NBBaker

Has anyone cruised on this ship with a toddler? We are going in September on a 4 night to cozumel. What kind of milk do they have on ship? Are they really strict on the rules for the baby pool area as far as swim diapers?? Is someone always there?I need advice/tips!!

"Are they really strict on the rules for the baby pool area as far as swim diapers??" I sure hope they are. Why would you NOT put them in a swim diaper??

Do you happen to know the average price of cigars? I am sure it varies on the type. I have to bring back approximately 4 as gifts.

 

Thanks

We paid $138 CUC for a box of 25 Montecristos.

We’re booked on a 7 day out of Havana in February and would love to hear about past experiences or chat with others going in 2019. Just booked our flights today on JetBlue out of Fort Lauderdale!

 

 

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We're going back in 2019. Loved it this year when we went.

My HAL cruise consultant told me that the only way to go ashore in Cuba, is by booking a "people to people" excursion through HAL. He said that once you finish the people to people excursion, then you can roam around Cuba on your own. IS THIS TRUE?

No. We didn't book any excursion (through the cruiseline or otherwise). We did our own thing for both days we were there.

We would like to bring a suitcase full of supplies for the Cuban people. Will customs at the Havana port allow us to take the suitcase off the ship? Thank you.

They likely will not. It is frowned upon, (and is in poor taste.)

We would like to bring a suitcase full of supplies for the Cuban people. Will customs at the Havana port allow us to take the suitcase off the ship? Thank you.

They likely will not. It is very frowned upon, (and in poor taste.)

The problem with that is that if you get audited by the us government within 5 years of your visit to Cuba, you have to proove that you took a tour with a US sponsored organization if you chose this category and you either had to arrange this tour before your trip or get an 8 hour tour/day with the cruise ship and thats about $200 per person per day, even children.

That's why (if a cruiseline forces you to change your travel category from SFTCP to P2P before they provided a visa) one should make a note of it in their travel records. (And btw, if one does choose to travel under the P2P category, there is NO specific hour requirement; that is a myth.)

so im taking a cruise today and i just finished the boarding process. I had the section 4 with “Support for the Cuban people” category selected and RCI gave a big hard time with it. At first they said that i needed prior approval to go under this license, then later after many back and forth words they let me go with it, after about 20 minutes. I had to let them know that i have a full itinerary with things to do to support this category and they still tried to force me to take people to people category. My recomendation is for you to have a full itinerary to support the cuban people and be prepared to show proof just jn case. You dont need prior approval to travel under this license, you just need to document all your activities as much as possible, keep receipts and be ready to provide proof if OFAC audits you within 5 years of your trip. From all the people goong through check in, we where the only ones battling with RCI to go with this license.

 

Be prepared to be stressed and be strong, they cannot hold you on it!!!

Carnival does this too. It doesn't matter; just switch to P2P on the travel affidavit, get your visa, and don't sweat it. Do make a note in your records. (We went with no tours or itineraries booked and were fine.)

Azamara advised us that we cannot take a private excursion, unless they are a US licensed tour company. Has anyone taken a tour not offered by the ship? We would appreciate any information that you could share.

Thank you!

 

 

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We didn't book a tour at all, just got off the ship and did our own thing. Already booked to go back.

Hi everyone - I’m new to Cruise Critic. I’m in the process of trying to choose between 2 cruises for August 2019. This will be my husbands first cruise (besides a little 3 day sampler from Melbourne we did in March - just to make sure it was for him - which he enjoyed). We will also meet our 17, 20 & 23 year kids half way through our trip - they will be coming on the cruise with us. I really need to get the choice right - husband is a bit ‘fussy’ - If I don’t get the cruise part ‘right’, I will have a hard time getting him back to Europe again!! The cruises I’m looking at are: Royal Carribean - Vision of the Seas - 12 night Eastern cruise from Barcelona OR Norwegian Jade - 10 night - from Rome (which we then want to have approx 4 days in Rome at the end). It doesn’t worry me if we have to fly from Barcelona over to Rome for this part. If you had to choose between the 2 - which would you choose & why. Or would you choose another cruise line? Malta & Santorini are non negotiables. Norwegian currently have a promotion of the Ultimate beverage package (which for 5 of us works out to be a great deal). I’ve cruised Royal Carribean (med cruise) 2 years ago & loved it - but I’m not fussy - was just thrilled to be in Europe with a friend. I HAVE to get this right - so hit me up with your thoughts! Thanks in advance :)

Are you serious?

Paid off my cruise (2 staterooms) this week using AARP Gift Cards. Heads up. Found out you can only use 5 per booking. Not too much of an issue- I bought 11- $500 cards but could only use 10 (5 per stateroom). No problem. I now have $500 to use onboard- Saved 10%, so a total of $550. Not too shabby!!

That's not true. I've paid off a $3,000pp booking with GC.

I agree with everything sparks is saying here. For closed loop cruises, which depart and return to the same US port, you only "need" a passport in case of an unforeseen need to return by air to the U.S., such as being medivac'ed due to a health emergency, and even then, your passport will be valid until the day it expires.

 

I further agree you should probably bring your birth certificate along in case of the incredibly unlikely event that your cruise return is delayed a few days past your passport expiry, though the customs checks are quick and they might not even notice the date.

Not true. You have to have a passport to cruise to Cuba.

Hello, I booked my cruise back in March and snagged two aft balconies that are side by side on the Valor: 8457/8459. I looked today and two side by side aft balcony cabins have opened up both on Deck 6 (6485/6487) and Deck 7 (7449/7451). Would there be a reason to move down a deck or two? I've never been on the Valor and I've never had an aft cabin before so I'm unsure. I looked and Deck 8 is right under the aft pool. I didn't know if that would be noisy? It seemed convenient to be one deck down from food.

 

Any experience or thoughts?

On Conquest class ships (like Valor) get afts on deck 7 because you will have canons above and below. Do not ever get deck 8 afts on this class; the aft pool, hot tubs and such are right above on deck 9. They scrub the deck in the middle of the night, dragging chairs all over the place.

someone advised me that Cheers is not 15 alcoholic drinks and all the bottled water, Powerade, milkshakes, etc., but actually the combination of alcohol and the drinks mentioned above.

 

We were under the impression that it was up to 15 alcoholic drinks and any of the above.

 

Which is it?

Did you check Carnival's website?

Windstar is charging you 160% or more of the retail price you could book the excursion for yourself, and it has entered into a contract with the excursion vendor which precludes the vendor from booking the excursion directly with you at any price once you've identified yourself (where shall we pick you up?) as a Windstar passenger. That's right!

 

We've booked a Windstar cruise and are making independent arrangements for possible shore excursions. It turns out one of those excursions is being marketed directly by Windstar on its web site through its booked passenger portal. When we contacted the vendor directly, he/she told us he/she can't take our business because Windstar forced him/her to enter into a written contract which prevents him/her from selling the excursion directly to any passenger aboard a Windstar ship. However, if we can show up the day before or after the Windstar ship has arrived/left port, the vendor is happy to take our booking (well of course that doesn't work for us).

 

And how does the pricing compare? It turns out Windstar's price is nearly 160% of the excursion vendor's retail, otherwise commissionable price. Strike 1!

 

I am sure few of us object to a travel professional earning a commission on a travel related product or service he/she books on our behalf. But how do we feel about paying a nearly 60% surcharge in addition to the commission? And how do we feel about the "professional" forcing a predator type contract upon the vendor which prevents the vendor from making passenger-direct bookings? How long do we think a business practice like this would be tolerated in the U.S?

 

But this "incident" raises a more bothersome concern. I always have been a big supporter of Windstar. But now I am forced to take a step back and re-evaluate. And here's why.

 

In prior posts I have shared that cruise passengers can generally purchase far less restrictive air fare on our own, on the very same airlines Windstar uses, for a lot less than the air fare bundled in the all inclusive cruise price Windstar offers. And when we do, Windstar cannot compel the airlines to NOT make direct bookings with any of its passengers.

 

In a prior post I have called Windstar's 5% discount on future booked cruises for repeat "Yacht Club" Members a joke because in the real world the repeat passenger only gets the discount if he/she pays an inflated fare which is at least 5% or more greater than what the cruise costs to any passenger. Although I qualified for the discount, it was denied by Windstar (even though I asked). Strike 2!

 

In a prior post I have criticized Windstar's "so called" promotion whereby if a booking is made prior to a certain date, the passenger gets an extra $X.00 of free on board credits based upon the length of his/her cruise. Although I qualified for the free on board credits, they were denied by Windstar (even though I asked). Strike 3, you're out!

 

How about "so called" 50% discounted pricing? We all know this is an outright misstatement but it is not unique to Windstar. Nevertheless, this post is talking about ethics.

 

So when any of you ask this Board for advice insofar as whether you can or should book any element of a Windstar cruise on your own for less, you might want to think back to this post.

Honestly? It sounds like you have never read the fine print.

We will be on the NCL Sun and in Havana from 10am to 11:59pm. We have booked a tour with Blexie for the day. Would we have time to see the Tropicana show? Would it be worth tiring ourselves out that much or should we wait to come back hopefully another time.

 

When in Spain I went to see a Flamenco show but it was so darn crowded and we were seated at such an angle we could not see the dancers’ feet, which was the whole point, so the excursion turned out to be disappointing...

Given the hours of your stop in in Havana, if the Tropicana is doable, it will be offered through the cruiseline, as it is a big tourist draw (and you could also reserve independently). (Just FYI, many people we talked to were less than impressed with the Tropicana show. "Touristy" & "unimpressed" were some of the terms used.

Do you need one for each person in our cabin including minor children?

Each person - Yes

Minors - I believe so, since they too must have passport books; check with the cruiseline to confirm.

Do you need 8 pages of this form? I'm on a Carnival excursion first day, on my own second day. What do I check?

Yes, you need all the pages of the travel affidavit. Somewhere in the last pages is a page where you have to enter your personal information including cabin number, etc. As for which travel category to check, only you can make that determination, but I t sounds like for you would be SFTCP or P2P. (And read above about the issues with Carnival and guests checking SFTCP.)

I would like to bring a small fan for the room. I am certain somewhere in this site there is a link to what type of fan is allowable, but I am unable to find one. Could you please suggest what is allowed, or forward a link to me? I’m an avid Amazon shopper, so if you have purchased one from there a picture would work as well [emoji847] Thank you for your assistance!

 

 

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This fan thing comes up a lot, and we have no idea why. No matter what ship, we have always been able to get our staterooms frosty cold, if that's how we wanted them (which we do at night). I wonder if it has anything to do with cabin location/deck/etc? We have just never encountered this issue.

we are planning on being in boston harbor for the fourth of july. would like to invite relatives to join us on board for fireworks

 

. How do we go about this?

Wondering why you are asking here, and not the cruiseline....

the unlimited beverage package on carnival cruises leaving out of ports in Texas and New York does not apply to the first day on board? you can still purchase drinks on boarding day but the unlimited beverage package doesn't work until the first day at sea...I am told this is not a Carnival rule but something to do with the laws in Texas and New York--anyone know what the legal obstruction is?:confused:

This is all about the liquor laws in this states. You will pay outright for your drinks on Day 1, and your Cheers package starts on Day 2. No big deal.

Ladies that are experienced cruisers: what is the best bag to bring for a cruise? I can’t decide between carrying a crossbody- regular tote or what? We are cruising Hawaii so we will be doing excursions - beaching etc. any advice?

Sashbag, hands down.

Hello. I'll be taking my first Cuban cruise with my 10 year old daughter this year.

 

Has anyone taken a child on the tour to Vinales? That's what I'm thinking of doing during the day, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

I'm thinking in the evening, the best bet is to stick with Camp Carnival for her, but I'm looking for suggestions from anyone who has taken this cruise before. It didn't seem like there was anything that she would enjoy in the evening, as the shows and venues for those shows appear to be more adult oriented?

 

Thanks for any advice!

Vinales is really pretty far away. We were going to go there but it would have taken our entire day, so we stayed in Havana. If your 10 yr old is into history and culture he will enjoy Cuba. If not he will be bored to tears. And hot. And bored. And hot.

Anyone have any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

 

My son is getting married 06/23 and my wife book the Carnival Vista selling on 06/24. Carnival said it was on EZ pay and when the last payment hit it was declined on 04/10. She did not get an email or any notification that is was cancelled. We just found out about it today when I logged on to get boarding pass and luggage tags. Now Carnival says the cruise is booked completely and all they can do is put them on a cancellation notification. My wife had already booked the airlines and thought she had it all planned out. They are so disappointed. Any advice to get them on that ship would be appreciated. We were on the phone with Carnival for 3 hours and they could not get them on the cruise,

 

Thanks in advance

When balancing her credit card statement, how did she not notice there was no payment made to the cruiseline on April 10?? And in more than the two months since, do you mean to say she never once looked at that booking? That all just sounds odd to me. (And if she purchased even halfway decent trip insurance (hopefully NOT through the cruiseline) she might get part of that $ back.).

Hello all,

Do the waiters only do their routine during the fixed dining times, or do they perform during ATD also? Thanks!

Yes, but they only dance at certain times, and those times vary. Depending on what time you dine you might see them...or you might not.