Insignia live - - Miami Cuba Miami

[rvmike]

They will schedule the walk that works for you. My wife also has a bad knee. He will take you to a Cigar factory, an average cigar was 5.0 cuc and was told they are great for gifts( monticristo or similar name). Buy five and you get one free. Ask for a 4 doorcar and you won’t have problems getting in or out. Enjoy your trip.

Edited December 16, 2018 by rvmike

[ebslcc]

On 12/14/2018 at 5:24 PM, rvmike said:

Many people on these boards ask about Cuban cigars. Ran into the CD and mentioned maybe a short seminar about price and where to buy authentic. Basically blew me off.

The cruise staff have a lot of misinformation on Cuba travel.  They read off a script during the muster drill regarding OFAC people to people travel and how individual people to people travel is no longer available.  All true but it is really a cruise line marketing tactic to sell their excursions discouraging people to go out and enjoy Cuba on our own which is entirely legal under the Supporting the Cuban People OFAC category. It is a good thing Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor are such great resources for travelers so that at least some of us are well informed what’s possible.  

 

Regarding Ng the CD someone asked him how much rum and cigar we can bring back. He gave the wrong information saying a liter and $800 which is absolutely wrong. When I corrected him he just threw up his hands.  

 

There was was a comment about the on board lecturer. He is well spoken. He has some good information but he didn’t make any attempt to tailor his lecture to the ports we are visiting i.e. NOT just Havana!!!  It sounded like he was reluctant to share or is not up to date on OFAC regulation when people ask him if it is legal for people to walk around. 

 

Laurence

 

 

 

 

 

[ebslcc]

Those of you on board, we heard 2nd hand a couple lost their passports yesterday walking around Havana. There is speculation they got pick pocketed which I heard is rare in Cuba.   Does anyone have any info on this?  We’re tgey able to get back on board?

[rvmike]

No rumors about the couple that lost the passports. We did one ship tour to the Tropicana. We got back to the ship 10 minutes after scheduled departure so was worth the high price. The speaker was good but did not talk much about Cuba.

[LHT28]

The lecturers  are  not there  as destination experts usually

if you get one that gives talks on the port you are  heading to you  were lucky

Some will tailor their talks on the local area  but not all do

 

As for the limits on your Duty Free allowances   it is up to  YOU  the pax  to find out

There are several Nationalities onboard  & all will have different rules

 

Do your homework BEFORE  you leave home

JMO

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, ebslcc said:

Regarding Ng the CD someone asked him how much rum and cigar we can bring back. He gave the wrong information saying a liter and $800 which is absolutely wrong. When I corrected him he just threw up his hands.  

 

 

What is the correct answer for US Citizens?

 

 

 

[sammiedawg]

1 hour ago, ebslcc said:

The cruise staff have a lot of misinformation on Cuba travel.  They read off a script during the muster drill regarding OFAC people to people travel and how individual people to people travel is no longer available.  All true but it is really a cruise line marketing tactic to sell their excursions discouraging people to go out and enjoy Cuba on our own which is entirely legal under the Supporting the Cuban People OFAC category. It is a good thing Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor are such great resources for travelers so that at least some of us are well informed what’s possible.  

 

Regarding Ng the CD someone asked him how much rum and cigar we can bring back. He gave the wrong information saying a liter and $800 which is absolutely wrong. When I corrected him he just threw up his hands.  

 

There was was a comment about the on board lecturer. He is well spoken. He has some good information but he didn’t make any attempt to tailor his lecture to the ports we are visiting i.e. NOT just Havana!!!  It sounded like he was reluctant to share or is not up to date on OFAC regulation when people ask him if it is legal for people to walk around. 

 

Laurence

 

 

 

 

 

 

All cruise ships visiting Cuba are required to read the OFAC scripts, designate OFAC officers and set up OFAC information tables.  Per regulation, the CD is supposed to refer questions to the OFAC person.

Just ignore the information as red tape propaganda.   I did not interpret it as push to sell ship excursions. 

[LHT28]

Has  this  duty free  allowance  changed  maybe the CD  was right

 

<<<On October 17, 2016, the Office of Foreign Asset Control relaxed restrictions so authorized travelers, arriving direct from Cuba, are now able to bring Cuban merchandise for personal use back to the United States and qualify for the U.S. Resident exemption (HTSUS 9804.00.65, which allows up to $800 total in goods, and adults 21 and older may include 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, and 100 cigars). This exemption also applies to travelers, arriving from any country in the world, with declared Cuban merchandise. >>>

 

 

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info

[rvmike]

Our OFAC official is the CD. He admitted it was his first time to Cuba😳

[ebslcc]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Has  this  duty free  allowance  changed  maybe the CD  was right

 

<<<On October 17, 2016, the Office of Foreign Asset Control relaxed restrictions so authorized travelers, arriving direct from Cuba, are now able to bring Cuban merchandise for personal use back to the United States and qualify for the U.S. Resident exemption (HTSUS 9804.00.65, which allows up to $800 total in goods, and adults 21 and older may include 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, and 100 cigars). This exemption also applies to travelers, arriving from any country in the world, with declared Cuban merchandise. >>>

 

 

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info

 

Yes regulation has changed. It is currently  unlimited cigars and unlimited rum for as long as they are for personal use and gifts for personal use.  Google or look in the CC Cuba board.  

 

Laurence 

[ebslcc]

2 hours ago, rvmike said:

No rumors about the couple that lost the passports. We did one ship tour to the Tropicana. We got back to the ship 10 minutes after scheduled departure so was worth the high price. The speaker was good but did not talk much about Cuba.

 

You were lucky that the ship’s consiege was on your tour. I talked to her his morning and she said some people were worry because the show ended later than expected. 

 

The opposite happened to us.  We were on bus 5 to the Hotel Nacional Parisienne show. When we got on the bus the guide told us that the ship needs us to get back at 10:30pm. The show didn’t start until 9:30.  At 10:30 she came in and got us back to the bus and we got back on the ship by 11.  A couple from bus 6 came along and couldn’t find their bus so they came along with us.  Today a passenger from bus 6 saw me at ping pong and asked me why we left half way through the show. They saw the entire show and got back at 11:30!!!   She talked to the destination manager Rene  Apparently others also complained.  They logged our complaint and will see what they can do to compensate us.  If you know of other passengers who were on bus 5 please let them know to log their complaint. 

 

Laurence

[rvmike]

A point I missed, CD told me he buys his cigars in the terminal and he told my wife this cruise was his first to Cuba.🙄

[jagsfan]

27 minutes ago, rvmike said:

A point I missed, CD told me he buys his cigars in the terminal and he told my wife this cruise was his first to Cuba.🙄

🤔

[Kathie859]

The subject of indifference front desk staff was noted on our survey last year.  I didn’t have a huge problem but a question and was given an answer but not in a friendly way. 

I felt like I was bothering the staff member and he certainly managed to convey his lack of interest.  It seems like the same old, same old attitude prevails.

 

The big question question is......Do they still grill lobster tails every night in the buffet?

I took advantage of that several times.

[LHT28]

8 hours ago, Kathie859 said:

The subject of indifference front desk staff was noted on our survey last year.  I didn’t have a huge problem but a question and was given an answer but not in a friendly way. 

I felt like I was bothering the staff member and he certainly managed to convey his lack of interest.  It seems like the same old, same old attitude prevails.

 

The big question question is......Do they still grill lobster tails every night in the buffet?

I took advantage of that several times.

I find the reception desk has  Eastern European staff  they are not noted for their warm & fuzzy demeanor

 

Yes Lobster shrimp etc  is  still served nightly at the grill on all the O ships

 

[scdreamer]

Well, we are home now. Enjoyed many aspects of the cruise, but, yes, there were a few glitches. Nothing terrible enough to spoil our fun, though. I think after the first couple days, the new staff started functioning as a team and the service vastly improved. Most of the reception staff were never friendly - it always seemed that we were bothering them if we had a question. Often they would sit gazing at their computer screens, pointedly ignoring people waiting to speak to them, not even acknowledging that anyone was there, seeming to hope we would leave if they ignored us long enough. It was off-putting, to say the least. 

 

Our cabin steward and her assistant were both great. Cabin was spotlessly clean at all times, and they always kept fresh ice in the bucket. Really, that's about all we need to be quite happy. The cabin issue I had is that the thermostat, located directly over the side of the bed, emits a very very very bright flashing green light at night. It shines directly onto the pillow of that side of the bed - flashing right onto the head of whomever is sleeping there. We ended up covering it every night with a black sport bra - the only thing we could wedge into the back enough to make it hang over the light source and stay put. Only a black item was strong enough to keep out the light - the light shone through any fabric lighter than that. Who designed that?

 

Food in the GDR has somewhat declined in quality, in my opinion. Hit or miss, unless you order from the items that are always available. Their roasted chicken and the sirloin steak are consistently good. Soups were sometimes very good, sometimes very bad. Same with salads. Waitstaff was very good after the first day or so. We ate in Toscana once and Polo twice. Both were wonderful - both the food and the service.

 

As far as tours - with the information we received from Oceania prior to the cruise, we accepted three free ship tours, wondering if we were going to have to stay on the ship the entire rest of the time. Nope -  everyone was free to disembark and go wherever they wanted. Fortunately we had booked a couple tours in Santiago with "Out-of--the-Box" tours, a Cuban run company that is owned by a Canadian entity. We had wonderful private tours - tailored to what we wanted to see and do, at a much lower rate than any ship tours, and I would highly recommend this company. Our tour guide, Alejandro, was a college teacher who spoke excellent English, and had a very good knowledge of Cuban history, as well as world history. We had a driver, and were in a vintage air conditioned car both days. The tour company can be found through google.

 

We skipped the free ship tours in favor of going out on our own. In Cienfuegos, we hired a gorgeous blue '52 Chevy and driver off the street who took us to Trinidad and waited for us and then brought us back to the ship. No English, but I speak fairly decent Spanish, so was able to get a lot of information on the one and a half hour drive there. He told us the car had first belonged to his grandfather, then his father, now him, and someday it will be his son's car. On the way back he took us into a small village where he knew a local fruit vendor, and we shared a fresh coconut, and then had a free fruit tasting that was just amazing.

 

In Havana, we just wandered around on our own for the most part - met some interesting Cuban people and heard lots of great street music. We even got invited to a birthday party - lol. I think it would have been nice to have had an extra day in Havana, but we did see quite a bit.

 

All in all, we enjoyed the cruise. If you're booked for this, or another cruise on Insignia, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Edited December 18, 2018 by scdreamer

[BigNance]

On 12/15/2018 at 5:33 PM, DOJO466 said:

We have booked with Blexie in March. We have limited mobillity (very bad knees) and wondering if the 2 hours walking is all at once or spread out in intervals? I am sure we can tailor our tour to not too much walking.

  As for the cigars can you give me an idea as to brands/cost? We do not indulge but would like to bring some home for a friend. Thanks

Let Blexie know of your limitations.  He can and will tailor your tour.  We had a large group, one person with MS in a wheel chair.  We had 3 cars and all drivers and guides were very considerate and accommodating.  (sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread!)

[emmak8]

After reading these posts, I am no longer interested in Oceania!

[Go-Bucks!]

1 hour ago, emmak8 said:

After reading these posts, I am no longer interested in Oceania!

 

Why not??

If you base your decisions on "the glass half empty" negative people's opinions, you'll never sail on ANY cruiseline!!  There are good and bad reviews for every line and ship. 

 

Better plan is to see for yourself....no matter which cruiseline. Only you can decide what's best for you.  😉  👍

[stanzy42]

13 hours ago, emmak8 said:

After reading these posts, I am no longer interested in Oceania!

Oh my, do get a second and third opinion. We traveled the world aboard Insignia in the 2016 ATW - just amazing! 

[cbb]

What Stanzy42 said!  And maybe a 4th opinion.  Stanzy42 and we went ATW16 and plan on doing it again in 2020!!!  With other cruises between the two ATWs.  

 

 

[Rob the Cruiser]

Free ship tours? Is that something one gets when they have reached a certain Oceania Club level status? Perhaps a benefit from staying in a suite?

[LHT28]

32 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

Free ship tours? Is that something one gets when they have reached a certain Oceania Club level status? Perhaps a benefit from staying in a suite?

Do you mean tours  behind the scenes ?

I think you can ask the GM and  see if are arranging any

Never  really asked as I am not interested in seeing the Kitchen 😉

[Rob the Cruiser]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Do you mean tours  behind the scenes ?

I think you can ask the GM and  see if are arranging any

Never  really asked as I am not interested in seeing the Kitchen 😉

scdreamer mentioned skipping free ship tours. 

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

scdreamer mentioned skipping free ship tours. 

I  am guessing they meant  the O Life  "free" tours

otherwise  I have no idea