My Cuba Cruise

[cookingcountrygal]

You have provided great info and tips Jo. Thanks so much and I will definitely post a review when we return and continue to participate in the forums.

 

FYI cubacruise had a 2 for 1 promo at some point if you booked for the 1st two weeks of the cruise but honestly don't see that happening for December 2014 as first week of cruise runs into xmas and 2nd new years but people also need to price other cruises or travel packages for this timeframe and compare.

 

First few weeks of the new year usually offer good pricing but if the very good reviews this cruise is receiving continues as I expect they will, who knows what the pricing could be. But it's also about air pricing too and as a rule cheaper to mobay than Havana and also booking flights sooner than later.

 

Perhaps hola sun and transat holidays will sharpen their collective pencils and become truly part of this venture and fill a plane a week between them with only cubacruise clients. As you said, it's a ways off so you never know.

 

Mucho gracias. Judy

[elpapa]

Hi folks,

 

Apologies for multicopy result of my last note. A product of very slow response and my impatient and repeaded clicking.

The emaild address for Daniel in Holguin is cl8dbv@frcuba.co.cu or villalaroca@yahoo.es.

 

Our last day, we are sailing toward Havana where we will disembark in the morning.

In Cienfuego, we walked into the center of town and in and out of various shops and galleries. A clean pleasant town with a festival of some sort going on, we saw only stiltwalkers but the festival seemed to involve people from separate countries. It was hot. 29 degrees probably. But the streets were pleasant as were the people. We found a very good restaurant in the last block of the boulevard. Again, we were fortunate to only order one dish between two people. Quantity is a big thing here. The food was great. And the mojito was mostly rum. I’m sure this contributed to me getting a little tired as we continued our walk towards Punto Gorda. On the way, we figured that it made sense to experience a bicycle cab because of the heat and the distance involved. So we got a guy who said he would drive us around for 2 hours for $15 CUC. I’m sure we could have got him for less but he was going to be driving some 400 lbs of Canadians around for 2 hours. We drove out to Punta Gorda past some magnificent old homes to a small park on the point. Lots of Cuban families celebrating Saturday. Eventually he took us back to the ship for a nap and to be in time for the Flamenco show put on by another local group.

 

Today was the beach day. Carol had come down with a cough and head cold so elected to stay in the cabin. I went ashore on the tender. Be aware that shade is very scarce on this beach. Other than that, it is a fine beach. Sand is clean and the water warm. The snorkeling didn’t look to me like it would be much good but I did not talk to anybody who had done it.

 

The ship is carrying some 270 passengers with a crew of 324. Capacity is 1200. I don’t think that we even cover the gas costs of this thing. From what our various guides have told us, the ship has not had much of an impact on the local economy. Certainly not the rank and file people. Largely, this is because most people opt for the ships tours and remain in that cocoon for the bulk of their tour. We have enjoyed the lack of formality at dinner, I brought a shirt and tie, no jacket, but did not need to. Ladies, as always, were more upscale but still very casual.

 

In summary, everything was good. While there may have been a few minor niggles about the ship, this cruise was about Cuba and is precedent setting. Hey, we have helped make history! The entertainment on board was terrific, the food much like any other cruise. The staff were a delight and always seemed ready to go out of there way for you. On top of it all, we had terrific weather with almost 100% blue skies.

 

We hope that the cruise can keep going next year, I’m sure they learned a few things. If not, it is a loss for those of us who like a more “out there” kind of experience.

 

Gord and Carol

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Thanks so much for your detailed report, elpapa.:D Did you happen to meet ONT-CA who was in one of the balcony suites?

 

It sounded to me like they have a contract to do the cruise again so they must think it's worthwhile. I hope to do it again if all goes well. DH was wondering why they don't sell cabins for the TA.

 

Tomorrow some new cruisers get to experience the Louis Cristal. Lucky them!!

 

Have a great week & safe travels to you elpapa.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[DUHCAR]

Is there a laundry available to passengers to use? Just asking for a friend....

[cookingcountrygal]

This is what I found on the www.cubacruise.ca website under FAQ's -

 

Are there laundry facilities onboard?

Self service laundry facilities are not available onboard, but we do have a full laundry facilities.

 

Also Gord & Carol - thanks for the lead for Daniel - contacted him via email & he was back to me in a couple of hours...

Cheers - Judy

 

[elpapa]

Just to close the loop, after our cruise we had booked 2 nights in a Casa Particulare in Old Havana. Here is that story.

 

Our 2 night booking was arranged through Pototo and was at Casa Irma and Roly. Our taxi from the ship dropped us at their door about 11:30 in the morning. (we had hung out on board as you can come and go all day if you want up until the ship leaves) . Irma (eeerma) greeted us with a hug and a kiss and agreed to hold our bags until our room was ready. We did a short walkabout where we stopped of the worst ever bowl of soup at a very reputable looking place whose name I am forgetting. At 1:00 we returned to Casa Roly and Irma contacted our guide, Yari, who was to take us on a walking tour of Havana. Contact Roly at roly@neneka.co.cu. Contac Yari at Yariley Hdez liveit_learnit@gmx.com.

Yari was also arranged for by Pototo but you can go direct. Anyway, she charges about 10 CUC per hour and is very worth it. We walked for 4 hours with her through old and new Havana. She knew much about the buildings we saw as well as the Cuban life we had seen going on around us. We had asked for a tour that got us closer to real life Cubans rather than just the tourist side. Her English is excellent and she delivered a great afternoon. For dinner, we had many recommendations for places to go and if that wasn’t enough, walk around in old town and the restaurant guys will give you more. We picked one and it was fine with great live music. Multicourse meal with a mojito, 10 CUC. More than 2 of us could eat and we just ordered 1 meal. Again I say, order 1 between 2 unless you are a really big eater. Restaurants are all fine with this.

The next day we again met Yari for a walk and talk from old town, along the Malecon, into the alleys to see some Afro-Cuban art and dancing, the Hotel Nationale, and on to Revolution Plaza. 5 hours. Hot but very interesting. Yari again gave us a great insight into life in Cuba. We left Yari and Taxied back to our Casa then spent a lovely afternoon sitting in a shaded open air café where we had some crepes and some drinks and generally chilled out in this little square reading and sipping. This little square, un bothered by traffic, is a block and a half from our casa.

Our flight to Cancun on the way home left at 13:45 so we arranged a ride from Irma ($25 CUC, pay at the casa as they are not a licensed taxi outfit and don’t want to be seen taking money at the airport.) Casa cost $85 CUC for 2 nights made up of 60 for accommodation, 20 for breakfasts, and 5 for a couple of mojitos made by Roly. It is a fine place to stay with a big breakfast (that you pay for) with very friendly hosts who are trying to learn English.

Predictably at the airport, there was a single line for all Cubana Air flights which was long and moved slowly but surely. Get your boarding pass, pay $25 CUC for your departure tax at the booth right next door, go through customs and give up that 2nd visa paper that you have been carrying and worrying about losing, and you are in the departure area. There are duty free (Really?) shops here and a money change booth where you could change your CUCs into any currency you wanted as long as it was Euros.

A much better 1 hour Cubana air flight to Cancun for a 4 hour wait and super inflated prices in the Cancun departure lounge ($5 US for water!!) then a great 6 ½ hour Westjet flight to Vancouver and the sleet.

And that’s it. I’ll probably check this board for a little while like the other returners so if you have specific questions, just ask.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

If I'm not mistaken ONT-CA should be back soon.

Welcome back! You only missed one spring type day while away. Some Robins are back but it's still so cold.

 

I'm eagerly awaiting your opinion on the cruise & your cabin.

 

Ciao

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[cookingcountrygal]

I'd love to hear their thoughts on the cruise etc too Retiring Soon - we fly to Mo Bay Thursday (2 sleeps) and embark the following day.. Can't wait for this unique experience in Cuba...

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Judy ~ well let's hope he has time to post a few comments.

Bet you're getting excited! Did you book any excursions yet?

BTW I did get an email from Cuba Cruise re the next season.

I sure hope we can do it again, I know what I want to do already.;)

 

Remember when you come back to the airport in Jamaica the wifi is better down by gates 15 - 17 than by the Burger King, we found.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[cookingcountrygal]

Thanks for the Wifi tip Jo - have put that on my tip sheet - If no word from Ont.ca before we fly out Thursday afternoon, I'll try at our hotel &/or the MoBay cruiseport - hoping port or the ship may have Wifi there????

 

Yes, both my friend & I are very excited - it's double excitement for her as she's never cruised before ..

 

I have booked all private tours at this point as prefer to do my/our own thing

- Pototo has arranged tour for Cienfuegos & area

- In Havana we are with Historytrip in a 59 thunderbird with Rafael as our day guide and Radek as our evening guide & so looking forward to the Habana experience... -Antilla I have Daniel (mentioned on the forum) looking into setting us up with someone just to tour that general area as we've done all that's offered for Holguin/Guardalavaca

- we are currently winging it for Santiago de Cuba using pointers from the forum and reviews...

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great info they've shared re the cruise & private guides et al...

 

Jo, I'm interested what is that you'd be doing on your return cruise next season?

 

Thanks again - Judy

[ONT-CA]

Is there a laundry available to passengers to use? Just asking for a friend....

 

The ship does not offer personal coin laundry equipment, not devastating we thought for a seven day cruise. But the ship does offer a $20 per bag of laundry deal, wash and fold, which taking into consideration the cost of operating coin machines and the detergent and beach requirements along with freeing up more personal cruise time isn’t a bad deal at all. The plastic bag is much larger than that of, say, the Princess paper bag

Edited February 25, 2014 by ONT-CA

[cookingcountrygal]

Welcome home ONT.CA - thanks for the laundry tip - I won't need to pack as much now LOL...

 

Hope you'll have time to share some info/pointers etc before we fly out on Thursday for Mo Bay.

 

Did you purchase the 'open bar' package & if so before you left or onboard as I've read it was cheaper on the ship ? If you did purchase it, did it include most or good brands of wines and liquor/liqueurs - anything you can share on this would be great as not sure if we're in or out on this package offer

 

Hope you had a great time.. Cheers - Judy

[ONT-CA]

...Did you purchase the 'open bar' package & if so before you left or onboard as I've read it was cheaper on the ship ? If you did purchase it, did it include most or good brands of wines and liquor/liqueurs - anything you can share on this would be great as not sure if we're in or out on this package offer

- Judy

 

Happy hour has been just that. The two-for-one is appropriately held pre-dinner AND occasionally pre-lunch. Both ordered drinks are presented for your pleasure or to share with someone else. For tea totallers, canned soft drinks are presented one opened and one sealed allowing the latter to be conveniently consumed at your leisured. With such a great deal we could not find the economy in any purchased beverage package. And great service has always been a big part of this fun. “Of course no cherries…this is Cuba…” was a jest given for my incomplete Manhattan. But by mid cruise our bar waitress brought forth this essential condiment, bless her. And it did not seem at all odd to the Louis Cristal beverage people that there was not one drop of Clamato juice to be had anywhere on board, nor we were told was there any planned acquisition of this staple food group. Strange marketing for a ship sailing with so many Canadians aboard.

Addendum: The day before disembarkation there appeared a Clamato-like facsimile apparently readily available albeit hidden below deck, then enabling the bars to finally mix Caesars. Our resulting cocktail was indistinguishable if very late in its appearance.

[ONT-CA]

The ship does not offer personal coin laundry equipment, not devastating we thought for a seven day cruise. But the ship does offer a $20 per bag of laundry deal, wash and fold, which taking into consideration the cost of operating coin machines and the detergent and beach requirements along with freeing up more personal cruise time isn’t a bad deal at all. The plastic bag is much larger than that of, say, the Princess paper bag

 

Addendum:

 

Laundry service: In by 9:00am (left on bed) back by 6:00 same day (left on bed.) Can't beat that...

[ONT-CA]

Hi all!

 

If I'm not mistaken ONT-CA should be back soon.

Welcome back! You only missed one spring type day while away. Some Robins are back but it's still so cold.

 

I'm eagerly awaiting your opinion on the cruise & your cabin.

 

Ciao

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

The ship is everything being said of her for she is in top notch shape. Speaking to staff who signed on when the Cristal came out of dry dock, it took backbreaking work to accomplish this for she had been left idle for two years. But what a jewel they have uncovered. Our accommodation was superb. A unique suite like no other we have enjoyed previously on other lines. Once outed we were asked several times to conduct a tour of the accommodation and thought at one point that if this continued we would set up a booth for entrance fees….Staff are in very good humour and so eager to assist. A point of interest was the fact that a Cuban national may not be employed by any cruise line that has corporate connections to the USA. Louis therefore hires many Cubans. A few “confessed” American passengers were aboard but each with a personal tale of how they achieved this and how they will handle the outcome. I had hoped to learn more details. And of those passengers who were fortunate enough to take advantage of the two-for-one sale, they revelled in their good fortune although perhaps without the shared delight of those passengers who had to pay full fare. A large contingent of French Canadians joined us in Montego Bay along with many Jamaicans. Norwegians made up a large part of the list on the second b2b cruise. The sounds of conversations on open deck makes one think United Nations

[cookingcountrygal]

Thanks again ONT.CA.. super info & better laundry service then at home - what service!!! We really appreciate your candor and humour - thoroughly enjoy reading your posts.. Great info on the drink package offering too...

 

Will be interesting to see how 'full' the ship is & the United nations delegations on our journey.. We lucked into a 'suite' 6201 when I booked less than a month ago so looking forward to the extra space even though not planning on spending much time in it but 2 for 1 pricing - why not!!!

 

Keep the posts coming.. Cheers - Judy

Edited February 25, 2014 by cookingcountrygal

[ONT-CA]

... We lucked into a 'suite' 6201 when I booked less than a month ago so looking forward to the extra space even though not planning on spending much time in it but 2 for 1 pricing - why not!!! Keep the posts coming.. Cheers - Judy

 

We had a quick look-see at 6201 and I think you will enjoy the space a little more than you might imagine. This older ship offers an ambiance unlike the floating subdivisions on the seas today for we thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent in ours. There is a little problem you may be faced with and we wish we had known of. When the ship rolls slightly and I mean on rare occasion the drawers of the cabinets tend to roll open. This can happen in the middle of the night. Drawers open, drawers close... In our cabin there were maybe 20 drawers, in the desk, the credenzas, in the closets both hall and walk in. What we wished we had was a drawer jam of sorts perhaps rubber bands, like those found on bundles of broccoli for example. By inserting them between the drawers no movement could occur. Otherwise placing a chair against a bank of them does help. Your cabin steward and his assistant cannot do enough for you and, when returning from dinner/shows, your cabin is as fresh and as welcoming as you could imagine. We cherished them both

[cookingcountrygal]

Floating subdivisions - love it!!!

 

Thanks for heads up on the the drawers - good to know - will see what I can find for rubberbands and try your idea out in the event there's some rolling.

 

BTW - my friend has never cruised & thinks we have an inside cabin so the suite will be an awesome surprise for her - I'm in the business so hope to see some of the other cabins & get a peek at the Imperial....

 

Mucho gracias ONT.CA

[ONT-CA]

A general hint for those yet to be fortunate enough to sail on the Louis Cristal and/or signing on for the 2014-2915 season. During our first week, all announcements were made firstly in English and then in French. On the second week they were English, French and Spanish.

 

The PA system is sent through the speaker in your telephone in the room. Once you have heard the information, you can forego the other languages simply by lifting the receiver of the telephone and then replacing it.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

ONT-CA ~ welcome back!:D Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for those hints eg stopping the announcements in other languages.

Did you have Americans getting on at ports other than the ones we embarked at? On our cruise 20 Roads Scholars got on in Cienfuegos & off in Santiago de Cuba.

What did you do, other than enjoy your amazing cabin?;) Will you be writing a review at some point? Last time I checked there was just 2 under

the Louis Cristal section. Did you eat at the steak house? Inquiring minds want to know everything., lol. Oh and did you buy a guayabera?

 

Judy ~ what a lovely ship for your friend to start cruising on.

Next time I'm just going to do the excursions I didn't do this time, eg Biran in Holguin, Havana Walking Tour at night, walk around the lovely square by the dock area in Havana, go to Trinidad, walk the path on the island & probably nothing again in Santiago. I also might like to go to the roof of the hotel where Hemingway stayed so just little things really.

I'm not adventurous enough to book private tours.

I'm also going to pay more attention to the sail ins & aways.

Safe travels & have a lovely time.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

Hi all!

 

ONT-CA ~ welcome back!:D Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for those hints eg stopping the announcements in other languages.

Did you have Americans getting on at ports other than the ones we embarked at? On our cruise 20 Roads Scholars got on in Cienfuegos & off in Santiago de Cuba.

What did you do, other than enjoy your amazing cabin?;) Will you be writing a review at some point? Last time I checked there was just 2 under

the Louis Cristal section. Did you eat at the steak house? Inquiring minds want to know everything., lol. Oh and did you buy a guayabera? ...~ Jo ~ :)

 

Hi ~ Jo ~

Not sure if part cruise passengers were coming aboard for with the two embarking ports, every time you turned around it seem like you were bumping into new people. "Where are the Magog couple?" "Oh they got off at Montego Bay". And of course for us with the b2b we were missing people twice a week.

 

Yes, we have a review in the making but involving more the host country rather than the ship for we could hardly say anything more positive about the ship and its crew. The cruise per se warrants some criticism but one has to take into consideration the less than optimum number of passengers that responded and were aboard. Economies had to be made.

 

Perhaps the less said about the Alberta Prime restaurant the better. Suffice to say we downed forks, paid our bill and left without completing the meal. The restaurant was all but empty every evening.

 

There will have to be a great guayabera for me in the hereafter for although we did find purveyors here and there, my requested size was met with more laughter than stock. But had they had their way I would have been wearing one taken from their rack that would have undoubtedly cut off all circulation to the lower part of my body. Oversized Cubans are a rarity for reasons we have observed. I carried my size with a touch of shame.

[doublebzz]

A general hint for those yet to be fortunate enough to sail on the Louis Cristal and/or signing on for the 2014-2915 season.

 

Has the company confirmed they will be doing this cruise in 2014-2015? From the comments about the low occupancy rate, I don't see how they could be making a profit.

[ONT-CA]

Has the company confirmed they will be doing this cruise in 2014-2015? From the comments about the low occupancy rate, I don't see how they could be making a profit.

 

We just received a fully developed offering for the 2014-2015 season with bookings to commence in April. There is no question that they will have at least a second year. They are depending on us, those that have made the journey to tell all and hopefully convince people to take the cruise. Problems that are being revealed are correctable. We are not having any problems in stirring up interests. We were told that a 75% occupancy rate is all that it will take to make it a continuous seasonal cruise.

Edited February 26, 2014 by ONT-CA

[ONT-CA]

We will use this venue to post our observations and comments regarding the Cuba Cruise for we are assured that the organizers are well aware of our space and follow the postings.

We are not sure with whom Cuba Cruise arranged their chosen tours but without a doubt, those Cuban crew members aboard and around the ship did tell us that the tours did not do justice to either their country or we the passengers. These people wanted us to see their homeland and from their comments the chosen tours did not render that. From a personal perspective, We would not attempt a adequately review of any land tours for we semi-utilize a wheelchair and the description of the one tour being considered the most wheelchair friendly turned out to be nothing of the sort with long walks on uneven terrain including stairs and minuscule elevators. This was taken as a warning for other offers. But that did not stop us from seeing Cuba our way. At the port of Antilla (Bahia de Nipe) where busses trundled off for tours of Holguin we made our way into the village outskirts and found an entrepreneurial undertaking by a local lady and her husband. This rustic cinder block building is found immediately after the closing gate of the dock, on your right, steps from the road. There was a bit of rain that day and we took shelter within. They had decorated a stage-like space with palm leaves in anticipation of the arrival of some form of entertainment. Long tables were decorated with green tablecloths with 1940 ice-cream-parlour type chairs scattered about as the occupants who spoke little English greeted us. We understood that they sold beer, which turned out to be the coldest beer I have ever held in hand and most appreciated on that hot humid day. There was some form of a fish dish prepared, which was being enjoyed by a couple of people. The menu for this meal was in fact an entire second fish, three feet long placed on a huge platter representing the ‘menu du jour'. A bus arrived carrying eight or nine musicians who immediately set up and played, sang and kibitzed with the patrons. What enthralled me in all this was that it was the formula for what is happening in Cuba right now. People are being asked to develop businesses that are self-supporting and these folks believe they can and will have a restaurant/club right near the pier to take advantage of the current and upcoming tourist trade. We could only wish them the best of fortune

This was followed by a short stroll up the road to where a selection of antique cars were parked, ready for hire to take you around the country side and into the villages. We entered a 1953 Chevy and for ten CUC’s were off. My assessment of the car’s age was corrected when the driver informed me that it was in fact a 1954, there having been no model change that year. His pride may have been misunderstood for hopes of resale value… Livestock roamed the fields and streets as we passed various Banana plantations and farms and little shops and of course the local church. I am not sure what we may have missed by not being able to manage a bus tour that day but I can tell you that I felt more with one with these local Cubans more so than viewing a fort or an ancient church depicting their history.

[ONT-CA]

Those who have completed the Cuba Cruise will quickly understand this posting which is made as a heads-up for those yet to sail.

 

When you enter La Scala dining room you will encounter a table captain dressed in naval white who will look familiar. At first you may say, "I know that man" or on closer glimpse, "Isn't that Dustin Hoffman?" Although we were previously warned not to, we could but just stare at him. We said nothing, which pleases him for he does not like the name comparison or the subject of celebrity look alike. You have been warned.