dontworry

When the Canal is finished will there be just one route going all the way through or will there be the old way and a new way. Have been through 3 times and loved it but want to be sure of seeing all of the changes next time going through. Also any firm dates as to when the new expansion will be in operation. Thanks.

We were on Nieu AMSTERDAM in December and we had a wine pairing dinner in the Pinnacle. This particular one was limited to 12 people. Everything was so amazing. T he food and wine was to die for. The best one I have been to.

I had an impaired driving charge in Canada in 1997. I have gone into the US over 20 times since. The first time I crossed the border into the US I was asked if I had ever been denied entry into the US. The answer was no and I have never been asked about it again. A hard lesson to learn but I did.

DW and I did the Cuba Cruise last February.It was an incredible experience to once again see this beautiful Country and meet so many wonderful Cubans. The Ship itself is very different to any HAL ships and does take a bit of time to get familiar with the Ship. Many US citizens onboard and they by far the majority that we spoke to looked forward to the day when it was easier to travel there. There are many bad things about Cuba but there are also many fine accomplishments there as well.

at Varadaro airport,,,, you go up to the desk,get looked at for a minute amd then you move to the door and they unlock it and you hear the click and you are officially in Cuba....your partner may or may not be in the same line so you wait until they make it through too, not a huge deal but it does make for a few tense moments for me ")

the talk about seafood reminded me of one night in the dining room one of the entrees was fish and chips. Everyone was curious to see what their version would be and it was simply fantastic. The fish, not 100% sure what it was, and even the chips were outstanding. You should give it a try. No one wearing shorts were permitted in the dining room at dinner time, this was not enforced in the buffet at dinner. Service was great, perhaps due to there only being 550 of us, you had coffee,juice, bar service at all times. There is an exhibition of "Buddy Bears" right across the street from the terminal. There are over 150 bears(not sure of the material) representing that many countries. It is truly amazing to see and they are there until March sometime. They have been going around the world since 2005. Check out the Cuba one. One thing about Cuba that gets to me is the entering and exiting. Going up to the immigration booths by yourself, and waiting to see if your door gets unlocked so you can go through and hoping that the rest of your family gets through their door is unsettling to me :) When we got to the Air Transat counter while coming home the fellow had a tip jar on the counter??. After giving us our tickets he implied that he gave us great seats(we chose them months ago) and would we do him a favour. He said he was too busy to change his Canadian money to Cuban so would we exchange our Cuban money with him at par. He stood to make good money if he did this with a lot of people. We said no and ten seconds later an employee from a different airline asked us to do the same thing. Nice scam there. Anyways I ramble, happy cruising to all. The time will fly by so quickly.

We arrived home last night from a wonderful Cruise, Spent 7 days in Havana prior to the Cruise and wow!! what an incredible City. So many changes and yet so much the same as well from our last trip 5 years ago. I havn't looked at recent comments here so hope I do not duplicate things. We got on Feb 9th with a perfect transfer from the Parque Central, All transfers in our package were timely and efficient(Air Transat package). There were only 12 people transferring and in fact we were the only ones getting on at that time. It took all of 5 minutes to go through the various stages of boarding. Everyone was so friendly and efficient which was the pattern throughout the Cruise. Because of being in Havana so long we decided to stay on the Ship and explore and do some relaxing. A very small Ship from what we are used to and very easy to know where you are going at all times. There were a number of bars open and it great to see a huge Earnest Hemingway at the aft pool side bar. Drinks were a little more expensive than other places but still reasonable. We ate in the dining room and loved that crew were of so many nationalities as were the passengers. The joking around and getting to know the dining staff was awesome, great service and good selections of wines to choose from. I would describe the food as the least delicious of other cruise line foods but not bad as all. Our experience along with others was that the food got better each day, especially dinners. The breakfasts at the dining room were ok but the eggs were king of fake looking but there was good selection and good service. The best kept secret on the ship in my mind was the eggs cooked to order in a small corner by the inside pool on the Leda deck. Only place where the eggs were cooked to order and not many wandered up to that area, I highly recommend them. There was always lots of fruit, mostly fresh, two bins of bacon-some really cooked crisp and another bin for not so cooked. Coffee not so great but like the food got better with time. The entertainment was incredible. The music and the dancing and the acrobats were stunning. Best I have seen on over 15 cruises. I have to mention Danny, the cruise director. He can speak up to 12 languages and when he introduces the shows or makes public announcements he in fact speaks in all those languages. An introduction to a show can take a long time...quite funny and he is as friendly as they come. On day 2 we woke up to no water on the ship. This was around 6-8 am so a lot of people didn't even know that it happened. We ate our breakfast and the issue was corrected by the time we finished. I spoke to the reception manager about the problem when we discovered it and I asked about how many passengers were on board. I was shocked to hear that only 550 were on board. Helped with the superb service I guess. We were in cabin 7011 and it was quite nice. Suitcases do not fit under the bed and there is nowhere in the closets for them. We just used them to place thing on. :) The room attendants were was super and we were very pleased with our ladies. They did a great job. We took a number of excursions and let me tell you we had very full days. Left at 9 and were back by around 5:30 or 6. Meals were included on our trips and we ate lunch at 2 one day and 3 the next. We really loved the Santiago de Cuba Special.Lots of sights to visit and a wonderful seafood lunch on an island.Highly recommend this one. The Holquin tour was supposed to be Alcala and Biran but rain from the week before washed out the road to Biran so we did Alcala and the city of Holquin. Lots of history and a very intensive day as well.Internet was down a lot of the time for those who wished to use it. Tons of pictures were taken of everyone and the photographers are very good at what they do. No doubt I have only touched the surface of our days at Sea on Cuba Cruise. It was a very enjoyable experience and we are very tired right now. :) Quite a number of Americans who got on in Jamaica. They seemed very pleased with their experiences in Cuba. I do hope this Cuba Cruise keeps going. It is a wonderful time with great crew. great excursions, great entertainment, close to delicious food. There are a number of smoking areas but are separate sides of the bars and the ventilation works great in the enclosed area. I am now going on and on so I will end now. Air Transat was great and al the tranfers and connections were bang on. We loved it and hope to hear from others on their experiences. Any questions and I will be happy to answer them. Cheers to all.

Have any of you flown into this airport?

I'm wondering if we should exchange our CDN$$ there (if we have time) or wait till Havana, or wait till Antilla, since it's only a sea day in between and we arrive in Varadero at 4:30 pm. Any recommendations?

Thanks! Shelly

there is an exchange counter in the departures area at theVaradaro airport. You just walk out of the arrivals,turn left and go just inside the departure area and you will be able to do your money exchange. We arrive there on Monday and then transfer right to Havana for 7 days before boarding on the 9th.

we took our final dose of dukoral today as well. :) won't be long now. One of my personal soapbox issues about visiting Cuba is when tourists go right up to children and give them candy or presents. If you don't approach children at home where you live then maybe it is not OK to do it in Cuba. Also, I've seen people throw pens and other items right through bus windows and watch the children scramble. Very dangerous and candy is not healthy. The churches and orphanages recommend dropping toys and gifts with them so they can distribute them to the most needy families and schools.. Cuba is overflowing with dollar store items that we have all brought to feel good about ourselves. Years ago the streets were not filled with begging people, we all unintentionally created the situation. Anyways I know most people do the right thing and want to help others less fortunate. Hope everyone who is going to Cuba this season has a special time and once again many thanks to everyone's contribution to these pages.

I thought that I read in the FAQ that for the 2014/2015 sailings that there was NOT a fee charged for re-entering Cuba from Jamaica,that it was already included in the fee. Not a show stopper if not. Getting excited reading all the comments here. Arrive in Havana Feb. 2 and start cruising on the 9th.

dontworry ~ sounds like you have it all covered & will have a great holiday.

Have you been to Cuba before? I'll be interested in hearing how the Trinidad excursion was when you get back if you have time please.

My wife and I were in Cuba twice before. First time Havana/Varadero for a total 0f 7days and in 2011 we were on a 8 day coach tour of western Cuba,then with 3 days in Havana and 7 in Varadero following that. Have seen a lot in Havana but not the Museum of the Revolution, Tropicana, Che's Havana home nor Hemingways home. Want to walk, visit the bars and paladars, We stayed in Hotel Nacional both times. The history and character of Cuba have been in my heart for over 40 years. I will write of the Trinidad excursion on our return.

Just picked up our documents from the TA today. We booked an Air Transat package that includes almost everything. Flights to and from Varadero,(from Edmonton),transfers to Hotel Parque Central,to the Ship from the hotel and then back to Varadero at the end of the Cruise. JR suite at the hotel with breakfast, drink package on board the Ship and in an XF stateroom. We stay at the hotel from 2 Feb for 7 days and then board on the 9th Feb. We pre-paid 4 excursions Holguin-Alcala and Biran,Santiago de Cuba-Santiago Special,Montego Bay-********* and historical Falmouth and Cienfuegos-Trinidad. Plan to do tons of walking in Havana and the usual touristy things. Very,very excited. Have been reading this forum for a long time and greatly appreciate all the discussions and info. Hope there are others from here departing on the 9 Feb. Cheers. :)

We did the Sea of Cortez in Dec. and the ship went to Mazatlan then too. It is a very beautiful stop now and I highly recommend taking the time to explore to do some exploring. There are lots of english speaking volunteers all over that give directions,hand out phamplets and just give out big smiles. It was an extremely enjoyable stop. Yow will have a great time.

You folks are the best. We have so many great ideas to choose from. We are from Alberta doing the CAN/NE 24 Sept on the Eurodam. We leave from QC and end in NYC We have a fair numboer of hours in Boston so we will make the most of it. American history is fascinating to me and I dont want to miss the highlights.

Thankyou again.

bob from Alberta :-)

thank you all for your very informative replies. This will help us a great deal to make some decisions about our time in the great city. When I first read some of the details on the HAL excursions I had the idea that if you wanted to not return to the ship as part of the excursion that you were being stranded a huge distance away. This is our first time to Boston so we want to see as much as possible plus have the opportunity to wander around on our own as well. thanks again, greatly appreciated.

hoping to get even more replies :)

Would appreciate any info regarding Excursions to Boston

Is the cruise ship terminal close to downtown Boston?

What is the best mode of traffic to downtown-taxi, HAL shuttle, walk, bus?

Are there excursions that do a tour of the city and then leave you on your own to explore before bringing you back to the ship

would be thankful for any info, shared experiences etc

"Codeword for sweatpants"

never sweat pants ever,ever

I wonder how many people choose not to go this forum because of these never ending awful comments by some people here

If I feel like it I will even walk to the Showroom from the Lido in my less than than formal clothes. I pay my money just like everyone else. My clothes are extremely clean and very,very comfortable. This never ending theme on how people want other people to dress is very redundant. I think all discussions on this should go to a single thread just as the smoking threads did.

It very well may be an awsome experience, just not for the dolphins. These creatures are meant to be in the wild,socialising with their own kind. I personaaly find it cruel to capture these animals and train them to be your buddy for an hour. Good on the OP to want to research this.

Our group of four will continue to sail with HAL with their current smoking policy thankyou OP for your post we are non-smokers.

DW and I have been on 12 HAL cruises and I have not dressed formally once. I also do not go anywhere near the MDR on formal nights nor where the photos are being taken. I really get it that people enjoy dressing up. I love all kinds of activities while on board and I soak up every minute of life at sea. For me, I do not feel like I am missing out at all by not dressing up. I do respect those that do dress up and like I said I stay away from the areas they go to. However I will go to the showroom, casino,shops etc. In my casual wear. Ever since my first cruise in 2006 I have seen shorts T shirts,sandles etc and actually thought it was totally accepted? I do not want to offend others but I do want to be comfortable for me. I hope this sort of "comprimise" works for most posters. It does seem more of an issue on this forum than it does on the Ship. Cruise 13 in August and 14 in Sept. thanks.

On the Westerdam last August in Alaska they scanned our room key. It was very efficient and mostly quiet. It made things go so much smoother. Hope this starts to happen all over.

it would be fun and interesting to know what excursions people are considering. Be it Ship's excursions or independent ones they know of. :)

I originally had contacted Air Transat via phone and by Facebook and was told that they were only dealing with Travel Agents. I gave my TA the details of what we wanted and she dealt with them. Today, however I picked up a brochure called Transat Holidays Sun Collection 2014-2015 and on pg.162 is Cuba Cruise. They basically have the same things we wanted but their hotels for an extended stay are in Varadero, not Havana and I don't think the transfers were mentioned. They included a drink package as well. I don't know if this makes a difference or not but the cities on the outside of the brochure are all western Canada cities. I now see that the price they are quoting is flying out of Vancouver and having an Interior Stateroom. Hope this info is of some help. good luck :)

We had our TA contact Air Transat for some options. We chose the hotel and the category of stateroom. Between our TA and AT they came up with the date and what specific cabin. We opted to get transfers wherever we could as well. We like the reassurance that there is someone assisting us along the way. I do believe AT had pretty much this same itinary last year.