moscowmark

Bebe1234, They did not automatically stamp our passport, or anyone else's. We had to specifically ask for it. The person we got seemed surprised by our request, not for any legal, political, or bureaucratic reason, but because I don't think anyone had ever asked him for it before. He was happy to do so.

camarodrivenrs, The only transportation I saw was the tour buses. But that's because we stayed on the beach-side of the resort. Being a hotel/resort I would think that other transportation would be available somewhere, but the location is pretty secluded, so any drive might be a long one.

Actually now that you mention it, I think they did separate the US citizens. P2P passengers would meet in the Muses Lounge (the big theater) and would be put on the first 7 buses. Non-P2P passengers would meet in the Eros Lounge (still on Deck 8) and would get buses 8-10. I think the P2P buses followed a similar, but slightly different itinerary. For example, the P2P City Tour in Santiago de Cuba included a stop at the African Cultural Center for a special performance. I'm honestly not sure if non-P2P passengers got to see that.

I do know that P2P passengers received a different Daily Newsletter than non P2P passengers received.

The P2P groups were about 30 people each (the size of one bus). So even though there may have been 210 P2P passengers, each 'group' was about 30 people, and each bus would visit the sites in a different order. We never went anywhere as a group of 210.

Spoiler Alert - I've posted all the photos with descriptions from our cruise at marksowers.com/cuba . However I will warn you that viewing these photos before your trip will likely spoil it, just like being told the plot of a movie before watching it can spoil it. If you haven't been yet, I recommend not viewing these photos until you get back. I'm sharing these more for folks who either won't go on the cruise, or who have returned and want to see photos from someone else's perspective.

Bryna123, I saw several people snorkeling right off the beach. Even without a mask we did see some fish, especially around some of the piers. I'm not sure where they got their equipment. The last tender back to the ship was at 2:30.

Here's the plotted route that was posted onboard (see photo).

Here are some notes based on our experience on the Dec. 25th Cuba Cruise. The purpose of the post is not to go into all the great things you will experience, and you definitely will experience great things! Rather it is to give you a heads-up of a few things that you may not be expecting, just so you can be prepared.

Arrival: We flew Delta into Montego Bay. The flight attendants told us we needed only one landing card per family. When we got to the customs gate, we were told we needed one landing card PER PERSON, so a lot of angry Americans gathered in a narrow hallway and tried to quickly fill out a bunch of landing cards before we could pass.

Embarkation: There was just a little confusion on my part as to *which* Montego Bay port the ship would dock, (it's the older downtown port, also known as Freeport, not the new one east of the airport, also known as Falmouth), but the cab drivers seemed to know exactly which one. The boarding process itself was really smooth and quick.

Balconies: We upgraded to one of the new balcony rooms (well worth the extra cost). It also appears that the whole room (closets, wallpaper, carpet, but not furniture) was upgraded during the balcony addition. Very nice! The balcony size was comfortable, not crowded at all (see photo 1 and photo 2). While most balconies have a separator-wall on each side of the balcony, the farthest aft cabin in each balcony-group have only one wall on the forward side of the balcony. The aft side of the balcony is open with just a railing. For cabins 6014, 6214, 7009, and 7208 this gives a nice open view down the side of the ship, but for cabins 6039, 6239, 7030, and 7229 the private balcony basically connects to the larger public deck on the back of the ship, and there is no separator (only a railing), therefore absolutely no privacy on those balconies.

Staying Cool: Being from Pennsylvania we are not used to excessive heat plus humidity. The air conditioning in our room was simply unable to keep up with the heat and humidity. Part of the problem was that the back-side of the curtains were very dark and absorbed heat from the sun, especially if the room was facing south. As a result the curtains simply radiated heat into the room. White-backed curtains would have reflected the sunlight back outside instead of absorbing the heat. Another part may have been that because of the new balcony doors (which operated very nicely) added a large amount of glass area compared to the smaller window that was there originally. But I suspect that even if there was no window, the air conditioner would not have been able to keep up with the humidity of the Caribbean. Everything in our room felt slightly damp (furniture, sheets, pillows, paper, etc.). So when returning from a tour (despite air conditioned buses) we were usually extremely overheated and wanted to cool down. This was very difficult in our cabin. Often we just removed our clothes and sat for 1-2 hours before we felt comfortable again. I tried taking a cool shower but 'cold' water was running about 85 - 90 deg F (30 - 32 deg C), so that didn't help. After a day or two I discovered that the first little bit of water out of the shower had been sitting in the pipes and had cooled to room temperature (about 77 deg F or 25 deg C). I would turn the shower on just a little bit and savor that first bit of cool water before the much warmer water arrived.

Toilet Paper: Yes, the note left on the toilet the first day did ask that we not place toilet paper in the toilet (see photo). However the toilet was the same size and suction as toilets we experienced on other cruise ships, and on the occasions that we forgot, the toilet handled it just fine.

Food: We are not fancy dinner eaters, so we mostly ate at the buffet. The buffet didn't open for dinner until 7PM. While not bad, we have had better food on other cruises. What was notable about the buffet was that there were only slight variations in the offerings each night. It got boring eating the same things night after night.

Ship Staff: I have to say that the staff on this cruise was definitely the best staff we have ever seen. They were very friendly and eager to help. As soon as we sat down in a bar, someone was there to take our order. Part of this may have been because the ship was apparently only about half-full (600 passengers out of a capacity of 1300-or-so), but for whatever reason, the staff was great.

Lectures: I agree with other posters that the P2P lectures weren't all that great. They presented relatively basic information, and didn't get into much depth. I attribute part of the problem to the professors having to speak in their non-native language, which I can imagine would be extremely difficult. The best lecture was from the former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs who came on board just as we arrived in Havana.

Tours: We enjoyed all our tours (except Cabo San Antonio noted below). Yes, there were long waits for the buses to fill up, but that is the nature of large tours. The tour guides were not impressive, especially in Cienfuegos, where a number of people on different buses commented that they didn't like their tour guides. The tour buses throughout the trip were modern imports from China. They were comfortable with good air conditioning systems. We did enjoy the stops along the tours.

Santiago de Cuba: The afro-music performance was enjoyable but it was outside and therefore hot and humid. At least it was in the shade. After the tour we had about 2 hours to walk the streets on our own. About 2 blocks north of the cruise terminal entrance (at the pink building) is Jose Saco Street, which is pedestrian-only and the main shopping strip. There are not many shops right at the end of the road near the cruise terminal, and this section was under construction as they added new pavers (see photo), but a few blocks up the hill starts to become very crowded with shoppers (see photo). Definitely worth the walk.

Havana Day 1: The first P2P tour (the morning tour) is a walking tour of the area within a few blocks of the ship which provides a nice introduction to the area and helps you catch your bearings. The afternoon P2P tour was a bus tour of the sites just outside of typical walking distance. Our tour included a stop at an official cigar and rum shop, and later a stop at the crafts market which is housed in a giant warehouse on the waterfront about 6 blocks south of the ship. We particularly enjoyed the crafts market, but most people chose to be dropped off at the ship before this stop. Optional evening tours to the Tropicana, Buena Vista Social Club, and Opera de la Calle were offered but we were too tired.

Havana Day 2: Because we didn't stay out late the night before, we had time in the early morning to explore Havana on our own before it got too hot. Obispo Street is the main pedestrian-only shopping strip, and worth a visit (see photo). Back onboard for a musical performance and then a bus drove us about 5 blocks to the Art and the Revolution museums. From the time we met in the lounge, through loading the buses, driving Havana traffic, and finally being dropped off, took almost a full hour. Because the museums are free, I recommend simply walking the 5 blocks, and having much more time to see both of them.

Maria la Gorda: Many people agreed that the trip to Cabo San Antonio was not worth the long drive. For those who stayed at the beach, they found a really nice beach (see photo) with only a few drawbacks. 1) There were millions of little flies everywhere. Spraying deet (Deep-Woods Off) helped a little, but didn't last long. Fortunately the flies didn't bite at all, they were just unsettling and got everywhere (see photo). I think we brought 30 of them back to the ship with us. 2) While the beach was very nice and comfortable, accessing the water was quite difficult due to a layer of very sharp rocks right at the waterline (see photo). I strongly recommend water-footwear if you plan on going in the water. Also of note: the beach is part of a hotel that caters to Europeans, so don't be shocked by occasional brief nudity (no photo available).

Cienfuegos: This was probably my favorite stop because the town itself is really nice. Unlike the other downtown pedestrian-only shopping strips, San Fernando Street was tree-lined and had benches to sit at (see photo). Unfortunately the tour guides here seem to be poorly trained and after the tour there is little if any time to explore on your own before the ship leaves at 3PM.

Although all of the above sounds like a lot of complaining, it really is not meant to be. The purpose of this post is to simply give you a heads-up as to what to expect when you get there. Overall we really enjoyed our trip and think you will also.

Medical Insurance for Americans

As of yesterday, Celestyal Cruises has begun selling travel insurance that covers the Cuba Cruise ($32 USD per person). According to the email I just received, with this coverage we are, "completely covered according to the requirements of the Cuban government."

Contact person is Holly Varey - h.varey@celestyalcruises.com

Hi Ron (ONT-CA), Interesting approach. That would certainly work, but I'm not seeing signs of that in the photos. The sliding doors for all the *new* balconies appear to be flush with the original bulkhead. (The *old* balconies appear to still be angled like you described.)

I guess we'll find out in a few weeks. I'll try to post a photo when we get back (early January). :)

Hi Ron (ONT-CA), I upgraded from Room 6015 (a category XBO - Superior Outside Obstructed) to Room 7204 (a category XF - Deluxe Outside) for about $900 US (total, not per person).

Because Don is already in a XF-class room, just one that didn't get a balcony, it may be possible for him to request a different room at little or no charge.

For others - I assume this will work in Canada as well as it does in the US. If you search YourCubaCruise.com and pretend you are making a new booking, you can find the price of your current room-class, and compare it to the price of an XF or XE-class room, you should see the difference in price. Just remember that most, but not all, XE rooms were upgraded, and only about half the XF rooms were upgraded, so you'll want to confirm with CubaCruise that your new room does indeed have a balcony.

I also tried to look for dividers between each room's balcony, and couldn't see them. That doesn't mean they aren't there, they may just not be visible in the photos. Maybe I'll get to know my neighbors really well. :)

Hey Don, Please know that this is not official, it is just a guess based on the photos and the descriptions of the upgrades, but I'm pretty confident in my guess.

It appears that the following cabins now have balconies:

6004-6014 (11 cabins)

6038-6039 (2 cabins)

6204-6214 (11 cabins)

6238-6239 (2 cabins)

7004-7009 (6 cabins)

7028-7030 (3 cabins)

7204-7208 (5 cabins)

7227-7229 (3 cabins)

Total of 43 cabins (26 on Deck 6, and 17 on deck 7)

We will be in cabin 7204. It looks like 7210 just missed out.

Photo during construction, before the new balconies were painted...

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2363045

... and after they were painted...

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2363922

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2368208

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2363921

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2363919

You guys are awesome! Thanks for letting me know about the new balconies. I quickly called my travel agent and he was able to upgrade us to one of the new balcony rooms on deck 7. Now we have a balcony, instead of just a window! YEA!

My wife and I will be sailing out of Montego Bay on Dec. 25th.