Cuban Cruise Review - May 1st, 2017 - The very FIRST Norwegian sailing!!!

[lkcous]

Thank you for posting all of this! I'm paranoid & printed the certification (both the submitted edoc & the old one where you had to sign it and fax it). I always make sure I have everything printed. 99% of the time I don't need it but that 1% makes it worth while.

 

Thanks again!

Jenna

Hello! question for you....ok my TA emailed the affidavit to me and there are 5 of us girls going so printed out 5. i am stumped on how to get them back to NCL. TA said to email them back....How? ( i know silly) take a pic of them then email that??? but i see you said you faxed them back? my mother in law has a fax machine. can you give me that #....sounds easier. and you got a confimation back? thanks in advance :)

[CTCruiser001]

Hello! question for you....ok my TA emailed the affidavit to me and there are 5 of us girls going so printed out 5. i am stumped on how to get them back to NCL. TA said to email them back....How? ( i know silly) take a pic of them then email that??? but i see you said you faxed them back? my mother in law has a fax machine. can you give me that #....sounds easier. and you got a confimation back? thanks in advance :)

Try going to a local library and ask them to scan this into a PDF file to your email.

 

My office has a copier, so it was easy for me.

 

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[MaccaMom]

We are on the May 29th sailing, looking so forward to seeing how the inaugural sailing goes! Thanks for posting and have a great cruise!

[Meekofigaro]

Hello! question for you....ok my TA emailed the affidavit to me and there are 5 of us girls going so printed out 5. i am stumped on how to get them back to NCL. TA said to email them back....How? ( i know silly) take a pic of them then email that??? but i see you said you faxed them back? my mother in law has a fax machine. can you give me that #....sounds easier. and you got a confimation back? thanks in advance :)

 

 

 

There is an app called doc scan. With it you can take picture and it changes them to PDF so you can email it. You can also fill it out right on Ncl.com and submit it through a secure document. But booking with a TA I am not sure if you can do the direct link.

 

 

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[CTCruiser001]

Interesting development…At the end of the show tonight, Tom the cruise director shared what the process would be tomorrow morning. Since a large amount of folks have shore excursions through the cruise line, those who have private excursions are seemingly penalized by needing to collect a disembarkation ticket starting at 7 am at the Outrigger Lounge. Tom said they believe that those first few with tickets will not get off until 10:30 or 11:00 am.

 

 

We asked if there were priority disembarkation opportunities for platinum members, and he said they were not going to offer that service. This surprises me since there are so few platinum and above members on board this sailing, it would be an easy service to provide. I think they are playing it safe as they aren’t quite sure what will happen tomorrow.

 

 

This is will possibly effect our private morning excursion scheduled to begin at 10 am. If we are able to get off the ship at say, 10:30 am, we will need to go through customs and then exchange currency before we can even meet up with our guide. This means our 10 am excursion start will likely not begin until as late as noon. I am hoping we will be able to get off the ship sooner than this so we can get what needs to be done first before meeting our private guide and driver. What will happen tomorrow?

 

 

Stay tuned…

 

 

 

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[Mr. Muster]

Is the Muster Drill outside?!? Egad! How dreadful.

I have always maintained that the Muster Drill is the absolute worst part of a cruise. It is only tolerable after having a few drinks.

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

 

That's right, joshlangan!!! The Muster Drill is THE WORST part of a cruise. Nobody pays attention except those who also pay attention to flight attendants on an airplane as they yammer on with information we already know because they need to avoid a law suit. Do people actually expect new information to be shared that they don't already know? And if the ship is going down NOBODY is going to pay attention to what they were taught because they only think of themselves and not the rules and directives. The only saving grace is that you can actually get several drinks under your belt on a cruise ship unlike the awful service (even in 1st class) and having to wait for drinks on most flights.

[Mr. Muster]

Greetings all,

 

It’s been a long while since I wrote a review…However, with us sailing on the very first trip to Cuba with Norwegian, I figured we would be able to maybe help others with our experiences.

 

 

So, here goes – Please be kind.

 

If you have any questions along the way, I will attempt to answer these as best as I can. I make no promises that this review will be live, but I will attempt to update as often as I can.

 

 

Stay tuned...

 

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THANK YOU CT Cruiser---you are a saving grace helping all of us who will follow in your footsteps as you are the first to put your footprints on "terra firma" Cuba!!! All of your information is so helpful! How amazing that you are among the first on NCL voyages to Cuba. That being said, please post important information on your Cuba excursions and the important "dos and dont's" for the rest of us. Compared to experiencing Cuba, Stirrup Cay sounds like a wash--especially since they prepare food on ship and transport it to their own Gilligan's Island!!! Why can't they make fresh food on their own island? I'm just staying on the ship and savoring my Cuban dreams!!!!

[jigger]

Thanx for the info !!

[Gershep]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review.

[mkm1998]

Interesting development…At the end of the show tonight, Tom the cruise director shared what the process would be tomorrow morning. Since a large amount of folks have shore excursions through the cruise line, those who have private excursions are seemingly penalized by needing to collect a disembarkation ticket starting at 7 am at the Outrigger Lounge. Tom said they believe that those first few with tickets will not get off until 10:30 or 11:00 am.

 

 

We asked if there were priority disembarkation opportunities for platinum members, and he said they were not going to offer that service. This surprises me since there are so few platinum and above members on board this sailing, it would be an easy service to provide. I think they are playing it safe as they aren’t quite sure what will happen tomorrow.

 

 

This is will possibly effect our private morning excursion scheduled to begin at 10 am. If we are able to get off the ship at say, 10:30 am, we will need to go through customs and then exchange currency before we can even meet up with our guide. This means our 10 am excursion start will likely not begin until as late as noon. I am hoping we will be able to get off the ship sooner than this so we can get what needs to be done first before meeting our private guide and driver. What will happen tomorrow?

 

 

Stay tuned…

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Forums mobile app

 

Wow, I really hope this doesn't become true. I would assume a lot of people who have private excursions will be rather upset to find out their entire morning will be lost. I'm booked on the June 5th cruise, and already have a full day private tour booked. They could pick me up as early as 9a. I really REALLY hope we can get out at a decent hour in the morning to make the most of our day.

[whtbearfan]

Hello! question for you....ok my TA emailed the affidavit to me and there are 5 of us girls going so printed out 5. i am stumped on how to get them back to NCL. TA said to email them back....How? ( i know silly) take a pic of them then email that??? but i see you said you faxed them back? my mother in law has a fax machine. can you give me that #....sounds easier. and you got a confimation back? thanks in advance :)

 

 

Ikcous,

It looks like NCL has streamlined the process a bit. At this link

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

 

you will find the information regarding the visas. Click the link on that page for the affidavit. They have made it an online fillable form that you submit with an electronic signature. They say to print out the filled in version and keep for your records. If you want to sign and scan the hard copies you can email the scan to NCLVisa@ncl.com (case sensitive). I think CTCruiser may have posted a different email address. This is the one we sent to and got a response

 

Also don't forget to keep a journal while you are in Cuba. It is required and you have to keep it in your records for 5 years.

 

Happy sailing

 

 

 

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[mamagina]

Following

[easyboy]

Following.

 

 

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[kitkat343]

This is great - I hope you have a wonderful time!

[CTCruiser001]

Up early to be among some of the first to collect disembarkation tickets...Here are the dailies for day two.

 

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[CTCruiser001]

Getting the disembarkation ticket was a bit of a mess with folks who had cruiseline shore excursions getting in line as well. But the process went pretty smoothly after they figured it out.

 

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[E@syPe@zy]

Got my fingers crossed that you don't have to wait and wait to get off of the ship this morning.

[jenidallas]

Up early to be among some of the first to collect disembarkation tickets...Here are the dailies for day two.

 

How early of a time were you able to get? Are the lines bad even with tickets or are they fairly orderly?

 

We are sailing next week and trying to figure out if we need to push the start on our private tour back from 10 am to noon just to be safe?

[marcyjane]

Thanks for doing this for all of us that will be sailing to Cuba on NCL Sky in the future.

I also have one question is it going to be a hassle if we just use US Currency and not fool with the exchange of money. Thanks

[CruiseGal999]

Thank you for posting. I am on the 5/29th cruise to Cuba. So looking forward to seeing you adventure unfold. Have a ball!

[mjcatlvr]

WOW! Fantastic job with this on-going live review. What a HUGE help to all of us headed out on NCL Sky in the near future. We depart on May 22nd. Thank you so much for the info and keep it coming :- )

[mkm1998]

Very curious to see what time you:

 

1.) Actually got in line to collect your disembarkation tickets

2.) What time the tickets said you could disembark

3.) What time you actually disembarked

4.) At what time you made it thru any customs process and were actually free in Cuba.

 

I was looking at the excursions again, and except for one excursion listed at 8.30a, and another one listed at 9a, the majority of those excursions are listed for 9.30a. Seems to me silly that they can't let anyone else off the boat prior to the 9.30a excursion rush. I'm hoping it's more a Cuba customs request rather than a Norwegian situation. I was on the Epic in Europe 2 years ago, and we never had a problem getting off the ship in the morning. Of course, there wasn't any customs issues to deal with.

 

Sounds more and more like I will need to contact my private tour company and tell them I will not be making it off the ship by 9.30a. Hopefully we will still be able to get everything done.

[Mr. Muster]

Getting the disembarkation ticket was a bit of a mess with folks who had cruiseline shore excursions getting in line as well. But the process went pretty smoothly after they figured it out.

 

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Enjoy the day in Cuba! We all look forward to hearing more about the disembarkation process (e.g., ticketed time vs. actual time you were able to get off the ship for non-cruise line scheduled excursions, going through customs including if you had to have your temperature taken, but especially the beauty of the island, food and drinks!!). I wish I were there already!

[Havasammy]

Getting the disembarkation ticket was a bit of a mess with folks who had cruiseline shore excursions getting in line as well. But the process went pretty smoothly after they figured it out.

 

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What time did you get a ticket for. I am ln the May 15 sailing g with a private tour scbeduled for 9.30 from a square but need to get $ 1st. Thanks.

[Sunburg1]

Very probably "slow" disembarkation the first day is NOT the fault of the ship but Cuban immigration has limited resources there.