Half a day lost being forced off ship.

[old sole]

If I'm ever "forced" off a ship for 3 and a half hours (a half a day as you call it) I can only hope that I'm forced onto a tropical island within walking distance to a bar. Where I come from we don't call that an inconvenience, we call it friggin' awesome!

 

Quote of the week ! :D :D :D

[big_duck]

 

While I understand what you were frustrated about, I have little sympathy for your plight regardless of what you expected or what you were (or weren't) told. If I'm ever "forced" off a ship for 3 and a half hours (a half a day as you call it) I can only hope that I'm forced onto a tropical island within walking distance to a bar. Where I come from we don't call that an inconvenience, we call it friggin' awesome!:D

 

Where the OP is from (Barbados) it's called a Busman's Holiday. ;)

[parrotthead]

Other countries Customs did not require this, I think the USA are a little paranoid.

 

.

Was this statement intended to be inflamitory? A little paranoid? Simply because they required you to clear customs? Also they have to clear the ship, not just you.

We all had to clear customs (the whole ship, passengers and crew) on my Bahamas Cruise a few years ago. We had stopped in Freeport and the next stop (after the private island) was KeyWest, everyone got to stand in line (for a while) outside one of the lounges while we all had our documents examined by officials (and I am a US citizen by birth) a minor inconvienence, thats all. A chance to chat with fellow passengers.

No problems, no harm, no foul.

[coolbasset]

Where the OP is from (Barbados) it's called a Busman's Holiday. ;)

 

Exactly!

[keyguide]

Godwin's Law at it's finest. ;)

As a lower Muscogee I was thinking of the American Holocaust.Is there another law.

[Amlee]

America so strict? PLEASE! We have the weakest immigration laws of any country. Passports are not needed as of yet to travel outside the country. We "one of the super powers" are one of the last countries to require this.

[Snorkel2Much]

As a lower Muscogee I was thinking of the American Holocaust.Is there another law.

"...cited in online discussions as a caution against the use of inflammatory rhetoric or exaggerated comparisons"

 

No other law needed, original reference still applies to your newest clarification. ;)

[chasetf]

........If we travel to a foreign country, we would have questions about how they run their government especially if we're not fully educated in that country's history and significant events....

We have passed through a number of countries and been "surprised" by the different procedures... level of checks... etc. I never would try to challenge or bring into question their sovereign right to protect their borders.

........ I guess maybe we should expect to get flamed as well if we show our ignorance about international policies and events...

I dare say I understand the OP was making note of the procedures that were "different" in their eyes....... But the part that probably drew the "flames" was when they asked at the end - "Is this acceptable?"

[Xplode]

As a side note, even though 9-11 was an event that shook the entire world 7 years ago, and for those of us who live in the US we're constantly reminded about it today, not every other country's news and lives revolve around what happened in US soil. How many of us are currently devastated over the 12,000 lives lost in China, or the 10,000 lives lost in Myanmmar just a few days ago? If we're sitting at home not really focused on everything else that's going in the world, then we can't blame the OP for not thinking about what Osama did to the US 7 years ago...

 

A non-ethnocentric North American, you are a rarity.

 

I agree with most of the posters who stated that one must endure and comply with a foreign countries policies and procedures, as long as your fundamental civil rights are not violated. I don't think 3 hours of missed swimming and tanning counts as a civil rights violation :)

 

Anyway you look at it you were guests in their country.

[jessemon]

Years ago when Destiny called on Aruba, you could also do an Aruba to Aruba trip. There have been a couple of cruise critic members who did it.

A few years back when the Sensation was doing 7 night cruises out of Tampa it was Tampa to GC to Coz to NOLA and back to Tampa. You could board in Tampa or NOLA. It was booked as a 7 night cruise from both cities. At Mardi Gras the price for the cruise alsmost doubled and it went to Coz and NOLA for two nights at Mardi Gras. Wished I'd done that one....:eek: :eek: :eek:

[newbie21]

Just a quick post to reply to the question whether or not we had to do the muster drill twice. No, we did it on embarkation in Barbados, but were not required to repeat when most came on in San Juan. The only problem was that it was going on whilst we were at dinner, and the PA system was loud (we could not be heard at our table). With so many charging around with life jackets we might have thought the ship was really sinking! We were going in the opposite direction for our meal. No complaints there very funny!

 

During our own muster I cracked a few silly jokes, thne someone said Dave Allen was very funny when he did a sketch with the whistle. Keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart, I say!

 

I guess this was the one concession made to Barbados boarders.

[voyagerfl]

Don't take it out on the USA.

 

It's Osama's fault.

 

 

Yeah.......Someone Really Should Get That Guy !

(by now)

[yst347]

Yeah.......Someone Really Should Get That Guy !

(by now)

 

Maybe OJ will stumble upon Osama during his quest for the real killers. ;)

[yakdaddy42]

next time get on the ship in San Juan and it wont be a problem

how hard is that to do

[Snorkel2Much]

next time get on the ship in San Juan and it wont be a problem

how hard is that to do

Well .... if you live in Barbados.....

[Caribbreeze]

Godwin's Law at it's finest. ;)

got that right

[Caribbreeze]

....if you're still around :)

Touched a nerve, didn't you. Who would have thought one little post would have raised issues from the Holocaust to OJ? WOOOHOOO! I especially get a kick out of the "you should have done your research" crowd. When we first stepped foot on a cruise ship we were babes in the woods - never heard of propulsion problems, NORO virus, or Cruise Critic. I'm sure we drove our fellow passengers nuts. I'm also sure they got over it - or posted here about how we should have done our research. Now that I've found CC, somebody here please kick me if I ever get that sour or self-righteous.

Anyway, while we were waiting to disembark in SJ, we met a great family from Barbados - 2 moms, 2 dads, 2 young boys and Gramma. We got quite a kick out of Gram tending to the "cheeky" boys. Some things are international I guess :)

LOOOOVE your island. We hope to come back soon.

[newbie21]

Caribbreeze, many thanks for your support, and I will apologise here (as well as in my other thread re passports) for some perhaps out-of-order remarks I have made here. However, I have not said anything here which was not said in RL on the ship. Please see my latest comment in my other thread if you are interested.

 

I will also say yet again how well I was treated once Carnival Destiny understood my concerns. The one difficulty there was that I had to take it to the purser's level before I got a personal response. All others were merely re-iterating the rules as they would if they were talking over the PA system. Hence my reference to all of us apparently being treated the same, like cattle (not specifically Americans, I never meant that).

 

I felt all other staff were extremely well trained and polite, but the Information Desk seemed a little under pressure that day, to say the least!

[dan40]

Caribbreeze, many thanks for your support, and I will apologise here (as well as in my other thread re passports) for some perhaps out-of-order remarks I have made here. However, I have not said anything here which was not said in RL on the ship. Please see my latest comment in my other thread if you are interested.

 

I will also say yet again how well I was treated once Carnival Destiny understood my concerns. The one difficulty there was that I had to take it to the purser's level before I got a personal response. All others were merely re-iterating the rules as they would if they were talking over the PA system. Hence my reference to all of us apparently being treated the same, like cattle (not specifically Americans, I never meant that).

 

I felt all other staff were extremely well trained and polite, but the Information Desk seemed a little under pressure that day, to say the least!

 

The Information Desk/Purser's desk is under pressure every day of every cruise. They are assaulted [one way or another] by 200 to 400 people each day that have not done a single word of cruise research. Without a shred of actual knowledge, these people somehow determine how things SHOULD happen and then complain to the various employees when things do not happen that way. And all too often, when told of the proper procedures, they wish to argue the point. Much like you did in the beginning of your posts. The fact that the employees do not reach over the counter and pop these people is amazing in itself.

Even here on CruiseCritic, I've caught hell for telling a newbie to get a brochure and read every word of the fine print at the back of the book. Other CCer's chastise me for that saying, "If you don't want to answer the question, don't post." I think I am being helpful. If the newbie acquired some knowledge, they would be more able to ask meaningful questions. Or ask for clarification of procedures they did not fully understand from the book.

Funny, I've got more grief trying to be nice than when I'm my normal intolerant self.

 

Dan

[dewatson12]

My 3 and 1/2 hours was made up thus:

 

10.00am - 11.00am Preparing to disembark. It would have taken me five minutes to get to the pool on board.

 

11.00am Latest time anyone could be on-board.

 

12.45p.m. Earliest US Customs allowed people back.

 

1.15p.m. Arrived back in cabin.

 

1.15p.m. - 1.30p.m. Winding down to get back to pool.

 

The saving grace was that Carnival allowed me to use their VIP Lounge whilst waiting to return to the ship.

 

Embarking and disembarking in Barbados only, that was what I had planned for. I said this prior to the cruise to all concerned, they were curious as to why I did not want to visit any of the other islands, but said nothing about Puerto Rico. I had no objections to the ports of call, I took some great photos from the ship's upper decks.

 

Of course terrorism is a concern for all of us, but why just the USA so strict?

 

No politics here, of course, I had a great time cruising. I agree, lack of information before my booking the cruise was the prime problem.

 

 

OK, just had to get in on this one.

 

One hour (yes, 60 minutes) to prepare to disembark. It's not formal night. Put on something over the bathing suit and walk off in flip-flops. Do that at 10:55, or if you time it right, 10:59.

 

I'll give you the 1:45 waiting for the ship to be cleared by Customs and Homeland Security.

 

12:45 allowed back on ship. Any you should be in the first line to get back on so 30 minutes to find your cabin must have included a trip to somewhere, maybe a bar?

 

Now, you said at the beginning that it would take you 5 minutes to get to the pool, but now it takes 30 minutes. Oops, don't you just hate it when the facts don't add up.

 

So, now, the new calculations. Leave cabin at 10:50 with pool bag in hand. Let back on at 12:45 and let's add some time to make it 10 minutes to get to the pool. At the pool at 12:55.

 

That makes 2:05, yes a grand total of 2 hours and 5 minutes to do your part to help secure our borders and keep out the evil bad guys. And most of that time was in the VIP loungs, probably having a nice cold one!!

 

Must be rough, wish I was so "inconvenienced" !!!

[Caribbreeze]

Funny, I've got more grief trying to be nice than when I'm my normal intolerant self.

Dan

:D :D :D

[TWO_TO_GO]

U.S. is not as innocent as you think. The real bind with customs is knowing that the Southern border is wide open and thousands of unknowns come in every week.Thats where we need those strict guards.

Loyalty is a virtue ...Blind loyalty is the Holocaust.

 

This is a very good point. However, why should a Democrat controlled House and Senate push for man power at the southern border? When they pass their “amnesty” bill the illegals will mostly register as Democrats. It's a win for them. For both parties it's about getting elected or re-elected. It's not about what's good for the country. Gee..I sound cynical. More Rum please!

[LSUcajunmom]

This is a very good point. However, why should a Democrat controlled House and Senate push for man power at the southern border? When they pass their “amnesty” bill the illegals will mostly register as Democrats. It's a win for them. For both parties it's about getting elected or re-elected. It's not about what's good for the country. Gee..I sound cynical. More Rum please!

 

 

Totally agree with semi-hijack and i want another "Kiss on the Lips"=(DOD).:p

[cathyoo]

What I fail to understand is how anyone, in this day and age of technology, doesn't know every tiny detail about any vacation they're planning!

 

Information is out there! So the group planner/TA didn't inform people. What stopped you from coming to a site like this and finding out beforehand?

 

I was thinking of booking Victory out of San Juan in December. Simply looking at the dates of the sailings, it was obvious that the Barbados "cruise" was really originating in San Juan.

 

OP, you were on a 7-day cruise. I don't think those few hours away from the pool should've ruined it for you!

 

I absolutely loved San Juan and cannot wait to return there. We took the free trolley up to El Morro and toured the fort, then walked back down through town, had lunch at La Bombanero, and just strolled around the old city. Loved it. It was an inexpensive port day.

 

If someone doesn't bother to do their research ahead of time, then why bother to complain afterwards?

 

Okay, I read these boards alot but never knew this information. In fact, I am learning it about it right now. I like the original poster would have thought it was just another port. The OP stated he did not want to get off at ANY ports. So the fact that you love San Juan is irrelevant.

 

I personally wouldn't think it was a big deal but I am not the OP. I also wouldn't get insulted if I or my group were not personally welcomed to the ship. But again different strokes for different folks.

 

However, it was impactful to the OP and we should not dis him/her for not researching. If I had to research everything I did in life I'd have no time left for the doing.

[dan40]

This is a very good point. However, why should a Democrat controlled House and Senate push for man power at the southern border? When they pass their “amnesty” bill the illegals will mostly register as Democrats. It's a win for them. For both parties it's about getting elected or re-elected. It's not about what's good for the country. Gee..I sound cynical. More Rum please!

 

NO POLITICS ON THE BOARD, PULEEZE!!! [it is in fact, not allowed]

 

Dan