Recent posts by BobFromCanada | Debbie's Caribbean Resort Reviews Forums

Will the forum police get me for that one???

I think not. We have received great support from the "Powers that be".
I don’t see any issues. It’s a good cause. A little extra promotion won’t hurt.

In general, I agree with you. but ….1) I didn’t delete anything. One of our fine hard-working moderators did.2) No, and I mean no Cuba related information was deleted. It was all off topic. Nothing would have been deleted if it had been in a new thread.3) Several other members complained via the ‘Report Post’ feature. It’s a real pain in the neck to deal with this. If it was easy to just move a portion of the posts to an new thread with another topic she would have done so. You guys don’t see any of the things that happen when this forum feature is triggered, just moderators do.4) I didn’t like to see the information just disappear either, but it was the only way to resolve that particular complaint. I’m sorry that the complaint got resolved the way it did, but that’s water under the bridge. 5) Any of you feel free to repost that information in a new thread. It was good information, just in the wrog place.6) There’s a reason why threads have topics. That’s so members/guests can find things. I’m sorry, but if I just logged into the forum and wanted to find information about Mexico, why on earth would I go to the Cuba forums and look under the ‘summer in Cuba’ topic? Sure, if I happened to be following a thread, I might remember that it was there. A month or a year from now, no one would remember that it was buried in that thread.I’m sorry that you didn’t care for the way the issue was resolved. But I have to back up our moderator’s actions actions. I’m sure you guys visit other forums like TA. Man, tons of stuff just disappears from the TA forums all the time’ along with the complaints. At least we leave the complaints ……

You weren’t censored. I fail to see that discussion about the murder rate in Mexico has anything to do with "summer in Cuba". About reply 12 or 13, as I recall, the thread was hijacked, contrary to our posted rules. She deleted those posts, as well she should have. That discussion belonged in another thread and would have stayed there under those conditions.

funny, I took it as comparing Cuba safety with Mexico

Then why not start a thread with THAT topic. We’re not talking rocket science here.

	You weren’t censored. I fail to see that discussion about the murder rate in Mexico has anything to do with "summer in Cuba". About reply 12 or 13, as I recall, the thread was hijacked, contrary to our posted rules. She deleted those posts, as well she should have. That discussion belonged in another thread and would have stayed there under those conditions.

Sure, how do I find the editor on this site (been trying for ages)? There does not appear to be a direct link or e-mail.

Someone should realllly be updating this info.

Try going to members / view staff members / editor.

You should find the email and PM links there.

I’ll take a crack at at least part of it. I don’t spend a whole lot of time on this board, but things ‘should be’ much the same as our Dominican board ….

1. The Barlovento in Varadero does not appear to be listed in the contact information list . Does anyone have their e-mail address?

Does anyone have the current email address for this hotel?

2. Just wondering how old the contact information provided here is. Is it ever updated? I’ve given some e-mail addresses from this source to various people over the last year and some addresses are no longer in use.

Some of that information would be quite dated. The info was obviously the most recent available when posted. The only way it will ever be updated is if someone informs us it’s been changed. The hotels change their email structure like the wind and I don’t know why. Needless to say, they don’t send us notification. That leaves you guys.

3. When we have NEW contact info to add, to whom do we send it?

None of the moderators has access to update that information, so ‘we’ can’t update it. Best bet would be to send it to the editor.

Thanks dudes and dudettes!

Hope this helps.

bfc

	Well, if you find something like that (video capable, rechargeable, keyfob etc) and it turns out to be good, let us know where you got it. I don’t care about the security camera part, but I can see a use or three for a keyfob camera.

Well I found a pin hole camera for $6.00. Yes that is not a typo. Its called a key chain camera and holds a 4gb card. Now you have to buy the card separately which is $5 to $10. Now that is cheap. Will find out how long the battery will last. Its one of those round flat batteries. As the name implies, it looks like a key fob. Can’t wait to test this new equip’t out. Can set this anywhere in a room and they will not see it. Good luck with that one. I bought one a few years ago and it chewed up the battery in about a week (even though turned off). I took it back and exchanged it. The replacement did the same thing. I returned it as well and didn’t bother to get another. Hope you have better luck.

Oh, and by the way, I expect it’s a still camera, not video, you’ll never be able to conceal it and you have to be there to press the shutter release …..

What a great idea, if you find one, let us know where you got it and the cost. Thanks Google the term "security camera radio" and you’ll find it. Trouble is that said device looks like it’s a minimum of $300 and more valuable than anything I’m trying to protect ….

On the other hand, if I was a thief, I’d likely take the camera too.

	Now that you mention it, I seem to recall that there was less kneeroom. Wonder if they snuck in another row (or two) of seats while they were at it ….

	I never had much luck watching a movie on a plane anyway. Too many interruptions (dinner, bar service, duty free, the inevitable form to fill out, guy in next seat wants up to use washroom, passenger announcements, etc, etc, etc). There is a reason that most movies offered are a little low in the plot line ….

	They’re in the middle of upgrading all their planes to seatback entertainment units. The latest word I have is that this is to be completed by May. In January, going down we had the ‘one size fits all’ movie, but coming back we had the seatback units. If you get that, there’s lots of choices ….

My iPod charger is dual voltage, as is my hair dryer. So I imagine I just need to use a plug adaptor as I believe 220 outlets in Cuba are of the round pin type?
In that case, electrically you’re OK. All you have to do is make the physical connection. Note that the hotel room in the next block of rooms, or even next door, may have been wired at a different time and the configuration ‘may’ vary. Most converters also come with a pretty decent set of adapters that cover most situations you are likely to run into.

	I don’t think so. You can get an email sent to you when someone has sent you a PM, but AFAIK, not when someone replies to a post. It would be a nice feature, but ….

I’m not quite sure how you managed to burn out a curling iron when you were using a converter. That shouldn’t have happened. I can’t answer specifically for this hotel and hopefully one of our posters that’s been to the hotel can, but …For the iPod, take a look at the ratings info marked on the charger. If it says 100-240 V (most new chargers do) then you’re fine no matter what the hotel voltage is.

If you don’t get an answer, then for the hair dryer, take a converter. Plug the hairdryer into the wall socket and test it quickly. If it seems very energetic, then use the converter.

BTW, most converters don’t like small loads like the charger, so it likely won’t be suitable for that. Most require a load of at least 75 watts in order to regulate the voltage properly. Your average hair dryer is about 1200 watts. The specifications for that specific converter should tell you what kind of load it handles.

……So, no 2x20kg , but 2 bags in combined weight of 20 kg. Or am I reading this wrong ??

…….

No, you’re not reading it wrong. 20 kg (44 lbs) total per passenger.

	OK, saw it. Haven’t seen that clause for a while …. Princess reserves the right to impose a fuel supplement of up to $9 per person per day on all passengers if the NYMEX oil price exceeds $70 per barrel, even if the fare has already been paid in full. That could be a big ouch. It always pays to read the fine print.

	….. When the price changes AFTER you confirm and pay is not fair and that does happen too. I know. You confirmed and paid, and then later they asked for more money? Never seen that happen, unless it was government fees, taxes or something like that.

Most sites only update the database used for the display every hour or so, so the data may be stale. When you say you want that package, it then does a live update into the actual inventory data base. ‘Usually’ the pricing information stays the same, but I have seen it go up by a few hundred dollars as you describe. I’ve also seen it go down, which is a pleasant surprise. Once you get that verified price you usually have a limited time, say 10 minutes or so, to complete the transaction.

I’ll admit that it was a while ago, but we did a Costa Rica ecotour with an outfit called Costa Rican Trails. It was certainly different than your average AI beach package, and it wasn’t inexpensive, but we would do it again when funds are available. You were pretty well in a different 4/5 star hotel every night or two and you had the van to yourselves (just you and the driver/guide). We hit various locations like a working cattle ranch, a lodge up in the rainforest, Poas and Arenal Volcanos etc. My review and photos are still up at www.worldisround.com/articles/26847/index.html

	No problem. Just make sure you don’t exceed those limits. The last few times I flew with them they weighed both our luggage *and* our carry on luggage. They seemed very intent on charging those excess luggage fees. This year, who knows?

The wording on the email in question (complete with typo) was

Vouchers are moving very fasf, dont get left outWud–

You are receiving this message because you are a member of the forum located at: debsdrtravels.proboards.com/index.cgi

Your account username at this forum is "bobfromcanada" He assumed (incorrectly it seems) that anyone that was on the Dominican forum would know about Beyond The Beach Children’s Foundation (BTBCF). The foundation has no connection with the forum other than the fact that we actively promote their activities. As a moderator of the forum, he used a function that allows him to email all registered members of the forum. Some of those members may not currently be active on the forum, so the email may have come as a surprise.I hope I’m explaining this correctly. As one of their fundraising activities, they have a Dream Vacation Giveaway. Note the word ‘giveaway’. It’s not a raffle or a draw. For every $10 you donate to the foundation, they give you an appreciation voucher. Next New Years Eve, they will randomly select one of the appreciation vouchers and that person will be given the vacation. Every penny of the $10 donated goes to the children. There is no administration or overhead fees associated with the giveaway. How do they do this you ask. The hotel in question donated the week and each director pays $100/year for the privilege of being a director. The airfare portion of the giveaway is drawn from those funds.I donated $100 to the foundation at their recent fiesta (held near Cobourg, Ontario this year). In exchange I got ten vouchers. Some are for me personally and the rest are for gifts. They make great stocking stuffers. As usual, I reserved voucher 001 for me personally. It’s never been picked before, but maybe this year ….. ;D

BTW, they only printed 600 vouchers and they are going fast.

	Topless is pretty common but it will be a bit harder to find nude. Try Googling the phrase ‘nude beaches jamaica’ and you’ll find a few resorts that have secluded areas just for that purpose. After that you might want to ask questions about one or two particular resorts that interest you.

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