Ken076

Allure Inside CAT CP Cabin 9205 above Park Café and across from Giovanni's.

What are the transportation options/costs Hamilton to Horseshoe Beach?  Thanks, Ken

Checkout some of the Maritime Law Firm sites in Miami. Check FAQ's and maybe contact them.  Ken

6 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

...…...I take a limo shuttle up from Philadelphia.  😄 

 

What service do you use Philadelphia to Cape Liberty? Thanks, Ken

Fantastic Photography and well-done Review - Thanks!!! We'll be on Allure for second time, next February. Ken

We've stayed there, several years ago.  Very nice hotel, we had a panorama view of the Port.  Convenient, short walk to the MarketPlace, near the Port. Valet parking only was something like $36/nite.  We would definitely stay there again - we used International Hotel Group (IHG) Award Nite. 

 Another option is to make your best Hotel deal and on cruise morning drive to Park-and-Go Ft Lauderdale near the port and let them bus you into the Port and to Luggage drop-off. Always organized, pleasant, and usually have busses waiting at De-Embarkation. About half the Port Parking Fee - see their website for reservations and fees and map. 

48 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

We are sailing on the Paradise to Key West and Havana leaving on April 13th. I plan on writing a comprehensive review of our trip when we return. I've noticed there isn't a lot of new info on the Paradise or reviews on Cuba cruises on here, so I want to do my part to help others out! Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

 

Looking fwd to your review!!! Ken

Don't forget Gambee's Cruise Reviews   http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/cruise-review-main/

EXCELLENT, Detailed, Humorous, great photos......

12 hours ago, Lorey2007 said:

I wish I could print the compass pages....

 You could  make a Microsoft WORD Document of all the Compasses for the cruise, and then Print the File:
 

• Open a new file in your Pictures Directory and call it (for example) Symphony Western Compass Pictures from CC.
• In the CC Thread Right Click on the Compass Day 1 Page 1, click on "Save Picture As" and "Save"  as Day 1 Page 1 to the Symphony Western Compass Pictures from CC file.
• Repeat this for each Compass  Day and Page, incrementing the Day ## and the Page ## as appropriate.
• When completed, Open a new WORD File and call it (for Example) Symphony Western Compasses WORD.
• Sequentially Insert the Compass photos (using WORD "Insert | Picture") into the Word File .
• Print the Symphony Western Compasses WORD  File.

Would love to see Fun Times for the 5-day Havana Overnite + Key West Itinerary!  TIA, Ken

Link To Tampa Port Parking: https://tickets.completeticketsolutions.com/PARK2/Online/default.asp?menu_id=18CB2766-C3EE-416D-8D4A-22D2F599FB85&sToken=1%2C23033b94%2C5bb9efbb%2C3041D73D-440C-443C-A2F5-6E353B96CA4E%2CXL3lfXzSvbAY8F63p4Ob3IVNdDs%3D

Ken

B2B on Brilliance out of Tampa, September 27th next year

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

For Pre-Cruise night You might checkout the Holiday Inn Express Tampa-RockyPoint (or Hampton Inn) both down the street from Bahama Breeze. Within Taxi/Uber range of Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

Thanks for the GREAT review.

Ken

I …….. We will be on the Pride to Bermuda next month, so of course we will be reviewing that one. :D

Looking forward to your October Pride review!!! Ken

Checkout the HI Express - Tampa Rocky Point. On the Bay next to Bahama Breeze and across the Causeway form Whiskey "something". Parking at the Cruise Terminal is convenient and Valet Service for extra $20. Maybe 15-20 minutes to the Port.

Jamman54 did a nice post-refurb review of Paradise in May 2018 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2630203&page=4. We'll be doing the 5-Day Key West & Havana Paradise Cruise in early March 2019 and will post a review on return. Ken

We did the Overnight Havana cruise on the Paradise in May and would recommend the Hemingway excursion. It goes out into the countryside so you can get a feeling of the overwhelming poverty in Cuba. It was interesting and meets the requirement for the People to People rules.

Any chance you could scan and post your FunTimes from the May cruise? Ken

Just for the record the cost of the Cuban visa is $50 if you would like to get it directly on your own from the Cuban Consulate. The cruise lines get it for you for a charge of $75, which is probably fair, as I imagine it would take a fair amount of your time and energy to get it on your own.

 

And Oceania includes the cost of the Cuban health insurance in the fare for your cruise, and is required by the government for every tourist that visits the island.

My view is that the Health Insurance is totally separate from the VISA. What Documentation does the cruiseline provide that you would present if you need medical treatment?

Thanks,

Ken

It looks that Cuba requires that Visitors have Cuba Health Insurance and that same (according to Carnival Web Page) is included in the "Govt Fees & Taxes" charge that's added to the cruisefare. Does the Cruiseline provide a Cuba Health Insurance card? Documentation? What do you show if you have to get Health Services? Thanks, Ken

As US people we can not go to Cuba as a tourist. I agree that is a learning cruise. Any idea what the tours cost that satisfy the people to people required. What about the medical that is purchased for the duration? Does the cruise line take care of that too?

Carnival web site states that the Cuban Medical Insurance is included in the "Taxes and Fees" that they add to your cruisefare - otherwise, not well documented that I can determine. The $75pp VISA fee is not included and is added to your shipboard account in check-in.

You can check the Excursion prices on the CruiseLine websites. The equivalent private excursions look to be about half the cost of the cruiseline's tours.

The Carnival site indicates that for their tours that include Classic Car drive, the Tour guide rotates between 5 or so cars and the driver may not speak English.

Ken

Link to Tampa Parking:

https://www.porttb.com/parking

Ken

We take our own "scenic" photos and have the Guide take photos of myself & wife, both with our own camera.

One of the private tour companies offers a young lady photographer who acts as guide AND photographer and at the conclusion provides an SD Card with 100+ shots, albeit at about twice the price of their normal tour.

Ken

Thanks for posting this review. We will be on the Paradise in August for Cuba. It will be our first time on her & first time cruising out of Tampa..

Looking fwd to your Paradise Cuba Review in August!!!!! Ken

I canceled a cruise with Carnival last year due to a family member falling ill. I had other relatives too that were traveling in a second cabin which was linked to ours that had also canceled. Could I use the deposit that was used on the second cabin linked to ours as well? I hate to see money go to waste. Even after penalties there's a few hundred sitting in limbo. Thanks in advance!

Were the bookings Early Saver?

Were the cancellations after the final Payment Deadline?

Were the other cabins booked under your credit card?

Ken

Do not understand why you had difficulty finding information on Cuba. We sailed on Empress to Cuba in October and I found reams of information on line. I also found a lot of valuable information on the Cuba thread of CC. You may need lessons on how to research for traveling. Hope to read that you enjoyed your cruise.

Pretty RUDE.