Cuban Cruise Review - May 1st, 2017 - The very FIRST Norwegian sailing!!!

[CTCruiser001]

CTCruiser

Two quick questions. Were you able to use restaurant bathrooms without a purchase or are there public bathrooms in the Havana area?

Also would you be able to see the cannon demonstration at 9:00 pm from the ship? Thanks for your review.

We never used public bathrooms due to sweating so much! I know that both restaurants and the Hotel had bathrooms. I do not recall the museums or fort having restrooms.

 

As for the cannon demonstration, I do not know.

 

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[LOdragonmom]

We booked him (actually his associate) after your post. He does have great Yelp reviews. Can you ask the guide to take you to specific places? Off the usual tour attractions?

 

I wonder if I should be asking Blexie for a cut of all the new business being sent his way...

[emoji1]

 

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[Karmary]

I wonder if I should be asking Blexie for a cut of all the new business being sent his way...

[emoji1]

 

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Im so excited that he was available July 3rd. Thank you!!

 

 

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[Faulkh]

Just booked Blexie for Oct, thanks again for recommendation

[CTCruiser001]

We booked him (actually his associate) after your post. He does have great Yelp reviews. Can you ask the guide to take you to specific places? Off the usual tour attractions?

The tour guide will go wherever you want. I suggest doing a bit of research and knowing what you want to see. Otherwise they will take you to the usual sites and it might not be as in-depth a tour as you'd like.

 

I had a list of sites and gave that to my guide.

 

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[Peacemkr59]

We just booked Blexie for December. There are 8 in our group and he is using a "modern" van ( hope that means it has a/c). Do you mind sharing the list of places you told him you wanted to see?

 

 

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[Mrsinsyder]

I'm on the current Sky sailing reading this thread as Great Stirrup Cay was cancelled. The Cuban government seems to be doing a great job of fooling tourists into thinking Cuba has turned some corner in its government. Our tour guide was very sanitized as they all are, since the vast majority of them and taxi drivers work for a function of the government. My dad finally got one of them to admit that the pretty area near the port was where the firing squads killed thousands after the revolution. We were lucky enough to drive outside of the tourist area to get a glimpse of the real Cuba - people waiting in lines for bread, typical incomes of $24 US a month. We visited our family who weren't lucky enough to leave when everyone else did - it was a wonderful experience. It will be very interesting to see how or if Cuba continues to change as tourism continues to grow. I also have to chuckle a bit at how many passengers are sporting hats with the red star of communism on them (they're for sale everywhere).

 

We've had a great cruise so far and it's a great way to visit Cuba without having to worry much about the infrastructure since you can just return to the boat at any time.

[Peacemkr59]

I'm on the current Sky sailing reading this thread as Great Stirrup Cay was cancelled. The Cuban government seems to be doing a great job of fooling tourists into thinking Cuba has turned some corner in its government. Our tour guide was very sanitized as they all are, since the vast majority of them and taxi drivers work for a function of the government. My dad finally got one of them to admit that the pretty area near the port was where the firing squads killed thousands after the revolution. We were lucky enough to drive outside of the tourist area to get a glimpse of the real Cuba - people waiting in lines for bread, typical incomes of $24 US a month. We visited our family who weren't lucky enough to leave when everyone else did - it was a wonderful experience. It will be very interesting to see how or if Cuba continues to change as tourism continues to grow. I also have to chuckle a bit at how many passengers are sporting hats with the red star of communism on them (they're for sale everywhere).

 

We've had a great cruise so far and it's a great way to visit Cuba without having to worry much about the infrastructure since you can just return to the boat at any time.

 

 

We, too, will be visiting family in Havana while there and I'm sure we will see that same side you saw. I'm sure it will be especially difficult and emotional for my mom to see this but she is eager to go!!

 

 

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[Mrsinsyder]

We, too, will be visiting family in Havana while there and I'm sure we will see that same side you saw. I'm sure it will be especially difficult and emotional for my mom to see this but she is eager to go!!

 

 

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It will be very tough! My dad left 55 years ago and has not been back since. He couldn't even sleep Monday night! He was up on the pool deck staring at the sea all night.

 

Some pics:

[Peacemkr59]

Yes I imagine it will be very difficult. She left 57 years ago with me!! I've wanted to return but only with my mom. I know she will be very emotional!!

 

 

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[Mrsinsyder]

Yes I imagine it will be very difficult. She left 57 years ago with me!! I've wanted to return but only with my mom. I know she will be very emotional!!

 

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If you plan to bring anything for your family, be prepared to get hassled, both by the ship and Cuban customs. The ship made us go to the guest desk to verify that someone in our party was Cuban born, otherwise you can't bring much off the ship. After that, Cuban customs held us up for about an hour thumbing through everything and just being generally difficult. The customs officer was friendly but his boss was making him check everything against a little manual of what you can bring it. It's also a valuation of $50 per person; he helped us fill out the form properly so that we didn't have anything seized from us.

[Peacemkr59]

If you plan to bring anything for your family, be prepared to get hassled, both by the ship and Cuban customs. The ship made us go to the guest desk to verify that someone in our party was Cuban born, otherwise you can't bring much off the ship. After that, Cuban customs held us up for about an hour thumbing through everything and just being generally difficult. The customs officer was friendly but his boss was making him check everything against a little manual of what you can bring it. It's also a valuation of $50 per person; he helped us fill out the form properly so that we didn't have anything seized from us.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up!! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

 

 

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[CruiseGal999]

Weather says it's thunderstorms in the caribbean today & tomorrow. Here's a look at the weather for the 5/29th sailing. I know it's just a snapshot and could change drastically .... but FYI.

 

SUN

 

MAY 28

Partly Cloudy87°75°

20%

SSE 11 mph66%MON

 

MAY 29

Mostly Sunny87°75°

20%

SSE 10 mph66%TUE

 

MAY 30

Partly Cloudy88°75°

20%

SSE 12 mph64%WED

 

MAY 31

Partly Cloudy88°75°

20%

SSE 11 mph62%

[mamaguppy]

Can anyone tell me which side of ship is better to be on and why?

In Cuba !

Thanks

[Peacemkr59]

Weather says it's thunderstorms in the caribbean today & tomorrow. Here's a look at the weather for the 5/29th sailing. I know it's just a snapshot and could change drastically .... but FYI.

 

SUN

 

MAY 28

Partly Cloudy87°75°

20%

SSE 11 mph66%MON

 

MAY 29

Mostly Sunny87°75°

20%

SSE 10 mph66%TUE

 

MAY 30

Partly Cloudy88°75°

20%

SSE 12 mph64%WED

 

MAY 31

Partly Cloudy88°75°

20%

SSE 11 mph62%

 

 

That looks like the forecast every day in South Florida in the summer!! [emoji23]

 

 

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[Mrsinsyder]

Can anyone tell me which side of ship is better to be on and why?

In Cuba !

Thanks

 

Starboard looks out over Havana and the malecon while port only looks at... the port.

[Mrsinsyder]

CTCruiser

Two quick questions. Were you able to use restaurant bathrooms without a purchase or are there public bathrooms in the Havana area?

Also would you be able to see the cannon demonstration at 9:00 pm from the ship? Thanks for your review.

 

Most bathrooms have an attendant that you can toss a CUC at even if you don't purchase something.

[Karmary]

The tour guide will go wherever you want. I suggest doing a bit of research and knowing what you want to see. Otherwise they will take you to the usual sites and it might not be as in-depth a tour as you'd like.

 

I had a list of sites and gave that to my guide.

 

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Maybe you could share that list? So far you have made it so easy for me. Thanks again !

 

 

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[herdingdogmom]

The RC Empress docks at 1 PM on Jul 12, Jul 26, Aug 9th. The NCL Sky departs at NOON on those days. I think they use the same berth. So the SKY cruise on Jul 10, Jul 24, Aug 7th are shorter stays in Havana.

Thanks for posting this very helpful info.

[CTCruiser001]

Since a few of you are asking for a list of where we went or planned to go, see below. I hope this helps everyone doing planning...I suggest googling these places to see what they are about and learning some of the history behind everything. These are listed in no particular order...

 

DAY ONE (Car Tour):

 

El Capitolio (Capital Building)

 

Chinatown

 

Colon Cemetery

 

Park Lennon (John Lennon statute)

 

University of Havana

 

Tribuna Anti Imperialista Jose Marti (Next to US Embassy)

 

Hotel Nacional

 

Revolution Plaza

 

Castillo de San Carlos de la Cabaña (this is where they do the nightly cannon shoot)

 

Christ of Havana (Great spot to take picture of Norwegian Sky and Havana)

 

Military Academy (wreck exhibit site)

 

FINCA VIGÍA (Hemmingway’s Home)

 

Almacenes San José Artisans' Market (mostly artist’s selling crafts)

 

*

 

DAY TWO (Walking Tour):

 

Cathedral Plaza

 

Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta (fort at entrance of Harbor)

 

Plaza de Armas

 

Governor’s Palace (now a Museum)

 

Castillo de la Real Fuerza (fort where the wooden ships were)

 

Museum of Art

 

Museum of Natural History

 

Museum of the Revolution & Memorial Granma

 

 

 

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[CTCruiser001]

Good news!

I went through my photos and wanted to share a few more that I found...

Here are photos of the entrance inside of the cruise terminal, with 42 steps to get up to the next level. There is an elevator down that short hallway. Also a few photos of some shops inside the terminal which I saw shop keepers taking US dollars, but others have reported they do not take US currency. Also a photo of the welcome back lineup from the Officers and crew of the Sky when we returned after our walking tour on the 2nd day in Cuba.

 

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[CTCruiser001]

I also wanted to share a few photos I took of our disembarkation. I didn't really touch on this subject in my review because it slipped my mind...

 

We left the ship among the last few people around 9:40 am. The line as you can see was quite long...But don't worry about it because it went fast enough for us. This might be something to take into account if anyone has an early flight home.

 

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[CTCruiser001]

I have more photos, namely the 360 images I captured. I still want to share these with you, but I am still trying to figure out the best way to put them into this review.

Hopefully I will make some headway soon and have these posted.

Thanks again for following this review and I am happy to see that it has helped several folks already.

 

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[jenidallas]

The Cuban government seems to be doing a great job of fooling tourists into thinking Cuba has turned some corner in its government. Our tour guide was very sanitized as they all are, since the vast majority of them and taxi drivers work for a function of the government. My dad finally got one of them to admit that the pretty area near the port was where the firing squads killed thousands after the revolution. We were lucky enough to drive outside of the tourist area to get a glimpse of the real Cuba - people waiting in lines for bread, typical incomes of $24 US a month. We visited our family who weren't lucky enough to leave when everyone else did - it was a wonderful experience. It will be very interesting to see how or if Cuba continues to change as tourism continues to grow.

 

I echo your concerns and it disturbed me a bit to hear some of the "oh how cute and quaint" chatter back on the ship from folks who'd gone on tours who clearly had not seen some of the same things we did.

 

Our first day we saw a lot less of the "off the beaten path" areas and while our driver did drive past a couple of regular neighborhoods, he seemed slightly less comfortable showing us anything that might expose the less touristy side of Havana. On our second day, once our guide realized we'd both traveled a lot in emerging economies and countries with transitioning political systems, we were suddenly able to deviate from the normal path and he took us into some back areas where we saw a very different Havana that will haunt me for some time.

 

I'm still mentally and emotionally processing this trip. If I take it just on the surface as a tourist trip then I'd say "awesome, beautiful - go see Cuba before it gets commercialized and ruined". If I go deeper and think about the people-to-people aspect of it, I'm no less glad I went, but my emotions are different.

[CruiseGal999]

I echo your concerns and it disturbed me a bit to hear some of the "oh how cute and quaint" chatter back on the ship from folks who'd gone on tours who clearly had not seen some of the same things we did.

 

Our first day we saw a lot less of the "off the beaten path" areas and while our driver did drive past a couple of regular neighborhoods, he seemed slightly less comfortable showing us anything that might expose the less touristy side of Havana. On our second day, once our guide realized we'd both traveled a lot in emerging economies and countries with transitioning political systems, we were suddenly able to deviate from the normal path and he took us into some back areas where we saw a very different Havana that will haunt me for some time.

 

I'm still mentally and emotionally processing this trip. If I take it just on the surface as a tourist trip then I'd say "awesome, beautiful - go see Cuba before it gets commercialized and ruined". If I go deeper and think about the people-to-people aspect of it, I'm no less glad I went, but my emotions are different.

 

Hi .. any comments on Old Car Tours? Did they have your reserved car? How was the driver/guide? Any info. would be a big help. Thank you! :cool: