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Hello, Havana! Nicole721's Full PICTORIAL Review of the Paradise 4-Day to Cuba


Nicole721
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I saw your posts on Instagram when you went and was hoping to see a review at some point. This trip looks amazing and your pictures are incredible (and I love that you ended up at Portillo's when you were in Tampa-for us it's a very welcome taste of home and always a stop whenever we drive the couple hours to see a Chicago sports team play in Tampa, along with all the other Illinois transplants that seem to wriggle out of the woodwork for a game and Italian beef all at the same time).

 

Cuba is a bucket list trip for sure, I'm really hoping we are able to make it soon, I get nervous those restrictions are going to tighten up again. Thank you for such a beautiful view of it in the meantime!

 

Thanks, Jenna! :D We shared the same worry (and it was the main motivator for going when we did). And now I want to go back!

 

 

Enjoyed reading about your Cuba experience! Has me very excited for our Cuba cruise next year (gonna be a long 405 days!). Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for reading along!

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Nicole,

 

I really enjoyed your review! I am really considering a cruise to Cuba in 2019, and I am very intrigued by your photos. Thank you for writing this review! I love your writing style. And you take some amazing photos!

 

Thank you so much!!

 

 

Your Review and pictures are fabulous! Thanks for taking all of us along to Cuba!

 

Thanks for taking the journey along with me! :)

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Day 6: Debarkation

 

I have this…thing…a connection…a spidey sense. To my cellular service. On the morning of debarkation, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, reach for my phone, turn it off airplane mode and wait with rapt anticipation to see if the upper left hand corner lights up with bars of service.

 

Cellular service was restored to my phone around 2:30 in the morning. I checked all of my emails, all of my news sites and watched a video on YouTube just to celebrate. My sister Stephanie calls it cellular dependency. Whatever it is, there’s such a relief that flows through when I’m reconnected to the world outside the cruise ship…I just wish it didn’t mean debarkation was near!

 

I slept again, waking up just before 6:00 am to watch the ship pass below the Sunshine Skyway Bridge before falling asleep for another hour, waking at 7:15 to start getting ready to leave the Paradise.

 

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My Platinum status got both of us Group 1 baggage tags, but we were in no rush – Keri’s flight home wasn’t until 1:00 pm and mine wasn’t until 5:00 pm, so we had plenty of time. We had breakfast upstairs at the Paris Restaurant (which was quiet and had plenty of open tables – there was no way this ship was anywhere near capacity on this voyage) and waited while self assist debarkation was called for decks 6 and 7.

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They called our baggage number before they called self assist for deck 8, perhaps in an attempt to start getting some of the guests with early flights off the ship, so we lingered a bit longer. And just when we were ready to get off the ship, they paused debarkation due to congestion in the terminal.

 

It only got worse from there.

 

We waited a bit longer after they started again to leave, an entertainment staff member guiding us around the line after seeing my Platinum card hanging off my lanyard, and from there, we waited in line for nearly a half hour to go down an escalator, as they were only letting people down 20 at a time.

 

Once we got down the first escalator, it was a 15-minute wait for the second escalator. And then another 15 minutes to make our way through to the front of the customs line. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

 

And in true to form fashion, it took me less than ten seconds to pass through customs. They’ve done away with the customs declaration form. Apparently the customs agents will randomly question anyone they find to be suspicious. That was a little too nebulous for my likes. Do I say hello and good morning? Does that make me too friendly and thus suspicious? Do I not say anything at all and avoid eye contact, sliding my passport their way? Does that make me more suspicious?

 

In any case, I walked up to the agent, wished him a good morning, placed my passport in his hand and waited. He didn’t stop his conversation with the agent next to him, he didn’t look up at me, he scanned my passport, handed it back to me and told me “You’re good.”

 

I’m good? That’s it? You don’t want to know what I bought or who I talked to? Because I can tell you: I spent 85 CUC, I have one big bottle of rum, one small bottle of rum, exactly one Cuban cigar and one box of puritos, two t-shirts, one book, two magnets, one keychain, one wooden car replica, one postcard and a tote bag. No partridge, no pear tree. So you all know that now, but customs does not, did not and didn’t care to. I can’t figure out if I’m relieved that it was so easy or terrified at what could potentially make its way through border control.

 

The luggage hold was after customs, and we quickly identified our bags under the Zone 1 sign and headed out towards ground transportation. The day before, we had inquired at guest services about Carnival transfers, but at $20.50 a person, the representative urged us to take a taxi, which would meter to about $30. Before we headed towards the taxi’s, we checked Uber and found a ride to the airport was $14. So, pro tip, if you’re traveling between Tampa International and the cruise port, use Uber or Lyft.

 

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We were at Tampa International before 10:00 am, giving me more than seven hours to wait out my flight. Keri was booked on an earlier flight home, but she had hours to burn, too, so we sat out pre-terminal shuttle, where they have more dining options and super comfy chairs to sit out in.

 

Tampa International is not my favorite airport. It’s probably towards the bottom of my list of favorite Florida airports. Dining options are limited. The gates are in an oversized hangar. It’s marginally better than my absolute least favorite airport (LaGuardia in New York) only for the fact that the ceilings are higher.

 

Keri’s flight boarded at 12:50 pm, so we parted ways there. I headed off to the American gates, boarding a shuttle to security clearance. I’d forgotten that American does not have a priority security lane in Tampa, which just added to the reasons why I don’t like Tampa International list, but once I made my way through that line, I headed through the congested concourse to find an empty seat where I could log onto my computer and check in with work because if Tampa International was good for nothing else, it had free wifi.

 

I grabbed a freddo at Illy (where it took longer to get my coffee than it did for the Customs agent to clear me) and poured through my pictures. My flight boarded right on time and, having cleared my upgrade two days prior, I settled into my rather spacious seat with a vodka soda because, well, until I stepped foot off the plane at O’Hare, I was still on vacation.

 

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The flight was short, and by the time dinner service was concluding, we were already beginning our descent. Thanks to some favorable flying conditions, we were early to land. So much so, that they had to fly us further west in a loop around the airport before they could clear a gate for us at O’Hare.

 

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As soon as we were on the ground, I texted Stephanie (who agreed to pick me up at the airport and drive me back to my apartment if we could make a stop at the Stranger Things pop up bar in Wicker Park) and as soon as I stepped off the plane, I felt it: it was oppressively hot. I guess I brought some of that Cuban heat home with me.

 

By the time I had my luggage, Stephanie was waiting for me outside, with a super icy iced tea, ready for me to regale her with stories of all of the things I saw and did in Cuba.

 

And that’s where it ends. At least for this one. But you know me – it never ends there. We’d be off on the Carnival Splendor for the holidays before we knew it!

 

 

And on that note, this is the last post in this series! If anyone has any questions about our time in Cuba or about the Paradise, holler 'em at me! And if anyone wants to follow along on the Splendor cruise journal, I'll have the first post up on this board in the next couple days! :)

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I really enjoyed reading your review and really felt like I was right there along with you, just as I have your others. And your pictures, I always enjoy your beautiful pictures! Since I'd love to get to Cuba on a cruise, I found this VERY informative since there was so much I didn't know. I was always picturing a typical port stop, so I appreciate all of the information that you included earlier on in the review, it was very helpful. I always look forward to seeing your reviews and am looking forward to the next time you post one. Thank you for sharing another of your cruises with us.

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Nice revue, glad I’m not the only person who is worried about the changes to the customs process. Was interesting to see you listed the two airports that I hate the least as your two least favorites! We do Clearwater/Tampa area several times per year and always am able to catch up on a lot of work there. Try St. Pete/Clearwater Airport next time and you’ll have a new least favorite, I promise!

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Thanks, great review and pics!

 

Thank you!

 

 

Great review Nicole! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. My sister and I are booked on the Paradise for Oct. I was able to glean some information from your review :)

 

Oh, I'm so glad! Hope you enjoy the Paradise as much as I did! :)

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Thanks for yet another wonderful review! Do you write for a living? You should! I'm looking forward to the Splendor review. Until then...

 

I used to write professionally back in college, but nowadays, I mostly just do it for fun. I like to think I'll eventually go back to it -- writing about cruising would be the ultimate dream job :)

 

 

Enjoyed your review! Thank you so much.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for reading!

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I really enjoyed reading your review and really felt like I was right there along with you, just as I have your others. And your pictures, I always enjoy your beautiful pictures! Since I'd love to get to Cuba on a cruise, I found this VERY informative since there was so much I didn't know. I was always picturing a typical port stop, so I appreciate all of the information that you included earlier on in the review, it was very helpful. I always look forward to seeing your reviews and am looking forward to the next time you post one. Thank you for sharing another of your cruises with us.

 

Thanks for coming along for the ride! :D

 

 

Thanks SO much, great review. I read it thru once and BOOKED to Cuba. Can't wait!!!

 

Ahh! How exciting! I hope you have an amazing trip :)

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So happy I found this trip journal after someone referenced it on the HAL Cuba board. Will make for excellent snow day reading!

Thank you Nicole for posting your experiences.

 

Ooh! Thanks for following me over here! :) And I hope the weather's warming up for you -- it's still pretty frigid here in Chicago :rolleyes:

 

 

Nice revue, glad I’m not the only person who is worried about the changes to the customs process. Was interesting to see you listed the two airports that I hate the least as your two least favorites! We do Clearwater/Tampa area several times per year and always am able to catch up on a lot of work there. Try St. Pete/Clearwater Airport next time and you’ll have a new least favorite, I promise!

 

Oh goodness! Good to know it can get worse ;)

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I was over on the Cuba forum and someone mentioned you had posted this review. I thoroughly enjoy all of your reviews/trip journals.

 

This one is especially helpful as I just booked a 5 day cruise to Cuba. Thank you so much for the beautiful pics!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Great review, thank you so much!

 

Thanks for reading along! :)

 

 

I was over on the Cuba forum and someone mentioned you had posted this review. I thoroughly enjoy all of your reviews/trip journals.

 

This one is especially helpful as I just booked a 5 day cruise to Cuba. Thank you so much for the beautiful pics!

 

 

Thank you so much! :)

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