GiaGia

the restrictions we are discussing are us government ones, there's no one in cuba that's watching what you do. When you arrive back in the us, customs/immigration will not ask you what you did there - they don't care. Theoretically, there's nothing stopping you from going to the beach for the day and to a nightclub at night - it's just that that's not "allowed" by the new us rules.

 

The rules say you need a "full time" schedule of allowed activities. Another thing is they never define what "full time" means. Doing a tour or two, and spending a few hours walking around is not a problem. If the tour happens to be through the ship, then it's covered under the rules (although it'll likely not be as good a tour as you can get from a third party).

 

Think about this though.....at this point a couple at least a couple of million us citizens have visited cuba. Do you really think someone's going to come to your front door one day and ask you to document your activities for the 24 hours the ship was in havana?????

 

I really think people are over-stressed about the whole thing. The cruise line (way more on rci than ncl from our experience on both) wants to scare you into buying their tours, and are taking advantage of the situation.

i say amen to that! Just got back from cuba cruise and you are so right. The paperwork is for rccl, not us. Just bring a copy of your private tour itinerary and you are good to go! No one cares what you do there.

I was afraid that something like that might happen,:eek: so our group of 13 decided to go with the ship's "classic car tour" in Havana.:cool: I just hope that our government will still allow us to visit there on our cruise this October!:rolleyes:

Just got off Empress on Saturday and had no problem whatever with choosing option 4. Those papers are a joke anyway. They are not for Cuba but for Royal Caribbean to keep for their records. We took a private tour with Blexie and it was wonderful! Don't let the ship influence you on this. Once off we were free to roam Havana. No one checks anything after you get your visa! We also found out that the bus tours from the ship rent the bus from the CUBAN GOVERNMENT. So the private tours really are supporting the Cuban people but the ship tours support the government. Go figure that! :eek:

We always drop our luggage off first. I check it in while dh parks the car and then I wait for him by door..

We ate many nights in The Grande. All that was required of the males was a suit type jacket. No tie necessary.

We have parked at Bayonne many times and have always had a good experience. We live an hour away on Long Island. With the new terminal it is even easier, just drop your bags off, follow arrows to parking, pay by credit card or cash (don't know about debit cards) park where they designate and take a short walk to terminal. At the end of cruise, just walk out with your bags to your car, and you are good to go! Current charge is $19.00 per day. There is plenty of room and usually just a short wait at the cashier booth.:D

Thank you!

I keep reading references to "free" wi-fi aboard Quantum. Is this for certain levels or everybody??

Since we were on the topic of children's attire I was wondering how the children's activities are as far as teenagers. Was there a lot of teens on board? Next week will be our first time sailing with Celebrity.

There were enough teens on board for our teens to have a great time. They all mentioned that they liked the teen activities.

Question - you mentioned bottled water was included. Did you notice on your sailing if they were including the Evian and the Vitamin Water? On my sailing in May on the Silhouette, it was NOT included, only the water with the pink top (the brand i'd never heard of but i forget what it was lol) was offered for "free" the others were for charge.

Ditto on our cruise. Only plain bottled water in the complimentary package. I mentioned it because we drank so much of it.:D

I don't know the policy on young children but our 17 year old had to wear long pants.

Here are approximate packages available on Celebrity:

There is a flat Internet rate of 75 cents per minute or package rates of 38 minutes for $24.95, 90 minutes for $49.95, 208 minutes for $99.95 and 555 minutes for $199.95. The truly wired may want to book the "Involved" plan: 1,666 minutes for $399.95. The same rates apply to wireless hotspots on all ships, as well as to in-stateroom Internet access.

I copied this from cruise critic. Since the internet is so pricey, it is sometimes easier to use it in ports that offer wi-fi near the ship. Any of the crew can tell you where.

Just off Summit cruise to Bermuda. We too found the entire experience to be excellent. Celebrity may have dispensed with the chocolates but they have certainly ramped up the food and service which was always very good but is now outstanding. MDR is so much better than two cruises ago. Excellent menu and preparation. The Oceanview Cafe has also improved. We loved the prepared small serving dishes. No one pawing through the food. Seems much more sanitary and the food is presented well. Just a note about the Main Dining Room, also known as Cosmopolitan: They did enforce the dress code every night. No shorts were allowed in the MDR. Two men in our party who were dressed nicely with collared shirts and Bermuda shorts were requested to change on two different nights. We also saw others being turned away. I like that they are enforcing the dress code as it is too confusing if they are not consistent. We really thought Bermuda shorts might be acceptable in Bermuda!:D

I also want to comment on the complimentary drink package which all of the adults in our group had. They loved it and found plenty of drinks they could choose from. They were abundantly served. There is no daily limit and of course juice and bottled water were included along with many special coffees.

This was the 1 2 3 Go package and was a good choice if you are a drinker.:cool:

The Summit is a nicely refurbished older ship which is really beautiful, with a great Captain who is very funny, a great and friendly crew, good food and a great destination in Bermuda. We will be back on her in the fall...love those Canada/New England cruises.

It was one of our best cruises because of all of the above but in addition we had with us our three children with their spouses and all seven of our grandchildren ages 14 to 27 who found this ship wonderful. It was their third cruise so they had something to compare it to.

Just a little input. Easter week is very hectic flying into Miami or Ft. Lauderdale with long waits for check in going home. We got stuck with the high fares and crowded airports one too many times. Easter week will have kids no matter which ship you choose if it's a 7 day or less cruise. We are booked on the Quantum in Feb and like you will try the new venue. We live on L.I. and love to drive to Cape Liberty. Good luck with your choices.

We are on the July 20th Cruise to Bermuda. What is included in the free drink pkge? Have the prices changed since the program began? Also when is formal night on this 7 day cruise?