yebba

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

It always amazes me when people totally melt down when issues pop up in life.  Things happen, that is life.  having a tantrum on the floor will do nothing to fix it.

careful! several comments have been removed including mine. peeps need to get a grip!

what resort did you end up going to? was it irotama?

did anyone book the HOHO option in cartagena (assuming it was offered) THROUGH NCL? if so, what were the logistics. i'm seeing all kinds mixed reviews specifically when arriving my cruise ship.

1 hour ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Did you get the $50 food credit for snacks? I’ve heard they’ve discontinued it and all you get now is floats, no food credit and no water.

we got all sorts of food delivered to the cabana. water would be free from the bar (or cabana person) and the food pictured above was free also. there’s no shortage of food or drink! 😎

we ended up getting a large cabana instead of the small (a nice surprise!) and it was very very nice. that part of the beach is WAY less crowded. there's a bar nearby and food (which was SO good). it was worth it for our group of 6 so i would highly recommend! even if you don't do a cabana, go to this area of the island. there were so few people and we all found the snorkeling to be better on this side as well.

On 5/19/2019 at 5:45 AM, newmexicoNita said:

Coffee makers are automatic for balcony and above. It has been this way for years, but all you have to do is ask. It is simple , we have done this a few times. The same with an ice bucket. And the towel animals have nothing to do with the type of cabin you are in. So, I am sorry but I have to 100% disagree with you. Maybe it is time you try a different line and see how they do things.  

FYI -- I just returned from Miami-Cuba on the Sky and had a balcony room; there was no coffee pot in the room so it isn't "automatic".

super helpful! thanks for letting me know!

On 12/30/2018 at 11:20 AM, holdon216 said:

We have booked this tour for April. Fingers crossed and i'll let you know once we get back.

please report back! i'll be heading to SA on NCL in Demcember 2019 and am interested to know how this excursion is. the NCL reviews are quite good!

3 minutes ago, wrecklezz316 said:

That's a different cruise that is over 5 days, which means the entire ship is not open bar by default.

 

The confusion stems from the Norwegian Sky and Sun sailings that are 5 days are less get open bar SHIP WIDE.  If you are in a cabin, regardless of wether you picked the cheapest "Sail Away" rate or "free at sea", you will receive open bar on those sailings.

 

Your sailing is 14 days, so open bar is not by default.  You must pick a free at sea rate and then choose unlimited beverage package as an option.

yes, I'm aware of all of that. I was explaining for the others. :)

20 minutes ago, amyaacc said:

$5.80/day to cover tips would be worth it if bottled water or coffee drinks were included---which I think/hope they are

 

if referring to the premium plus beverage package, it's $128/day per person. i'll be on the sky in april and that's the only option I see.  here's what it says--"Enjoy a wide selection of beverages including top shelf liquor, premium wines, water, soda, juices, and specialty coffee."  I'm good with open bar!

i will be sailing with NCL in December and we chose the "free at sea" adult beverage package which was $20/person per day. on a 14-day cruise, we felt it was worth it. all I'm saying is know what you're getting into!

47 minutes ago, amyaacc said:

we cruise to Cuba in April.  When we chose our free at sea perks we chose the Ultimate Beverage Package--but then we learned the cruise is open bar.  I have heard you get more premium beverages with the UBP--but might want to use my free at sea perk for something else if the open bar is reasonably close.  Does anyone have a list of what is different between the two (open bar for all vs the free at sea ubp)  thanks!

 

make sure you understand you will be charged a pretty heft fee per day/per person for that particular "free at sea" perk.  personally i'd stick with the open bar and use your perk for something else. i think the UBP includes more "premium" alcohol.

2 minutes ago, tokidoki said:

When I received my confirmation after booking Cuba/Sky, there were more pages than usual, so I read it thru and it gives u specific info about Cuba and what u need for your cruise, it also tells u to pre-fill out info concerning y u r visiting

I booked through United Cruises and have already filled out the OFAC form for/through NCL. Other than that, there's no other information within my NCL account regarding the visa/tourist card. NCL's website is of zero help.  My sister booked through NCL and can find no information either.  When I read their rules, it seems like it's a given NCL will get the visa for you.  Nowhere have I read you need to call or e-mail or do whatever, so I'm glad I now know I need to call.

2 minutes ago, jdvmd said:

You need to request from NCL ahead of time by calling. The cost will be added to your cruise total. You need to request ahead of time. Will be waiting for you when you embark.

ok, thanks!  i wish there was a box you could check within your online account, you know? it just seems confusing and it doesn't say what you need to do so i appreciate your help. i'll call tomorrow!

how do we get the visa from the ship? just fill out the OFAC form or is there something else we need to do?

i would be interested in a recent review of the small cabanas as well--we will be there in april!

Did anyone else notice the 5-day cruise offered in April?  It gets into Cuba at 8:00 p.m. which would give adventure seekers the opportunity to get off the boat and experience the nightlife which we would have absolutely done.  I'm really disappointed as we would have chosen this cruise instead of the 4-day option we're booked on.

We just did this cruise a couple of weeks ago and it was overnight, left the next morning at 6:00am as you stated. We also went through the same thing as this was the first cruise my husband booked (as a surprise anniversary gift) and thought we would have 2 days in Havana due to the wording on the advertisements. Luckily he told me a couple of weeks in advance so I was able to call and figure out that it was really only 1 day. We would have loved to have 2 days in Havana though!

thanks for the reply! how was the cruise?! i’ve done some additional digging and it looks like this itinerary only has one date in march where the ship leaves at 3:00 p.m.. i’m glad (like you) we’re figuring this out beforehand! :)

lucky you if you do in fact get to stay until 3! it seems like that would be rare based on what others have said. we won’t be so lucky, but it is what it is. just have to make the most of it! we’ll make good use of the all-inclusiveness! cheers!

I took the very first one in May 2017 and the second day departure was 2pm.

 

It does have to do with the limited docking, only 2 available.

 

There are a couple more docks under construction but who knows when they will come online, time moves very slowly in Havana.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Hmm...so maybe it will change down the road? The cruise we're looking at is in April 2019.

Was just on the Sky, seems like same itinerary. Please see my thread...Daily for the Cuba part starts at post #11. We were in Cuba all day on Day 2 spent the night and were pulling out of Cuba the next morning (as planned). At least two ships came into the port next to us while we were there...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2644413

It does look like the same itinerary so thank you for sharing. when you booked the cruise, was that the planned schedule? I know they can change their minds at any time, but I am curious. Were you able to do a day activity and a night activity organized through the ship?

I just posted about the 5 day on March 31, 2019. In April we were on the Sky & supposed to be in Havana till 5pm. Got an email that due to "maintenance " issues we would be leaving at 2pm instead. Issue was that RCCL ship was coming into port & apparently they have priority there.

March 31 cruise says we'll be in Havana till 5pm, but RCCL ship comes in at 8am. Port cannot handle both so I'm sure it will be cut short. Called NCL & no one knows anything.

They can change anything at any time.

Where do you find when the ships are coming and going? She did mention something about only 1 ship can be there at a time, but seemed clueless...which is why I came here!!! :)

Our departure lists 3pm as the departure time on the second day in Havana; where did you get the leaving time as 6am? It is not uncommon to leave a port at 3pm having spent a "day" there from 7am.

it's nice to see a familiar name! (HK to Tokyo in March/April!) :)

we're looking at april 22-26 and it lists 6 a.m. on the website; however, if you use the e-mail the link feature, it says 3 p.m.

Does anyone have any information regarding the port times for this cruise (an option for all of the 2019 cruises through NCL)? I just got off the phone with NCL and am not totally confident she knew what she was talking about and "supervisors of supervisors" were confused as well. It's listed as "Enjoy two full days and an overnight in Havana..."; however, when you look at the itinerary, it's barely an overnight since the ship leaves at 6:00 a.m. from Havana (essentially meaning a sea day to get to Great Stirrup Cay). My (and theirs!) confusion is when you share a link about the cruise through the NCL website (through e-mail, twitter, FB, etc.), it lists the leaving time at 3:00 p.m. so not really "two full days" but a decent day and a half. Has anyone else seen this or inquired to NCL? If so, what did they tell you? I cannot imagine I'm the first person to ask and it's really misleading. And although implied, they'd be smart to mention the sea day. Looking for help or insight!

I've been on several BTS tours and need to ask this question. From looking at the machines they have a wide range of temps including kill everything mode.

 

How they do our clothes, not sure, but we've never had a problem with things coming back overly shrunk. Any tightness more likely due to eating too much.

ok, thanks!

so do you think it’s all in cold or warm water? i guess what i’m getting at is i don’t want anything ruined/shrunk (washed in hot water!)!