Smurf2017

That is correct, but people are talking about the Spirit lately, which does visit a non EU port.

 

 

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Thanks Keith. I understand now.

Thanks for the warnings. We will take heed of them.

It's important to stipulate, tax is added when in waters that are 12 nautical miles away from spanish land. Not when in spanish seas. Once out at sea, no tax at all. This is why casinos and shops open on all cruises, once at sea.

Are you sure about that? My understanding was that the tax is charged during the entire cruise unless the ship docked at a non EU VAT Area port such as Gibraltar, Morocco, etc.

The bus will take forever. Our transit system is not great, its actually pretty bad. Its not like you find in most European cities. So if you can take Uber/Lyft.

 

Your choice of hotel area is extremely extremely odd and I highly suggest you change it.

 

As for must do. It depends what you like to do.

 

The usual list is, see Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road, Wynwood, maybe Vizcaya.

 

The hop-on hop-off bus might be your best best to get around.

 

Where exactly is your hotel? Address or name of the hotel? You might be in for a very special Miami experience.

The Jefferson at 528 SW 9th Ave.

We survived the nights in the real Havana and two weeks in Cuba and only got ripped off once. What could be worse?!

Thanks BNBR. That's very handy.

You can't stay in Little Havana without a car rental. Out of curiousity, why are you staying there? Do you speak Spanish fluently? Your public transport will waste a tremendous amount of your time.

 

It isn't a tourist destination but a working class Cuban city. It's a very odd choice for a first time visitor. Also, the 'outskirts' aren't the safest areas.

 

This has red flags all over it.

 

That said, my things to see:

 

Wynwood Walls

Miami Beach

South Beach Deco buildings

Vizcaya

Fairfield Botanical Gardens/Deering Estate

Coral Gables/Biltmore/Venetian Pool

Hi and thanks for your comments and suggestions. We didn't choose Little Havana intentionally. We chose the hotel and that is where it is situated and has a bus stop right outside the door. I speak a little Spanish and my girlfriend more so as she is Portuguese. With the Spanish being next door neighbours so to speak, there are many similarities in the language and both nationalities understand one another. We are looking forward to testing our linguistic skills on the locals as we do wherever we travel. We enjoyed breaks in Turkey, Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany last year and don't speak any of those languages, so Miami shouldn't be a problem.

Love your ideas, particularly Vizcaya and the gardens so thanks for mentioning those.

Thanks also to tecknoge3k and skudy. I think we have a plan coming together now and it will definitely include South Beach.

We will be in Miami for one complete day pre-cruise. As this will probably be our one and only visit to the city, are there any tourist sights that we should not miss?

We will be staying on the outskirts of Little Havana and will not have a car. We love to mix with the locals wherever we visit, so always make our way around by public transport.

Any suggestions welcome.

T.I.A.

We were on Spirit last year with a pre-purchased drinks package and did not pay any tax. There was a similar thread running recently which I cannot track down now. On there it was said that NCL have only started to charge this tax within the last three or four months. I wonder if any of that ever finds its way to the tax man!

 

I agree that involved parents can make such a difference.

 

I don't think any amount of involvement by parents could have helped this poor girl.

Reminded me of

Sorry about the really annoying sound track!

Thanks for your answers everyone. On reflection we have decided it's not worth the risk and will seek out another excursion provider. It will mean a more expensive excursion, but at least we will the peace of mind in the knowledge that they will wait for us.

We're first timers on MSC and will be docking in Belize, a tendered port. I was wondering how MSC prioritise the boarding of tenders. Presumably first to board are those with priority status and those booked on MSC excursions.

The reason I am asking is that we wish to do a private tour and the company are saying we need to be on the first or second tender or they may not be able to wait for us. That seems a little unreasonable and I doubt will be possible.

TIA

Just finished NCL cruise out of Barcelona on NCL spirit, sail date 3rd Dec 2017....vat charged on every drink while in Spanish waters even though we had a free drinks package...vat amounted to around 40 dollars charged to our onboard account.

There is another thread on this subject somewhere. It seems that NCL changed their process 3 to 4 weeks ago and now charge the tax whether you have a drinks package or not.

Found it. Here you go :

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2572284

Well... we're a little further forward. I still can't see the booking on the MSC website but they have spoken to me and although they advised we should be speaking to the travel agent and not them, they have confirmed their ticketing department have not yet issued the tickets! They have promised to deal with this tomorrow and send them to Viva Voyage to pass on to me.

 

Looks like the suitcase can come out after all.

Great news Markus and thanks for updating us. Now, before grabbing that suitcase, relax with a glass of your favourite lemonade and get truly into holiday mood. Did I say lemonade? Seeing where you live I would be making for my nearest Ruddles dispensary!

Have a great cruise and a very Happy Christmas.

Thanks. I think that will suit us just fine.

Great video. Thanks for posting. Can I ask, was the first beach scene in Ocho Rios? If so, which beach was it please?

The OP would not be able to fly direct from the UK with her dog in the cabin as this is not permitted here.

Not totally correct as I know that the Portuguese airline TAP allows dogs and cats in the cabin. One friend brought her dog from the UK to Portugal with TAP and another her two cats from the US to Portugal. Depending on size, it may be possible for the OP to carry her dog on TAP.

The dining packages are back in 'Customise Your Cruise' guys. I grabbed ours quick before they disappeared again. I cannot see any differences to them at all as far as our cruise on Divina is concerned.

Are you actually certain that you are being charged this tax? We were on Sprit last year and noticed a sign on all the bars stating that a 10% tax would apply. We checked with Customer Relations who assured us that the tax was not charged when the drinks package had been purchased before departure. I should say that we booked our cruise before the All-inclusive concept had been introduced, so purchased our drinks package separately. We are told though that the rule applied whether the package had been bought separately or included in the fare. The 10% was only charged on any drinks purchased after the cruise had sailed.

This applies to all cruises departing from Spain or Italy that only visit ports within the EU tax regime.

I don't take service inconsistencies to mean anything on Inaugural voyages. NCL Escape had some serious issues on it's Inaugural, Harmony of the Seas was a disaster, Carnival Vista still had many workers and unfinished areas and so did Koningsdam. If I recall correctly Quantum of the Seas had major, major issues being not only new but first in class. Not giving MSC a free pass here. All these cruise lines use paying guests to shake down incomplete ships. It's not fair or right. But service inconsistencies, and remaining minor fit out work (furnishings, fixtures, decor) I will wait a few weeks for things to improve, just like they improved on all of those named ships.

 

I guarantee you will be able to get water, wine, beer, cocktails, coffee, soda/soft drinks in the dining room no problem when this ship sails from Miami.

Last year a crew member with 20 years experience at sea told us that, if he was a passenger, he would never consider booking on a new ship until it had been in service for at least three months. Too many problems and unfinished work.

On a previous RC cruise I hired a tux on board. Does anyone know if MSC do the same? I don't mind the dressing up but do not own a tux nor have the need for one back in the real world!

I looked a bit more on the MSC site and found the 3 restaurants pkg still available, from the home page, click on discover MSC then you have some options for specialty restaurants, the pkg we purchased is there and available.

You got me excited for a minute there Vea. That soon disappeared though when I gave it a try. For sure, all the packages are there but as soon as you select one it takes you to a blank page.

Thanks for trying though. :)

Haha good one! I got an email from MSC today (see screen pics) saying check out our specialty dining packages for your upcoming Seaside save 25% off onboard pricing...yeah you click the links provided and none of them are there to pick and add to the cart. Silly systems at MSC.

I guess we just have to hope that the same IT department aren't responsible for programming the ship's navigation system. Who knows where would end up.

Post #6 in this thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2569066

Was told they’re being adjusted, and will be back in 2 weeks.

Thanks for that.

Just looked at my cart and the package for multiple specialty dining still shows but it won't go to the screen where I can pay for it. Guess that means they're in the process of getting it back online maybe? No price change as yet at least. Here's crossing fingers it stays that way after the fix.

Obviously still a way to go as they are not showing up for me yet.

Thanks for the heads up.