Havana Daydreaming aboard the Carnival Paradise to Cuba 7/13/17

Just back from a 4 day to Havana, Cuba aboard the Carnival Paradise. Cuba was amazing and we are just thrilled to have had the opportunity to go there. If you're thinking about it or on the fence- take the trip - you won't regret it.

The Carnival Paradise was our first ship nearly 20 years ago and were happy to see how well she's held up. While clearly an older ship- she has aged better than some of the other Fantasy class ships we have recently sailed.

Glad to answer questions about Cuba and/or the Paradise.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I saw the Paradise sitting in port this morning on my drive home from work.

Do u know if the Paradise has the new MDR breakfast menu and/or the new deli menu?

No, sorry, they do not. It was a fabulous cruise! We just returned, as well, from the Cuba experience.:D

Would love to see pics and hear more about it.

Yes I'd love to hear more! I'll be on this trip in October.

Did you book excursions through the ship or on your own? Any issues getting on and off multiple times just to walk around (if you did that, I assume everyone acts like me!) ?

While we normally book on our own, with this being only the 2nd trip to Cuba and the additional visa requirement we chose to book through Carnival. Debarking was extremely well organized and moved quickly. The Top 10 of Havana Tour was informative and jammed packed. Being a hot and humid day, by the end- I think folks (myself included) were getting fatigued. I could have done without the last hour as the guide was rushed by then so the sharing of information was crammed. Unfortunate luck of the draw - there was massive return of tours all at once and the terminal building was slammed. Long lines, stagnant air and people worried about missing dinner and later tours made for some testy moments. It took about an hour to go through the X-ray machine, immigration and then the gangway to reboard the ship. I spoke with the crew and they said the first trip had not been like this and it was just a timing thing with all the tours returning simultaneously. They left staggered and were supposed to return staggered- but a passing storm during the afternoon delayed a couple so they all got back at once. Subsequent trips back ashore were easy and met with no delays debarking or returning.

We did the Top 10 tour one day and the Classic Car tour the next. I highly recommend both. There was a small level of overlap between the two tours- but each guide brought their own perspective so it didn't even feel redundant.

Is it true that it takes aprox 5 hours to get off the ship in Cuba?

I'm one of those "on the fence" :/

Is it true that it takes aprox 5 hours to get off the ship in Cuba?

 

I'm one of those "on the fence" :/

It did on the first sailing. We watched it.. They are trying to improve it. The gangway is very small and you have to all be processed after you get off the ship . Than go through x ray.

We were on the second sailing. Because we booked while onboard the prior sailing, only two days prior to the sailing, we did Carnival's excursions. We did Sights and Sounds of Havana, the first day, and the Classic Car excursion the second day. We enjoyed both very much.

The excursions met in the show lounge and were escorted off the ship. It didn't take more than 20 min either day to debark. Money changes were very fast, in the terminal. Getting back onboard was somewhat faster for us. It is all about timing; how many are returning then.

Do all the Carnival excursions meet the People to People requirement? How did that work? I'm wanting to take one but worried that I won't be able to meet that requirement unless the excursions fulfill it. Would love to see photos. Did you have time to go around on your own?

I also heard a new Paradise 'gangway' had to be built (front/starboard of Main deck) for Havana port- is that true? Was this the only gangway for Havana or were others in use as well?

Do all the Carnival excursions meet the People to People requirement? How did that work? I'm wanting to take one but worried that I won't be able to meet that requirement unless the excursions fulfill it. Would love to see photos. Did you have time to go around on your own?

The daytime excursions, through Carnival, do meet the requirements. The night time ones do not. There was a bit of confusion as to how many were needed. We were told 8 hrs were required, which would be one excursion each day. This was GS that gave this info. Many passengers believed only one was required; 4 hrs. Carnival retains all the documentation.

You can do your own and keep your own documentation.

We, supposedly, were eligible to go out in the evening, after completing our daytime excursion. We were just too tired to go out again. Maybe another trip is in order?

Perhaps, someone will be able to post pics. Can't get to it right now; not home today.

Just curious if you know what time people with private excursions were allowed to disembark. We will be on the Paradise in Oct and the ship docks at 1230 in Havana. Thanks

I also heard a new Paradise 'gangway' had to be built (front/starboard of Main deck) for Havana port- is that true? Was this the only gangway for Havana or were others in use as well?

This is correct, except it's Portside, forward on Main. This is the only one for passengers and is narrow leading to a fairly narrow and high, gangway structure-- don't look down! Yikes! I believe crew were able to leave and return on a small ground level ramp.

Just curious if you know what time people with private excursions were allowed to disembark. We will be on the Paradise in Oct and the ship docks at 1230 in Havana. Thanks

Guests picked up tickets on the Promenade deck, like tender stickers. They were lettered and seemed to be "worked in" between the Carnival excursions departures. DH recalls that sticker "D" was called immediately after we left the lounge with our group, around 2:00 pm. The ship was docked and got clearance around 12:15. The Carnival excursions got first debark. The lettered, self-led groups took well into the afternoon to be called down.

Good info. Sounds like we may need to book out tour to leave around 3:00. I don't want to be in a rush to make our tour. Its frustrating that they don't get into port until 1230 and it takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours to disembark.

I also heard a new Paradise 'gangway' had to be built (front/starboard of Main deck) for Havana port- is that true? Was this the only gangway for Havana or were others in use as well?

I will say true because they were working on it while we were on the ship to Key West and Cozumel the week before.

Is it true that it takes aprox 5 hours to get off the ship in Cuba?

 

I'm one of those "on the fence" :/

No it did not take 5 hours to get off the ship. As far as arriving it felt comparable to any other port with the necessary time to clear the ship and set up the gangways. The process for tours leaving was well organized. The only additional step in Cuba was immigration once off the ship. Each person had to present their passport and visa (provided by Carnival). Throughout the cruise many fellow passengers shared similar stories of being told "stop smiling" by the immigration staff. It was a little odd- but the whole process added about 5-10 minutes to the debarkation process.

As someone else shared, currency exchange was just as easy and organized.

We were on the 7/13 sailing also and really enjoyed it. We had the Top Ten tour also but our guide didn't want to spend a lot of time in the hot sun so we did a couple of the stops as just a drive by and were back about an hour early. So there were no lines going back on the ship yet, we still got to see everything and did get out of the bus three times for pictures and exploring. The first immigration and security took a bit of time just because there were so many getting off at the same time. The next day it was easy and there were no lines to speak of. The money exchange was easy and fast, I exchanged 150 Euro and got 165 CUC.

Just a warning, in the ladies room right next to the money exchange, I went into the first stall on the right and the knob wasn't working right and I couldn't get out, luckily someone heard me scream and opened the door from the outside. By the way there is no TP and no seat so practice your squats.

One of the ship reviews mentioned a Cuban band brought on to entertain the night the ship was docked in Havana. Does anyone know what time the show was? Hoping they will be doing same on rest of sailings too. Thanks.

The Cuban band performance was at 10 or 10:30, the evening we were docked. They were amazingly good! The was some paperwork trouble that prevented them boarding on the Inagural cruise to Cuba. No problem this time. They will likely be able to perform on other cruises, as well. Jon, ED, does a great job with the music onboard! :D