Port Visits

[swerdna]

So I was just thinking about the Pros and Cons of being a West Coast Sailor vs an East Coast Sailor. I was stationed in San Diego for 3 years, and Japan for 1 year.

These are the ports we visited:

Everett, WA
Victoria, Canada
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Seal Beach, CA (of course)
Pearl Harbor, HI
Kwajalein, Marshall Islands
Tumon Bay, Guam (way too many times)
Hong Kong, China
Singapore
Cochin, India
Muscat, Oman
Jeb el Ali, UAE
Bahrain (way too many times)
Pusan, South Korea
Pyontaek, South Korea (basically Osan)
Maizuru, Japan
Townsville, Australia
Hobart, Australia

 

[swerdna]

I guess what I'm trying to do is see what ports you'll probably visit on a WESTPAC or a Med Cruise. I want to go to Mayport for Europe, but don't know what ports 2nd Fleet Sailors hit.

 

[jorgelito]

When you visit those ports, do you need to get a visa? Do you go through customs like civilians or is there a different protocol for military personnel?

 

[swerdna]

When you visit those ports, do you need to get a visa? Do you go through customs like civilians or is there a different protocol for military personnel?

Normally you just pull in and leave for liberty. They might have a customs officer at the pier but nothing serious. You don't need a passport either. When I went to Singapore, it was in the middle of the SARS outbreak so we had to get screened for SARS, which was strange. Military personnel normally just need their ID card.

 

[HeloBubba]

These are the ports we visited:

Everett, WA
Victoria, Canada
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Seal Beach, CA (of course)
Pearl Harbor, HI
Kwajalein, Marshall Islands
Tumon Bay, Guam (way too many times)
Hong Kong, China
Singapore
Cochin, India
Muscat, Oman
Jeb el Ali, UAE
Bahrain (way too many times)
Pusan, South Korea
Pyontaek, South Korea (basically Osan)
Maizuru, Japan
Townsville, Australia
Hobart, Australia

It is a crying shame that Subic Bay and Pattaya Beach are not on this list.

 

[swerdna]

It is a crying shame that Subic Bay and Pattaya Beach are not on this list.

Tell me about it...they opened Subic Bay for a few months (maybe longer?) and then shut it because of "terrorist threats." We got mostly sterile ports.

Some guys still go to Phuket, and I've heard of DDGs going to Vietnam now.

 

[Catmando]

Back in the day we never needed passports. If indeed official credentials were ever thought to be needed, my squadron almost always printed 'basket leave' orders for everyone.

But if you left the country of the port of call, a passport (and maybe visa) was usually essential. One of many, short sea stories follows:

Ship and air-wing pulled into Singapore for a week. Three of my squadron-mates decided to take leave and travel from Singapore to Bangkok, and over the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai, aboard the famed Eastern Orient Express. (It was affordable way back then for a JO, but no longer .)

While they had basket leave orders, they had no passports.

Passing the border between Malaysia and Thailand, heavily armed Thai guards pulled them off the train in the jungle checkpoint because they had "no papers, no visa, no passport." They were then shackled, en route to a Thailand jail when they decided to take a huge chance.......what the hell? – a few/several hundred "greenbacks" got them thankfully released, and on the next train to Bangkok.​

Upon their return aboard ship, they were the star entertainment at a raucous AOM, as they (tried-to) explained how better to travel and not end up in a Thai jail.

 

[Rocketman]

It is a crying shame that Subic Bay and Pattaya Beach are not on this list.

On my death bed Subic Bay :tongue2_1 is one of the things I'll be thinking about. I hope the good lord don't mind because I don't think I'll be able to help it.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I was an East Coast guy, and did two floats through the Med. Times have changed, so there aren't as many port calls as there once were but I've been:

Souda Bay, Crete
Rota, Spain
Limassol, Cyprus
Civitivecchia, Italy
Toulon, France
Marseille, France
Dubai, UAE
Valletta, Malta

 

[snizo]

Don't forget about Haifa, Israel. Great port call for 2nd fleet.

East coast ships have a decent chance of going through the Suez for CENTCOM deployments. In 5th fleet, you've also got Manama, Bahrain (guaranteed for 5th fleet deployments) and Victoria, Seychelles.

 

[Uncle Fester]

The lame: Crete, Cyprus, Bahrain
The good: Barcelona, Dubai, Naples
The outstanding: Malta - it's apparently the New Hotness for 20-something Eurotrash summer vacations.

I don't know of any carriers hitting Haifa lately, what with the Gaza unpleasantness, but I did hear it was a good time. Israeli girls...hot...

 

[HH-60H]

I was an east coast guy. Out of 2 long and 1 short cruise here's my very short list.

Bahrain
Dubai
Marseille
Portsmouth
Naples

 

[A4sForever]

...The outstanding: Malta - it's apparently the New Hotness for 20-something Eurotrash summer vacations..

In the '60's ... that "special" attraction resided in Palma, Majorca ... complete w/ busty Sweeeeeeedes and beautiful blond Norveeeeeeigians w/ perfect noses.

Malta was ... O.K. ... the best things there were the girls from the US Consulate ... there were still entire city blocks in rubble complements of the Luftwaffe and WW2 ... All the bars -- very, very British colonial ... kinda like Hong Kong was pre-1997 and Singapore two decades earlier.

Believe it or not; Beirut was 4.0 for LIBs ... the "Paris of the Middle East" ... this was before the civil war broke out, of course.

 

[The Chief]

Back in the day ... armed .... guards .... "greenbacks" ... released ....

Ah yes, back in the day. Hands down, no contest: Cape Town.

Farther east: Federation of Malaysia, early 1960, Singapore part of the Federation, opium dens just beyond Orchard Street. Never forget. Farther up, was called Port Sweetingham, now Kelang (think). 20 min trip into Kuala Lumpur. Three of us rented a taxi to take us up to the "in spot" resort in 1961, on the Malay coast of the South China Sea, near border to Thailand. Same rough guards and their kin stopped us along the way, 5 times down and 5 times back, each time samo samo, but about 20 bucks to let us go. Taxi driver would always translate/advise/"help". It was worth the trip, grande time had by all.

Beitou, 30 miles from Taipei was something to behold. It was an old Japanese Geisha house, where senior Imperial Japanese Officers were entertained. Lavish, decadent, hedonistic, ..... There now stands a museum with artifacts from that era.

 

[Gatordev]

Keep in mind that if you're coming out of Mayport, there's also a very good chance you may skip Europe and spend a few months visiting Panama, Panama, and...oh, Panama. You may also hit ports like Cozumel (eh), Cartagena (jury is still out), Roatan, Jamaca, Grand Cayman, etc.