My Cuba Cruise

[ONT-CA]

Jo, a very interesting article. I think that the original concerns for Cuba Cruise was to find a vessel to circumvent and visit Cuban ports, one that did not have direct business dealing within the US. Companies having such business would of course be subject to penalties if they decided to also trade with Cuba. As far afield as Louis Cruises was, being located over in Greece, it did not visit any US port involving trade necessities, and so was at liberty to contract the charter to Cuba Cruises without any resulting external trade penalties. As Cuban/US diplomacy takes hold, Celestyl should eventually be able to not only embark us at Havana and Montego Bay but also at ports in Florida.

 

Chimo

 

Ron

Edited December 15, 2015 by ONT-CA

[ONT-CA]

I came back from Cuba less than a week ago after a People to People land mission to Cuba. (Obviously, I'm American) Right now, San Francisco Plaza, across from the harbor, you'll find statues of cats -- about six to eight statues and larger than people sized -- that are gloriously decorated with painted designs. Different artists did each cat and the results are quite appealing

 

Although I tend to agree with your perceived view of the "animals", in fact here is the official description;

 

Following the famous Buddy Bears expo at the beginning of this year, Havana’s Plaza de San Francisco de Asís will soon host a collection of impressive sculptures once again, this time in the shape of mythical Mexican dog Xico, a traveler’s companion.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Although I tend to agree with your perceived view of the "animals", in fact here is the official description;

 

Following the famous Buddy Bears expo at the beginning of this year, Havana’s Plaza de San Francisco de Asís will soon host a collection of impressive sculptures once again, this time in the shape of mythical Mexican dog Xico, a traveler’s companion.

 

Interesting. Everyone in our group was call the statues "cats" and our guide never corrected us.

[kahtrav]

I'd love to hear more about the cruise - we had to cancel for this winter but hope to go next year. I'd really like to hear the "American" P2P experience.

[ONT-CA]

The US and Cuba have reached an understanding on resuming regular commercial flights between the two countries.

 

Unnamed officials in Cuba and the US said an announcement was imminent.

 

It is unclear when the flights would start because negotiations between the Cuban government and the US airlines could take months.

[moscowmark]

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

[ONT-CA]

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

 

For our first Cuba Cruise , we contacted our Insurance Company to explain the Cuba situation and they gave us a letter clearing stating that our coverage was well within the requirements of the Cuban government. They also included a special telephone contact in the event of need.

As that was two years ago we again asked for, and they supplied, an updated letter of our coverage.

[gubby]

We also have a letter from our insurance company stating that we are covered for medical while in Cuba. DH had a medical emergency when we were cruising in the Med a couple of years ago. Thank goodness we had coverage as the insurer paid out over $18 K at that time. Even if you have to pay Celestyal $32/pp it is incredibly cheap peace of mind.

 

Nikki

[ONT-CA]

During the previous two Cuba Cruise years we noted U.S. citizens aboard the Crystal embarking and disembarking at Montego Bay. Whatever circumstances between their government and themselves was just that, between them. But this year I am curious to know if that is now not a possibility and that any U.S. citizen looking to book with Celestyl must do so through the Person to Person program. In other words does it fall upon Celestyl to prevent any U.S. citizen from coming aboard that is not part of the P2P program?

 

Chimo

Edited December 21, 2015 by ONT-CA

[Pet Nit Noy]

...any U.S. citizen looking to book with Celestyl must do so through the Person to Person program. In other words does it fall upon Celestyl to prevent any U.S. citizen from coming aboard that is not part of the P2P program?

 

When a US citizen flies any airline from the US to a foreign destination, it is the responsibility of the agent at the check-in counter to confirm that the person is legal to fly. With the exception of Cuba, that usually means a US passport with six months active life still in it. (Some countries allow three months remaining life on a passport, but the trend is to the longer six-month period.) I've seen agents prohibit travelers from getting on the plane when their passport had problems. (A friend of mine, when stopped, drove from the airport to the US Passport Agency in Washington, DC, renewed her passport on an emergency basis and flew to Europe the next day to join her husband who had made the original flight.) Since airline agents do this all the time, it's no surprise to me that the employees of Celestyl are expected to do something similar for a cruise to Cuba.

 

I can guarantee that Celestyl has a license to deliver a People to People Program. (The travel agency that arranged our recent trip had its license number on every document and email we received. We even heard our tour leader explain the application the company filled out some years had to be renewed. The original 80-page application has now grown to 108 pages.)

 

Celestyl isn't going to do anything to jeopardize their license. You can bet they're going to enforce the US regulations for US citizens.

[skibear]

:) Hi y'all: Because I'm 39+++, I paid Cuba Cruise $44 CAD for the newly required medical insurance. (About $32 US) (I wish I was a junior rather than senior.) Just another cost of the trip. January 22nd in Montego Bay is just around the corner from the snow in the Lake Tahoe area (courtesy of el Nino). Tom:)

[ONT-CA]

Here is a headline that should encourage people to see Cuba now....

 

Beijing – Havana flights coming soon

 

Cuba and China have finalized details for the launching of direct flights between their two capitals in September. The planned route is set to fly across the Pacific, which will significantly shorten travel time, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reported

Edited December 22, 2015 by ONT-CA

[camarodrivenrs]

During the previous two Cuba Cruise years we noted U.S. citizens aboard the Crystal embarking and disembarking at Montego Bay. Whatever circumstances between their government and themselves was just that, between them. But this year I am curious to know if that is now not a possibility and that any U.S. citizen looking to book with Celestyl must do so through the Person to Person program. In other words does it fall upon Celestyl to prevent any U.S. citizen from coming aboard that is not part of the P2P program?

 

Chimo

 

I'm booked to get on and off in Montego Bay and as far as I can tell it only requires the P2P paperwork to be complete. They ask for a $90 donation and mail out the required paperwork. From Celestyl once on board it is completely up to the passenger to attend the P2P classes, sessions, and pre arranged tours. They've clearly stated it isn't their job to enforce attendance and we will be free to move about as we see fit.

[skibear]

:) Hi y'all: The P2P letter is most important when returning through US Customs!!! I got a bi-lingual letter from Mondial, the official medical insurance company, which assures Cuban authorities that the insurance complies with their requirements! I paid Cuba Cruise $44 CAD over the phone and got the "paperwork" the next day from Greece. Very efficient! Tom:)

[BruceE]

Returned to Montego Bay this morning. P2P program a joke. The tours were terrible. A waste of time. The history lecturer was bad. NO ONE asked for MED insurance. You get a visa and are allowed off the boat at will. The cruise itself was ok. Food commensurate with cost of the cruise which was not a lot. AC had difficulty quite often. Bars don't know how to make mixed drinks. Staff amazingly nice and hard working. Service in dining room challenging. Dinner @ 2.5 hours. The kitchen is in chaos.

 

Did we have a good time ? Yes. Accept it for what it is... A destination cruise. If you are used to RC or Princess or even better. Don't go, you will be miserable

[jmbklj]

BruceE,

If the tours weren't good, did you go off on your own and explore? If so, how was that?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ONT-CA]

Returned to Montego Bay this morning. P2P program a joke. The tours were terrible. A waste of time. The history lecturer was bad. NO ONE asked for MED insurance. You get a visa and are allowed off the boat at will. The cruise itself was ok. Food commensurate with cost of the cruise which was not a lot. AC had difficulty quite often. Bars don't know how to make mixed drinks. Staff amazingly nice and hard working. Service in dining room challenging. Dinner @ 2.5 hours. The kitchen is in chaos.

 

Did we have a good time ? Yes. Accept it for what it is... A destination cruise. If you are used to RC or Princess or even better. Don't go, you will be miserable

 

We are not surprised at your comments on the P2P. In essence you were as free to move about as we Canadians. The $90 pp donation is just that, a donation. The conditions on the ship as outlined concern me for such was not the case in the previous years when Cuba Cruises was the host. Now that Celestyl is at the helm I hope this is not going to be the standard. However in their defence this was the first cruise of the season and I understand that new crews are brought aboard upon first arrival at Havana. As there are as yet five more full cruises to be completed before we climb abroad, we hope that things will improve. We thank you for your comments and heads up.

 

Chimo

[yapmom]

Returned to Montego Bay this morning. P2P program a joke. The tours were terrible. A waste of time. The history lecturer was bad. NO ONE asked for MED insurance. You get a visa and are allowed off the boat at will. The cruise itself was ok. Food commensurate with cost of the cruise which was not a lot. AC had difficulty quite often. Bars don't know how to make mixed drinks. Staff amazingly nice and hard working. Service in dining room challenging. Dinner @ 2.5 hours. The kitchen is in chaos.

 

Did we have a good time ? Yes. Accept it for what it is... A destination cruise. If you are used to RC or Princess or even better. Don't go, you will be miserable

 

Thank you Bruce for the info. Was wondering what was needed for P2P requirement? Just membership? Thanks so much!

[BruceE]

P2P info can be gotten from link on mycubacruise website. Fill out paperwork and donate 95$. I am still in Montego Bay My daughter returned yesterday. Went through immigration in Philadelphia told the guy she was in Cuba. He asked why. She said she was on a cultural exchange. He asked her what she learned. She gave him a five minute dialog and he said goodbye. LOL

WE DID PRIVATE GUIDE IN Havana. Havanajourneys. Com. Other ports did taxi drivers who approach. They speak English are super nice . You must bargain. Ate at private restaurant. Dona Eutimia. You can reserve They have email. Amazing food. Not expensive. Went to Buena Vista social club. Ask guide to get ticket. You must go to box office in person $30 pp. price on ship $121. Really ???????

[ONT-CA]

It is interesting that there was a comment on poor bar service. Bar service was the highlight of previous cruises but then there were so few people in the bars. But if it is now mandatory to participate in the beverage package when booking the cruise, then everyone will be in the bars.

 

Those familiar with "The Captain's Party" aboard cruise lines realize that with so many in attendance the bars pre make cocktails (*) and offer them as they wander throughout the crowd. But can you imagine if everyone in that room had to order a cocktail? The party would be over before your one drink arrives.

 

(*) Lets be honest, those cocktails at the Captains Party can be just facsimiles of the real thing. That is why, when attending, I always purchase a drink and take it with me. And it is why I never purchase a drink package for we have tasted drinks offered to us by friends and find them more than wanting. And as for the Eros Bar aboard the Crystal, after two days aboard we needed but to sit down upon arrival at the bar and our regular cocktail was ordered and brought to us. We are definitely going to miss that. This mandatory drink package needs to be re thought and let's hope the new staff picked up at Havana are cocktail savy.

[BruceE]

BTW Montego Bay was first stop after crossing. The crew was the same as the MED this past summer. What was different was the menu. Not enough staff in kitchen and in some cases when the waiters lifted the dish covers on the serving station they really didn't know what they were looking at and didn't know who to serve it to. We got up and helped them. Christmas Eve dinner was choice of turkey or beef. Yes two items ! No one was happy. Our waiter told us there was a buffet on the pool deck but the "forgot" to announce it publicly. We went up there and what a shock hardly anyone was there to eat the ton of food. No sense. They really need to sharpen the pencil a bit especially if hey want to deal with Americans

[Donsyb]

WE DID PRIVATE GUIDE IN Havana. Havanajourneys. Com. Other ports did taxi drivers who approach. They speak English are super nice . You must bargain. Ate at private restaurant. Dona Eutimia. You can reserve They have email. Amazing food. Not expensive. Went to Buena Vista social club. Ask guide to get ticket. You must go to box office in person $30 pp. price on ship $121. Really ???????

 

Can you remember how much the food was in Dona Eutimia and what you had?

 

Where did you go to see Buena Vista Social Club (from what I can see online they play at a few venues on different nights).

 

Thanks

[BruceE]

Yes there are several locations for BVSC. we went on Monday night and saw Juana Bacallao Try to find out if and where she is performing. She is 94 and a real diva. One of the most celebrated cabaret singers Maybe only second to Celia Cruz. Pretty amazing. Google her. She is all over the Internet

 

Dona Eutimia is not expensive. Most entrees under 8 CUC. seven of us went and ordered a lot plus drinking. The bill was 114 CUC. EVERYTHING GOOD QUALITY AND VERY VERY GOOD.

[ONT-CA]

BruceE, am I correct in assuming you were aboard for the crossing? How many passengers were aboard for that? And then what was the total number of passengers upon sailing from Montego Bay? Thanks for any information as to capacity.

[BruceE]

I was not onboard for the crossing. But the ship came directly to Montego Bay Therefore I am assuming the crew was the same. Certainly most I spoke with were. About 500 got on in MB and another 500 in Havana. About 1000 onboard