Big Cats Prowl the Mariner...the Sequel 9/14/08

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oriolesfan22

Guest
George must be =sleep ....you know how those old guys are. Oh wait, he might not be posting, but eventually he wakes up and reads. RETRACT that. OOOPS!

Regina, any word on the passport? Where the heck can it be?

Good thing you are safe to cruise. Well, as safe as you can be with the Big Cats!

Sheree
 
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tommyjeepster

Guest
no passport. Must have gotten thrown out by mistake some how.

Ok here is a thought. Grills and all those places are going to be packed at dinner time because of the cruises. My thought was go to Grills for a very late lunch say 3:30 or 4 oclock. Have a few drinks and stretch it out a bit. The ships leave between what 4 and 5 so everyone will be crowding in there to see them off. Then we could all go back to Raddison and hang out there by the pool until the last one drops. Or we could go to Barb and Gregs favorite spot at Ron Jons have a drink at that bar and then go back to the Raddison pool for a swim. We could eat a good hearty late lunch and then just snack around the pool with fruit, cheese and crackers and stuff while we have lovely tropical cocktails and beers.

Now that is just my take on it. But then again since I will only be partying at the Raddison and not sailing with you all due to lack of passport and the need to stay here and get one while you are gone I want to make the Raddison my party night. So eat a hearty late lunch at grills to soak up all the adult beverages I plan to have by the pool. I am brining rum, the magic bullet extra cups for all who want to join me. I just love me some cheese and fruit for dinner with some of those cute little party crackers too. Maybe even some peperoni. I can hit a Publix and fix up up a little feast if any one is game for that plan. But then again we can do WHAT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that was just a thought.
 
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oriolesfan22

Guest
Regina....I am sure hoping you are kidding. You have to cruise with us! You can go to Mexico with just a BC and a license, too, can't you?
 
B

baby love Jim

Guest
AIR TRAVEL



ALL PERSONS traveling by air outside of the United States are required to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter or re-enter the United States.
LAND AND SEA TRAVEL
The following summarizes information available on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.

CURRENTLY:
U.S. citizens need to present either (a) a passport, passport card (scheduled to be in full production beginning in July 2008), or WHTI-compliant document; or (b) a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.
LATER:
On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document.
Note: The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory.

U.S. PASSPORT AND WHTI COMPLIANT DOCUMENTS:

U.S. Passport: U.S. citizens may present a valid U.S. passport when traveling via air, land or sea between the U.S. and the aforementioned Western Hemisphere countries.
The Passport Card: Passport card applications are currently being accepted in anticipation of land border travel document requirements. Based on current projections, we expect the passport card to be in full production beginning in July 2008. We will provide additional updates as available. Once in production, the passport card it will only be valid for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean region, and Bermuda.
WHTI-Compliant Travel Documents for U.S. citizen travel via land or sea, as of January 31, 2008:

Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
State Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (when available)
Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business
Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
Form I-872 American Indian Card
 
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oriolesfan22

Guest
Can you get an expedited passport still??? You've got to get on this cruise with us!
 
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StudMuffin

Guest
[quote oriolesfan22]Can you get an expedited passport still??? You've got to get on this cruise with us![/quote]


Currently...

U.S. citizens need to present either (a) a passport, passport card (scheduled to be in full production beginning in July 2008), or WHTI-compliant document; or (b) a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.


As of 6/1/09...

On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document.
 
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StudMuffin

Guest
[quote tommyjeepster]no passport. Must have gotten thrown out by mistake some how.

Ok here is a thought. Grills and all those places are going to be packed at dinner time because of the cruises. My thought was go to Grills for a very late lunch say 3:30 or 4 oclock. Have a few drinks and stretch it out a bit. The ships leave between what 4 and 5 so everyone will be crowding in there to see them off. Then we could all go back to Raddison and hang out there by the pool until the last one drops. Or we could go to Barb and Gregs favorite spot at Ron Jons have a drink at that bar and then go back to the Raddison pool for a swim. We could eat a good hearty late lunch and then just snack around the pool with fruit, cheese and crackers and stuff while we have lovely tropical cocktails and beers.

Now that is just my take on it. But then again since I will only be partying at the Raddison and not sailing with you all due to lack of passport and the need to stay here and get one while you are gone I want to make the Raddison my party night. So eat a hearty late lunch at grills to soak up all the adult beverages I plan to have by the pool. I am brining rum, the magic bullet extra cups for all who want to join me. I just love me some cheese and fruit for dinner with some of those cute little party crackers too. Maybe even some peperoni. I can hit a Publix and fix up up a little feast if any one is game for that plan. But then again we can do WHAT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that was just a thought.[/quote]

Regina,

That works just fine for us...late lunch...watch ships....pool side drinking frosty beverages...what a plan :D
 
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StudMuffin

Guest
Now that is just my take on it. But then again since I will only be partying at the Raddison and not sailing with you all due to lack of passport and the need to stay here and get one while you are gone I want to make the Raddison my party night.

Regina,

I'm pretty sure the drivers license / birth certificate still works this year...call RCCL to verify. I tried, but they closed ten minutes ago.


PS - Don't forget the grass skirt and bra :D
 
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StudMuffin

Guest
As you can infer from me writing a post, I am still not making much progress with packing.

Girl, what are you waiting for? Get your but packing :D
 
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Tired2000

Guest
Regina, I hope you can get on the ship!!!! I would feel so sad if you couldn't!!!


Good job on getting over 100 pages!!!!
 
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tommyjeepster

Guest
I told Regina how you guys are doing all of the research about passports. Thanks...Now this is a quote she said for me to tell you .... "I am just yankin' their chain" about not going on the cruise. As for the passport we have an appointment in Miami on Thursday to get a new one. Remember when she gets back I have to drop her off at the airport so she can fly to Mexico for work. That is when she needs the passport.
 
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tommyjeepster

Guest
Now she doesn't need a passport if she flys to a border town and walks across the border.
 
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tommyjeepster

Guest
I found this on the other neighborhood

Mariner 8/31-9/7 Tidbits

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Hope no one minds that I am sneaking on you pages but I just returned from the beautiful Mariner on 9/7 and thought I would share some personal tidbits that I would have liked to know before I boarded. Disclaimer, these are just my personal views plain and simple.

I must first tell you that it had been nearly long 4 years since my last cruise on RCL. Alot has changed since that time. First of all, the Mariner is very beautiful! The dining room is the most beautiful dining room I have ever been in and every night we ate there I never got tired of looking at the decor or the lighting.

We had an inside stateroom and it felt bigger than I remembered from the other RCL ships we sailed on(Majesty and Enchantment).

Here are the tidbits:
-Handwipes (antibacterial) were everywhere on the ship. When you entered the Windjammer someone was there to hand one to you. Was nice to have them available.
-The only ameneties in your bathroom is a shampoo dispenser in the shower and small bars of soap.
-Your stateroom will have 2 beige colored towels to be used for the pool or shore trips. If they are lost you will be charged $20 each. This does not mean that towels are not available at the pool, they are but you will need to show your card and it will be recorded to make sure you return them to the pool attendent.
-At least one pool and hot tub are always open (24/7) on the pool deck as well as the Solarium. Was very nice to go out at 2:00 AM and star gaze.
-There is also a big hot tub (grecian style) in the workout area as well as steam rooms and saunas in each of the dressing rooms. No co-ed steam or saunas available.
-Casino machines extra tight for our voyage contrary to the "Loose machines on the first night theory".
-Shows for our trip were not worth out time. Usual dancers and comedian that looked at marriage from the male perspective only (wife bashing)! Although there was a young comedic jugler that had a 10 minute act that was very funny. RCL dancers and love and marriage show was old hat.
-In the photo lab they have new face recognition technology that can match your face to your stateroom or they will scan your card before the photos are taken. Each stateroom has their own envelope, by deck, to place your photos into. We waited to pick from the envelope until the end of the week.
-Previous posts noted that blow dryers were as strong as a "Kittens breath". I have very long hair and had no problems. Wish I had not brought mine with me. Will discuss packing for the airlines in a few minutes.
-We traveled during the Gustav and Hanna storms and due to weather we had no send off music from Port Canaveral. I really wish they would have played something on the PA just to have the music. Was a very anticlimatic sendoff party. Bars were still open and made VERY strong drinks!
-Lemonade was available in the Windjammer only (no cost) and not at dinner. Could come in from pool and grab a few glasses and take to the pool.
-Rum runners worked well. No problems. My 27 year old son tried to get back onto the ship with rum in his 16 ounce water bottle which he carried. It failed the shake test. His friend had a 32 oz runner in his backpack with no problems after St. Thomas.
-Cafe Promenade is an eatery located on the promenade deck that has (free) croissant sandwiches, small sandwiches, desserts and fruit available all day. I am not sure if it is 24/7 but every time we went it was open. It also has 3 or 4 different kinds of pizza available at all times. The kids say that the room service pizza is the best pizza available on the ship! They also liked the room service chicken wings called "Drumettes". The single serving of drumettes is only 4 so if you are hungry order more than one serving.
-Room Service-Very Good. One night my husband was asleep so I ordered via the TV in the stateroom thinking that I would not bother my husband, as soon as I hit place order they called the room to confirm the order. So much for not waking my honey up as the phone was on his side of the bed.
-Ordered room service on excursion mornings and they called to let us know that the order was on its way and was there in about 2 minutes of the scheduled time. Was better food than I remember. Tipped $2 for each room service order and they were always appreciative.
-Chops-Cost was $25 pp. The restaurant was beautiful and the service was amazing but the food was not really any better than the main dining room. My husband ordered the lobster bisque and swore it was the exact bowl he had the night before in the dining room. I had some mashed potatoes that were equal to the Windjammer potatoes. Would we eat there again? Probably not. The service was so good but I did not leave a tip as they stated that gratuity was included but that "A gratuity could be given for exceptional service". I felt guily all week for not tipping extra. Did not like feeling guilty on my vacation.
-Johnny Rockets- Cover charge was $3.95 pp and C&A members get free coupons. Milk shakes and beverages were extra. Soda card was only accepted if you got a coke product. Of course we learned this after we ordered an Pibb and Fanta orange. Milk shakes were $4.80 each and were very small. Usually they would give you the blender cup with the extra but not here. For 5 of us the cost came to $56.00 and the extra gratuity issue came up again. Waited in line for 35 minutes. Would I eat there again, probably not.
-Coffee- Best coffee on the ship is hands down the promenade cafe. They have huge self-serve in the cafe with sugar in the raw and paper coffee cups for on the run coffee. Great and convenient. We went there often as the atmosphere was great. Many people went there to play cards on the sea days.
-Packing- Glad I brought a small travel clock. Did not need the blow dryer as RCLs was great. In another thread it stated to pack duct tape. I was sure I would not need it but alas I did to repair broken sandals and to tape the case of water to reinforce it.
-When we arrived to check the luggage we were told that the case of water and the case of soda could not be checked in and that we needed to carry it on board and wait until 1:00 PM for the stateroom to be ready. I asked the porter if $10.00 would help the situation and he said yes it would. It was delived to our stateroom by 1:30 PM with the rest of the luggage. Most others got their luggage at 4-5 PM. Just luck I guess!
-Air Tran Note- On our way home when we checked our one piece of luggae each at the counter we noticed that all of the workers had a tape measure around their necks are were measuring all of the larger suitcases. We put our 35 lb bag up and he measured all sides of the bag and wrote down the numbers then he added them up and stated that we were over the limit by 1/2 inch and we were charged an extra $29 for this bag. We had no choice. They also stated that in the very near future that there would be a charge for ALL checked luggage with Air Tran. No judgement here just some information. If you have a choice don't bring your biggest suitcase as it may not pass the measuring test.
I know this was lengthy but wanted to share some little tidbits with all of you. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and I will answer if I can. You can't go wrong on this beautiful ship. The staff is very proud of her and it is evident at all times as they show great care in their work.
__________________
 
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tommyjeepster

Guest
okay I was just messing with you all. I am going on the cruise. I need the passport for the cabo trip. I am taking a vacation day on Thursday and going to miami to get the passport so that I have it for the trip. Glad to know that you all were gonna miss me. :) I know, I am evil. But now I feel loved.

Jim any requests for you gang for Goodies for the cruise? George what about you guys? I have Barb and Sherees list.
 
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