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Cosmic Trails 2 Itinerary

E. Caribbean • March 6–13, 2011

  DAY PORT ARRIVE DEPART CONFERENCE SESSIONS
  SUNDAY, MAR. 6 FT. LAUDERDALE 5pm 6pm, Bon Voyage COCKTAIL PARTY*
  MONDAY, MAR. 7 AT SEA 4pm – 7pm
  TUESDAY, MAR. 8 GRAND TURK, TURKS AND CAICOS 7am 3pm 2:30pm – 5:30pm & 6pm – 7pm
  WEDNESDAY, MAR. 9 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 1pm 8pm Arecibo Observatory (1pm – 7pm)
  THURSDAY, MAR. 10 PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN 7am 3pm 3:30pm – 7pm; 7:15pm, COCKTAIL PARTY*
  FRIDAY, MAR. 11 AT SEA 8:30am – NOON & 1:30pm – 5pm
  SATURDAY, MAR. 12 HALF MOON CAY, BAHAMAS 8am 4pm 4pm – 7pm; 7:15pm, COCKTAIL PARTY*
  SUNDAY, MAR. 13 FT. LAUDERDALE 7am
*Open bar plus hot & cold hors d'oeuvres served. All guests invited.
map of our trip

FIND BOOKS (on right)
ABOUT OUR PORTS OF CALL:

Ft. Lauderdale
The Bahamas
The Caribbean
The Turks and Caicos Islands
San Juan, Puerto Rico
St. Maartin

HERE WAS THE WEATHER FOR THE 10 DAYS OF OUR CRUISE, DURING THE YEAR INDICATED. HISTORICAL AVERAGES (from Dec. 13–23) ARE FROM THE MID ’90s TO CURRENT DAY.

Ft. Lauderdale 2008 2009
Historical Averages

The Bahamas 2008 2009
Historical Averages

Turks & Caicos 2009
Historical Averages

San Juan, Puerto Rico 2008 2009
Historical Averages

St. Maartin 2008 2009
Historical Averages

FT. LAUDERDALE

The Rough Guide to Miami & South Florida is the definitive guide to the ever-emerging city of Miami and the hot and happening Southern Florida. The only guide to this region which has a dedicated full-length chapter on Fort Lauderdale, The Rough Guide to Miami & South Florida is fully updated, with expanded listings of restaurants, accommodation, and nightlife for all budgets, and everything from art museums to sun drenched beaches.

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise: Washington Post reporter Grunwald brings the zeal of his profession—and the skill that won him a Society of Environmental Journalists Award in 2003—to this enthralling story of “the river of grass” that starry-eyed social engineers and greedy developers have diverted, drained and exploited for more than a century. In 1838, fewer than 50 white people lived in south Florida, and the Everglades was seen as a vast and useless bog. By the turn of this century, more than seven million people lived there (and 40 million tourists visited annually). Escalating demands of new residents after WWII were sapping the Everglades of its water and decimating the shrinking swamp’s wildlife. But in a remarkable political and environmental turnaround, chronicled here with a Washington insider’s savvy, Republicans and Democrats came together in 2000 to launch the largest ecosystem restoration project in America’s history. This detailed account doesn't shortchange the environmental story — including an account of the senseless fowl hunts that provoked abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1877 broadside “Protect the Birds.” But Grunwald’s emphasis on the role politics played in first despoiling and now reclaiming the Everglades gives this important book remarkable heft.

The New History of Florida: Written to observe the sesquicentennial of statehood, this is a comprehensive history of the state of Florida. The book contains 22 chapters, in which the authors present political, economic, military and religious information, as well as social history and personal experiences.

Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe: When the conquistadors arrived in Florida as many as 350,000 native Americans lived there. Two and a half centuries later, Florida’s Indians were gone. This text focuses on these native peoples and their lives, and attempts to explain what happened to them.
 

THE BAHAMAS

Fodor’s Caribbean 2009

A–Z of Bahamas Heritage: Designed as a lively encyclopedia, this includes all the elements that constitute the heritage of modern Bahamians: historical, geographical, economic, political, social and cultural. Key events, institutions, customs and personalities are not just described but evaluated. Compiled by the premier historian of The Bahamas and four years in the making, this sparkling reference book is the distillation of research and analysis spread over half a century.
 

THE CARIBBEAN

A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present: This comprehensive volume takes the reader and student through more than five hundred years of Caribbean history, beginning with Columbus’s arrival in the Bahamas in 1492. A Brief History of the Caribbean traces the people and events that have marked this constantly shifting region, encompassing everything from economic booms and busts to epidemics, wars, and revolutions, and bringing to life such important figures as Sir Francis Drake, Blackbeard, Toussaint Louverture, Fidel Castro, the Duvaliers, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

A Continent of Islands: Searching For the Caribbean Destiny: A penetrating analysis of the social, political, sexual, and cultural worlds that exist behind the four-color Caribbean travel posters. Kurlansky, who reports on the Caribbean for The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, etc., has wide-ranging interests. Here, he discusses such diverse (and unexpected) aspects of his subject as the politics of hurricanes — how island leaders and their rivals take advantage of natural disasters to further their aims; the effects of AIDS on sexual practices throughout the region — the sections on Castro’s handling of the AIDS emergency are particularly engrossing; and the impact of American Fundamentalist proselytizing on traditional West Indian religious groups. One of Kurlansky’s major themes is the danger inherent in a tourism-based island economy.
 

THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

Fodor’s In Focus Turks & Caicos Islands

A History of the Turks & Caicos Islands: The Turks and Caicos Islands is an archipelago of half a dozen populated islands and numerous other islets and cays located just to the south of the Bahamas chain of islands. One of the few remaining British Overseas Territories, its history is a patchwork of indigenous settlement, alleged first point of New World contact by Christopher Columbus, colonial rule, the slavery era, and constitutional multi-party government. A History of the Turks & Caicos Islands aims to examine the nature of all these, and other aspects of the Turks and Caicos identity. The book is divided into three parts: The Environment and Natural Resources of the Turks and Caicos Islands; Past Social and Political History of the Turks and Caicos Islands; and, The Contemporary Social and Political History of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Birds of the West Indies (Princeton Field Guides): Fully illustrated, easy to use, and completely up-to-date, Birds of the West Indies is the only field guide that covers all of the bird species known to occur in the region—including migrants and infrequently occurring forms. Each species is represented by a full description that includes identification field marks, status and range, habitat, and voice. A map showing the bird’s distribution accompanies many species accounts, and plumages of all species are depicted in ninety-three beautifully rendered color plates.
 

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

Insight Guide Puerto Rico

The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History: A pleasure to read ... Each page provides a fresh glimpse into the unfolding story of a people. The book captures the human and personal component of ... sweeping historical changes.

The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus: A noted archaeologist and anthropologist tells the story of the Tainos of the northern Caribbean islands, from their ancestry on the South American continent to their rapid decline after contact with the Spanish explorers.

My Music Is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians and Their New York Communities, 1917–1940: Puerto Rican music in New York is given center stage in Ruth Glasser’s original and lucid study. Exploring the relationship between the social history and forms of cultural expression of Puerto Ricans, she focuses on the years between the two world wars. Through recorded songs and live performances, Puerto Rican musicians were important representatives for the national consciousness of their compatriots on both sides of the ocean. Yet they also played with African-American and white jazz bands, Filipino or Italian-American orchestras, and with other Latinos. Glasser ... demonstrates the complexities of cultural nationalism and cultural authenticity within the very practical realm of commercial music. Illuminating a neglected epoch of Puerto Rican life in America, Glasser shows how ethnic groups settling in the United States had choices that extended beyond either maintenance of their homeland traditions or assimilation into the dominant culture. Her knowledge of musical styles and performance enriches her analysis, and a discography offers a helpful addition to the text.

Contact (the movie): The opening and closing moments of Robert Zemeckis’s Contact ... is an expression of the heroine’s lifelong quest (both spiritual and scientific) to explore the meaning of human existence through contact with extraterrestrial life. Based on Carl Sagan’s novel, Contact is exceptionally thoughtful and provocative for a big-budget Hollywood science fiction picture, with elements that recall everything from 2001 to The Right Stuff. Ambitious, ambiguous, pretentious, unpredictable—Contact is all of these things and more. Much of it remains open to speculation and interpretation, but whatever conclusions one eventually draws, Contact deserves recognition as a rare piece of big-budget studio filmmaking on a personal scale.

Goldeneye (the movie): James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent believed to be dead.

A Continent of Islands: Searching For The Caribbean Destiny: Journalist Kurlansky has packed a lot of information in a relatively slim book. Readers who are familiar with one but not all of the Caribbean nations covered will find no errors in his facts and learn a great deal. He has designed his book’s format to cover cultural topics, comparing and contrasting countries rather than plodding from country to country. He discusses various topics: AIDS; the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s landing; the African roots of voodoo, arara, santeria, and shango; and the status of women.

A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: This is a revised edition of a widely praised guide to the birds of the largest of the Caribbean islands and the neighboring Virgin Islands. It includes detailed accounts of all 284 well-documented species known to occur in the region, 273 being illustrated. The book also contains specific sections entitled “Biogeography” and “Conservation” to foster an appreciation of the uniqueness of the region’s wildlife and to develop an awareness of local conservation issues. The section “Places to Bird” will help make the stay of short-term visitors more productive. The book also substantially updates the data on avian distribution and abundance in the region covering records through November 1988. From reviews of the first edition: “This well-illustrated volume is a must for any student of birds visiting Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.”
 

ST. MAARTIN

Fodor’s In Focus St. Maarten, St. Barths & Anguilla
 

GENERAL INFORMATION AND DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS
A Passport (valid through March 23, 2011 or 90 days after your return from this trip) is required. Non-U.S. citizens residing in the United States will need valid Alien Registration (green) cards as well. All others must have valid passports and any required visas when boarding the vessel. All travel documents such as passports, visas, proof of citizenship, etc., that are required for embarkation, disembarkation at the ports of call, and re-entry into the United States are the responsibility of the passenger. American citizens should visit the U.S. Department of State for information on entry requirements for a specific country. Please go to the Entry/Exit Requirements section in the Country Specific Information for the country you are interested in. You may also contact the U.S. embassy or consulate of that country for further information.

Non-U.S. citizens are asked to check with their government agencies, embassies or consulates to determine documentary requirements. You may be denied boarding without proper proof of citizenship. All travel documents such as passports, visas, proof of citizenship, etc., that are required for embarkation, disembarkation at the ports of call, and re-entry into one’s country of residence are the responsibility of the passenger.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State’s single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday–Friday, 8am–10pm, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.


U.S. EMBASSIES & CONSULATES ALONG OUR ITINERARY

Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory

Citizen services for Americans traveling in the Turks and Caicos Islands are provided by the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, The Bahamas. The U.S. Embassy is located at 42 Queen Street, Nassau, The Bahamas (next to the McDonald’s Restaurant and across from the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.) American citizens in the Turks and Caicos may obtain emergency assistance by calling (242) 322-1181 during regular business hours or (242) 328-2206 after-hours. The Embassy may be contacted by email or fax (242) 356-7174.

St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

The U.S. Consulate General for the Netherlands Antilles is located in Willemstad, on the island of Curaçao. If you have an issue in St. Maarten requiring U.S. citizen services, contact the Consulate in Curaçao by phone or fax. The consulate is at J.B. Gorsiraweg 1, Willemstad, Curaçao. Telephone: (599-9) 461-3066. Emergency after-hours telephone: (599-9) 510-6870.Facsimile: (599-9) 461-6489. Website: http://curacao.usconsulate.gov/

Saint Martin, French West Indies

Citizen services for Americans traveling in the Turks and Caicos Islands are provided by the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, which has jurisdiction over the French West Indies. If you have an issue in Saint Martin requiring U.S. citizen services, contact the Consular Section of the Embassy of the United States and Eastern Caribbean at Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael, BB 14006, Barbados, W.I.; by telephone at 246-227-4000; and online in Barbados http://barbados.usembassy.gov/. After hours, American citizens may contact the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, by telephone at 1-246-436-4950 or 1-246-227-4000.

The Bahamas

The Embassy of the United States in The Bahamas is located at 42 Queen Street, Nassau, (next to the McDonald’s Restaurant and across from the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.) American citizens may obtain emergency assistance by calling (242) 322-1181 during regular business hours or (242) 328-2206 after-hours. The Embassy may be contacted by email or fax (242) 356-7174; or online http://nassau.usembassy.gov/

CDC TRAVELERS’ HEALTH WEBSITE
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a website give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication Health Information for International Travel is worth looking over.


U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

Health information, with Recommendations or Requirements for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases for travelers to Turks and Caicos, St. Maarten (the Dutch side), Saint Martin (the French side), and The Bahamas.


CDC TRAVEL HEALTH KIT

RELEVANT FOREIGN EMBASSIES

Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory

For further information, travelers may contact the British Embassy at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008; by telephone at 202-588-6500; or online.

St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

For further information, travelers may contact the Royal Netherlands Embassy, 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008, by telephone at (202) 244-5300, online at http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/homepage.asp or the Dutch Consulates in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Houston or Miami.

Saint Martin, French West Indies

For further information, travelers can contact the Embassy of France at 4101 Reservoir Road, N.W., Washington, DC 20007; by telephone at 202-944-6000; online at http://www.ambafrance-us.org/spip.php?rubrique=2; or at the nearest French consulate in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, or San Francisco.

The Bahamas

For further information concerning visas and entry requirements for The Bahamas, travelers should contact the Embassy of The Commonwealth of the Bahamas at 2220 Massachusetts Avenue N.W, Washington, D.C. 20008, USA; by telephone at 202-319-2660; by email at bahemb@aol.com; or at the nearest Bahamian Consulate in New York (Bahamas House, 231 East 46th Street, NY, New York, 10017; telephone 212-421-6420; email consulate@bahamasny.com) or Miami (Ingraham Building Suite 818, 25 South East Second Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33131).

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT’S COUNTRY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR U.S. CITIZENS

Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory

Important details on entry and exit requirements for U.S. citizens, information on safety and security, crime, MEDICAL FACILITIES AND HEALTH INFORMATION, and more are located here.

The Bahamas

Important details on entry and exit requirements for U.S. citizens, information on safety and security, crime, MEDICAL FACILITIES AND HEALTH INFORMATION, and more are located here.

St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

Important details on entry and exit requirements for U.S. citizens, information on safety and security, crime, MEDICAL FACILITIES AND HEALTH INFORMATION, and more are located here.

ELECTRICITY
Electicity in the Turks and Caicos Islands is 120 volts, 60 cycles. Many outlets do not accept a plug with one taller blade, or a grounding pin. The Dutch side of St. Maarten uses 120 volts, 60 cycles. You may find outlets requiring Type E or F adapters. The French side uses 220 volts. Multi-voltage appliances like laptops require a plug adapter. You may find outlets requiring Types C, E, or F adapters. Electricity in the Bahamas is normally 120 volts AC (60 cycles). Many outlets do not accept a plug with one taller blade, or a grounding pin.


CALLING INTERNATIONALLY

Turks and Caicos

To call the Turks and Caicos Islands from the United States, dial 011, plus the Islands’ country code, 649, then the area code and telephone number. To call the United States from the Turks and Caicos Islands, dial 011, then the United States’ country code, 1; then the area code, and number.

The Bahamas

To call The Bahamas from the United States, dial 1; then The Bahamas’s country code, 242, plus the seven-digit local number. To make an international call from The Bahamas, you dial 011, followed by the country code, the area code, and the telephone number. For example, to call InSight Cruises from The Bahamas, you would dial 1-650-787-5665.

Saint Martin (the French side)

To call the French side from U.S. dial 011, plus the country code 590, the area code 590, then the six-digit phone number. To call the United States from Saint Martin, dial 011, then the United States’ country code, 1; then the area code, and number.

St. Maarten (the Dutch side)

To call St. Maarten from the United States, dial 011, plus the Netherland Antilles’ country code, 599, plus the telephone number. To call the United States from St. Maarten, dial 011, then the United States’ country code, 1; then the area code, and number.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUNDER ON:


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS ABROAD

U.S. Department of State Emergency Assistance to American Citizens Abroad: American Citizens Services and Crisis Management (ACS).


U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION

For information on airport and port-related declaration of goods, immigration issues, and more.

264 S. Meridith Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106 • 650-787-5665 • Copyright 2010 © InSight Cruises