredibly effective :D

I've already added that particular troll to my ignore list. Here's how to do it:

 

 

Dealing with Troublesome Users Can I block posts, emails and messages from specific users?

If there are particular members that bother you and you do not want to see their posts or receive Private Messages and Emails from them, then you can add these members to your 'Ignore List'. There are several ways to do this:

Through your User Control Panel: User CP, Settings & Options, Edit Ignore List. Then, click on their name and choose: User List, Add to Ignore List

 

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When you get to the part that says "click on their name....." it means that you just start to enter the first few alpha characters of his/her name. It will then present you with a list of usernames and you click on the one you wish to ignore. When you're done, don't forget to click on the "Save Changes" button.

Thank you for that. :)

don't you know that common sense is not allowed? :p:p

oh my gosh i know, what was i thinking ?! :p

Trouble is he gets bored so has to get his big stirring spoon out.

 

You know what they say about 'ignore and he might go away' somehow I don't think that would work in this case :):D

yeah talk about the herpes of Cruise Critic.. it just won't go away!

8000+ posts (mostly useless arguing) in just over a year of membership... Must be nice to have all that free time to do nothing but troll message forums where most people are just trying to get legit information or share it with other cruisers in a helpful manner.

Does anyone know how to actually ignore someone so you dont have to read what they write? Genuinely curious and thankful to anyone with some answers.

PS I love lounge chairs especially on cruise ships. (gotta keep this message on topic)

Carry it with me while I'm swimming:confused:

 

Wow that's clever.

 

And like I care what you think about my motivation.

no while you're going to the bathroom and getting lunch.

its clear to i think most people you dont care what other people think.

And what do I do with my towel book etc in the meantime.

how about get a bag and carry it with you? :confused:

i think you're just more interested in arguing with people than really offering anything of value to these forums.

I agree that i think its rude to move someones stuff but if its clearly stated after 30 mins then technically that is the stated rule.

But as i also said before , if you touch someones stuff id expect a confrontation.

Honestly, sometimes we take a bit longer than 30 minutes to go have a lunch and then continue our sunbathing. Our wet towels and copious magazines make it pretty clear that the area is in active use. It's those clean towels with one book tossed on top that get troubling after 30 minutes, which is about when I'd ask an attendant to clear the lounge.

i dont see the difference between a dry/wet towel or one book vs several magazines.. either its okay to leave stuff there or its not. the status of said items left there should really have no bearing on whether its okay or not.