Posted on 02/26/2012 11:54:47 AM PST by Kartographer
Didn’t know that. Of course, I was crew, so that might have made a difference. I sure thought I saw folks buying booze and cartons of smokes and taking it/them out of the shop, maybe I’m mistaken, it’s been a few years (2005) I know >I< did, plenty.
Oh, and the price includes airfaire, if you want it booked through the cruise line. Shore excursions are also included, hence why it's so pricey.
It's mostly geared toward us "seasoned" citizens, a much more leisurely pace. Mr. Inspectorette and I went on a Carnival cruise in '92 - never again. Toga parties in the middle of the night marching right past our stateroom, drunks all over the place, and we were nearly 20 years younger then - LOL.
My husband and I are taking the Disney Wonder to the Mexican Riviera next November. We had discussed staying on the ship, and I think this convinced me.
a country that can't protect visitors doesn't deserve them....
I’m only advocating prudence, not fear. As you get off the boat in Mexico and indeed, any of the Caribbean Islands, you find a “horseshoe” of higher end gift shops working to separate tourists from their money. Watch stores, Jewelry stores, cheaper souvenir stores (T-shirts), and perfume stores. In sequence, watch-jewelry-T-shirts-perfume-smokes. The successful ones can afford the better, closer-in locations. Not to worry, there will be another concentric horseshoe of the same thing 1 block further in. You see all this stuff and either care or don’t care, but you wander further away from the pier just to stretch your legs. The pax crowd thins out and you get more into “real” Mexico. 6 blocks in, you are in real Mexico and there are hardly any tourists. You think you are exploring. Well.....maybe.
Here’s where you become vulnerable. The folks who got robbed thought it be good to take a few-hour trip to somewhere “authentic”, where they could see “more of the culture”. They saw it.
I was a musician on the boat. I had to play every night. Yes, I got a little tired of the food on board (because I ate it for months at a time...not that it was bad, and I had special priveleges so I could eat in the pax buffet and didn’t have to eat in the crew mess) but I had very little urge to eat in a cafe on land. Why? Because I didn’t want to get indigestion or worse and have to play with a puke bucket behind my amp. So I missed out on local-flavored tacos. Big deal.
If you go just a block or two or three off the boat, you’re probably pretty safe. In that zone, you can go to stores that sell watches and jewelry and T-shirts and crap ceramic souvenirs and/or go to a restaurant. That’s about it. It’s good for stretching your legs. You have to get back on the boat by a certain time, sometimes it is 3-4 hours, sometimes 7 hours, sometimes it is overnight. If you have a problem with the law, you’re in a terrible bind, first, because the boat will leave you behind, second, because the local police will not care about you and your silly tourist problems. So to me, it’s just weighing the upside versus the downside. But I tend to be a pessimist. For me, I would rather just veg out on the boat and have clean restrooms, a pool, a lounge chair, first aid, and all the amenities close by.
I have been to Haiti and enjoyed it quite well. I have been all over the Caribbean and not once was robbed — not even close. I did, in fact, find the people where I have been to be courteous and friendly. Maybe that was because I am a 6’8”, 265lb black man. Maybe not. But I have a long history of visiting there and would go back any day. What I won’t do is cross the US/Messican border even though it is only 20 miles away. And you didn’t insult me. You just made a moronic comment when you inferred you would know what I would or would not rather do.
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