Travel - Bad Economy, Strong USD, Good Deals

[FUEGO]

On second thought, maybe I'll just smuggle some of that rum on board in my belly!

[Bestwifeever]

DD's friends smuggled some on a recent cruise--they filled one Listerine bottle with cheap stuff as the sacrifice bottle when the suitcase was searched, and then bribed offered a little financial consideration to the cruiseship employee who was searching the luggage for his diligence in "finding" it. Miraculously he stopped searching at that point.

[Moemg]

The last cruise we went on you could bring wine aboard . I think most of the cruise lines are allowing it now as long as you do not go overboard .

[travelover]

as long as you do not go overboard

Literally?

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO I plan on using one Sam's Choice bottled water 20 oz. Empty that sucker out then fill er up! Should hold most of the fifth of clear rum we have. Close the bottle tight, then toss it in the checked luggage or carry-on (maybe the kid's carry on ) along with a few more bottles of Sam's Choice bottled water for some camouflage/decoys. We'll see how it goes. I managed to smuggle 3 or 4 gallons on board on a Celebrity cruise. Came back from a port visit with two large cardboard boxes labeled as liquor and walked right through the security checkpoint, no questions asked. I really felt like a rum runner that day! No way would I spend actual money to smuggle rum on board! I'm too cheap for that... Creative idea though

Let us know if you get by with this on NCL. According to cruisecritic members, several have tried this approach and gotten busted (they have learned to look for broken seals on the bottles). However, with the large amount of luggage being scanned, the odds are still in your favor. Good luck and have a drink (or two, or three...) for the rest of us!

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Let us know if you get by with this on NCL. According to cruisecritic members, several have tried this approach and gotten busted (they have learned to look for broken seals on the bottles). However, with the large amount of luggage being scanned, the odds are still in your favor. Good luck and have a drink (or two, or three...) for the rest of us!

Hmmm... may have to go 007 a bit more on this one. Maybe keep the bottle in an inside pocket of a coat? Place it in triple ziplock bags and duck tape it somewhere hidden on my body? False bottom in a carry-on? Tucked inside an external USB hard drive enclosure? Where there is a will, there is a way!

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Hmmm... may have to go 007 a bit more on this one. Maybe keep the bottle in an inside pocket of a coat? Place it in triple ziplock bags and duck tape it somewhere hidden on my body? False bottom in a carry-on? Tucked inside an external USB hard drive enclosure? Where there is a will, there is a way!

Too bad the Bunny isn't still here. He clued me in on using grape juice bottles to smuggle wine into outdoor concerts, which works great by the way.....

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Too bad the Bunny isn't still here. He clued me in on using grape juice bottles to smuggle wine into outdoor concerts, which works great by the way.....

That might well be the most compelling reason I've ever heard to have children. If I was a wine drinker....

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Gumby - A few place I have been that are fantastic: Mount Etna (live Volcano) - Ski and/or site see Siracusa - Created by the Corinthians then later settled by the Greeks Taromina - Greek and Roman Ruins Palermo - OK... but would be a bit lower on my list if I revisit. There are many more places that I did not visit. What sites are you planning to visit?

We are now booked. Spending one day in each of Taormina, Siracusa and Agrigento. and two days in Palermo. Any suggestions as to things to see or places to eat?

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Let us know if you get by with this on NCL. According to cruisecritic members, several have tried this approach and gotten busted (they have learned to look for broken seals on the bottles). However, with the large amount of luggage being scanned, the odds are still in your favor. Good luck and have a drink (or two, or three...) for the rest of us!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Hmmm... may have to go 007 a bit more on this one. Maybe keep the bottle in an inside pocket of a coat? Place it in triple ziplock bags and duck tape it somewhere hidden on my body? False bottom in a carry-on? Tucked inside an external USB hard drive enclosure? Where there is a will, there is a way!

UPDATE: Walking on board the cruise was no problem. I carried a 20 oz bottle of water (walmart brand) full of clear rum in my bookbag, plus two other real water bottles full of water. They xrayed the bag, and did not search any of our bags. I didn't see them searching others either. Norwegian Cruise Lines out of Charleston SC.

[Sarah in SC]

And I for one am surprised, as there is no one I can think of who looks more like a liquor-smuggling miscreant than Fuego!


Just kidding--the adorable little kids gave him away as a fine upstanding member of the law-abiding society of people who do not smuggle alcohol onto cruise ships!

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Just kidding--the adorable little kids gave him away as a fine upstanding member of the law-abiding society of people who do not smuggle alcohol onto cruise ships!

They probably felt sorry for me...

[billman]

I am finally going to do Iceland at the end of FEB. I can't wait!

[Sarah in SC]

I want to hear all about it billman! Iceland is on my dream list! And pictures, too! Do not forget us when you get back!

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby We are now booked. Spending one day in each of Taormina, Siracusa and Agrigento. and two days in Palermo. Any suggestions as to things to see or places to eat?

Sicily is on our long list of places to go to. But only 5 nights? Looks like the itinerary of someone who's still working!

Quote:

Originally Posted by billman I am finally going to do Iceland at the end of FEB. I can't wait!

Ave temperature in Reykjavik in Feb: Hi 35degF Lo 29. I'd rather wait till July: Hi 56degF Lo 48.

Also, how long is the day (sunrise to sunset) in Feb?

We went to Prague a couple of years ago in November. Though we enjoyed the trip (we always managed to make the best of any trip), some tourist spots closed at 4PM, and it was pitch dark and rainy at that time.

Reykjavik is also on my long list. We have not been to any Scandinavian country either, partly due to the higher cost. Read somewhere a hamburger meal cost $15 US in 2007. But then, the Icelandic Krona has collapsed. $1US=71 ISK in Jan 2007. Is now 125 ISK. So, $9 hamburger.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Sicily is on our long list of places to go to. But only 5 nights? Looks like the itinerary of someone who's still working!

Unfortunately, yes. The young wife is a teacher, so we are forced to fit within the confines of school breaks.

[billman]

I can't wait to go. It's actually for my bachelor party, so it should be a blast! Now or never as they say. The pics I can deliver E-R.org

[friar1610]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco I have noticed that cruise prices are down. Anyone looking into international travel in the next 6-12 months?

My wife and I just returned from a South America cruise. First cruise we ever went on, so I have no real sense for whether the rates were high or low. Boarded in Buenos Aires on the Atlantic coast and debarked in Valparaiso, Chile on the the Pacific Coast.

There was no fuel surcharge (unless you consider beer and wine to be "fuel".)

Two and a half years ago we spent a week each in Peru and Argentina. I thought that Argentina was a very good value, given the exchange rate then. Although we were only in Buenos Aires over one night this time, the prices seemed reasonable where we ate.

We are considering joining friends for a trip to Ireland in the fall. Not sure if we will go or not as we have been to Ireland 4 times before, although not recently.

Bottom line is that although SA was never on our radar screen for travel destinations, we have, in the past few years, found it to be a neat place to travel. Flights are long but jet lag is reduced because you change few, if any, time zones.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby We are now booked. Spending one day in each of Taormina, Siracusa and Agrigento. and two days in Palermo. Any suggestions as to things to see or places to eat?

It so happens that I just read "Bella Tuscany" by Frances Mayes, where she included a description of her visit to Sicily. For those not familiar with this author, the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" was very loosely based on her earlier memoir of the same title.

She and her husband, despite having spent much time in Italy, were so dreaded of the crazy traffic in Palermo during their visit that they decided to park the rental car, and used taxis and other modes of transportation. Outside of Palermo, the driving was much easier.

The archaeological richness of Sicily was overwhelming to Mayes. One could spend days, and not being able to see it all.

Also from Mayes, I learn that the signature Sicilian dish is arancino, deep-fried rice balls with various fillings, the most popular being ragu. Not surprisingly, Sicilians eat much seafood. I have also seen many Italian dishes with the qualifier "alla Trapanese", such as spaghetti alla Trapanese, or cuscus alla Trapanese. Curiously, Trapani is not a prominent locale in Sicily.

A black mark against Sicily is of course the Mafia. Even mainland Italians cringe when they hear the term. Mayes once asked a Tuscan if another person was Sicilian. The reply was "No, he is Italian".

Of course, I would think tourists were safe in Sicily. I did however remember reading in a guide book of the recommendation to be extra cautious at night in Palermo, and not to be too adventurous.

[Gumby]

Thanks. We may actually have that book, although I have not yet read it.