My Cuba Cruise

[wu687]

My husband and I want to book a mid ships XF starboard cabin on Louis Cristal for the sailing from Havana on 16th February 2015. The availability shows only 3 cabins but the next page shows 10 cabins all port or aft. I suffer from sea-sickness so need midships. Does anyone know whether these are all the cabins available or whether others are available but not listed. Perhaps if I email the company direct I may get some help.

 

With 57 XF Cabins on the ship I would expect that their are more XF cabins available than shown. Call or email and tell them what you want.

[ONT-CA]

We found the mixture of nationalities within the staff very interesting and somewhat unusual. The Cubans of course for they may not work for any line that has business dealing with the US. But there were those from Spain, Portugal and Greece. Unfortunately, they do not show their nationality on their name badges as is done on other lines. One had to ask if one was interested. Our curiosity revealed two waiters from Mauritus. Now to be truthful we had to go to an Atlas to find it located east off the tip of South Africa. Perhaps you might remember them. One of the two must have been seven feet tall and had to bend his head down every time he entered the galley. We could never have remembered his name let alone pronounce it so we called him, with all due respect, “Lurch” (the Adams’s Family) He of course did not know about the program if for no other reason that he was under 20 years of age. But he appreciated our interest and token and we look forward to meeting them again on our next sailing.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Ron ~ our ass't cabin steward was a very tall lady also from Mauritius. She danced in the talent show.

 

I see Louis Cristal is back on the tracker, going to places I've never heard of.

 

http://www.***********/ship_tracker/louis_cruises/louis_cristal.php

 

When trying to see last year how many cabins were available the figures never seemed to make sense.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

You know Jo, until the waiters mentioned their home, Mauritius. I had no idea it even existed. Not every country is the size of Canada..... But height must be a trait distinguishing the populace.

 

So glad that Arrow Fan got the deal he did. Our efforts on this board to help people keep abreast of what is going on seems more worthwhile.

 

Hope they will get a more reliable cabin availability logue soon. You will have to keep an eye on that for, if interests continue at this rate you don't want to miss out on booking your plans.

 

Will be over your way on the 30th to again sample the fare at Portobello. Looking forward to that. Originally had Angeline's in mind but seasonally not fully operational as yet. Why on earth did they ever rename it The Hubb? Most inappropriate

[wu687]

HI all!

 

Ron ~ our ass't cabin steward was a very tall lady also from Mauritius. She danced in the talent show.

 

I see Louis Cristal is back on the tracker, going to places I've never heard of.

 

http://www.***********/ship_tracker/louis_cruises/louis_cristal.php

 

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Today's Louis Cristal position

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:24.33742/centery:38.75717/zoom:8/mmsi:229001000

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

wu687 ~ oh that's a better tracking site, thanks.

 

Ron ~ Yes, I wonder why the name change too? We've never tried it as it seems more pub like.

Any chance of meeting up if I come to Town next week or will you be with guests? Coming over via the ferry?

I had lunch the other day at Williams Family Diner that will be featured on "You Have to Eat Here" on May 16 on the Food Network. Their frites were as good as Portabella's.

 

Ciao

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

HI all!

wu687 ~ oh that's a better tracking site, thanks.

Ron ~ Yes, I wonder why the name change too? We've never tried it as it seems more pub like.

Any chance of meeting up if I come to Town next week or will you be with guests? Coming over via the ferry?

I had lunch the other day at Williams Family Diner that will be featured on "You Have to Eat Here" on May 16 on the Food Network. Their frites were as good as Portabella's. Ciao ~ Jo ~ :)

 

Jo, I will be a guest of some friends of ours who asked us to choose the restaurant. We'll forego the ferry this time. But thanks for the info re Williams' Diner for we are always in search of a nice place to have lunch over there. When next we do that, we will let you know and we can meet up then. Angeline's was one of the finest restaurants, uniquely one where we had been served Fiddleheads, a delicacy of mine. I hope their change is in name only.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Ron ~ okay then, maybe next time you come to the County. Angeline's was a lovely restaurant. We tried it once after the original owner died but it wasn't the same. We went a couple of times for my birthday (Dec) so fiddleheads weren't on the menu but venison was.;)

 

Yesterday we received the post card I mailed home from Havana on Feb 3!

My DD in Toronto got hers a week or two ago.:confused:

 

Have a nice weekend! A week tomorrow I'll be flying to Miami to take my cruise. I can hardly wait! Guess there'll be 10 times the passengers that were on Cristal!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[Arrow Fan]

A quick question for those who are lucky enough to have already taken this cruise. Is there a formal night and if so how formal?The web site doesn't quite make this clear. If I could get away without wearing a suit for a week,I'd be a happy cruiser.

[ONT-CA]

A quick question for those who are lucky enough to have already taken this cruise. Is there a formal night and if so how formal?The web site doesn't quite make this clear. If I could get away without wearing a suit for a week,I'd be a happy cruiser.

 

There certainly is no call for a tie which I appreciate. There is one evening of the cruise that is designated as Elegant Casual where some of the ladies don nice dresses and the men open collar shirt and short jacket. You may have read here about the Cuban Guayabera shirt worn without a jacket and for special occasions and that is most appropriate. As soon as I can find one in my size I will bring it along for this occasion.

[Balloon Man]

As the OP I have to urge you to keep posting guys and gals. I can't be on-board for the next cruise but we plan to be back in 2016 and the information here is too valuable to lose.

[burm]

How far did people go in dressing for White Night? Was it a casual night? Did people generally just wear a white shirt? The only white dress I have ever owned was my wedding gown, but I was only 91 pounds when we were married and could no longer fit into it.:p

 

I know that this is not something to be overly concerned about, just curious.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Arrow Fan ~ DH didn't even take a suit/jacket & I don't recall seeing any. It's pretty informal on the ship. I bought DH a guayabera at the market on the Holguin trip & he wore that the last night, looked so nice & white against his tan.;)

 

burm ~ casual/all white night in the DR was at Havana & it was such a rush to have dinner & get to the Tropicana show I didn't notice what was going on.

I don't wear white either & didn't even on my wedding day, lol. You were a few pounds lighter than I was but I've grown quite a bit since the 60's.:(

 

Ron ~ safe travels in the miserable weather forecast for tomorrow & enjoy your meal.:D

 

Balloon Man ~ great to hear you're considering doing the cruise again. I'm still hoping to do a trip to England next year to visit Port Isaac.

 

Ciao

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

Thanks Jo. It would take more than bad weather to keep me from a meal at the Portobello. Want to wish you a bon voyage on your upcoming cruise. Enjoy every minute.

 

Burm the White Night was hardly noticed for I think most people had more pressing schedules on their minds. It really does takes a sea day or even two to make a theme like that work so I doubt it will ever fully get off the ground with the tight Cuban itinerary.

[burm]

Thanks Jo. It would take more than bad weather to keep me from a meal at the Portobello. Want to wish you a bon voyage on your upcoming cruise. Enjoy every minute.

 

Burm the White Night was hardly noticed for I think most people had more pressing schedules on their minds. It really does takes a sea day or even two to make a theme like that work so I doubt it will ever fully get off the ground with the tight Cuban itinerary.

 

That is precisely what I thought.

 

Seven days is way too short. I asked DH if he would consider taking a cheaper cabin and doing a B2B, but he said no way. We have had aft cabins before, but never one at the front of the ship. We have never had a balcony with a hot tub either. Even though we may never use, it makes me happy to know it is there. :D Maybe we will sit in it with a glass of champagne at sailaway.:)

 

I was told by someone at Transaat that they should be coming out with their package deals for the Cuba cruise in a few weeks.

[ONT-CA]

That is precisely what I thought.

 

Seven days is way too short. I asked DH if he would consider taking a cheaper cabin and doing a B2B, but he said no way. We have had aft cabins before, but never one at the front of the ship. We have never had a balcony with a hot tub either. Even though we may never use, it makes me happy to know it is there. :D Maybe we will sit in it with a glass of champagne at sailaway.:).

 

Burn you hit the nail right on the head. With the SI, this cruise is not just about Cuba although that is its objective. Its also about the ship and how to enjoy the luxury it offers. As much as I want to experience the land excursions, there were times when a delay or a mishap would happen and we said "..we could have been on our deck right now...". Our return to the SI will only happen once again in 2015 and that will be it. We will gladly return to Cuba anytime but not without these memories of the SI.

[EmmasNana]

Perhaps now is time to ask any of our adventurous US citizen passengers who boarded the Cristal in Montego Bay how they fared with paperwork and enquires on their return home.

 

I would love to have this information. DH and I are chomping at the bit to book this cruise.

[EmmasNana]

As the OP I have to urge you to keep posting guys and gals. I can't be on-board for the next cruise but we plan to be back in 2016 and the information here is too valuable to lose.

 

Do you know if they are planning this for 2016 as well? I only see dates through March 2015.

[ONT-CA]

Do you know if they are planning this for 2016 as well? I only see dates through March 2015.

 

I guess it will all depend on the success of the season. They knew the first year would be sparse in passenger bookings but figured that word of mouth would solve that. And from what we hear the 2014-2015 season bookings are going well. That being the case I can see this being an annual event considering that over one million Canadians a years visit Cuba.

[wu687]

The latest location of the Louis Cristal.

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:27.22628/centery:36.94631/zoom:8/mmsi:229001000

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

burm ~ sounds like a great cruise in store for you on your SI deck! With your knowledge of Spanish you'll get more from Cuba than we did as you can understand the people.

 

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.

 

Some Americans I met on the cruise go to Jamaica for a month yearly so just wouldn't say where else they were. It would be interesting to know what the consequences would be if the US found out.

 

Have a nice weekend! I probably won't be back on here until the 18th.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[Liz54]

As I think I understand it US Citizens cannot spend US $ money in Cuba, but are not prohibited from going. A catch 22 as its hard to travel without cash. So perhaps the Cuba Cruise payable to a Canadian Company in $Cdn, is a perfect loophole.

[EmmasNana]

As I think I understand it US Citizens cannot spend US $ money in Cuba, but are not prohibited from going. A catch 22 as its hard to travel without cash. So perhaps the Cuba Cruise payable to a Canadian Company in $Cdn, is a perfect loophole.

 

Yes, it does seem that way. I would hate not being able to purchase a few trinkets but suppose I would be okay with that.

 

I have just finally read this whole thread and now will go to the reviews people pointed to.

 

Thank you everyone for all this wonderful info.

[EmmasNana]

If anyone has a picture of the small balcony, I would love to see it. The only picture I have seen was difficult to really get a good idea of it's size.

[burm]

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