My Cuba Cruise

[ONT-CA]

 

Ron ~ hope you enjoyed your Portabella experience yesterday. Did you notice where the sinkhole had been the night before on Main Street?

Did you have their yummy frites? Tonight 2 Picton chefs are competing on "Chopped Canada" on the Food Network. Sure hope they do well. ~ Jo ~ :)

 

We were so anxious to get to the Portobella that road conditions were secondary. Amazed but pleased to find that there was not a vacant seat in the house. Totally booked. Little wonder. A long way to drive but so worth it.

[Balloon Man]

Are there any ports where I would be advised to stick with the ship's tours, as opposed to hiring taxis/guides on location?

 

We booked all our tours through a guide called pototo in Havana via e-mail. All good and lower in price than the ship's excursions.

 

However I have to admit that I sometimes wondered if the 50 year old cars we travelled-in would make it back to the port. But I was slightly reassured when one guide told me that all the drivers were also good car mechanics. And we never had a breakdown.

 

Didn't take any ship's tours but people who did seemed to enjoy them.

 

Cuba seems to be a fairly safe place with low crime levels and very friendly people.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Sitting at LGA awaiting my flight to Miami & using an airport iPad

 

Adam Coulter, a CC UK staff was on our cruise & his comprehensive review is now posted under reviews here.

 

Ron - glad you enjoyed your meal, sure hope there's food on my flight!!

 

Jo:)

[ONT-CA]

With the belief that Cuba Cruises reads these posts I thought I would mention that although the Cuba Cruise logo of tropical flowers, which is indeed attractive particularly across the bow of the Louis Cristal, the over use of peel and stick versions was a little more than overdone... They were to be found on the walls in the corridors, the offices, the dining room, the bars, basically everywhere. And as we were told that each and every one of them was to be hand removed during the Cristal's sail back to Greece, perhaps for the next season sailing just a few of the larger ones would suffice? Just saying...

[ONT-CA]

It seems that no amount of time negates the memory of the Cuba Cruise for we look forward to not only our fall cruise schedule but our repeat adventure in Cuba in 2015.

 

One of the items that came to mind tonight was our photos and how we acquired them through the ship. Unlike other lines who's price per photo print is somewhat higher, Louis Cruises will, with the purchaser of a $15 photo, give you a Fridge Magnet incorporating the same photo to be use as a souvenir or a little memento gift. That was appreciated and a first for us. Plus, should you be interested in the video of the full cruise, your purchase will include your selection of a free photo from the gallery. Again a good bargain. I mention these advantages for we hope they will be repeated on our next sailing.

[Arrow Fan]

I have a quick question for anyone who has been in a SB cabin. Does this cabin category have a fridge?

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

I'm back from my BTB & had a great time. Sure was different sailing with 3000+ rather than 300!!

 

Ron ~ I thought that too about all the decals, what a job to remove them & a bit overdone.

 

The subject of photo prices came up in a Q&A session on one of my ships & people (myself included) believe that they'd sell more pictures if the price was lower. Apparently they've researched that & found it not to be as good for their bottom line.;)

 

The pictures on Cristal were very reasonably priced & well done! I liked the fridge magnet & key chain additions & one's face on a magazine cover. Cute ideas.

 

Have a great week. So nice to see colours other than white & brown again

here.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

Welcome home Jo. Curious about your “white and brown” itinerary. I either missed your stated destination or I have something not turned on in my personal settings to show me. Glad you had a great time. We are all but confirmed aboard the Emerald Princess in the fall for a TA to Texas but I too am concerned about the large number of passengers. How quickly we became spoiled aboard the Cristal. We were not aware of the photo deal on the cover of a magazine for that could have been fun. Dropped by the Hubb for what turned out to be a rather unwelcoming look about and was sorry to see the old traditional dining room converted. But that’s the overall dining problem these days. If you want to dine with table linen you almost exclusively. have to go aboard a ship. And I often wonder how long that will last.

[retiring soon]

HI again!

 

Ron ~ I went to the Caribbean so plenty of colours there.;) I meant when I left here it was still pretty brown & the winter was really white!

 

I did a TA on Emerald Princess from Venice to FLL in Oct '08. I'm not a sea day person so wouldn't do one again.

 

DH had his picture on the front of "Cristal's Health" & I was on "Vugoe".

We got a couple of nice key chains with the ship picture on one side & the photo on the other.

 

Apparently Carnival is rumoured to be doing away with table cloths but still had them 2 weeks ago.

 

Can there really be a S1 cabin available Feb 13? I was checking the website today to see what dates the cruises are this year. We won't book 'til probably Nov & if we don't get a cabin will have to make other plans.:(

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

Can there really be a S1 cabin available Feb 13?

 

That would put you on with us for 4 days. :)

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

burm ~ that is the week we usually go away in Feb. but it wouldn't be in a

S1, probably an XE which we really liked last time. On Carnival I had a cove balcony which I loved & was close to the water but I never saw any sealife like I did just sitting on the couch looking out of my window on Cristal.

It would be funny for us to ftf in Cuba!:D

 

Adam (CC/UK) sent this to me in an email & I didn't know whether you all had seen it posted somewhere on CC. I met him on the Cuba Life tour bus when he heard me mention Cruise Critic.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1619

 

Have a nice day, sort of dull here.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[Arrow Fan]

I have a quick question for anyone who has been in a SB cabin. Does this cabin category have a fridge?

Anyone?

[ONT-CA]

Anyone?

 

Perhaps it best if you pose the question directly to the company at reservations@yourcubacruise.com

[Liz54]

Or, they have a Facebook Page, if you use that.

[Arrow Fan]

Suites in Deck 7 (~36 sqm) can accommodate up to 3 person(s), with 2 lower beds and sofa (bed), refrigerator, TV, Hairdryer, Safety box, bathroom, 2 window(s), 1 balcony

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Found the above on Louis website

[ONT-CA]

What is the expression? Seek and ye shall find? Well done Arrow Fan and thanks for the information. Some might need this as, and can you believe it even at this early date, there is already a request for a "move over".

[Arrow Fan]

Move over?

[ONT-CA]

Move over?

 

I think I have used the right expression. It is when conflicting booking demands occur. The company wishes to accommodate all it's potential customers and so will, in special circumstances, offer an incentive to someone with a confirmed booking to either alter their sailing dates or accept a different cabin. When successful, everyone sails.

[burm]

Yesterday I called Transaat Holidays to ask if they had their prices yet on Louis Cristal packages that include airfare and hotel. They said yes, they just got their pricing in so it is not yet on their website, but I must call my TA for the information.

 

Marlin sent me the info this morning, but not only is it not a package price, but I would have to ay them a $55 pp booking fee. In the past, I have always booked cruises directly and transferred them over to get extra perks.

 

Also, they wanted to fly me to Varadero, so we would have to pay extra transportation costs to Havana. Nothing special about those prices!

 

Perhaps Hola Sun will come out with something better? If anyone hears of good package deals, please let us know.

[ONT-CA]

Also, they wanted to fly me to Varadero, so we would have to pay extra transportation costs to Havana. Nothing special about those prices!

 

Perhaps Hola Sun will come out with something better? If anyone hears of good package deals, please let us know.

 

As explained to us, none of the package deals at the moment will fly you to Havana and the bus trip is several hours long arriving at some ungodly hour. But we have now been advised by Air Canada that all daily flights to Havana from Toronto will now depart, not at 4:20 pm but rather at 6:45 pm. That puts us in around midnight with a hotel eta of about 1:00am. Air Canada's slogan is aptly stated, GO F ar

[MayerPaint]

As of 2009, no Americans have been prosecuted for traveling to Cuba for a vacation or to visit family.

 

80,000 Americans went to Cuba last year, 60,000 went illegally. I encourage that. You can go knowing that the Supreme Court ruled in 1962, the travel was a Constitutional Right. You can also go knowing that the United States is in violation of it's own signature on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...Section 13.2 that says any citizen of any country can leave his country and then return without fear of prosecution or persecution. You should also know that the United States of America is in total violation of the travel principles spelled out in the Helsinki Agreements that President Gerald Ford signed on August 1, 1975!

 

From Cuba Travel USA

[ONT-CA]

The estimated number of US citizens visiting Cuba in 2012 was put at 500,000. Americans are not actually prohibited from traveling to Cuba but are prohibited from spending any money in Cuba which effectively amounts to the same thing since most people were unwilling to argue that they managed to avoid spending any cash during their trip to Cuba. It would be almost impossible to venture into Cuba without some sort of expenditure for accommodation, food, etc. But that is where the Cuba Cruise comes in with embarkations at Jamaica. All fares and living expenses are made to countries other than Cuba. One can disembark the ship without actually spending a dime. And should you spend a dime or two on something like an ice-cream cone who on earth is going to know about that?

Edited May 29, 2014 by ONT-CA

[Balloon Man]

I have a quick question for anyone who has been in a SB cabin. Does this cabin category have a fridge?

 

Yes it does. Or at least the one we were in earlier this year had a fridge. Great cabin. Great cruise.

[burm]

I tried again for a package deal, with no success. Transaat just pieced together something for my TA at the same prices I would get booking on my own - but with the added inconvenience of having to fly to Varadero.

 

Although Hola Sun has package info with no prices on their website, the TA told me that they do not even know if they will have a contract with Your Cuban Cruise. Very strange.

 

Air Canada is currently listing Toronto to Havana at $675 pp.

 

Has anyone else booked flights from Toronto or hotels?

[Balloon Man]

We stayed in the Iberostar Parque Central for three nights. As the name suggests its right in the middle of Old Havana and most things of interest are within walking distance. The HoHo bus stop is just across the road by the park.

 

Food in the hotel was good by Cuban hotel standards but not as good as some of the private restaurants. Nice atmosphere and good rooms, but those on the lower floor suffer from road noise, and that means horns! Great bistro on the roof by the pool.

 

Hotel Inglaterra is on the other side of the park and it also has a rooftop pool / bar / restaurant. Heard good reports but didn't go there myself.

 

Of course "the" hotel is the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Mixed reports and it's a long way from old Havana.