Just back from Cuba

Just off the Paradise from Cuba. Waiting in line for 2 1/2 hours to get off the boat and thru security. 2300 people on the boat and only 3 officers to check passports leaving the terminal .

I hope you had a great Cruise

That’s a long wait. How was your cruise.

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Please let us know about the cruise,

Capacity on the paradise is 2052 passengers .

Oh well, maybe next trip will be better

Would like to hear about the visit to Cuba.

Keith

Just off the Paradise from Cuba. Waiting in line for 2 1/2 hours to get off the boat and thru security. 2300 people on the boat and only 3 officers to check passports leaving the terminal .

I too was on this cruise, and it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to exit. And for those who don't think that's a big deal, we should clarify that it's not the time we spent waiting for our number to be called--rather it's the time we spent STANDING IN LINE. It was so painfully slow that many people who had early flights had to be brought up to the front of the line for expedited service.

The port agents were fantastic though, and kept nicely thanking us for our patience. Apparently, there are normally 5 customs agents in the port, and that morning there were only 2 when the ship docked, and then 3 starting at 9:45. We stood up when our number was called (we had #1) at 8:15am, and didn't walk outside the doors of the port until 10am. We made new friends while waiting in that line, and we joked that the Communist country of Cuba, with all of its various rules, had a port/immigration process that was far more efficient than the one in Tampa.

I can't help but wonder what time they finished clearing the ship???

CeleBrat

Capacity on the paradise is 2052 passengers .

At double capacity it is 2052 but with several rooms holding 3 or 4, the maximum capacity increases to 2462. 2300 would be typical for this class of ship.

When you got to the actual agent, did it take longer than usual? Just curious if "Cuba" made a difference like "Belize" does on the Western cruises.

When you got to the actual agent, did it take longer than usual? Just curious if "Cuba" made a difference like "Belize" does on the Western cruises.

Nope--when we got the agent, it was the standard "What's your name? Are you bringing any plants/food/tobacco back with you" questions. Interaction with the agent was minimal, but the fact that there were only 2 agents for the first hour or so made it eternally slow going. By the time I got to the agent, there were 3.

CeleBrat

I don’t think it’s just Cuba. May be a Carnival thing though. We came off the Dream (Western Caribbean) out of NOLA and had the same issue. We went the following year to the Western Caribbean on a NCL ship and we were off and through customs in less than an hour.

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We were on the same cruise and didn't wait five minutes to get through immigration and customs. we were in the car and on our way home by 7:50 we also are platinum and did self assist and I know that helped our quick exit.

As far as Cuba it exceeded our expectations, it take a bit to get off the ship and get through immigration about an hour. We did not exchange money (the line was too long) and we wanted to get on our tour through Carnival. We did the top 10 and had a great time well worth the money. We saw all the top spots and the guide said using US dollars were not a problem and we used them at a shop to buy Rum and at the craft market. The architecture was amazing and sad at the same time to see so many beautiful building that are in need of repair. The people we met were extremely friendly and helpful.