Paradise Cuba cruise

[DannyNJ]

Just finished a 5 day cruise to Key West and Cuba on the Carnival Paradise. Overall, nice cruise, with my wife and nine other friends. Some observatrions in order of occurrence:

1. Tampa is an easy port to depart from, this might be the first time I ever walked into the terminal, went directly to the counter, took a few minutes to register, etc., and walked onto the ship without ever sitting or standing/waiting (except the few minutes at the counter checking in). Had an 11:30 appt., arrived at 11:15, was onboard by 11:30. Nice!

2. We had a suite (U97), and it was fine. Rooms available at 1:30 per posting, but after having lunch at the buffet, we noticed a few people opening the closed corridor doors and accessing the rooms, so we followed. By 1:30, our bags had been delivered and we were unpacked and back on the deck. 

3. The muster drill was 3:15, and it was very poorly run. We arrived at our station before 3:15 (casino) and sat down. Then we were told we weren't allowed to sit down as they were saving all the chairs for handicaps. We were lined up like soldiers, and staff paraded back and forth like my old drill sargeant telling us to stand straight and not to look at our smart phones. As we waited, more and more people came in and many took seats, though not handicapped. After 30 minutes, with nothing having happended except all of us being scanned onto IPads, they started searching for missing people whilke we all waited. Eventually all missing guests were located and we started the actual muster drill. I've been on 27 cruises, and never saw anything like this. I guess things have gotten tougher?

4. Food was fine for us, we are not very fussy. We ate dinner in the Elation dining room and found meals to be good with many choices. Service though was slow, two hours per dinner, and we generally eat quickly but there was much waiting between courses. The "dinner shows" were silly in my view. We ate breakfast in the buffet dining room, all good, and lunch either at the deck burger place (great burgers!) or in the buffet. Pizza 24 hours was nice too. Room service was free for some items, charge for others. This is a change for us.

5. Mel the Cruise Director was terrific! Energetic, and very talented. She did several evening shows in the main lobby (Motown, 80's rock, etc.) and she owned the crowd. Fantastic effort on her part and we all loved it. 

6. Theatre shows were decent, didn't go to the comedy club shows though

7. Casino was easy to find tables, liklely because they have bad odds. Craps allowed 2X odds, pretty sad, and Blackjack paid 6/5 on Blackjacks, as low as I've ever seen. Automatic continuous shuffle machines aren't great for players either. Poker table was unused the entire cruise, and I went there every day or night the casino was open looking to play. Disappointed as I wanted to play Texas Holdem, no joy. 

8. Key West was, well, Key West. We did a Helicopter tour which was great. The ships helicopter offering was 12 minutes in the air, we called a local company (turned out to be the same helicopter company the cruise line used) and got a 30 minute tour for about the same price. We even were taken to the airport with cruise booked guests in the same van. 

9. Havana was awesome. The port stay was from 8:00 AM to 2:00 AM, quite long! Despite our fears for a delayed immigration process, we basically walked off the ship and through customs in minutes, no lines. We booked a tour with an individual tour guide who arranged our classic car tour in the morning (three hours), then lunch in a great little Cuban cafe, then a van tour for 4 hours to finish the afternoon. So much to see. We decided we were tired so we went back on the ship before 6 PM, and relaxed. There was virtually nothing to do on the ship for the evening except Karaoke. I was surprised they didn't even have things like trivia contests, etc. And there were many guests who were wandering around looking bored

10. The Cuban people were very friendly and we had no issues throughout the day. It is safe, and it's a shame the country is still relatively difficult to visit. 

11. Disembarkation at Tampa was pretty good, though the cruise staff managed to make it harder than necessary by requiring us all to walk all around the 7th floor to form one line to exit. Not a big deal, but I'm not sure who dreams this stuff up.

 

All in all, a good cruise. We've been on the Paradise before, and though old, it's a nice ship. They don't treat suite guests like VIP's which was surprising though we aren't demanding of that, but essentially you purchased a larger room, not VIP treatment. The cruise staff were all friendly (except when they are doing muster drills!) and the ride was as smooth as I've ever had on a cruise ship. We did have to shorten our last day to rush back to port arriving around midnight due to a medisacl emergency, which forced all stores and the casino to close at 11 PM, but that is understandable. Bottom line, Carnival did a good job, though we still prefer Royal Caribbeak and Princess

 

 

[tallnthensome]

Thanks for the very good review ..... Doing this in August so this helps. 

[future1sttimecruiser]

Thank you! I am on the Paradise the first weekend in June for a similar itinerary. I do wish Havana was longer; we depart at 6pm. I'm glad logistics were pretty smooth (except for the muster drill).

[Miss Picante]

We are just back from this cruse as well, which was a special one for us because we finally turned Diamond on Carnival after “only” 30 years of cruising!

 

We particularly enjoyed the three presentations on Cuba by an experienced travel guide.  The question and answer sessions were very interesting and gave us lots of information on daily life on the island. If you are going on this cruise, be sure to look for these in the Carnival Fun Times.

 

We had 8:15  dining in the Destiny dining room and service was pleasant and swift, even though there were more people than we usually see on other sailings with the late seating. The food was very good even though there weren’t a lot of choices.

 

Be sure to try breakfast in the dining room when it is offered.  Carnival recently revised that menu and there are many interesting and tasty choices.

 

(I am not talking about the very boring Sea Day Brunch, which still has the  same unimaginative and bland menu from years before.  This is the weak spot on Carnival’s food line up)

 

We booked two excursions through Carnival and were pleased with both of them.  We did a seven hour city tour which included two hours in the classic cars, a modern dance show, a trip to the extensive cemetery, lunch in a private restaurant, and a trip to the state run store to buy rum and cigars.  I had expected this to be like a large duty free store, but it was tiny!

 

The new and well air conditioned buses on these excursions were made in China.

 

Aside from the rum and cigars, there isn’t much offered for sale to tourists. We were taken to a small “handicrafts” store that had magnets and boxes of wooden dominos with splinters. There is another, larger market farther from the ship, but we did not have time to go there. I suspect there isn’t much difference in the merchandise.

 

We went back to the ship for dinner and a change of clothes and then took the Carnival excursion to the lavish Tropicana nightclub show.  After seeing the sobering deterioration of the once lovely city (parts of it now look like it has been bombed), it was a bit jarring to see the endless array of very lavish costumes and dancers.  We enjoyed the show, though, which was celebrating its sixtieth anniversary.

 

The ship was very fresh after dry dock and everything looked clean and well-maintained.

[joyce&bob]

Was excited to read your review, especially when I noticed you were in cabin U97.  We are a grandpa & grandma sailing with our 8 young adult (17 to 26 year old )grandchildren.  We are only doing the 4 night cruise in July that only goes to Cozumel.  We have booked 2 cabins U97 & U101.  My questions pertain to your cabin.  Can you tell me if the divider between the balconies can be opened?  What would you say the comfort level for 5 passengers is in this cabin?  Any suggestions/hints I can use to make this cabin work better for us?  Do you remember the outlet situation (how many - location).  Bed configuration etc.  

 

My husband and I are so excited to be doing this with our grandchildren & so happy that all of them were able to make this time to be with us.  But, as you can imagine the logistics of the travel (flights, hotel before cruise & the actual planning of the cruise is a lot of work.  Almost everyday one of them is texting me with another question... & so many are about the room.  Think they are a little concerned about all of us fitting in 2 rooms.  I never mention the word "suite" to them because I know Carnival "suites" are not that special just bigger.  

 

Would love to hear anyone's thoughts, suggestions for the cabin.

[mdsgu]

We are booked on the Paradise in July.  This will be our second trip to Cuba (we sailed RC Majesty of the Seas last summer).

 

Thanks for the review!

[Jeffpark16]

who did you use for your tour in Cuba?

[ChosenOne]

I was on the April 13th sailing to Cuba.  The ship was refurbished last year and looks great.  Has USB plugs in room now!  I was in U215 one of the new balcony rooms.   Small cabin, no couch or table but plenty of storage and a "cooler" (not cold enough to be a fridge)    Muster was a bit painful as our muster station had a lot of missing people!  But it was not as militant as the OP described for us.  We did go early and sit closest to the door.

 

Looking for a great tour?  I ❤️ Cuba.  they are licensed photographers.  We brought a SD card & our guide/photographer took about 300 pictures of us and the things we saw.  1 hour in an old convertible and 5 hours in an air conditioned old car with OUR choice of itinerary.  contact  yoselvasquezyahoo.com or google search their website.

[ricew001]

20 hours ago, Miss Picante said:

We booked two excursions through Carnival and were pleased with both of them.  We did a seven hour city tour which included two hours in the classic cars, a modern dance show, a trip to the extensive cemetery, lunch in a private restaurant, and a trip to the state run store to buy rum and cigars.  I had expected this to be like a large duty free store, but it was tiny!

 

The new an

@Miss Picantewhat was the name of the Carnival excursion you too? I've been looking at them and trying to decide ours for November. Not sure I've seen the one you mention. Thanks!  

[Miss Picante]

Our excursion was Modern Havana and American Classic Cars.

 

It is listed on the Carnival website under general Cuba excursions, but maybe it isn’t listed on your particular cruise because it sells out quickly.

 

This sold out quickly on our cruise as well, but right before sailing I noticed that there were still some spots available; perhaps they had cancellations.

[DannyNJ]

Joyce & Bob:

There is what appears to be a door between the balconies of U97 and U101 but we never asked the room steward to open it. Thought about it, as our friends were in U101, but never did it. As to outlets, there are jacks for IPhones in several places. Two on each night stand light, and two more on the desk, so 6 per room. The desk has (I think) 3 electrical outlets for three plugs, plus there is a hair dryer in the top drawer permanently attached inside. There is also an outlet up near the ceiling in the bathroom, for shavers and such.

There is also a refrigerator in the desk base cabinet.

We had the room configured as a King, but normally it would be two single beds, the sofa (which I believe is a sleeper) and a pull down top bunk. We didn 't open the sofa or the pull down, so I don't know if one of them sleeps two, I am assuming yes. 

It will be a bit tight for 5 per room, but doable. Maybe a solution to ease crowding would be to book a small interior cabin directly across the hall (if its available and it doesn't break the bank). 

 

Jeffpark 16:

Half of our group used a private tour guide named Sandra who met us at the terminal, arranged two classic cars for 6 of us for a three hour tour in the morning, then they took us to a nice Cuban Cafe for lunch, and arranged a mini van tour for four hours in the afternoon. Each classic car had a driver and an english speaking Cuban tour guide (locals) and the van had a driver and another (different) english speaking tour guide for the afternoon. They took us anywhere  wanted to go and were very informative. Sandra also changed currency for us (we told her in advance what we wanted) and it was useful as we visited the Cuban cigar factory store  and purchased Cohiba's and Romeo & Juliet cigars. If you are interested, I can provide contact infor offline. 

The opther half of our group booked with Strawberry tours (they are online) and they had a similar plan for the day, and were very happy with Strawberry. 

 

[coevan]

7 hours ago, ChosenOne said:

Muster was a bit painful as our muster station had a lot of missing people!  But it was not as militant as the OP described for us.

 

 

It's not militant it's Maritime Law. Not one person can be missing or the muster can not end. They scan your S&S cards and know exactly who is missing. 

[joyce&bob]

Thanks - appreciate the update on the iphone jacks and outlets - Will keep my fingers crossed that the balcony door between cabins can be opened - thinking it might be a way of communicating with each other. 

 

As for the extra inside room.....already broke the bank with the airline tickets HA!HA!  I have mentioned to them over & over "Pack Light".  Pretty sure the boys will adhere....it's those girls I'm worried about. 

[ChosenOne]

13 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

It's not militant it's Maritime Law. Not one person can be missing or the muster can not end. They scan your S&S cards and know exactly who is missing. 

I understand it is Maritime law.  I was referring to the OP Danny NJ stating "The muster drill was 3:15, and it was very poorly run. We arrived at our station before 3:15 (casino) and sat down. Then we were told we weren't allowed to sit down as they were saving all the chairs for handicaps. We were lined up like soldiers, and staff paraded back and forth like my old drill sargeant telling us to stand straight and not to look at our smart phones"  I only meant our muster station was not as strict and we were able to sit.  After 25 cruises this time had the most missing people at the muster I have ever experienced.  Those are the people who need to understand it is Law to come to the muster.  It is so annoying to those of us who showed up early or on time and have to wait until their "I'm special , I don't need to go to muster drill" butts get called out by a crew  member and forced to attend the drill.  At least most ships don't make you stand outside in the heat, stacked on top of your fellow passengers wearing your life jacket any more.

[DannyNJ]

On 5/3/2019 at 8:01 PM, coevan said:

 

 

It's not militant it's Maritime Law. Not one person can be missing or the muster can not end. They scan your S&S cards and know exactly who is missing. 

 

I guess Maritime law has changed, as I have been on 27 cruises, and never had this type of regimen. As to checking everyone off, thay actually only asked for one card per room, so I don't think its an entire ships head count. I am fine with conforming to law of course, but it was so painfully slow and poorly run, that was my whole point. Sorry!

 

[coevan]

if they are not doing a headcount, why would it take 3 1/2 hours?

[47librarian]

On 5/2/2019 at 5:44 PM, DannyNJ said:

Just finished a 5 day cruise to Key West and Cuba on the Carnival Paradise. Overall, nice cruise, with my wife and nine other friends. Some observatrions in order of occurrence:

1. Tampa is an easy port to depart from, this might be the first time I ever walked into the terminal, went directly to the counter, took a few minutes to register, etc., and walked onto the ship without ever sitting or standing/waiting (except the few minutes at the counter checking in). Had an 11:30 appt., arrived at 11:15, was onboard by 11:30. Nice!

2. We had a suite (U97), and it was fine. Rooms available at 1:30 per posting, but after having lunch at the buffet, we noticed a few people opening the closed corridor doors and accessing the rooms, so we followed. By 1:30, our bags had been delivered and we were unpacked and back on the deck. 

3. The muster drill was 3:15, and it was very poorly run. We arrived at our station before 3:15 (casino) and sat down. Then we were told we weren't allowed to sit down as they were saving all the chairs for handicaps. We were lined up like soldiers, and staff paraded back and forth like my old drill sargeant telling us to stand straight and not to look at our smart phones. As we waited, more and more people came in and many took seats, though not handicapped. After 30 minutes, with nothing having happended except all of us being scanned onto IPads, they started searching for missing people whilke we all waited. Eventually all missing guests were located and we started the actual muster drill. I've been on 27 cruises, and never saw anything like this. I guess things have gotten tougher?

4. Food was fine for us, we are not very fussy. We ate dinner in the Elation dining room and found meals to be good with many choices. Service though was slow, two hours per dinner, and we generally eat quickly but there was much waiting between courses. The "dinner shows" were silly in my view. We ate breakfast in the buffet dining room, all good, and lunch either at the deck burger place (great burgers!) or in the buffet. Pizza 24 hours was nice too. Room service was free for some items, charge for others. This is a change for us.

5. Mel the Cruise Director was terrific! Energetic, and very talented. She did several evening shows in the main lobby (Motown, 80's rock, etc.) and she owned the crowd. Fantastic effort on her part and we all loved it. 

6. Theatre shows were decent, didn't go to the comedy club shows though

7. Casino was easy to find tables, liklely because they have bad odds. Craps allowed 2X odds, pretty sad, and Blackjack paid 6/5 on Blackjacks, as low as I've ever seen. Automatic continuous shuffle machines aren't great for players either. Poker table was unused the entire cruise, and I went there every day or night the casino was open looking to play. Disappointed as I wanted to play Texas Holdem, no joy. 

8. Key West was, well, Key West. We did a Helicopter tour which was great. The ships helicopter offering was 12 minutes in the air, we called a local company (turned out to be the same helicopter company the cruise line used) and got a 30 minute tour for about the same price. We even were taken to the airport with cruise booked guests in the same van. 

9. Havana was awesome. The port stay was from 8:00 AM to 2:00 AM, quite long! Despite our fears for a delayed immigration process, we basically walked off the ship and through customs in minutes, no lines. We booked a tour with an individual tour guide who arranged our classic car tour in the morning (three hours), then lunch in a great little Cuban cafe, then a van tour for 4 hours to finish the afternoon. So much to see. We decided we were tired so we went back on the ship before 6 PM, and relaxed. There was virtually nothing to do on the ship for the evening except Karaoke. I was surprised they didn't even have things like trivia contests, etc. And there were many guests who were wandering around looking bored

10. The Cuban people were very friendly and we had no issues throughout the day. It is safe, and it's a shame the country is still relatively difficult to visit. 

11. Disembarkation at Tampa was pretty good, though the cruise staff managed to make it harder than necessary by requiring us all to walk all around the 7th floor to form one line to exit. Not a big deal, but I'm not sure who dreams this stuff up.

 

All in all, a good cruise. We've been on the Paradise before, and though old, it's a nice ship. They don't treat suite guests like VIP's which was surprising though we aren't demanding of that, but essentially you purchased a larger room, not VIP treatment. The cruise staff were all friendly (except when they are doing muster drills!) and the ride was as smooth as I've ever had on a cruise ship. We did have to shorten our last day to rush back to port arriving around midnight due to a medisacl emergency, which forced all stores and the casino to close at 11 PM, but that is understandable. Bottom line, Carnival did a good job, though we still prefer Royal Caribbeak and Princess

 

What cafe did you eat in for lunch in Havana? TIA

 

[47librarian]

What cafe did you eat at in Havana TIA

[K&RCurt]

Thanks for the reviews!

 

We will be on this cruise in less than 2 weeks!  Very excited.

[elcuchio24]

Thanks! We are looking to do a Cuba cruise out of NYC. Great color here.