We have been pretty lucky in this catagory when you think about all that can go wrong.

This particular experience happened to our friends who were renting mopeds with us in Moorea. I am not sure exactly how it happened, but when the other couple got on their moped, they started it up and it lurched forward at a high speed. They drove it up the side of a tour bus that was parked nearby. That night at dinner, he showed us his legs, they were skinned from ankle to knee. It wasn't funny at the time but we were all laughing so hard at dinner, we couldn't breathe.

Probably our trip in March to China, we had all kinds of "transportation" problems. This is also the trip where the taxi could not find the ship and we went into a hotel to the roof to show him where it was. I must preface this by saying that Ken and I are adventurous and dont get "spooked" if we get stranded somewhere so we do things that others probably would not do. For us it is half of the fun. We love the independent way.

We were leaving the ship early in Beijing so we left the RSSC group after lunch in a tiny town between Beijing and the Great Wall. They were all still eating and we said our goodbyes and ventured out to find a taxi to take us back to the Great Wall. We wandered the street - NO taxis to been seen and NO ONE spoke English except one girl who managed to get what we were saying and explained there are NO taxis at all in this town PERIOD. We started to realise we really may have a problem.

Then the RSSC people starting coming out and loading in buses. Ken said "hide". I said why? He said do you really want all those people to know that we the "travel experts" are stranded and in trouble. I thought we could also RUN to the buses for help. However, we really wanted to get back to the Great Wall not Beijing so I also ducked down behind the car we looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Long story short we went back to the restaurant, a young waitress spoke a little English she got a man for an agreed price to take us to the Great Wall. It was about $8 US. Problems over right - wrong.

We go up the cable car to the top of the Great Wall. We walk the wall except Ken REALLY wanted to walk the Great Wall. Mr. Macho. I said go ahead I will wait. Well I waited and waited. Finally he comes back and we go down. When we get to the bottom - EMPTY. All the stores are closed, all the tour buses gone all the TAXIS gone AGAIN we are alone with no transportation and no one around. Okay twice in one day!! There is a hotel at the Great Wall so we went there. Well once again no English. Finally they made a call and a man with a "little" English came. We had our hotel written down on a sheet of paper in Chinese. He nods and indicated for us to sit. We sat. Then he comes back with a young man and a young woman. We agree on a price $25 US (it is about an hour and a half to Beijing). They direct us to their car - we get in the back. It was really great they went a long way to avoid paying tolls and we saw sections of the Great Wall we would never have seen on the highway. It was super. Then as we neared Beijing she pulled out a map. Obviously they had no idea where the hotel was. They starting arguing. Ken and I looked at each and said "Yes, they are married". Of course they found the hotel we did lots of hugging and laughing and said goodbye.

Actually aside from a few moments of stark terror it ended up being one of the best days with the best experiences. These are the types of things that make travel a true adventure for us.

Want to come with us ashore - better think carefully first!!!!

Oh Ngaire, I can just picture you and Ken hiding behind a car! Very funny!

My Mother lost my passport while taking a train somewhere in France so she hid me in the train's bathroom for the whole ride which lasted hours. I was only 7 but I can still remember the smell. I still remind her that was a form of child abuse.

I have a feeling I am going to like this topic, so far the posts have been priceless!
Chip, that's hysterical!

Athough this is not a humorous story, we have found Ocho Rios,Jamacia, to be the worst port we've visited. It is very necessary there (or at least was a few years back when we went) to either take a ship's excursion or stay on the ship as a "sea day." Here's why. Cruise guests on shore were constantly being approached and pressured by locals to buy illegal drugs. I don't use such drugs (obviously), but I just couldn't get rid of the "pushers". They would lie by saying "cocaine is legal here." Really the opposite is true, and cocaine possesion there will land you a LONG time in a very bad prison! Further, we were told on the ship that some of these "pushers" were actually cops, who would arrest you if you said "yes." Now that would not be a legal arrest in the US, but in Jamacia, it would be. This is the only port where we have felt unsafe.

But that was back in '92, and I hope things have been cleaned up by now.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

On a tour boat in Cozumel I slid on a slippery deck right off the boat...ker-plunk. Pulled back on (bright red with mortification ) and proceeded to fall in the street when we returned to shore. My sister said Mom should have named me Grace. :mecry:

Jamaica follow up. We were there on the Mariner about 3 years ago. Knowing about Jam. we did a sea day. Pax at dinner had all the same stories Richard mentions. The Jam. gov. seems to think there is more money to be made from drugs than tourists. Please beware.
Babs

A few:

1. On Puerto Rico..You know how RSSC has umbrellas in every cabin? Well, we went to the rain forest. Only one couple out of about 20 thought to bring an umbrella and we were all soaked to the skin and miserable. Tells you something about the lack of thinking when you leave on vacation. I mean, we were going to a RAIN forest and were warned that it usually does RAIN.

2. Sea day excursion...On our first cruise: Doug and I got this great idea to avoid sea sickness..stay in the pool all day to balance out equalibrium. It worked. But, we also both got sun poisoning.

2. Not us, but a pretty horrible experience for some family. One couple did not heed the be back on time warning for our cruise and, as our ship was pulling out of the dock, ran up the dock, with bags of souvenirs and a child in tow, screaming stop. The ship stopped. Everyone watched as the family was shuttled to the ship and climbed aboard. Most of the 20-something Carnival ship (next to us) mooned the tardy travelers to jeers and hollars. The only reason our ship stopped for them was that they had left a small child on board. It cost them several thousands of dollars in fees for the extra expenses. Quite a shopping spree experience. I don't think they came out of their cabin for days. They were mortified.

re: Sedona's #2

I must add that this was a Bermuda cruise over 20 years ago.
I was much better looking and much less bright then.

I figured - quite correctly - that my sea sickness would go away if i floated in the pool & let the earth's gravity flow. As compared with standing on a ship that was rocking & rolling.
Of course, I was right.
BUT.. I forgot to replace the sun block that the pool waters easily washed away.
Putting on a dress shirt that night was Painful!

So, I did a dumb thing, paid for it & now have a story to tell over drinks on every cruise ship.... just ask me the next time we sail together.

Doug

I haven't had much in the way of a bad port experience other than Barbados. We were on a Xmas cruise and had taken our two youngest kids for their first cruise experience. They were 14 and 15 at the time. Unfortunatley Barbados was our 2nd port stop and when we got off the ship and walked into town we were mobbed by rogue tour guides that were waiting for the ship's passengers. They hastled and followed us for blocks and my daughter was so terrified by the experience that she stayed on the ship for the rest of the ports. To this day she still talks about that cruise and how she has no interest in cruising.

Ah, yes, Barbados. Don't use those pay phones there that have signs on them "call the US for 25 cents per minute." We made a two minute credit card call, and were billed $34! We got the credit card company to charge that one back. What a rip!

Thanks,
Richard :eek:

Doug and Andi ~ Your pool/gravity story reminds me of the solution to being in an elevator that's plunging to the ground. What should you do? Jump up and down. At least that way you stand (?) a 50% chance of being 'in the air' when the elevator hits bottom. I know....really dumb..... :banana:

We took a ship tour in Morocco , which included a "guided" walk through the casbah.. which if you haven't been consists of interesting winding street villages ( dirty) with hords of locals hawking things in your face ( spoon lady? wooden camel sir?)..until you just want to scream.. enough already..actually we all thought the whole scene was kind of scarey..
think 50 people with one guide who walked very fast ahead of the group.. after about an hour of this "guided walking tour" it was back to the bus.. and next stop was a "refreshment stop for tea .. well the driver pulled the bus up at the place and none of us got out.. with everyone saying just take us back to the ship.. we have had quite enough.. but the driver and the "guide" left us and went into the restaurant to have their tea..
A few of the people felt if they knew where we were and where the ship was they would have driven the bus back..
it was pretty funny at the time still brings a smile..

Someone I know made me promise that I would never tell this to anyone. But what the HECK! ;) In one of the ports, some folks stayed behind to shop. All they found was junk and decided to return to relax with their friends. They hurried back to the RSSC ship, which they could see right in front of them, but couldn't find the way to the port. They wandered in the heat for a while, finding a few other Princess passengers in the same predicament (all the RSSC passengers were on board)...finally,after QUITE AWHILE WALKING ROUND AND ROUND, they found the escape route. They vowed never to tell and arrived with a few moments to spare before the gang plank was raised and a half a grin for their spouses. You know who you are? :ohmy:

Andi,

You broke the code of silence <img border="0" alt="[c]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />

This sounds like more of a problem with signing at the port than with guests. We have been in a lot of ports where the path from the ship to town and back has not been simple or well marked. One would think the way these port towns depend on the cruise ship trade, they would at least put up some signs showing the way to and from the ships. Or, that failing, I would expect Radisson to put up a few temporary signs. This, I have seen done in several ports.

Basically, I think that many ports need to become more "cruise guest friendly", or else the ships should find other ports. Ever go to Raiatea on the PG? She stops there on Sunday, and there is a mall there, but it is closed on Sunday. And they don't open on Sunday come heck or high water or ships in port. Isn't it about time for Radisson to tell the locals there to change their ways, or Radisson will find another port? But heck, at least on Raiatea there is no problem finding the dock.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

Denise, It couldn't have been you. You were too busy buying pornagraphic ring holders.

Richard:

I'm sorry, but I think if the people of Raiatea don't work on Sundays we should respect their choice. When we visit Polynesia we are visiting another part of world where they may have different values. The shops in Papeete are closed on Sundays as well. In fact, it is probably almost impossible to find any extensive shopping (outside of resort hotels) in all of French Polynesia on a Sunday.

It would be very arrogant to tell people that they must work so that we can "shop". JMHO

Andi,

You have your ports confused. The shopping spree was in Corfu. The "Ship is Within Sight, But I Can't Seem to Make My Way Down There" escapade was Malta.

Alan has all ready advised me that there will be "no unsupervised" wandering and/or shopping for DOF :D (Yeah, Right!)

I wondered why we stopped in Raiatea on Sunday and Taha'a on Monday and not the other way around. Unless Taha'a is booked by someone else on Sundays. (Windstar? Princess?)
My worst off-ship was in Antigua - I went shopping right off the pier, then wandered from the ship on my own and promptly got lost. Turned a corner and found a pack of dogs chowing down on a bloated, dead goat :eek: . Local's cars would drive by, slow down and stare at me (with my brand new Rolex watch gleaming). Finally flagged down a taxi, who said "What you doin' in THIS neighborhood, Mon? You'd be easy pickins'!" Then sweated for 15 minutes while he drove me back to the pier. Vowed never to get off the ship again there :ohmy:

It's amazing how many of these stories are similar. We were diverted from San Juan to Ponce Puerto Rico. (Not RSSC- Seabourne) They set up a shuttle bus service into town. Town was filthy, street vendors aggressive, and shuttle service erratic. We left town and after a horrible 30 min bus ride toured a lovely platation home. I was unsteady on my feet. We were on the Sea Goddess II which is quite small, and seas had been rough. I'd never lost me "land legs" before and was just sure I was going to keel over. The shuttle never came back for us! We finally had to call for a cab, which took an hour to get to us, and by then we were all dead from the heat as well. The couple we were with wanted to only take the cab back to town and grab the shuttle back to the ship. After all, why pay for a longer trip? We finally said we would pay for the entire ride, just to get straight back to the ship, and they reluctantly agreed that might be the best idea. It was a good thing we did - a party of four waited for the shuttle for almost an hour before they found a way back to the ship.

I didn't have my ports confused. I was trying to protect our identities. You had to give us away!! Doug will never let me off the leash now. <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" />

Regarding Raiatea, I understood one of the reasons for the Sunday stop was to facilitate the "Children of Raiatea" performance as they're in school weekdays. The second Sunday that we were there last March the TP :rolleyes: was also in and about 1/3 of the shops in the dock area were open. :D

So Andi, does this mean you won't be doing Visby "on your own?"


Greg

Margo:

It is not just that the shops are closed on Raiatea on Sunday. It is also that there is so little else to do there. Beaches and snorkeling win no prize. The land and river tour is OK and educational. The second time we were there, we'd done the land and river tour, and just went to the port to see if there were anything to do. No private tour guides were there to meet us. Heck, the police station was even closed! It must be noted that the people with the children of Raiatea show have no customs that prevent them from selling goods after the show.

As the Children of Raiatea show is in the AM and Taha'a is within "rock throwning distance" perhaps a short run to Taha'a on that Sunday would be more appropriate than the "Raiatea sea day."

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

Only if I want to become a citizen of another country!! How's the shopping in Visby?

I hear the shopping is fair (the place is sort of a Swedish resort area, so it'd be like me going to Catalina Island :cool: ). What scares me though is the BUYING
Greg

I imagine the shop owners are just glad not to have to open their doors one day a week. You might feel that way too if you had to work in paradise!

Are the "shipboard vendors" connected with the school? Perhaps that's how they pay for special things for the children. Either that, or you've just found the only entrepreneurs on the island!

Sedona: Until reading this board I never knew that you had gotten lost! While I recall being concerned over your lateness, I bought your bogus story hook, line & sinker.
(note to self: tomorrow buy leash.)

Phil: I recall our HAL cruise. At the dock were all the taxi drivers & guides a-hawkin'. (Wish I could recall the island. Honey, help me out here)
We met another couple at the taxis, who became friends (the couple. I've never become friends with a taxi). Since we two guys had read the map we "knew" where the old town was..... very near the dock. So off we went. We were just too smart to pay for a taxi!
About 1/2 to 3/4 a mile later after folowing the coast & not seeing any signs we turned inland in a residential area where we received many odd looks.... white, shorts & t-shirts w/ cameras, at least we didn't stand out!
Since we had gotten much wiser in the short time of our walk from the ship, we turned back.
Back at the taxi stand, we asked for direction.
The old town was only a few hundred yards in the other direction!
But you know that something is not quite right when the traffic cop gives you a look that says: what the F* are you dumb white people doing 'here'!

Doug

Shopping is not bad in Visby - lots of carved horses that is supposedly THE souvenir to buy in Sweden & amber of course. And if you forgot something major - there is a branch of Sweden's major dept store there - small, but has the necessities. No electric rollers after the big roller blow up in Copenhagen - but was able to purchase rollers. Could have bought a curling iron but didn't. Also toiletries & clothes. It's nothing to search out unless you forgot something. The tour desk people know all about it. So yes, you can shop in Visby. I also took a tram ride around the island & saw all the sights that the RSSC tour goes to. The narration is only in Swedish but it was fun & entertaining. Enjoy. How many of your friends can say they have been to Visby.

I went to Stockholm and never bought anything and to Catalina Island and never bought anything...must be the only two spots this ever happened, so I guess Doug can forgo the leash. I have curly hair, so don't need curlers, what else is there to do is Visby, other than to say I've been there?

I just got back from Milan. Another place you can miss.

Margo:

I fear that I mislead as to my meaning about Raiatea. It was my goal (which I missed) to emphasize the fact that there is virtually nothing to do there --- not even any shopping, which indeed is at the bottom of my list of things to do in FP! Instead, I emphasized the closed stores, when I should have emphasized the lack of any taxis, private (non-ship sponsored) tours, self-guided tour info, and all the other things that can help us get the most out of seeing a port. Other than the excellent "Children of Raiatea" show onboard in the AM, I would have to rank the rest of this port experience (on a scale of 1 to 10) At near 0. Add some available taxis with drivers in the know, and some water based tours that can be booked at the dock, it might be a good port stop --- even with the stores closed.

Hope this clarifies,
Richard :) :) :)

Richard,
Some of the "non-ship sponsored" tours and vendors were available the Sunday when we were there with the TP, but not many. From what I could tell in thelocal tourist office Raiatea is a "destination" island (folks come to spend a week or two). Just an observation.

Andi,
From what I can tel at
http://cityguide-europe.com/se/visby/

Some photos:
http://www.edog-edog.com/Gotland2003/


Visby seems to be sort of an "eye candy" and historical stop. We were thinking about renting bikes and riding around the town (akin to the tour of the RSSC page).

Greg

Richard:

Sorry if I misunderstood, but your first post implied that RSSC should insist that the stores should be opened. If you really wanted more tours, there are some independent options. I just did a quick search and found this one:

Raiatea Independent Tours

PG bound travelers may want to consider making arrangement in advance if they want an active day on Raiatea!

Margo:

You didn't misunderstand; I merely misstated myself. While I used the closed shopping center, and police station, as examples, I really don't care if shopping was available or not, and I didn't want to spend the afternoon in the police station either! My saying that Radisson should make either open up was my misstatement. Let me try again:

As the topic of this thread is "Worst port/excursion" Raiatea could well qualify if one merely goes ashore looking for something to do, because it just will not be there. As you point out, this is a port where one must pre-plan activities (through the ship or independent operator). Otherwise, it is a "sea day."

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

Biggest Independent excursion mistake I have ever made was in 2000. After departing the ship in Civitavecchia my 3 1st time cruiser friends and I boarded our taxi for an ambitious tour of Rome. We toured for over 8 hours and I finally had to say no more, lets go to the hotel. We had made arrangements to overnight in Rome and catch the ship the following day in Livorno. Went to the Hotel Scalinata (which was wonderful by the way), took a little nap and then went walking. It was All Saints Day and everyone was on the street. Maximized the day and stayed out late catching a few hours sleep before heading to the Vatican the following morning. Did a quick 3 hours there and then ran to the train station for our train to Livorno.

On the express train I was congratulating myself on a very well planned 2 days for friends and then the clouds began to darken. It started ran cats and dogs but no biggie since we were just going to get on the ship and finish up the cruise. Well we got Livorno, hailed a cab, and I said take us to the ship. Which ship he said? There were none! I insisted that it was supposed to be there so we drove to the harbor and he called the harbor master. OMG the ship had gone to Nice instead. So he took us back to the train station (remember it raining buckets and buckets outside) and we purchase tickets to Genova to meet the ship for disembarkation. My friends insisted on purchasing the train tickets (they knew nothing of train classes) and we ended up on a local train. Several hours later we arrived in Genova went to the hotel we had stayed at pre-cruise and through the luck of the Gods they had rooms. Checked in and I sat vigil watching for her to pull in. At 2AM she docked and I proceeded to awaken everyone. Talk about a group of grumpy people. We hailed a cab (at least we had very little luggage) and drove to the ship. The gangway was extended and the fellow there did recognize us and let us on. Once aboard we needed to pack our luggage and get it to the holding area as well as tip our staff.

Everything worked out well and was an adventure. From there we flew to Prague for 4 days ending a perfect Mediterranean holiday. You gotta have those oop's or it just ain't fun!

jeff

Wow...quite a story Jeff.

R

Stress test!
You won Jeff!