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Best Liberty Ports: What's to know

Shpion1

Member
Contributor
Magaluf would have to be at the top of the list, based on multiple visits although some years back. And if the Daiquiry Palace is still there, get some t-shirts. Halifax NS is as close as you'll ever get to Perth without being there. Haifa was also nice. Naples was usually disliked by most on the boat but is awesome in certain parts and when you get away to Sorento, Capri, Pompei, etc. Last but not least by any means, Benidorm SP, lots of brits but the girls are better looking, Cannes, Ville Franche, Marseilles, all the way to Monte Carlo. If you pull into port anywhere on the French Riviera, grab the train anywhere along the coast or go to Aix en Provence and check out the Foreign Legion Museum. Go to Paris once if you haven't been (check box, take TGV at about 300km/hr) and then spend rest of the time on the beach.
 

wlawr005

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I pulled into Pensacola once onboard USS NASSAU in 2005. If you don' t think a boatfull of people can wreak havoc in the states...think again!
 

helolumpy

Apprentice School Principal
pilot
Contributor
I pulled into Pensacola once onboard USS NASSAU in 2005. If you don' t think a boatfull of people can wreak havoc in the states...think again!


Key West on HST 3 days before a hurrican hits... We have to run the helos to get folks back on board so we can depart before the storm hits!
 

Recovering LSO

Suck Less
pilot
Contributor
I did all this about 10 years ago so take that into consideration.

Pattaya was much better than Phuket unless you just want to go out on the water. You could rent a taxi pickup truck for like the whole day and it cost like $20. Check out the shows. There was a famous one, think it began with M like mammas or Mary's. Midget kick boxing was sweet, and go-karts there are like race cars. Phuket was boring to me.

In HK there were some cool bars along the escalators area like mad dogs. Wanchai is where you'll find a more thailand like experience.

Singapore was pretty sweet. I usually stayed at Sentosa. In summer theres a lot of beach soccer and volleyball....and moonlighting with ladies. There's also th e gaylang area (sounds funny but that is a red light area) or the tower previously mentioned.

Sydney, yea pretty cool anywhere. The sleezy partis kings cross I think. Strip clubs and such, with extras.

Guam, pretty boring but theres an Outback. Also an AF base for a trip to the exchange.

Busan is the open market for shopping or the green light "red light". I thought of it more similar to an aquarium of geisha....albeit Korean. The little dive bars near the pier will probably have women inside the doors trying to pull you in off the street. Try not to eat dog.

Yokosuka is close enough to get to Tokyo by train. Roppongi is always crawling. Same with Ginza, Shinjuku, and Shibuya but you have to look harder.

Pretty much all the things that you listed as positives, I viewed as detractors. Guess I'm old fart, but i'm usually looking for good golf courses, upper tier restaurants, and tend to avoid bars that feature bajingo-launched ping pong balls - technique only.
 

MasterBates

Well-Known Member
LSO, remind me not to go on liberty with you.

You sound like the chief of the fun police.



Sent from my BlackBerry 9850 using Tapatalk
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Pretty much all the things that you listed as positives, I viewed as detractors. Guess I'm old fart, but i'm usually looking for good golf courses, upper tier restaurants, and tend to avoid bars that feature bajingo-launched ping pong balls - technique only.
Concur, except the golf (that's for fags :D). There's only so much novelty one can experience in the various forms of genital gymnastics in foreign lands. If I'm going to get shitfaced in port, I'd rather do it in a high end establishment and not have a legion of TEDs screaming and vomiting next to me.

Brett
 

Alpha_Echo_606

Does not play well with others!™
Contributor
I enjoyed Benidorm, Spain and Palma was very nice.

We also visited Cannes, France during the Film Festival, awesome place.

Worst was the 2 stops to Naples each for a month at a time, just so much time in the arm pit of the Med if you ask me.
 

Recovering LSO

Suck Less
pilot
Contributor
LSO, remind me not to go on liberty with you.

You sound like the chief of the fun police.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9850 using Tapatalk

Fun police? Hardly. Just different priorities since my first JO cruise, unless we're in a complete shit hole and there's nothing else to see / do.
 

pourts

former Marine F/A-18 pilot & FAC, current MBA stud
pilot
I hear you, but the same could be said for Panama City, with plenty of examples of how sailors have been "taken." Not the Liam Neeson kind of Taken, just varying levels of harassment.

And let's not forget Manta. Thank god they don't let anyone go there, anymore. Probably at least as nefarious as Colon. And I've been to some of the off-limits places with NCIS. Yikes.

This is totally off topic, but can we change the DOD requirement from doing the stupid online training in "Traffickin in Persons" once a year to watching "Taken" once a year. Its much better training and more enjoyable.
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
Thoughts....

Palma--LOVED it the first time. Came back 10 years later and it seemed like the Panama City of Europe. I don't know if it changed or I changed, but I'm guessing the later.

Phuket--Everyone needs to go to Thailand once before he dies, because otherwise you'll never be able to say you've "seen it all." Returning is strictly optional.

Singapore--expensive, but awesome. "A round of beers is $100 for the FIVE of us?"

Crete--great tourism, great times hanging out, but you have to get off the beaten path. We had a local restaurant owner who loved us and hooked us up to no end.

Malta--not mentioned yet, but solid. Good blend of some decent bars and good tourism.

Am I wrong to say I really enjoyed Dubai? Everyone says it's expensive, but $50 got us all we could eat and drink at a fairly classy joint, and we definitely made our money back. As long as you don't stumble down the street or get jiggy in public, it's party central, at least by Arab standards.
 

phrogpilot73

Well-Known Member
Malta--not mentioned yet, but solid. Good blend of some decent bars and good tourism.
-1 for reading comprehension. :)
Malta - don't try to drive, worst drivers ANYWHERE. Try their national dish, which is a rabbit stew. It's excellent. Also try the pastizzi - pastry stuff with pasta & ricotta. Stay in St. John's if you want to party. You also have to go see the church that had a bomb fall on it during WWII that didn't detonate, they have a replica on display.

Am I wrong to say I really enjoyed Dubai? Everyone says it's expensive, but $50 got us all we could eat and drink at a fairly classy joint, and we definitely made our money back. As long as you don't stumble down the street or get jiggy in public, it's party central, at least by Arab standards.
Not wrong at all, I had a blast in Dubai. The time we were restricted to the sandbox kinda sucked though.[/quote][/quote]
 

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Be still my heart.... the many ports of my youth, and the many I sadly missed. What a thread!. :)

Gr8 thread, but it really makes this ol' fart jealous to realize how many 'exotic' places that I never got to experience! On our '66 & '67 VN cruises, got 2 stops each cruise in Yokosuka (coming & going); 1 port call each cruise in Hong Kong. All the other 'R & R' visits were 'Po City. I'm not knocking Cubi...many good libs been had there...but after a while, It gets OLD!:rolleyes:

On Connie in '67, having just been relieved onsta by FORRESTAL & prepping for the long anticipated visit to Australia, emergency recall, then underway returning to replace FORRESTAL which had just had the disasterous tragedy. Tough for us, but sad & tragic for them. Never got to Oz that cruise.:(
BzB
 
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