LOL. When I went to Cuba they took our flares and flare guns as they considered them weapons. Also our sat phone and handheld VHF radio's but we could keep our cell phones and Blackberry's as I guess they could be monitored. They were returned on our departure as promised. Strange they had them already for us when we arrived at the marina like they knew that we were coming. LOL

Bob

Visit Big John's bar and grill on the water on North Bimini

Yeah if you like hanging out with thugs, listening to loud rap/dance music at ear splitting levels! We showed up as a group of 18-20 on a Saturday night, had one beer and left!

Everyone who had been there before all had the same line.......it didn't used to be like this!

[QUOTE=Bobthebuilder; Strange they had them already for us when we arrived at the marina like they knew that we were coming. LOL
Bob[/QUOTE]
Now thats funny.

The more I studied my idea for that trip, the more I lost interest. As in, staying on the boat, at anchor, etc, etc.

Something about a 3rd world country that makes/enforces laws as they please. If they want you to disappear, you will.

Couple of experiences always stick in my mind, while on shore excursions off a cruise ship.

#1. Jamaica.
The on board tour operators told us if you pick one stop to stay on the ship, this is it. Unfortunately, one woman in our group out voted the rest of us and we went

Were stories of the locals taking the tourists to their destinations and then leaving them behind after collecting round trip fares. Being the street smart person I am , I negotiated this w/our driver and he agreed to take half at drop off and 2nd 1/2 at p/u. (after aggressively arguing w/me about where we wanted to go!)
When we got to Dunns River Falls our driver demanded full payment. When he and I went toe to toe, we were instantly surrounded by the other drivers who made clear their intentions. I paid him in full and he did return to pick us up.
Point was what could have happened and who would have known.

Once back on the ship, we met a group that did a cruise line sanctioned, tour bus tour of the rain forest. Masked bandits blocked their bus w/a downed tree and robbed them all at gun point!


#2. I think Grand Bahama but yrs ago.

Within sight of our cruise ship, the Mrs (at the time) decides to go through a small gift shop. We walk into this one room store w/tables filling the middle of the room and just one path around it's perimeter. The store staff consisted off two Rastafarian locals in their early 20's.
As soon as they caught sight of my 5'8", blond haired, blue eyed, gorgeous, bikini clad (w/a cover up) wife, they never took their eyes off of her.
The wife was oblivious as we did a lap of the tables and I never took my eyes off the two of the locals or the back door/escape of the store. tried to make it apparent they would not get to her w/o going through me.
They never acknowledged my presence!

Nothing happened but what if??? Who would the local cops side with??

#3. Same island, same trip.

Cruise ship staff told us of a local scam where the locals approach young/hip appearing tourists and offer them local ganja. Once the transaction completes, a local cop comes out of the shadows and arrest you.

It happened to us except we declined their offer.

#4. Mexico, across the river from Laredo Tx.

Was in Laredo for a race 100 yrs ago when me and the crew ended up across the river for some fun after a day of racing.
After leaving a local establishment, we were forced off the road by a beater, 4 door Dodge Dart driven by a local who spoke Spanish only. We politely explained to him that we had no idea who he was or what he wanted and did not speak Spanish.
We pulled back on the road to leave. The guy runs back to his car, puts a magnetic flashing light on the roof of the now, Dart patrol car!
He pulls us over again, now speaks English and arrests us for fleeing arrest!
My buddy (the driver) is discussing (w/us) running the border which is a gate on the small bridge crossing the river just ahead of us. I argue against it saying it's clearly a case of mistaken identity (I think I was 19 ) and off to jail we all go.
They interrogated us one at a time and took every dime the three of us had and then let us go. While interrogating me the chief of police pointed a sawed off shot gun at my head and explained that they have riots all the time and they use that to disperse crowds.

The punch line of that story was the mayor of Lardeo tracking us down at the races the next day and telling us the smartest thing we could have done would have been to crash the border/gate. He said they have DEA agents cross the same bridge, all the time, chasing drug dealers.
Said normally they find their bodies 6 months later in the lake we were racing in!

So based on the above experiences......, you'll understand if I'm a bit of a wuss these days
My fear is being in/at Utopia and dropping my guard, while half polluted and unable to react.

[QUOTE=Bobthebuilder; Strange they had them already for us when we arrived at the marina like they knew that we were coming. LOL
Bob[/QUOTE]

Now thats funny.

A few months after that trip some in my crew flew back to Havana from Toronto for a fishing trip ( well that was what they said LOL ) and were told by our english speaking taxi driver that we were followed all the time we were there. The authorities refused to believe we were there as tourists and were actually there to bring some of their top entertainers or baseball players back to America. We were flattered that they posted armed guards watching our boat in the marina for 4 days not knowing at the time they were just making sure we were not leaving the island with any star Cubans.

Part of my reasoning for not carrying a gun on the boat to some of these countries is that if it ever had to be used and I survived the exchange a person could find themselves sitting in a prison for the rest of their life. I would sooner be dead. I am still of the opinion that in general it is quite safe to visit these Caribbean countries with no problem. Just be smart about it and be aware of your surroundings.

Bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8UOfp3znB8 Bob if you got in a jam overseas, Rob Ford would be able to negotiate your release in no time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8UOfp3znB8

LOL. He can't even help himself ! LOL I had not seen that video or some of the clips in it. The worlds most out of shape football coach. LOL He got blasted and video taped during an incoherent late night rant in a fast food restaurant earlier this week again.

Bob

SNL has the best spoof of him yet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf7jK90IIG8

You couldn't pay me to take a cruise. I do not know one person with a firsthand account of having an issue in the Bahamas, other than theft of an unattended boat. You will have none of the problems above in Bimini, the people are extremely nice, a "hello how are you doing" goes a long way to quickly making smiles on locals faces, they are happy to see you if you are happy to see them.

Almost everybody I know has a "story" about something bad happening in the Bahamas but not one of them has ever said it was a firsthand or somebody they personally knew when asked about the origin of the story. I guess all my friends are just full of it

+1.......My neighbor lives in Nassau and comes home every couple months. In his 15 months there, there is plenty of Bahamian on Bahamian crime in the big city but tourists are off limits.....the exception is when the tourists are looking for drugs and it becomes a ripoff type deal.

I love Bimini, especially South Bimini.....time warp type place!