Click here to view important information for International Visitors to the U.S.
Venue/Accommodation
The first High Pressure Science Society of America's (HiPSSA) first international meeting and the 5th SMEC meeting will be held from March 28 to April 2nd on a cruise ship for 5 nights. The ship is Celebrity Century sailing from the port of Miami to Caribbean Islands.
Instructions on arrival for March 28
If you are staying in a hotel, try to get the shuttle bus, if any, or taxi by 10:30 am or earlier to the Port of Miami. You are going to the Celebrity Cruise Lines.
If you are arriving to one of the two airports, MIA or Fort Lauderdale make sure that your flight arrival time is latest by noon. It will be about 30 min taxi from MIA and 45 min from Ft. Lauderdale costing you $40 to $70.
Boarding the ship
Make sure that you have printed your boarding card on line and filled out other form as given in the instruction elsewhere on this webpage.
The boarding is expected to begin around 11:30 am. If you have carry on baggage only then yoy may want to walk in with it, otherwise you can check in at the curb side with the Celebrity porters. The bags will be delivered to your room at no charge. A couple of dollars in tip at the curbside is OK.
You will then have to go to one of the ship agents inside who will check you in. After which you have to go through immigration and customs. Please check the information on what you can bring aboard elsewhere on this webpage.
On the ship
There is no special area for SMEC lunch. You can go to the lunch buffet on your own. There will be SMEC registration desk in the reception area.
What is included
Please remember that all food and non-alcoholic beverages are included in the price as also all the tips. We have a SMEC dining area for dinners at 8:30 pm but you may also dine in other places and at other times as you wish. Room service is also free at all times. For breakfast you may choose any restaurant or buffet; there will be no special areas for us.
The two SMEC events are: Sunday evening cocktail reception at 7 pm and the Banquet dinner on Wednesday.
Land tours:
Please check the SMEC schedule and arrange your reservations on the ship's website or on arrival at the ship's reception desk. SMEC organizers will not be able to do this.
Checkout
Please check the ship announcements. Those who have to disembark early should follow the instructions from the ship crew.
Reservations
Reservations can be made by contacting our travel agent, John Greeven: ***
*** The block of cabins we reserved for the SMEC group is sold out. We now have to check on availability for new request and the price will be at the present prevailing cost. Prices for inside or outside cabins are now about $100.00 more per person, though some of the balcony cabins have come down in price which could change later.
| JOHN GREEVEN KEY BISCAYNE TRAVEL SERVICE 638 CRANDON BLVD KEY BISCAYNE FL, 33149 |
PHONE (1) | 001-305-361-5429 | |
| PHONE (2) | 800-361-5429 | ||
| FAX | 305-361-3771 | ||
| WWW.KBTRAVEL.COM | john@kbtravel.com | ||
Click here to view the travel broshure and reservation details.
Click here if you would like to view the cruise ship advertisement.
The cruise prices include all food and entertainment. All restaurants are free. The room service is also free. There are lots of activities for children and families. The cost is per person and each cabin can have a double bed or two twin beds. Single occupancy will be double the cost but with food and all that it may still be cheaper than the land arrangement. Other rates for multiple occupancy of a cabin or a suite of cabins may be discussed with John Greeven.
Send a message to the travel agent
Additional Info:
We are holding a block of rooms at the Regency Airport hotel for nights of March 27 and April 2.
The rate per room per night is $125.00 for a standard room and $145.00 for a Regency club room which includes breakfast.
Included in the price is free shuttle from the airport to the hotel (every half hour) and free shuttle to the port of Miami from 10 AM to 1 PM.
(every hour). Extra bed (rollaway) is $10.00. To hold these block of rooms the hotel requires a credit card to guarantee the space by February 20!!!
Information for International Visitors to the U.S.
1. International visitors to the U.S. from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries require an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization
(ESTA) prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP. (Required as of Jan. 12, 2009) Travelers who have not received ESTA approval may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry.
For more information, please go to:
http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/
2. International visitors to the U.S. who need an U.S. visa to enter U.S.
must request a multiple entry U.S. visa since they will be entering the U.S.
twice during the SMEC 2009 conference stay.
Visa information
A B-2 tourist visa generally (what most visitors get) allows multiple entries from most of the Caribbean and Mexico etc. Each visa applicant should mention to the US Consulate what their plans are. It's important to apply as early as possible since Consulates take some time to process. It's also important that applicant's passports have at least 6 month before expiration when they arrive in the US. You can check on your local US Consulate by going to www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/index.html. You can download the applications before going to the consulate to save some time.