My Cuba Cruise

We will probably look at a non alcoholic drinks pack as well - does anyone know what they have been charging for that in the past as there are no prices mentioned on the site for drinks packs?

It was $21 Canadian per person per day last season. Not sure what might happen this time around, since they seem to be making a lot of changes. I will be sailing on the February 29 cruise as well! :)

Here are 2 other photos of the collision damage:

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pLY9pNV_g0AHOQ2nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIzM2VxMjIyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM0OGMyMWFiZmYyZmY3Y2E1YWNmZTViZjFmMDNhMmY1MARncG9zAzI3BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dcelestial%2Bcrystal%2Bcruise%2Bship%2Bcollision%26fr%3Dyhs-rogers-rogers_001%26hsimp%3Dyhs-rogers_001%26hspart%3Drogers%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D27&w=597&h=336&imgurl=maritime-executive.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2Farticle%2FPhotos%2FWreckage_Salvage%2FCropped%2Fcelestyal%2520crystal%2520collision%252016x9.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maritime-executive.com%2Farticle%2Fcruise-ship-and-tanker-collide&size=29.5KB&name=%3Cb%3ECruise%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EShip%3C%2Fb%3E+and+Tanker+%3Cb%3ECollide%3C%2Fb%3E&p=celestial+crystal+cruise+ship+collision&oid=48c21abff2ff7ca5acfe5bf1f03a2f50&fr2=&fr=yhs-rogers-rogers_001&tt=%3Cb%3ECruise%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EShip%3C%2Fb%3E+and+Tanker+%3Cb%3ECollide%3C%2Fb%3E&b=0&ni=21&no=27&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=128qkrs4u&sigb=15jv92lsp&sigi=13mo0ct0s&sigt=11j8b26qg&sign=11j8b26qg&.crumb=MlU/eSDzxcz&fr=yhs-rogers-rogers_001&hsimp=yhs-rogers_001&hspart=rogers

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pLY9pNV_g0AHuQ2nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIzNTY3aW0zBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM2OWM3Mjc5YzUwZjY3MGMwNWMyNTVmNmQxYjFhNWY5OQRncG9zAzI5BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dcelestial%2Bcrystal%2Bcruise%2Bship%2Bcollision%26fr%3Dyhs-rogers-rogers_001%26hsimp%3Dyhs-rogers_001%26hspart%3Drogers%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D29&w=690&h=457&imgurl=maritime-connector.com%2Fimages%2Fcelestyal-crystal-3-ships-23339.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmaritime-connector.com%2Fnews%2Fsecurity-and-piracy%2Fholidaymakers-forced-to-abandon-their-cruise-ship-after-it-collides-with-oil-tanker-off-the-coast-of-turkey%2F&size=128.4KB&name=Holidaymakers+forced+to+abandon+their+%3Cb%3Ecruise%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Eship%3C%2Fb%3E+after+it+%3Cb%3Ecollides%3C%2Fb%3E+...&p=celestial+crystal+cruise+ship+collision&oid=69c7279c50f670c05c255f6d1b1a5f99&fr2=&fr=yhs-rogers-rogers_001&tt=Holidaymakers+forced+to+abandon+their+%3Cb%3Ecruise%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Eship%3C%2Fb%3E+after+it+%3Cb%3Ecollides%3C%2Fb%3E+...&b=0&ni=21&no=29&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=153eqtik5&sigb=15jjcopgm&sigi=121ln239l&sigt=12s3germn&sign=12s3germn&.crumb=MlU/eSDzxcz&fr=yhs-rogers-rogers_001&hsimp=yhs-rogers_001&hspart=rogers

Cheers,

Don

Thank you Barbara (if I may) for the detailed information. I had a feeling it was not a regular scheduled cruise for I think we would have heard something of it. I envy you the trip for I have always wanted to trace the journey the family made from Lancashire to Canada beginning in 1924 aboard RMS Caronia of the Cunard White Star Line and continuing until all 12 members had landed here.

 

Chimo

 

Ron

You are welcome - as I said I hope to get that review together soon which will be the best guide to the ports, which you seem to have an interest in as well.

My great grandparents went to Toronto in the early 1870's, but came back a year later! I am wondering if the weather had a part in that, in which case, having heard about your winters, the word sensible comes to mind.

Cheers,

Barbara

It was $21 Canadian per person per day last season. Not sure what might happen this time around, since they seem to be making a lot of changes. I will be sailing on the February 29 cruise as well! :)

Thanks for that, does not sound too bad. I have emailed the company for information, but no response as yet.

Perhaps we could make arrangements nearer the time to meet up onboard - we are Barbara an Allan from Wirral UK.

Cheers,

Barbara

... My great grandparents went to Toronto in the early 1870's, but came back a year later! I am wondering if the weather had a part in that, in which case, having heard about your winters, the word sensible comes to mind.

Cheers,

Barbara

This was Toronto in 1876 not exceptionally inviting nine years after the establishment of the Dominion of Canada. As a matter of fact today, July 1st is our anniversary in we now being 148 years young.

http://s6.postimg.org/vqcygo8ch/1876_Gascard_BEVfrom_NRail_Elevatorsm.jpg

If it was indeed the winter that discouraged them then they probably experienced the least of it for Toronto remains relatively mild compared to other parts of the country. Is it any wonder we gravitate to places like Cuba in January-February?

Chimo

Ron

This was Toronto in 1876 not exceptionally inviting nine years after the establishment of the Dominion of Canada. As a matter of fact today, July 1st is our anniversary in we now being 148 years young.

 

http://s6.postimg.org/vqcygo8ch/1876_Gascard_BEVfrom_NRail_Elevatorsm.jpg

 

If it was indeed the winter that discouraged them then they probably experienced the least of it for Toronto remains relatively mild compared to other parts of the country. Is it any wonder we gravitate to places like Cuba in January-February?

 

Chimo

 

Ron

None whatsoever - nice to see Cuba getting the business as well.

Cheers,

Barbara

Celestial Crystal under repair in Turkey

The "Celestyal Crystal" could resume sailings on July 10 at the port of Lavrio near Athens.

In addition to the cruise this week, two mini-cruises with departures which were scheduled for July 3 and July 6 were cancelled after the collision with the "STI Pimlico".

Cheers,

Don

On several occasions we have spoken of our interest in and the beauty of sailing into the harbours of Cuba while aboard the Crystal. I came across this photo which helps explain our feelings.

http://s6.postimg.org/4cpfqhkqp/bahia_santiago_de_cuba.jpg

That may or may not be our Crystal but the photo exemplifies the enjoyment of arriving at Santiago De Cuba. And for more detail of this port of call, the current July issue of LaHabana.com monthly guide has a good section on Santiago De Cuba.

I have sent two emails to Cuba Cruise, one on the 30/6/15 to Jane who dealt with details of our original booking and, as I got an 'out of office' reply, a second one on the morning of 1/7/15 to the reservations department email address which is given on their website as a point of contact regarding drinks packages. I was asking about excursions and drinks packages, in particular a non alcoholic drinks package.

Can I ask how other people had found the customer service at Cuba Cruise. To me it is begining to seem like I had no problem when booking the cruise, but they seem reluctant to help me now that our booking has been taken!

Any comments appreciated.

Jane at Cuba Cruise was really wonderful in answering all my questions. A couple of times she had to do some real digging, but she found the information and quickly got back to me. I was totally impressed at the lengths to which she went. She was also very cheerful about it!!!

We booked just 2 days before the Celestyals collision. I had very good customer service with the staff, they got the additional info I needed very quickly from the Main office in Greece,especially considering the time differences. I have a few other questions, but I am holding off until things even out after the potential chaos the collision might have caused, as well as the hiccups a new website can bring. We aren't sailing until January. I feel I have suffcient time to work out any concerns. I am just happy there will be a ship sailing in January!

I also am hopeful that the participants on this board will be as helpful with info for this cruise as they have been in the past for my other adventures.

Shirley

... To me it is begining to seem like I had no problem when booking the cruise, but they seem reluctant to help me now that our booking has been taken!

Any comments appreciated.

My first reaction to the accident was, I wonder if our three weeks aboard in 2016 will be affected? The second was, no point bothering them right now they must have their hands full. And finally, when everything has settled they will most probably contact us and we can take it from there.

The current active booking system tells us that "we're still on" for a reservation seven months out. Under the circumstances I would not want to be in Calgary's shoes right now with the accident hitting front page in some publications.

Thanks for the input.

I knew nothing of any publication of the accident over there and only a few people seem to be using this site. That publicity does make a difference. I was wondering how much Greece may be involved with day to day running of the Cuba Cruise office - I was wondering if emails are picked up over there - or perhaps not at present!

Cuba Cruise do no obvious marketing in the UK, except their cruises are sold by a couple of very small agents over here who do not seem to advertise anywhere. I just found the Cuba Cruise website by doing a general search for cruises + Cuba, which is what makes us feel a little insecure about having made the booking, as we normally stick to reputable, well known agents. I do not mean to decry the firm in that respect, but it seems our Canadian relatives have not heard of them either.

I can see the ship would need repaired, but did not think that an issue for next winter - unless the company decided not to repair which had crossed my mind given the Greek situation. Perhaps the office think Jane should take up the query as I said in the second email that I had sent her an email. Her out of office actually said she was away between two dates in April, which was also confusing, but she may be away now. She was good over the booking.

Well, no great issue for us really as we would have plenty of time to arrange something else to replace the cruise if we need to and should be able to reclaim any financial loss through our credit card if the worst came to the worst, which is why we paid the deposit by credit card. At least our flights and hotels at begining and end of the hol are arranged through a big company over here and we have ATOL coverage for that.

...Well, no great issue for us really as we would have plenty of time to arrange something else to replace the cruise if we need to and should be able to reclaim any financial loss through our credit card if the worst came to the worst, which is why we paid the deposit by credit card. At least our flights and hotels at begining and end of the hol are arranged through a big company over here and we have ATOL coverage for that.

If I am not mistaken, the MS Crystal is Greek owned, it is registered in Cyprus and it is chartered by contract in a Canadian/Greek business partnership, so I don't foresee any political intervention in our holiday. I had thought that the Greek island cruises would be cancelled for the balance of the season but have recently heard that they will be back on shortly. So all in all things look promising for the full return of the Crystal.

I will admit that with our first booking back in 2014, where to secure our adamant choice of cabin we had to pay full fare up front, and this with a new company that few had heard of... nervous? You bet. But that trans Atlantic booking followed by our 2015 double around Cuba turned out just fine, giving us full confidence in this company to book our triple for 2016. The marketing of this cruise in Europe and Canada does seem to lack the fanfare of one offered in the U.S. where the final, final, final, final sale ends at month's end...

We knew we were dealing with a small company when it began to be obvious that Jane was the one doing all the work. LOL Any time I called, it was always with the pleasant and capable Jane with whom I spoke.

I booked our flights well in advance with the thought that we were fully insured, and if worse came to worst and the cruise was cancelled, we would simply go and spend more time on the island. After all our research, there was no chance that I would want to cancel just because the cruise did.

Fortunately, all turned out well and we had a vacation that we will always remember as the one of the best ever.

Jane looked after our Feb booking too. Very nice online and on the phone, even when our credit card was being a pain.

I was never worried since it was a Canadian charter.

They were doing newspaper and radio ads here in the winter.

Had tons of Brits and Europeans on board with us, so they found out some how.

Interesting background to the company ONT-CA.

We had a standard package, 3 nights Havana and 11 in Varadero a couple of years ago, although we did an overnight tour from Varadero whilst there. We knew we wanted to return with longer in Havana and elsewhere on the island and it seemed a good idea to do that now.

We saw the cruise in it's previous itinerary and thought that was what it was when we booked. We had already arranged flights/hotels around it as hols tend to be booked quite far ahead over here and we wanted a specific charter from Manchester, (which is only 3/4hr from home). To get premium seats for that in decent positions needed swift action and that is what we wanted for a 10 hour flight.

We are not as keen on the new itinerary, mainly because of some port times which are reduced and earlier in the day - early is not our thing. It will give some variety to the holiday though and should be a relatively easy way to travel to other parts Cuba, so I do hope all will be well, which sounds very likely.

They have done well (hopefully) getting the ship repaired so quickly, so it sounds a well organised company regarding that. Phone contact would be expensive from over here, especially if we need to wait for a while so hopefully we will manage other things by email, which will also give a record of everything.

One thought comes to mind - how do they send tickets? Most companies seem to send them by email these days about a month ahead, so I am hoping they will do the same as we will be leaving home 11 days before the cruise. It looks like we can send the balance via the website when it becomes due.

Cheers all,

Barbara

I believe we just printed out our boarding passes from their website after our final payment.

I believe we just printed out our boarding passes from their website after our final payment.

That is good to know,

thanks.

From what we have been reading, Carnival Corp will be sailing for Cuba our of Miami come May 2016 with the 710 passenger Carnival Adonia. And MSC will not only be earmarking the 2,100 passenger MSC Opera for this destination, but it will be sailing OUT of Havana. Of course these cruises, unlike Cuba Cruise, will be subject to US Culture Tour exemption conditions while the embargo remains.

Glad we have our early 2016 bookings to savor before the Gates Of Excursion open

From what we have been reading, Carnival Corp will be sailing for Cuba our of Miami come May 2016 with the 710 passenger Carnival Adonia. And MSC will not only be earmarking the 2,100 passenger MSC Opera for this destination, but it will be sailing OUT of Havana. Of course these cruises, unlike Cuba Cruise, will be subject to US Culture Tour exemption conditions while the embargo remains.

 

Glad we have our early 2016 bookings to savor before the Gates Of Excursion open

Interesting!

We had a letter a couple of weeks ago saying about Adonia and the 'Fathom' concept, but did not mention the destination. After a bit of confusion, I assumed it would be Cuba, but a search showed the Dominican republic. I can see now it was probably about getting the licence to sail to Cuba.

Adonia has been sailing with P&O for the last few years, but itineraries were not publicised for April 2016 onwards so there are no cancellations needed that I know of. MSC will no doubt miff a large number of people now they are cancelling most of a season.

Hope we do not end up in port with the Opera! I see Cubanacan are doing the tours - it will be interesting seeing them try to organise tours for a ship of that size - especially if the passengers expect it to be like any other cruise port! We have done an overnight trip with them from Varadero..... I will say it was interesting! Enjoyable though.

Thomson used to do around Cuba cruises a few years ago but they gave it up because of problems and customer complaints. They pulled out of hotel holidays soon after that for the same reason. If people are paying the expense of the long flights from the UK, most of them expect the same quality as other holiday resorts - sadly. Cuba is not a cheap holiday for us.

Che's legacy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/centralamericaandcaribbean/cuba/11300839/14-sights-to-catch-before-Cuba-changes-forever.html?frame=3128946

Fancy a trip?

... If people are paying the expense of the long flights from the UK, most of them expect the same quality as other holiday resorts - sadly. Cuba is not a cheap holiday for us.

Consider it time travel. When visiting Cuba we felt transported back into the 1960's. Our blood pressure normalized, memories were tweaked and although the comforts of home were not in abundance, it also reminded us of how far we have advanced><regressed, (your pick). Considering the direction of our society today perhaps Cuba can be regarded as a trip "Back To The Future".

Carnival is expecting high demand for the voyages and has priced them accordingly. Prices start at $2,990 per person plus taxes and port fees. A similar service-oriented trip on the same ship to the Dominican Republic starts at $1,540 per person.

That makes Cuba Cruise quite a bargain!

It is a Renaissance ship so has a lot of balconies and some outsides with just a few insides - good sized cabins as well. When I looked up Fathom after I got the letter it said that the ship will stay at sea for a couple of days and there are to be trainers onboard to train passengers on whatever they are going to do, (cannot remember what, but I think teaching English as a foreign language may have been one possibility). I also think they were not offering insides for some reason - perhaps the trainers and equipment are to be in them.

It is an expensive cruise ship anyway with a low passenger/tonnage ration (about 650 pax to 30,000 ton in normal operation) and of course does not have the economies of scale of their bigger Carnival Corporation cruise line ships. It is in a different league to the Crystal. There were feelings that it may be on it's way out with P&O, partly because of that. Carnival obviously hope to make a quite a bit from it though as you say. I think technically it remains under the P&O umberella and they say it will come back if the idea does not take off. I do not expect it to though.