Posted on 11/01/2002 3:02:27 PM PST by DoughtyOne
Edited on 04/02/2003 3:39:54 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Bahama Mama (the Poet Laureate of the Caribbean!)
Remember, there's some nice little gift premiums for the first 20 registrant early-birds!
Once we're set to go, Bahama Mama will be posting all sorts of information for you.....suggestions on what clothes to pack and other things to bring, necessary ID documents to bring, billing procedures on board, parking at the Miami Port terminal and all the other information you'll need so that your cruise will be carefree and smooth sailing. There's nothing complicated about taking a cruise, you'll see!
Bahama Mama
We're excited, we got a balcony cabin on A-8 so it looks like we will be neighbors to strela.... who I am sure will be rescuing us when we call it a "boat"... right?
Who is that in the picture at the top?
Well, howdy neighbor! Since I'll be on vacation, you can call it a "cuckoo clock" as far as I'm concerned ;)
And, I promise NOT to hang any embarrassing laundry on the rail while you're taking in the view next door. All I ask is that you ignore the occasional maniacal giggles emanating from that general vicinity.
Bahama Mama
The Engineer Stranded on an IslandThere was this male engineer, on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for the first time. It was wonderful, the experience of his life. He was being waited on hand an foot. But, it did not last. A Hurricane came up unexpectedly. The ship went down almost instantly.
The man found himself, he knew not how, swept up on the shore of an island. There was nothing else anywhere to be seen. No person, no supplies, nothing. The man looked around. There were some bananas and coconuts, but that was it. He was desperate, and forlorn, but decided to make the best of it. So for the next four months he ate bananas, drank coconut juice and mostly looked to the sea mightily for a ship to come to his rescue.
One day, as he was lying on the beech stroking his beard and looking for a ship, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Could it be true, was it a ship? No, from around the corner of the island came this rowboat. In it was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, or at least seen in 4 months. She was tall, tanned, and her blond hair flowing in the sea breeze gave her an almost ethereal quality. She spotted him also as he was waving and yelling and screaming to get her attention. She rowed her boat towards him.
In disbelief, he asked, "Where did you come from? How did you get here"?
She said, "I rowed from the other side of the island. I landed on this island when my cruise ship sank"
"Amazing", he said, "I didn't know anyone else had survived. How many of you are there? Where, did you get the rowboat? You must have been really lucky to have a rowboat wash-up with you?"
"It is only me", she said, "and the rowboat didn't wash up, nothing else did."
"Well then", said the man, "how did you get the rowboat?"
"I made the rowboat out of raw material that I found on the island, replied the woman. The oars were whittled from Gum tree branches, I wove the bottom from Palm branches, and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree".
"But, but, asked the man, what about tools and hardware, how did you do that?"
"Oh, no problem, replied the woman, on the south side of the island there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed.
I found that If I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools, and used the tools to make the hardware. But, enough of that, she said. Where do you live?"
At last the man was forced to confess that he had been sleeping on the beach.
"Well, let's row over to my place, she said." So they both got into the rowboat and left for her side of island.
The woman easily rowed them around to a wharf that led to the approach to her place. She tied up the rowboat with a beautifully woven hemp rope. They walked up a stone walk and around a Palm tree, there stood an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white.
"It's not much, she said, but I call it home. Sit down please, would you like to have a drink?"
"No, said the man, one more coconut juice and I will puke."
"It won't be coconut juice, the woman replied, I have a still, how about a Pina Colada? Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepted, and they sat down on her couch to talk.
After a while, and they had exchanged their stories, the woman asked, "Tell me, have you always had a beard?"
"No", the man replied, "I was clean shaven all of my life, and even on the cruise ship".
"Well if you would like to shave, there is a man's razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom." So, the man, no longer questioning anything, went upstairs to the bath room. There in the cabinet was a razor made from a bone handle, two shells honed to a hollow ground edge were fastened on to its end inside of a swivel mechanism. The man shaved, showered and went back down stairs..
"You look great, said the woman, I think I will go up and slip into something more comfortable." So she did.
And, the man continued to sip his Pina Colada. After a short time, the woman returned wearing fig leafs strategically positioned and smelling faintly of gardenia.
"Tell me, she asked, we have both been out here for a very long time with no companionship. You know what I mean. Have you been lonely, is there anything that you really miss? Something that all men and woman need. Something that it would be really nice to have right now."
"Yes there is, the man replied, as he moved closer to the woman while fixing a winsome gaze upon her, "Tell me ... Do you happen to have an Internet connection?"
Carnival does not have courtesy busses, but there is another company that has round-trip transportation right to the Port of Miami from an area near you.
They have a promotion going on right now for Carnival cruise passengers. Pay full price for the first person and second person get 50% off if booked and paid in full by Dec. 31. The prices are $59.00 or $79.00 round trip, depending on where you get on.
I'll have all the details later on this. First we'll have to wait till next week to see if enough Freepers have registered to meet the cruise line's required minimum to hold our reserved block of cabins. But at least, you can get the idea of this bus service from the info above.
Last cruise, several of us central Gulf-coast Freepers met and boarded the bus from Clearwater to our destination port, Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great time! There's movies aboard, the bus was new, comfortable and spanking clean. The trip went by quickly. There was a refreshment break along the way. We alit right at the front door of the cruise line's terminal reception area. It went like a charm!
Florida Freepers, heads up! We can have our own chapter get-together on the ship and on the beach at Grand Cayman and get to know each other.....and to greet old buddies and veterans from past freeps.
Contact Bahama Mama on this thread or freepmail "MinuteGal" if you have any questions.
Bahama Mama
New Port Richey, Florida
Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board the ship in the port of embarkation with the exception of wine and/or champagne. If the wine and/or champagne are brought to the Dining Room for consumption, a $10 corkage fee will be charged. Otherwise, the guest may drink the wine or champagne in the privacy of his/her cabin ONLY. It may not be brought into any public lounge or room.
Alcoholic beverages purchased in any port-of-call will be appropriated at the gangway and stored onboard until the last night of the cruise when it will be delivered to the guest's cabin.
Alcoholic beverages purchased in the ship's gift shops will also be stored.
The minimum age for purchase and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages while on board is 21 years of age. If there is a question of age, picture identification will be requested by serving staff.
Bahama Mama
See post # 463 on the FReeps Ahoy! cruise announcement thread. We're gonna roll!
Yippee!
Bahama Mama
U.S. citizens must present proof of citizenship in the form of:
1) A passport (valid or expired for less than 10 years)
2) ORIGINAL birth certificate or state-issued CERTIFIED copy of a birth certificate.
For instance, I didn't have my original birth certificate on my first cruise years ago. I phoned my county clerk's office and they directed me how to obtain a copy. I followed their information, and then in about two weeks, I received in the mail a photo copy of my birth certificate with an ORIGINAL certification stamp on it. There was a small fee for this service.
In short, your birth certificate can be a photo copy, but the stamp must be original.
3) U.S. Military ID (no dependents IDs), or
4) ORIGINAL naturalization papers.
IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS, ALL GUESTS 16 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER MUST PROVIDE AN OFFICIAL PHOTO ID. Freepers traveling with older children, PLEASE NOTE!
It is important that guest names on travel documents (passport, birth certificates, etc.) be identical to those on the cruise and airline tickets. Otherwise, proof of name change (i.e., a marriage license) OR a valid driver's license or government issued photo ID (i.e.. U.S. Military ID) must be presented.
There are additional requirements for non-U.S. citizens. If this status applies to any of you, please freepmail "MinuteGal" for further information.
This is not as complicated as it sounds, so don't let it throw you. I bring with me my photo copy birth certificate (with ORIGINAL certification stamp on it) and my driver's license, period.
I'm putting this info out now so that you can make arrangements if you need to update or replace any documents. Please don't put off getting your ID documentation in order till the last minute. It's a simple process and in most counties can be done by phone and mail.
Bahama Mama
As far as purchase price for liquor is concerned, yes, you can get some good duty-free bargains. But I've never bothered. One of the most amusing sights you can see as you stand by the rail before leaving port is some sweat-laden passengers straining and groaning as they lug cases of "bargain" booze to the ship. Most of it is stuff they can buy for just a little more when it's on sale at their local Walgreen's. Many tourists get "buyermania" when travelling whether the purchases make sense or not.
Then, when these folks' cases or multiple bottles of liquor are delivered to their cabins the night before landing in home port, they have to figure out how they're going to pack them, carry them, haul them through the vast baggage pick-up area, through customs, and then how to get it on the airport van and then on the plane or however they're travelling.
I only bring home a bottle or two of Jamaican rum punch or whatever because some specialty liquors are hard or impossible to find in the States. I love to serve icy, fruity rum punches to company in my Florida home. I even buy some little packages of hanging monkeys and umbrellas to bring home to decorate the drinks!
When I'm packing for the cruise, I always leave extra space in a suitcase for a couple of souvenirs. I also pack a couple of folded up shopping bags that I can fill and carry off by hand upon disembarkation.
Of course, you can buy a couple of cases of adult beverages at these shops, and they will ship it to your home in the States. But that's expensive, so there's no point in doing so.
Prosit!
Bahama Mama
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.