I can't believe we weren't deported.

[SPINIKR-RO]

To be honest I thought we were going to make port at the capital, not go to a private resort.


I think there are cruises that do that, but you have to pick the right time. For us? We just went with when everyone had enough time.


Francisco

Ya the company leases that land and has it fenced in, They pay for a mock town where you can take a bus tour but the people who live there are shipped in every day.

There is a big trash dump behind the resort that is guarded off and the workers go in there and get food . Lots of chick on a bone gets wrapped up out of the trash as most people dont finish a drum stick. =)

 

[SPINIKR-RO]

The mock town and in the distance is your ship and the port entry http://www.flickr.com/photos/roganschlassa/5753939338/in/set-72157626667314555

I got to the resort area before the feeling of unwelcome was present. =)

 

[Francisco]

The mock town and in the distance is your ship and the port entry http://www.flickr.com/photos/roganschlassa/5753939338/in/set-72157626667314555

I got to the resort area before the feeling of unwelcome was present. =)

That is insane.

Thanks for the heads up!

Jamaica doesn't have that going on as much. While there is the resort area to shop, any sort of outside tours take you right through the country.

I would have rather given money to the locals than pretty much just feeding it back into the cruise line itself.

Francisco

 

[Rob T]

I'm getting ready to take Mrs. Rob T on a cruise in December.  Will be our longest vacation in a decade.  We are going on the Oasis' twin sister ship, the Allure of The Seas.

I notice you failed to answer the absolute most important question (unless I missed it) - how was the Internet on the ship?

This is how vacations are planned in the Rob T household:

Step 1 - conversation:

Mrs. Rob T:  "Honey, i want to take a trip to Antigua"

Rob T (not actually paying attention):  "Ok, that sounds like fun.  We should do that.  Go ahead and book the trip."

Step 2:  Mrs. Rob T books travel.

Step 3:  After forgetting about the trip until 2 weeks prior to departure, discover through extensive Google searching that none of my various hot spots or connected devices will actually WORK in Antigua, or I that I have to add the "super premium international data plan" to my phone which is available at the bargain price of $10 per KB.

 

[Francisco]

I notice you failed to answer the absolute most important question (unless I missed it) - how was the Internet on the ship?

Pretty good. The signal was strong and it gave pretty good connectivity. I was able to get on XMPP, SSH, etc. It was laggy since it was a satellite link, but it was still workable.

You pay by the minute, no GB limit. You can pay $150 for 500 minutes. You sign in/out as you need.

They require you to login to a portal to register your mac which sucks. It only worked nicely on IE for me on Windows. Aldryic was able to use firefox on debian w/o issue.

Francisco

 

[Rob T]

That's good to know.  As long as SSH works, I'm generally happy.  I remember it being more expensive on the last cruise I took - somewhere around $0.40 per minute.  I think my Internet bill on that cruise was more than my bar tab...

 

[MannDude]

That's good to know.  As long as SSH works, I'm generally happy.  I remember it being more expensive on the last cruise I took - somewhere around $0.40 per minute.  I think my Internet bill on that cruise was more than my bar tab...

It's expensive if you don't buy a package. On Carnival last year it waslike $0.70/minute. Needless to say I was on vacation and didn't want to use the internet, so didn't. But obviously if you have work related things to check in on from time to time, it's worth keeping in the loop. I'd not want to take my laptop on shore because, well, it's a vacation! But I'm sure you can find places with free wifi. But I'd rather have my feet in the sand in a beer in my hand or be touring old forts and stuff.

 

[Rob T]

I think I bought 500 minutes last time, but I remember it being around $200.  I think it was around a $1 per minute without a package.

Oh, important safety tip - don't forget to close your browser when you walk out of the room.  That was an expensive mistake.

Unfortunately a vacation without Internet access just isn't in the cards for me.  Gotta keep the network running for Fran and the rest of the crew

 

[Francisco]

I think I bought 500 minutes last time, but I remember it being around $200.  I think it was around a $1 per minute without a package.

Oh, important safety tip - don't forget to close your browser when you walk out of the room.  That was an expensive mistake.

Unfortunately a vacation without Internet access just isn't in the cards for me.  Gotta keep the network running for Fran and the rest of the crew

Once you're on a package it doesn't put you back to the 'per minute' billing, it simply doesn't work until you change your package or get another one.

You have to go to their 'business area' which is just a small room with some computers for you to swipe your card and register an account. Once you're registered you tell it what package you want and off you go.

pay-as-you-go is $0.68/minute on the Oasis and it drops to like $0.30/minute at the top package.

Fun fact, it looks like DNS traffic routes through w/o filtering so if you feel like having fun, you could probably throw an OpenVPN on UDP port 53 and have at it

Francisco

 

[Francisco]

We forgot to mention that the Nathan's we had in Jamaica was the most overpriced meal to date.

I bought 2 corn dogs as a meal, Aldryic had 2 hot dogs, his wife had a single hotdog, and the total was ~$50.

Matt bought some quiznos and it was $20 or so.

Francisco

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

The rum was delicious, though <_<

 

[Francisco]

The rum was delicious, though <_<

... I didn't know Nathan's sold liquid meals >_>

Francisco

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

Well, chugging a fifth of rum on land within the space of a few hours was significantly cheaper than the drinks on the boat

 

[wlanboy]

Needless to say I was on vacation and didn't want to use the internet, so didn't.

I'd not want to take my laptop on shore because, well, it's a vacation!

But I'd rather have my feet in the sand in a beer in my hand or be touring old forts and stuff.

True words.

 

[EricGregory]

Rum is like dating a really hot girl who happens to be a complete psychopath.  Great one minute then the next she's throwing a flaming brick through your window.  

That's the kinda relationship I have with rum.

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

That just means you need to drink more. A wise man once shared with me the ultimate hangover remedy:


1 - Never stop drinking.


EOF