llanning

We were on the Empress and were told (by our waiter) that Cuban cruises did not have a formal night.

Not on the Diamond drink list.

Yes, three drinks loaded onto card to be used between 5 pm and 8 pm, limited menu.  I could not get Moscato nor Riesling wine.

We just got off the Empress.  An email from RC said there was no formal night.  However, the Compass had a formal night.  When we told our waiter we would not be at dinner due to lack of formal wear, he assured us that there was no formal night.  We showed up.  The other two couples at our table were in formal wear as were others in the dining room.  It was ok though, there were some in the dining room in shorts (in defiance of the posted dress code for the mdr at night).  Apparently, do what you want.

We ran into the same thing. RCL refused to let us check SFTCP for our independent tour. We produced printed documentation, but since there was the word “tour” in the email, they insisted that we check box 2 (US sponsored non-cruise tour). We went back and forth for several minutes (including talking with a manager) about this and ultimately checked both boxes on the form before they would hand us our visas. To make matters worse, they stated that they would white out our check mark for Box 4, but not until later — so we have no way of confirming what their copy of the form now says.

 

I know that the likelihood of getting audited is quite low, but it bothers me that we were essentially asked to falsify documents and they admitted that they would alter our signed and completed documents without our oversight.

What is a US sponsored non-cruise tour? How can the US sponsor anything in Cuba? I don't think we have any authority there.

My son's wages were comparable to what he was making in the US-without rent, car expenses, food, uniforms, insurance, etc. As an officer, his travel home and back to the ship was paid for by Carnival. That's not the case for crew. At least for their first contract, they have to pay their own travel home. Medical care was by the ship's medical staff. If needed, Carnival had contracts with providers in the various ports. My son saw both an opthomologist and a dentist during his contracts.

My son (an American) worked for five years on board for Carnival. He was a senior IS (informations systems) manager. He passed the drug test and physical each time he took it. No, he didn't have insurance but the health facilities on board were adequate. When needed, crew were sent to local facilities. He was on call 24/7 when he was the only IS manager on board. Many of his days spanned 12-16 hours. Once he got the systems running efficiently, the hours were much more manageable but he had to be available in case something went down. A number of the IS Managers are American. You are correct though, you will only see Americans in staff positions and not many of them. It was a great job for him. He got to travel, meet many fantastic friends, and get a lot of experience both with computer systems and people. He met his wife on board. She is from Romania and worked in the casino. Many of his friends from the ship were at the wedding. They are now in Vegas. He is working at one of the hotels and she is waiting for her work permit so she can work in a casino. Our next cruise is on the Freedom and I will miss the perks of sailing with him.