Cuban Fusion (Cuban confusion)

[jimphil]

There is a lot of anger about the port times in Havana being reduced on the sailings of this cruise . People not being informed until conveniently after paying in full, and apparently Tui have known about this since July ! A group was set up on f/book with over200 joining in one day— Simon Calder wrote an article in the independent about this yesterday and many have sent emails to Tui and tweets. Makes interesting reading for anyone booked on this itinerary, usual Thomson b—-s up!

[tjt87]

Link to the article here https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/cuban-cruise-fushion-marella-havana-tui-latest-a8552216.html

Makes a reference to there being more that one ship in port

[Britboys]

Fortunately, when I did Cuban Fusion in January, we arrived as per schedule and only departed 2 hours early on the second day to allow an MSC ship to berth (which we passed about 45 minutes after leaving port. The full day and a half in Havana was the only reason I booked the cruise.

[dronnygirl]

I can understand your frustration. We sail on Explorer on Saturday and the itinerary has changed, I only found out as I checked cruise timetable. Still not been informed by Marella! I wonder if they will?. It's really not good enough when many people may have made independent arrangements.

[ElmaLee]

I'm keen to find out if Tui knew about this in July and if it happened last season too. Tui has now informed most passengers that 9 hours dropped from Havana. This means only evening excursions will be possible.

[Sawdan]

We sail on 5th March 2019 and just received an email.

Very annoyed if Marella have known about it for some time. We just printed the list of trips off at weekend as they just came available.

£25 per person is offered as a gesture of good will. I appreciate that the port authorities are the ones responsible ultimately but feel that we should have been notified sooner. Cuba was the main reason that we booked the cruise and we were going to book trips on both days. This is no longer possible as we arrive later on the first day and leave earlier on the second.

I don't expect there will be anything we can do as it will all be covered in the T&C no doubt!!! Sickener

[kruzseeka]

I am so sorry to hear about this and can understand how annoyed and upset you must all be feeling! To continue to take bookings and payment if they knew about this significant change to the itinerary is reprehensible. We have visited Havana with Thomson twice in the past and it is a fabulous city to visit. Faded elegance doesn't begin to describe it. It really is the jewel in the crown of this itinerary so bad news to have your stay cut so much shorter.

 

It won't alter the disappointment you will be experiencing and I realise any ideas and plans of what to do or potential excursions will almost certainly alter as a result of these changes but on the plus side, you berth right in the Old Town. This is literally a walk off port so unless you have a particular excursion in mind it really is very easy to just meander around and absorb the atmosphere of Havana. We also went off the ship into the town in the evening and really enjoyed just being there. Just thought it might help if you knew that it's not necessary to take an excursion if you don't want to and that you can get off the ship and straight into the Old Town. To make the most of my time there I'd just explore the city independently on foot, by tuk-tuk or in an Old American classic car. I do hope you enjoy your time in Havana even though it falls short of what you were expecting.

[Sawdan]

Thanks kruzseeka.

Makes me feel a little better that.

[kruzseeka]

Thanks kruzseeka.

Makes me feel a little better that.

 

I'm pleased it has. :)

On one occasion we took the Hoho but weren't overly impressed and Liberation Square (if I've remembered its name properly) wasn't too interesting. On a restricted time schedule, I'd rather saunter around the old town, round the clubs with open windows and music playing, to the craft market to the left of the port as you get off with amazing bargains especially wooden hand-made items and the Capitol Building area is worth seeing too. And if I wanted to do just one trip - I'd do the Club Tropicana in the evening. What a vibe! We loved it and would definitely go again if we had the chance.

Note about currency - when we were leaving, they would only change back Cuban money at the port exchange booths into Sterling in multiples of £20! And the exchange rate was awful! We were all clubbing together to make up the amount then giving each other $ to approximate our share. Advice: price out the duty free before leaving the port for souvenirs and booze. Better spending your excess Cuban currency if less than £20 on excellent and very very cheap Havana Club rum or liqueurs. We had a coffee one much like Baileys for the equivalent of about £3.

[Smudge1234]

We were due to sail 20 Nov on this trip but like most others were informed about the change about 10 days ago.

We are furious as we specificaly booked this as we wanted to spend 2 full days in Havana.The compensation offered of £25.00 per person (on board credit ) is an insult.

Its reasonable to assume that as the cruise is called "Cuban Fusion" Marella considered this port to be the highlight of the cruise.The reduced times in the port gives little opportunity to explore the sights.

As we booked through a TUI shop we spent almost 4 hours in the shop trying to get some answers.

The assistants were really good but just like the customers they were passed from department to department .

It seems everyone at TUI are aware of the uproar this has caused but no one wants to discuss it.The stock reply is refer to our term and conditions. They consider this to be a minor change and as a result are hiding behind the T&C.

I believe that the change announcement was deliberately timed to ensure the max no of customers had paid in full .We were prepared to transfer to another Tui cruise .The cost for this would have been £50.00 / person .The shop even offered to stand this cost. Unfortunately according to Tui because this is less than 12 weeks to departure the cost would be £750.00 / person .

I personally have doubts that the reason for the change was port congestion but more likely port charges for the 2 days and TUI have seen an opportunity to save money.

Secondly I believe that if what they say is true they were aware of it far earlier than we are led to believe and chose not inform guests earlier in order to dissuade clients from exercising their rights to cancel or transfer.

Does anyone have any evidence that they knew in July ?

I have formally written a complaint and asked them to provide written evidence the change was actually due to Cuban port authorities and the date they were aware. I wont hold my breath !!!!!!!!!!

To my knowledge this is the only industry that are allowed to advertise products or services that they cannot guarantee to provide by hiding behind T&C

If like me you are angry at the way Marella have treated you then register your complaint now

 

We have all been stitched up by this devious and underhand company and people power is the only way to try and get some answers

[Gate54]

I know this doesn’t help but the terminal doesn’t have room for more than one ship.

[davecttr]

I sometimes despair about the sheer incompetence of Marella HQ and that was itand their resemblance to 'that airline' and you all know which airline I am referring to. It appears that they just don't care about bad press reports and how they might impact on their reputation. It is all about profit.. Of course they knew about Havana months ago, my guess is some finance idiot said in a meeting it would impact their profits Of course what the idiot actually meant was it could reduce our annual bonus!

[jimphil]

Thanks Kruseeka for your help, much appreciated, it is so disappointing because it seems everything will be rushed.Only booked this itinerary for Havana as have already been to the other ports.

[newbiewaves]

Frankly if it makes people feel any better we did Cuban Fusion 2 years ago and even 1/2 a day in Havana was too long and we arent picky. It was so bad I didn't bother getting off the ship on day 2. The large indoor market was repetitive tat dirty streets dark dirty local shops in cupboards, Museum that didnt realise most tourists might speak English, Castro exhibits that didnt exist, and classic cars you can see from the dock. A poor little kitten that was stuck down a storm culvert and couldn't get out while locals looked on then begged for money. 2 price categories locals/cruisers. Maybe the real Cuba is away from the port and maybe there are nice beaches and villages but that would take more than a port of call to explore. It took almost 2 hours to get off the ship and through 'customs' and didn't take too long to see cigars being made and buy some. Job done. Then took ages to get back on board after killing time around dock.

[newbiewaves]

Also to be fair it is all well and good for cruise lines to bring out bigger and better ships but the poor small storm hit Caribbean Islands cannot expand to accommodate such monsters so always worth checking what else is in port when considering excursions or DIY. The people of the Caribbean are not generally known for being speedy in such laid back hot climates and take their time at check outs, tills, bars and passenger processing. To give Thomson (then) their due apparently getting off the 2nd time was faster but maybe because initial checks had been done rather than any pleas from the ship.

[kruzseeka]

Just goes to show that everyone has a different take on things. We loved Havana - we've been twice with 2-day calls on both occasions and would happily go again.

 

We loved the architecture albeit unbelievably decrepit in some areas. But we found it fascinating - from the old canon barrels used as bollards to the little bars with Cuban music which could be heard all over the city and some grandiose buildings. Yes, the shops are - well unusual would be one description but whilst there was a lot of tat and souvenirs which indeed is a feature of most tourist destinations, there are some items of good quality and workmanship especially wooden items. There was an outdoor art market too.

 

Pricing is different for locals and tourists as there are two separate currencies: the Cuban Peso for locals and Cuban Convertible Peso for tourists - tourists can only buy the latter. We found the delay getting off the ship was queueing for currency in the port. It might be worth wandering off for a while and collecting some currency a little later when the rush has gone.

[Shallwe123]

Hello everyone,

 

Booked February 2018. Depart Montego Bay 18th December, back to back Cuban Fusion with Exotic Explorer. Balance due Tuesday 25 September.

 

 

Only found out about the 9 daylight hours cut short in Havana last Friday via Social Media.

 

 

Most of the day Monday 24th on the phone being passed from pillar to post in an effort to find out if our cruise was affected.

Payments Department, Judy , assured me and assured again, that our cruise date was not affected.

 

 

On the above assurances from the Payment Dept, I paid the balance Monday evening. A few hours later we received an e mail advising me that Discovery 2 will now dock at 2pm instead of 7am and she will depart at midday the next day instead of 2pm.

 

 

The only communication received from Marella /Tui since booking were e mails reminding us to pay the balance.

 

 

Our findings since Monday regarding Marellas Cuban Fusion, is that this very same thing happened to their customers last season, problems with the Port of Havana.

 

 

They will not answer my questions when asked as to just when they knew about these time changes and will not answer as to why we received no communication from them before our balance was due to be paid.

 

 

All we get is waffle, waffle about their A-Z’s but with due respect we are seasoned travellers around the world and are quite accepting of “circumstances that may happen” it’s a fact of life when traveling. However, we feel we have been duped into paying before they told us.

[Tizzy-Jo]

In your situation, I think I would be tempted to have a word with Citizens Advice. It would appear that you have been mislead. I realise that all the information you had been given were from different departments but it is about time that they did a bit of joined up writing.

[davecttr]

The key issue is when did the company know that the advertised timings were wrong and why did they go on selling the cruise with the wrong timings still being advertised.?

 

Is it legal? It certainly is not good public relations.

 

My experience is Marella is good on the ships but the HQ operation can be terrible.

 

contrast this with P&O who were selling cruises on Oriana when they knew the ship was being sold. At least they apparently allowed changing ships or a refund. Aurora is a family ship and they were selling cruises on her when they knew she was going adults only, again they allowed customers to change ships or get a refund.

[Tizzy-Jo]

The key issue is when did the company know that the advertised timings were wrong and why did they go on selling the cruise with the wrong timings still being advertised.?

 

Is it legal? It certainly is not good public relations.

 

My experience is Marella is good on the ships but the HQ operation can be terrible.

 

contrast this with P&O who were selling cruises on Oriana when they knew the ship was being sold. At least they apparently allowed changing ships or a refund. Aurora is a family ship and they were selling cruises on her when they knew she was going adults only, again they allowed customers to change ships or get a refund.

Exactly.

[nancyneptune]

Frankly if it makes people feel any better we did Cuban Fusion 2 years ago and even 1/2 a day in Havana was too long and we arent picky. It was so bad I didn't bother getting off the ship on day 2. The large indoor market was repetitive tat dirty streets dark dirty local shops in cupboards, Museum that didnt realise most tourists might speak English, Castro exhibits that didnt exist, and classic cars you can see from the dock. A poor little kitten that was stuck down a storm culvert and couldn't get out while locals looked on then begged for money. 2 price categories locals/cruisers. Maybe the real Cuba is away from the port and maybe there are nice beaches and villages but that would take more than a port of call to explore. It took almost 2 hours to get off the ship and through 'customs' and didn't take too long to see cigars being made and buy some. Job done. Then took ages to get back on board after killing time around dock.

 

We were lucky enough to have our full time in Havana and we absolutely loved it. We saw most of the sights during the day on the HOHO bus then strolled around the centre. It gets dark early and that's when it really comes to life. The atmosphere is amazing. We went to the show in the evening. Next day we had another wander around and did some shopping. Not a lot of choice but very cheap. Would love to do it again but perhaps with another company.

[jake 26]

In your situation, I think I would be tempted to have a word with Citizens Advice. It would appear that you have been mislead. I realise that all the information you had been given were from different departments but it is about time that they did a bit of joined up writing.

I really don't think Citizens Advice would regard this as a serious issue.

While there appears to be the usual communication muddle between Tui departments there is no evidence that there is an attempt to mislead.

The situation seems to have been created by the Havana port authorities trying to maximise income so Marella have had to adjust their berth times. D2 is still in Havana overnight as indicated on the original itinerary, unlike the situation last April when they cancelled Havana completely.

Port timing changes are frequent, and this is no different. Tui are acting well within their T&Cs, but have failed to advise passengers quickly, which appears to have caused the most angst.

I read on fb and various forums that people only booked the 14 night cruise to go to Cuba and because 9 hours has been lost due to port timings the whole holiday has been ruined.

Over reaction?

[newbiewaves]

Our queue was to get through customs, there were no queues to get your money off you :) Agreed the nightlife/excursion may have been fun if you are into that sort of thing but also depends if you have paid extra for AI (we had) and frankly the Dream at the time was too good to get off :)

 

We missed Grand Cayman due to weather, missed out on 2 excursions and had another 2 cut short due to weather but it is all part of the experience and risk you take travelling. This during the 'quiet Dec/Jan' in the Caribbean. We still enjoyed it so much didn't even consider checking insurance for any compensation.

 

It is very easy to do your own thing in a timely manner in Havana as left out the port for the huge 'artisans' market then across the road and down the interesting backstreets hanging right to the main drag and park looping back to ship via the American Cars park. Agreed you may not have time for the museum greatly promoted for the displays of the various assassination attempts on Castro however once inside you cant find them if they exist and a large amount of exhibits are not explained in English so mainly a mystery. Also very glad I didnt follow some Cuban tourism forum advice on how 'poor' local women would be over the moon at gifts of tampons! They were all walking around smart phone in hand......

 

What is surprising is that Tui owned up to this issue at all. They could so easily have simply advised passengers the day before and blamed it on the Cuban Port Authority concerning a cruise ship conflict making up some story about the other ship having a schedule change etc... with Cuba only just joining mainstream tourism and still a law unto themselves this would have been quite believable. Shame a company trying to be up front with their customers still cannot win.

[lexdisic]

Over reaction?

 

I agree with what you say but not an over reaction. A few years back we were going on a cruise to include Luxor for us to visit the pyramids. This was the main reason we chose this itinerary. They threatened to cancel the stop (Arab Spring) so we cancelled and managed to get the deposit moved. In the TUI case, it may not be so important for some, but as in our case it can be the whole point of a cruise. I believe its not so much the cancellation but the notice that was given, particularly after payment with little or no choice but to grim and bear it. There doesn't seem to be an option to get a refund for those who's holiday is "ruined" and TUI being less than helpful by organising a solid contract for the birth or offering an alternative such as tendering for such an important stop. I do feel for these people.

[Southendweather]

We go on the 27th November and the Cuban Fusion is the following week. Heard nothing from TUI yet.

 

 

Can't book excursions online yet and it only shows the first week, Pride of Panama the second week Cuban Fusion just isn't there.

 

 

If you do a new dummy booking for the same two weeks it comes up with Pride of Panama twice, so I think we are going ona "Magical mystery tour" as the Beatles would say, your guess is as good as mine!

 

 

I booked, over the phone, one excursion, the Panama canal with the TUI shop in Southend-on-Sea, as if we missed out on this the whole point of the cruise would be lost.

 

 

Doesn't look good the way this is being handled by TUI.

 

 

Keith (Southend)