GleefulGirl

For those of you who have completed your Oceania Cruise to Cuba, I hope you had a fabulous time! My question has to do with the Cuba Health Insurance that Oceania purchases for all passengers. I'm wondering if any one on the cruise suffered an illness or accident while in Cuba that required treatment, and how that worked with the Cuba Health Insurance. I'm especially thinking of medical evacuation. I'm asking because our travel insurance plan, AIG Travel Guard, cannot pay any Cuban entity for covered medical expenses and instead, we must pay up front and request reimbursement from Travel Guard. Thanks for any advice offered! We travel on the Sirena to Cuba in January 2019.

To which document are you referring? I remember completing this, but am not sure I checked off the correct box. PLEASE HELP!!!

If you go on the Oceania website, either to their home page or by logging into "My Account", scroll all the way down to the bottom, and under "Guest Services" click on "FAQs." Once you're on the FAQ page, there's a menu column on the left. The last item is "Cuba." Click on it. Then scroll about a third of the way down to the question that reads "How do I certify that I am travelling under one of the OFAC-approved categories of travel?" The link to the Affidavit is thete. That's the document under discussion.

We have now completed our private tour arrangements for our January 2019 cruise aboard the Sirena, which has a somewhat different itinerary than most of the 7-day Cuba cruises; one day in Havana, two days in Cienfuegos, and one day in Santiago de Cuba. For Havana, we're using Havana Journeys. For Cienfuegos, FerTours (one day tour to Trinidad, one day tour in Cienfuegos), and for Santiago, Out of the Box Tours. All have very positive reviews on Trip Advisor and CC, all have been very responsive to our emails, and we are very excited!

We are using Havana Journeys for ours.

 

This our program/itinerary:

 

Program:

The program comprises Havana´s 4 most representative and contrastive neighbourhoods: Old Havana, Centro Habana, Vedado and Miramar. There is a break for lunch.

 

1. Old Havana (Havana´s Historic Center, the most relevant in the Caribbean, and one of the most outstanding in the Western Hemisphere, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. In this area you will get in touch with Cuba´s colonial history up to the US invasion and occupation of the island in 1898) Besides showing you the well-preserved Historic Center, we will take you to the non-restored areas so that you see how the less-privileged live.

·Chronological walking tour around Old Havana´s most emblematic squares: Plaza de Armas (Arms Square), Plaza de San Francisco de Asís , Plaza Vieja (Old Square), Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square).

·Visit to the Ambos Mundos Hotel and the famous bar of La Bodeguita del Medio, both spots frequented by Ernest Hemingway.

·Walking tour around the non-restored areas for you to see the daily life struggles of the common citizen.

·(Optional) Time off at the Flea Market.

2. Centro Habana (Havana from the early 20th century)

·Visit to the outdoor areas of the Museum of the Revolution (former Presidential Palace) and the Granma Memorial.

·Walking tour around Parque Central, Great Theatre of Havana, Capitol Building, Prado Promenade.

 

Lunch

Break for lunch at a private restaurant or paladar where water and food are safe and of good quality.

*** Lunch is not included in the price of the tour

 

3. Vedado (Modern Havana, 1940s and 50s)

·Ride around the famous Malecón (sea front promenade) and around Vedado (National Hotel, Habana Libre Hotel, Coppelia, Paseo Avenue and 23rd Street)

·Stop at the emblematic Revolution Square.

·(Optional) Visit to a state-run Cigar and Rum shop.

·(Optional) Visit to a cigar factory (entrance fee 10 cuc per person, not included in the tour price) *Closed on weekends*

 

4. Miramar (Exclusive residential area in the Cuban capital. Neighbourhood where most foreign embassies are located)

·Ride around 5th Avenue.

·(Optional) Ride around Almendares Natural Park

·Return to Vedado bordering the famous Columbus Cemetery.

·(Optional) Visit to the Columbus Cemetery (entrance fee 5 cuc per person, not included in the tour price)

·Return to hotel or casa particular

Yes, we're using Havana Journeys too. Very happy with the itinerary and the promptness and professionalism of their responses.

When we were in Havana and Cienfuegos this month, we took 2 tours booked with the company called Cuban Trip Compass. There were 8 of us travelling together. Alejandro was our contact person and he was so easy to work with and always prompt with his replies to our many questions. Our tour in Havana was in 2 classic cars and we traveled together and visited the same sites. We started around 9:00 A.M. and had the services of our guides until midnight. The cost was SO much less than tours from the ship, and we got to see so much more. Our 2 guides (1 in each car) were Luvys and Mirlan. They were both teachers and were so knowledgeable about their country. We began our all day tour with a long walking tour of Old Havana. Our day ended with a visit to the Cabaret Parisien, which I recommend, too.

 

Our 2nd tour was in Cienfuegos and Trinidad. The guide this time was Raul who was as good as the 2 guides we had in Havana. With the ship's tours, you could only visit Cienfuegos or Trinidad, but not both.

 

I highly recommend this tour company. We have nothing but praises for Alejandro and his guides.

Hi Fishcreek. Do you have an email address for Cuban Trip Compass? I sent an email to the "info@" address but have not gotten a reply as yet. Many thanks!

Hi Nancy,

 

I have contacted this company and will probably use them. You can even chat live on their website.

 

https://www.caribbeanpearltours.com/

 

Very quick to respond with emails and I've read other reviews from people who have used them and they were very happy. Good luck.

Hello! There doesn't seem to be any reviews of this company on Trip Advisor. Can you tell me where you saw reviews for Caribbean Pearl Tours? Many thanks!

When we were in Havana and Cienfuegos this month, we took 2 tours booked with the company called Cuban Trip Compass. There were 8 of us travelling together. Alejandro was our contact person and he was so easy to work with and always prompt with his replies to our many questions. Our tour in Havana was in 2 classic cars and we traveled together and visited the same sites. We started around 9:00 A.M. and had the services of our guides until midnight. The cost was SO much less than tours from the ship, and we got to see so much more. Our 2 guides (1 in each car) were Luvys and Mirlan. They were both teachers and were so knowledgeable about their country. We began our all day tour with a long walking tour of Old Havana. Our day ended with a visit to the Cabaret Parisien, which I recommend, too.

 

Our 2nd tour was in Cienfuegos and Trinidad. The guide this time was Raul who was as good as the 2 guides we had in Havana. With the ship's tours, you could only visit Cienfuegos or Trinidad, but not both.

 

I highly recommend this tour company. We have nothing but praises for Alejandro and his guides.

I hope you don't mind a second question. What kind of vehicles did Cuban Trip Compass use in Cienfuegos? Thanks, again!

When we were in Havana and Cienfuegos this month, we took 2 tours booked with the company called Cuban Trip Compass. There were 8 of us travelling together. Alejandro was our contact person and he was so easy to work with and always prompt with his replies to our many questions. Our tour in Havana was in 2 classic cars and we traveled together and visited the same sites. We started around 9:00 A.M. and had the services of our guides until midnight. The cost was SO much less than tours from the ship, and we got to see so much more. Our 2 guides (1 in each car) were Luvys and Mirlan. They were both teachers and were so knowledgeable about their country. We began our all day tour with a long walking tour of Old Havana. Our day ended with a visit to the Cabaret Parisien, which I recommend, too.

 

Our 2nd tour was in Cienfuegos and Trinidad. The guide this time was Raul who was as good as the 2 guides we had in Havana. With the ship's tours, you could only visit Cienfuegos or Trinidad, but not both.

 

I highly recommend this tour company. We have nothing but praises for Alejandro and his guides.

Hi Fishcreek: We've been hearing that the road between Cienfuegos and Trinidad is very rough and bumpy, and we'll feel it right through the car. Someone has even discouraged me from trying to visit Trinidad for that reason. Based on your experience, do you agree? Thanks!

Although we are not cruising to Cuba until January 2019, we booked our Oceania seen day cruise in April 2017 (two months before the White House changed the rules on Cuban travel). So, we're grandfathered in under the old less restrictive rules. When we filled out our Affidavit in April 2017, we circled "People to People" instead of "Support of the Cuban People." Our plan is to do only private tours at our three ports of call (Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba). Do we have anything to be concerned about because we selected "people to people" instead of "in support for the Cuban people?"

In Cienfuegos, we used Fernando Hernández Mora to arrange our private tour.....fernando8205@nauta.cu. No website that I know of. Our all day tour cost: $50pp for a Guide + Classic Car/Driver and $10pp Lunch. He had some suggestions for places to see, but we were able to customize the day to include some added places we wanted to go. Beatriz was an awesome guide and so fun to be with. The local paladar where we had lunch had quite a nice selection and the food was very good.

 

 

I heard he might also arrange tours in Havana, but not 100% sure.

Hi again! May I ask how you found out about Fernando Hernández Mora? I couldn't find any reviews on Trip Advisor under Cienfuegos and was hoping that others had written about him. Thanks!

In Cienfuegos, we used Fernando Hernández Mora to arrange our private tour.....fernando8205@nauta.cu. No website that I know of. Our all day tour cost: $50pp for a Guide + Classic Car/Driver and $10pp Lunch. He had some suggestions for places to see, but we were able to customize the day to include some added places we wanted to go. Beatriz was an awesome guide and so fun to be with. The local paladar where we had lunch had quite a nice selection and the food was very good.

 

 

I heard he might also arrange tours in Havana, but not 100% sure.

Thanks so much for replying with this information! I was off line for several days but very happy to have this from you.

I liked Cienfuegos more than Havana (I liked Havana too), so I'd be happy with that. It's a fairly well-to-do city (by Cuban standards). We had a private car, driver and guide through Fernando Mora. Fantastic!

Hi! Would you have contact information for Fernando Mora? Does he have a web page? Many thanks!

They cancelled our 1 day visit & substituted St. Bart's. I guess we'll see the $75PP temp. visa removed from the final balance. If your trip is ALL Cuba, I would think they have to either offer a refund or something else satisfactory to you. I doubt they could make it a "Caribbean" cruise or just "substitute" different Caribbean islands.

Oceania has added a second day in Cienfuegos to make up for the lost day in Havana.

What's frustrating is that all the other Oceania 7 day Cuba cruises for the remainder of 2018 AND all of 2019 still show two consecutive days in Havana. It appears that the only 7 day cruise they've changed for 2019 is the one we're on, January 13-20 on the Sirena. Plus they've changed the name of our cruise. It had been "Timeless Cuba." Now it's "Colonial Cuba." Not-so-lucky us!

I got an email today saying our itinerary for Sirena, (Jan. 13 departure) has been changed. There will no longer be an overnight in Havana (or a second day) because of a "berthing conflict". They have added a second day in Cienfuegos. I hope they don't drop Havana altogether as that is the main reason for our selecting this cruise. :(

Hi! We're on your cruise. The 7 day "Timeless Cuba" on Sirena. We're traveling with friends. We've received nothing from our travel agent who is very good at keeping us in the loop. If it wasn't for Cruise Critic, I wouldn't have known to double check our itinerary. I was looking forward to those two days in Havana! At least we have a real day.. 8:00 am to 11:00 pm in port. Ellen

My husband and I are booked on Oceania's "Timeless Cuba" 7 day cruise January 13-20 2019. If it wasn't for this thread, I never would have re-checked our itinerary, which we booked exactly a year ago. Our two-day stop in Havana is now just one day, with a second day added for Cienfuegos. I'm not sure how recently things changed, but I've heard nothing from my travel agent (who does a very good job keeping us in the loop), nor did I receive any notification. I've read some positive comments about Cienfuegos, but was very much looking forward to those two days in Havana.

"*Parking our car at United Airport Parking, on the premises of the Embassy Suites Hotel, rather than at the port. We saved so much money and it was very convenient to the port, with free valet service."

The item above was one of the best choices I had listed up-thread. I realize now that I should have mentioned that you must reserve the parking in advance of your cruise and present your printed receipt (sent to you via email) upon arrival. That's because you pre-pay.

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Ellen

Hi Rick and/or Ellen:

 

May I ask if you recall the time for Traditional Dining 2nd seating? I heard that on the Panama Canal cruise, the time for 2nd seating is slightly earlier than the normal time Princess set for their other itineraries. I heard that it is at 7:45 PM, not at 8 or 8:15 PM, is that so?

 

Thank you.:)

I'm hoping that Rick has one of the Princess Patters because the dining room hours are printed on the back page. Provence Dining Room has the traditional dining, and while I'm certain that the first seating there was 5:30pm, I can't recall the precise time for the second seating. But if memory serves, on the actual day we visited the Panama Canal, they cancelled the two dinner seatings in Provence for that day only, and you just went in when you wanted.

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Ellen

So, now that you are home (and cold :mad:), what would you have done differently on this cruise? What were the best choices that you made when planning?

 

I'm just asking as I look forward to the same itinerary on February 5th. Thanks again for this wonderful thread.

 

:D

I'm going to jump on Rick's bandwagon and respond as a fellow cruiser. I'm the Ellen half of the Ken and Ellen Rick kept mentioning in his daily journal (in case you hadn't figured it out yet!) and we had way too much fun hanging out with Rick and his lovely wife, Diane. So, here's our list of what we would have done differently and what we liked.

The things I would have done differently:

* I would have gone to Eagle Beach when we were in Aruba

Best choices:

* Not booking the cruise until there was a flash sale. We booked 34 days before sailing and got a great price (we live within driving distance of the port, so we didn’t have to worry about plane tickets)

* Being part of the CC Meet & Greet. We met so many nice people.

* Going to see the two shows, Motor City and On The Bayou.

*Taking the private city tour in Cartegena, Colombia with cartegenatour.com, owned by Dora de Zubiria. (See my review on TripAdvisor.com I'm Ellen B)

* Taking the “Six Highlights in One” Tour with Your Lucky Tour in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. (See my review on TripAdvisor.com I'm Ellen B)

* Choosing the “anytime dining” option, because it gave us the flexibility to have dinner when we wanted

* Purchasing the wine package on board

* Having the Alfredo Pizza luncheons in Sabatini’s

* Having lunch in the Provence Dining Room on Embarkation Day (open from noon to one only)

*Parking our car at United Airport Parking, on the premises of the Embassy Suites Hotel, rather than at the port. We saved so much money and it was very convenient to the port, with free valet service.

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Ellen

Hi Rick. I just want to say thank you for all you and Ellen did to arrange the meet and greet for this cruise. I disembarked in Georgetown so didn't get a chance to thank you guys in person. Having the connection with you guys and the other Cruise Critic members made the cruise so delightful. Happy belated Anniversary too.

Thanks so much for the kind words! We also have to congratulate Vi as well. It was the three of us, Vi, Rick and me, who collectively organized the Meet & Greet. Vi was in charge of contacting Princess to arrange for a space on board and to have a staff person liaise with us. We were delighted with the turn out!

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Ellen

Great review....looking forward to the pictures...we will be sailing on the Coral in February.

Just one question......do you know if they are offering a wine package on board? I read in older posts they did at one point and you had to sign up for it in the buffet area on day one, but not sure if it is still available.

Rick asked if I would respond to this question, since my husband and I had the wine package. First, hello to everyone who is reading Rick's journal! We just got home today and we had a lovely time aboard the Coral Princess, and had fun spending quite a few meals (and part of one excursion!) with Rick and Diane.

We’re wine drinkers, and we strongly recommend considering one of the wine packages, which we purchased on our first evening in the Bordeaux Dining Room. We chose the 7-bottle silver wine package (you can buy a 7, 10 or 12 bottle package) which allows you to purchase any bottle of wine valued at up to $29 a bottle. There’s also a gold wine package for wines valued up to $45 a bottle. This package can be used in any dining location (excludes bars and room service), and if you don’t finish a bottle with the meal, dining staff will cork and store it for you and bring it out at your next meal.

Here are the prices:

Silver: any bottle with a value up to $29

12 bottle package $240

10 bottle package $210

7 bottle package $161

Gold: any bottle with a value up to $45

12 bottle package $336

10 bottle package $290

7 bottle package $217

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Ellen