Bryna123

Welcome home!

That is a good review for anyone taking this cruise for the ship experience and cruise only, but I hope for those taking it to experience a little of Cuba and be active can see past the negatives mentioned.

We loved this trip compared to other stays on land in Cuba, mostly due to the food, comfort and service offered onboard.

We are not cruise ship savvy and prefer land vacations, so our comparison would differ greatly from yours, which is good for all types of travellers looking at this trip.

We found the bar menu really varied and did not see the waste you described during our week. We had all inclusive everything package since we booked later when they had changed the packages, and compared to the one other cruise we were on, was a fantastic deal.

Food we found from good to very good. The roast meat stations were always satisfying, maybe luck of timing, not sure. :) Maybe we were so hungry from exploring we would have eaten a boot!

Thanks for sharing so quick after arriving home. I always need a vacation after the vacation and then the good memories hopefully take over any negatives. I did not enjoy the Transat travel portion of this trip.

I don't mean to totally contradict your review but wanted to point out how experiences can differ depending on expectations. I appreciate reading your opinion.

One other note on the stabilizers vs. new balconies. They are hydraulic fins and not as stable as a large ship, but there was a very bad weather system that turned a Royal Caribbean ship back on about Feb. 8th on the Eastern seaboard so maybe you experienced this?

Polo shirts will be fine. It was warm in the evenings even at the open air bar I did not need a sweater or long sleeves. None of the bar/ lounge areas are formal and a lot of men wore walking shorts all the time except to the a la carte dinners. Even in there shorts are fine at lunch time.

Barbara, they offer same day laundry service onboard. I looked up the info on one of our daily's. Fill the bag provided with as many items will fit in and they will wash and fold for $24.95. Wash, press and fold is $29.95 per bag.

With 4 weeks to pack for I would be using that service! I find I like to wear the most comfortable things over again. It is casual onboard although a few did have really formal wear for Wednesday night at the Captains cocktail party. Not many ties to be seen but there were some.

You will likely have the same team of room stewards as we did. I wish I had gotten the one lady's name, she spoke terrific English and was always smiling. She always had a few kind words to say. She was from the Maria la Gorda area and her Mom is a huge baseball fan. Anyway, she is a pleasure to see coming to and from your cabin.

Have a wonderful trip!

I have just been looking at photographs posted with a new review of the ship and one shows a tiny wardrobe with very little hanging space and no full length hanging space at all. That picture is of an inside cabin, whilst we are booked on an outside towards the front of deck six, (light blue on deck plan). I think it was called an XE grade, but it now has one of the new balconies.

 

We will be in Cuba for four weeks and intend to take three suitcases between us as we have a hold baggage allowance of 30kgs each, though we hope not to have to unpack all for the cruise. Does anyone know what the wardrobe and other storage space is like in those cabins or similar ones on deck seven, (shown in pink)?

 

Will we be able to fit suitcases under the beds? We are thinking of taking a couple of hard cases which will open in two halves and can usually slide under cabin beds when open, to effectively be used as extra drawers. That will make it easier to just unpack part of a case.

 

I need to decide which cases and belongings to pack within the next few days as we fly out on the 19th. February.

 

Any help appreciated,

 

Barbara

We had a new balcony cabin on deck 6 as well. Loved it! We felt it was spacious with more than adequate storage, although we packed for 1 week, not 4.

The large suitcase did fit under the bed with some pushing. We always take extra hangers everywhere we go. There was a large shelf for shoes along the bottom of the closet to use if you removed the life vests and placed them above where the extra pillows go. The wardrobe had 3 doors and 2 sections. The single door section was good for hubby to hang his shirts and also contained a bank of drawers. The double door part has the safe, shelves and larger hanging space to one side. It had 2 bathrobes and extra pillows in there too.

The closet is a little short if hanging a long dress but good for sun dresses.

The shower had a sliding door...very good water pressure and lots of hot water. There was a storage shelf under the sink in the bathroom.

Note: I suggest to pack facecloths as there were none provided, typical in Cuba, so we had our own packed and never ask if they had any.

We were very comfortable and got a lot of use of the balcony and our binoculars.

We never entered the casino, but they were handing out fake USD to spend inside, and from what we heard, was USD to play. Not sure if Euros were still accepted.

On the fake $10 USD bill "money" it says Complimentary non-cashable 1 voucher per person per night. Can be played at American roulette, Black Jack tables, or slot machines together with cash $10.

It would be a good idea to collect your luggage as the area did not seem very secure to us. It was hundreds of bags all sitting in the open bus terminal. It would likely be fine for awhile but it would be hard to relax on the ship while worrying about luggage. Too bad as the ship's card is good until midnight.

Varadero amenities may be disappointing after the week onboard. The beach will be perfect though.

Hi Barbara. This was our experience on disembarking.

You have to be out of your cabin by 7 a.m Monday. Large suitcases need to out by midnight Sunday. Breakfast is 7 - 9 and once the luggage is off loaded and scanned by Havana port, they allow disembarking. For us this was about 9:30 a.m. but things can go very slow if a luggage cart breaks, a scanner breaks, the sniffer dog is late etc. There was no deck order to follow, and we never heard an announcement, as we were listening to a lecture in the lounge and we, and others, were just tapped on the shoulder by a staff member that we could now leave. From what I gather, no announcement was made over the P.A maybe so it wouldn't interrupt the lecture going on. Disembark on deck 5.

Once off the ship customs moves fast but my hubby called it a "**** show" as we headed downstairs to the mass of waiting buses, looking for our luggage, and no Transat rep to direct us. When asking anyone for directions and they indicate they speak " a little English" be wary. We were put on an elevator to go back to the ship!

We found our suitcase downstairs beyond the first few buses just sitting on terminal floor. Finally a Transat rep appeared with a sign and we boarded the right bus for the airport. The ride is about 30 minutes as we got there before 11 a.m for our 1:30 flight. Again, no Transat sign indication where to check in. The electronic board said Hall A but it was actually Hall B where we needed to be when they finally opened the check-in desk.

All that being said...in your case collect your luggage and head away from the buses and confusion. The old square is right across the street and you can wait there and enjoy people and car watching. A 12:30 pick up would be lots of time and likely too much. I would suggest 11:30. Any transport you arrange should wait, although there are lots of taxis right there at the port and square all the time so I would not bother with pre-arrangements and waiting.

Hope this helps.

We returned Monday from the Havana port. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip overall. The food was tasty but not the huge selection like you find in other all inclusives. Quality and service amazing. Drink selection very good.

A few thought to share.

The included excursions are well worth it. We did not do the one at Maria Gorda as the day was sunny and we stayed at the beach. Snorkeling from shore was disappointing but the beach day was nice. If we wanted to swap out the $63 included tour for the $41 snorkel tour it was still an extra $21 p.p so we did not bother. FYI wifi was available on the beach for just $2 per hour. Not sure how the speed was since we left devices on ship.

Cienfuegos is beautiful but we had a poor guide and our day was no where like the reports from other passengers. Our sullen guide had us back to the ship about 40 minutes before anyone else.

Santiago was our favourite day! If you can get on Angel's tour bus do it. He is a retired English teacher now doing tours. We have done many tours in many countries and his tour is in top 3. He loves his city.

A note regarding the great service from reception on board. They went way beyond to help us when my husband discovered he left his cell phone at Havana airport while coming through the scanners. We arrived on a Monday and the lady at reception tried continually and was able to contact the airport Tuesday and have them hold it until we departed the following week. Amazing he got his Iphone back.

We love the Cuban people everytime we visit. This cruise is far better value, food,and experience than the all inclusive hotels we have visited in the past.

Enjoy everyone! Life is beautiful.

Ron, we also fly Transat and our transfers read Varadero, although the flight detail says we arrive Havana. Where did Air Canada arrive?

Are there any wi-fi spots in Montego Bay near the port?

I am not sure if this link is already posted somewhere in this thread, but it is worthy of another look, regardless. It is a bit dated but Havana doesn't change too fast. There is a good map to take a walking tour and suggested places to eat.

http://www.7daysinparadise.com/smf/index.php?topic=6052.0

The few reviews on Cruise Critic for this season are not great. Regardless, after having been to Cuba numerous times at the all inclusive resorts, I think this will be a big step up in food and service. We are still very excited for the trip.

Bebe1234 all the times we have been to Cuba, we had to ask for a passport stamp at the airport. Things change, but if you want, or don't want a stamp, just ask the person.

We are actually looking forward to seeing a natural beach that isn't fumed with pesticides. It may be too many bugs to really relax but I see it as making a smaller footprint.

Having this info from this forum before arriving is the key to best enjoyment for all. Love it!

It seems to be a long stop in Montego. Opinions welcomed if there is time to do the excursion and then have some beach time?

Perhaps if you present it as Green wood?

I suppose I could but that isn't the name. Is there a thing I dont know about *********?

That is odd my letters turn to *** when I type the name of that house in my posted question.

Thank you Cruisedirections, those work fine.

A question for anyone who did the ********* Great house tour in Montego Bay. How long of a tour is this? Would there still be some time for beach time after returning to the pier?

I could not read those same thumbnails and would like to.

Received our edocs yesterday. Our safe is included in the package. The listing of included alcohol and beverages is impressive.

Great pictures! You have a talent to frame the shot I don't possess.

The P 2 P tours, I assume, are the same included tours in my package. I wouldn't think they separate the US citizens? Was it always one big tour group?

How I enjoyed reading that and the pictures! Really nice, thank you.

I do have a couple questions, and there seems to be no end to those :)

At Maria la Gorda, is the snorkeling good? Will hubby be able to arrange a scuba dive on the beach if we do not go on the included tour? What time did the ship leave? It seems this will be the best chance for us to swim and not sure if bringng masks etc. will be worthwhile.

We were automatically upgraded to a new balcony from out previous cabin category and couldn't be more pleased with that. Good to hear the weather is warm!

Such a first world problem. I just hope the belief that it is for the reef and environment is the greater truth, as it should be on any ship.

Eagerly reading all posts, thanks for the pictures! Are there any ports that require a tender now? Another question is for dinner time. Is it one open seating time for everybody?

Interesting to hear about upgrades :)

We booked an XE category outside and were assigned 6009. Now I do not see the XE even offered, so maybe we will have an upgraded cabin with balcony?!

On another note, this may or may not be of interest but just today I had a short email from our TA stating this:

Please take note that we received the following information from Cuba Cruise:

It is mandatory for guests booked on a Cuba Cruise to complete information required via the link below,

prior to departure date. Guests who fail to comply with this requirement can be denied boarding by the Cruise

company with no recourse.

I had to provide passport information and submit it for both of us directly to Cuba Cruise. I find it a little odd that Transat could not deliver this info.

I just hope for smooth sailing on all counts!

I was looking up to see what the moon phase will be during my trip and came across this blog that has some interesting links, stats and news stories on lots of topics. I havn't scraped the surface yet, but thought I'd share the link for others, who like me, can't get enough information prior to a trip. I'm sure some of you already have seen this. :)

http://cubantriangle.blogspot.ca/2013/03/full-moon-bay.html