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January 31, 2008 St. Kitts Residents Want a Tug Provided For Cruise Ships
An article in the local newspaper with the headline "Shocking Neglect" asks officials to provide a tug boat to help
guide ships to the pier. Last week, the
Carnival Destiny was scheduled to make a
port call, but had to turn away due to high winds and high tides. The 2, 500
passenger ship would have earned the port over $50,000.00 not to mention the
cost to area vendors and service providers. According to the report, residents
ask how the Government could let this happen. "In
this new era of a services based economy that is mainly dependent on tourism it
is simply unbelievable that the Government can be so shockingly and criminally
neglectful of this most vital sector of the economy."
Captain's Note: Over the years,
we've been turned away from St. Kitts more often
than not due to weather conditions. We agree
with the residents that a reliable tug service
is needed in
St. Kitts.
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January 29, 2008
Antigua and Barbuda to host First International
Music Festival
Antigua and Barbuda will play host to its first International Music Festival
June 12-15 this year. Minister of Tourism Harold
Lovell said the festival is intended to give a
boost to the country’s tourist arrival figures
during the slow time of the season (between
sailing week in April and Carnival). |
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January 24, 2008
Grand Cayman To Build
Cruise Terminal?
Tourism Minister delivers
report to officials regarding the progress
of plans to create a cruise ship berthing
facility at the George Town Harbor.
According to the report, the 2 unnamed
investors want officials to negotiate
further including:
- Establishment of separate facilities
for berthing and cargo handling.
Problem: proximity of the cruise ship
and cargo handling operations.
- Reaching agreement to satisfy local
requirements for a thorough
environmental impact assessment
- Increase space allotment for the
facility
- Construct facility to withstand
major storms
The next stage will, according to the
Minister, be the finalization of a
memorandum of understanding with the two
parties involved.
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January 17, 2008
Costa Maya
Residents Look Forward to Inviting Back
Cruise Passengers
Just 5 months have passed since
Hurricane Dean devastated the area, yet
officials hope to welcome cruise
passengers back to Costa Maya in time
for summer sailings.
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Festivals/ Carnival/Mardi
Gras |
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Upcoming Events
Thursday January 24 -
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Rose Hall Montego Bay. Tickets - $75.00 ($80.00 on
Saturday) for individual days.2 day pass $150.00 and
3 day pass $225.00 Line-up includes the following
performers:
Thursday January 24
- Anita Baker, JT Taylor of Kool & and the
Gang, Spyro Gyra,
Yerba Buena. "Art of Music
Jamaica" with: Majorie Whylie, AJ Brown,
Yessica Yap, Duane Stephenson, Jon Williams,
Sonny Bradshaw and Myra Hague Bradshaw, Desi
Jones and more..
Friday January 25
- Jill Scott, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Etana,
Hugh Masakela, Chalice, Ryan Shaw.
Saturday January 26
- Diana Ross, Billy Ocean, Hugh Masakela, TAJ
Mahal, Mary Mary, Nikki Yanokofsy.
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Caribbean Baseball World Series
Feb 2-8, 2008 Santiago,
Dominican Republic
Mexico, Venezuela,
Puerto Rico and the
Dominican Republic
will meet for
some of the best of baseball in the
Caribbean Championships set for the
following location: Santiago, DR. Click
on the link below for a map.
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January 8, 2008
Antilles has "image problem with
Netherland Residents
According to an editorial published
in The Daily Herald
St. Maarten, N.A.
The Parliamentary
Consultation on Kingdom Relations (POK)
was to be on the agenda during the
tripartite meeting of the Members of
Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles,
Aruba and the Netherlands, which was
supposed to start in
Curacao on Monday. During these
consultations counterparts were to
discuss future political relations after
a Dutch poll found that 49% of the
population wanted to sever ties with the
Netherlands Antilles. The
meeting was cancelled after Antillean
politicians had been threatening over
the past few days to boycott the talks.
They were demanding an apology from PVV
Member of Parliament Hero Brinkman, who
described the
Netherlands Antilles as “largely a
corrupt gang of thieves". The Parliament
of the Netherlands Antilles passed a
motion that denied controversial Dutch
Member of Parliament Hero Brinkman
entrance to the Parliament building as
long as he did not apologize for his
derogatory statements about the people
of the Netherlands Antilles. The
meetings are now stalled. |
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January 8, 2008
Tsunami Warning System
for Dominican Republic
needed
According to a
report by a
Dominican Republic news website,
dr1.com, A director of Seismology at
the Autonomous University of Santo
Domingo reports that the institute is
working in conjunction with the United
States, Haiti, Cuba and Puerto Rico in
order to work out strategies for dealing
with tsunamis (also called "tidal
waves") and their effects on the
Dominican Republic. The Dominican
Republic does not have a tsunami warning
system in place.
Several tsunamis
have affected the island of Hispaniola
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1946 in
the Nagua area. The tsunami
engulfed the village of Matancitas,
near Nagua, in Maria Trinidad
Sanchez province killing dozens of
residents
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1918, the area
of Punta Cana and Cortecito were
affected by "tidal waves" caused by
an earthquake in Mayaguez,
Puerto Rico.
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May 1842 the
Monte Cristi area was battered by a
tsunami that killed an estimated
five or six thousand people.
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1757 a tsunami
affected the area around
Samana
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1751 a tsunami
affected Santo Domingo
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| Rough Weather
causes problems for passengers |
 A
cold front brining high winds swept pass
the Western Caribbean on Thursday, Jan
3, 2008, and caused the seas to turn
rough earlier than expected. The
Carnival Cruise ships, Liberty
and Imagination, both missed the
port of Ocho Rios due to high seas.
Passengers from RCI's Radiance of the
Seas were tossed around in the
harbor while tendering back from
Georgetown. Some passengers waited more
than 2 hours on their tender trying to
board the ship.
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Port of Miami
- Miami City Commissioners met on
Dec 28, 2007 and agreed, for the
second time, to spend $50
million of the $914 million
dollars needed to build the Port
Tunnel. If the plan moves
forward, construction could
begin as early as September
2008. The tunnel could be ready
by late 2012 if all goes as
planned. |
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The Port of Miami Tunnel will.. Provide direct access
between the Seaport, I-395 and
I-95
Keep the Port of Miami—the
community’s second largest
economic generator—competitive
Relieve congested downtown
Miami streets of Port passenger
and cargo traffic, improving
safetyFacilitate ongoing and
future development plans in and
around downtown Miami
Provide additional access
between the mainland and the
Port |
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| Dominica's Dive
Fest - July 11th - 19th July, 2008 |
| Dive Fest is the longest running
Scuba Diving Festival in the Caribbean.
Dive Fest 2008 will be the 15th
consecutive year that the
Dominica Watersports
Association has presented this
event. |
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Partial List of
Events: |
| Saturday, July
12: Discover SCUBA |
| Sunday, July 13:
Treasure Hunt |
| Wednesday, July
16: Sunset Bay Scuba |
| Saturday, July
19: Whale Watching Cruise |
| Sunday, July 20:
Kubuli Carib-Canoe Race |
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St. Maarten |
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Carnival builds pier in
St. Maarten to accommodate large
ships. Construction is expected to be
completed by Nov 2008 |
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Barbados
- Top travel
destination for celebrities in 2007 |
| According to
Expedia.co./uk, a, celebrity
spotting is quite the past time as folks
try to catch a glimpse of their
favorites that maybe staying at the
Sandy Lane Hotel, or hanging out at the
strip near Holetown |
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 U.S.
Virgin Islands and the
St. John Blues Festival - scheduled
for March 19-23, 2008 with a cajun and
zydeco flavor this year. Don't forget about the upcoming festivals and carnivals taking place in
the next couple of months.
Review the schedules
here |
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New US
DOT Hazmat Safety Rule to Place Lithium Battery
Limits in Carry-on Baggage on Passenger Aircraft
Effective January 1, 2008
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Passengers will no
longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in
checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008 once new
federal safety rules take effect. The new
regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium
battery fires, will continue to allow lithium
batteries in checked baggage if they are installed
in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if
stored in plastic bags.
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Common consumer
electronics such as travel cameras, cell phones, and
most laptop computers are still allowed in carry-on
and checked luggage. However, the rule limits
individuals to bringing only two extended-life spare
rechargeable lithium batteries such as laptop and
professional audio/video/camera equipment lithium
batteries in carry-on baggage.
Read Full Story
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Passport
Information
The Passport office has
changed deadlines a few times over the past couple of years and
there's been some question as to what changes, if any, will take
effect in January 2008. The answer is no, nothing new that
will change for cruise travelers sailing the Caribbean. Not
until maybe the summer of 2008. All dates are tentative
according the The Department of State, and the Department of
Homeland Security - the two agencies regulating U.S.
Passports.
If you plan on traveling the
Caribbean on a round-trip cruise from the U.S. before the
summer, you're safe to carry only a photo-id like a drivers
license, and your birth certificate. No passport is required.
If you want to read all of the
information regarding passport regulations, see
Passport updates |
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