sharke

We are arriving a few days early before our cruise & staying in South Beach.  Any suggestions where to get our Covid testing nearby?  Has anyone had recent experience?  Thanks

On 1/11/2020 at 10:49 PM, wwcruisers said:

Yes -- and the 2021 Blue Note has an exceptional line-up! I think that the pre-sale queue is still available for a few more days -- for those not already booked on this year's Blue Note cruise.

 

Sharke -- are you taking advantage of the opportunity to book your same cabin for the '21 cruise? That will be our first Blue Note -- as we are 'jumping ship' from ECP's Smooth Jazz Cruises.😎

No, we wait till later in the year depending on our travel calendar to decide.  But then again we are not too picky about our cabin placement 😊

On 9/8/2019 at 8:51 AM, Purplerock said:

Hi all. My husband and I would really love to do a blue note jazz cruise but don’t know what to expect. Has anyone done one before and can you describe the kind of jazz venues? Are there extra charges for performers like David Sanborn? And is there a blue note 2021? Thanks

We were on the Blue Note last year, our first, & are booked again this year.  It’s amazing.  All music all the time.  Also there are lots of interviews, talks & signings.  You get an itinerary each night before bed telling you who is playing where & when the next day.  The main nightly show is given twice in Celebrity theatre & you are assigned the late or early show for that one.  Otherwise you just go from place to place depending on who you want to see.  There are performances in the grand foyer; & all the lounges.  Late night they turn the main dining room into a lounge where David Sanborn & others play.  There is music from 11am till 3am.  No extra charges for any performance.  

Of these three, I only did the paper one several years ago when the Fathom ship offered it & thoroughly enjoyed it.  The ladies who run the paper coop are fun  & friendly.  It was great to be able to help them & see how paper scraps are converted.  I don’t remember a lot of the drive but what I do remember is seeing how & where the people live.  If they offer making water filters or teaching children English I would highly recommend those. 

For those who have been recently, is there anything to do in the area where one is tendered & dropped off ?  Are there any shops, cafes etc?  Basically just looking at walking around a bit for a short stop.

Cruise disembarkation Saturday, weekend of Super Bowl.  Does POM have an organized taxi que? Plentiful?  Convenient?  Looking for experiences, suggestions for transport to MIA.  Expecting super busy travel that weekend

On 7/22/2019 at 1:31 PM, lois1112 said:

does anyone have recommendations for a tour operator?  I'll be traveling by myself (January 2020) and don't want to do hop/on off

We had  a great tour with Cultura Cercana ( www.culturacercana.com.ar) in 2013.  So much so that we booked again for 3 days this November.  Easy to work with & wonderful guides.

Just now, sharke said:

We stayed in one of these several years back & liked it a lot.  Seemed quite spacious but can't compare as it was our first time in an inside cabin.  We weren't bothered by the elevators & it was quite inconvenient.  My husband gets up early & enjoyed sitting in one of two chairs by the Windows next to the elevators.  Felt like he had his own private lounge.

Oops meant convenient!

We stayed in one of these several years back & liked it a lot.  Seemed quite spacious but can't compare as it was our first time in an inside cabin.  We weren't bothered by the elevators & it was quite inconvenient.  My husband gets up early & enjoyed sitting in one of two chairs by the Windows next to the elevators.  Felt like he had his own private lounge.

Thx everyone. Great info

What is the process of moving clothing & belongings if you change cabins when staying on for back to back cruise? Will I need to pack as if I'm disembarking? Will staff help move? Hoping to have some time to sight see before sailing.

We used private guides in Havana and Santiago & set up prior to arrival. Our visa was added to our cruise fare both with NCL & Fathom as people to people and no problems. In Havana we used Lino Blanco & his friend Alain Santana. Spent the entire day touring in a'50 Chevy & '56 Buick, both convertibles. Contact Lino by email at lino.blanco1983@nauta.cu. We had great walking tour of Old Havana with Dayron thru Tours by Locals. In Santiago we used Yuri at http://www.cubaguider.com or email at Yuri.arcayaborrego@nauta.cu. I think Yuri has also been giving tours in Havana at times. Enjoy your time in Cuba on your own with private tours. You will see more and the money will go to private citizens.

We also took baseballs, team baseball hats, crayons & coloring books for the kids & hard candies. Seemed to go over great

Oops forgot to put Lino Blanco's contact info. You can email at lino.blanco1983@nauta.cu. give him a few days to answer as the internet access is not always the best but he will respond. Tell him his St Louis friends say Hi

We have been to cuba by cruise 3 times in the last year. The first two on the Fathom Adonia. In October we were on NCL Sky. We used private guides at all ports. There were 8 of us this last October in Havana. We contacted Lino Blanco who met us a block from the port& across the street in a '50 Chevy convertible & 1956 Buick convertible. He & his friend, Alain Santana gave us an amazing all day tour of the Cuba highlights & more. Both speak terrific English & are wealth of information. With all our tours we kept any admission tickets, short note on where we went & of course we have our pictures for documentation should anyone ask in the next 5 years. The following morning we had Dayron from Tours by Locals for a walking tour of Old Havana before the ship left at noon - another wonderful tour. Enjoy your time

We flew an open door helicopter in Kauai several years ago and loved it! I think it was in Sept. We layered a hoodie & jacket. I had some thin gloves. If I remember right the company had waterproof jackets they provided. You might ask your company.

I am so very sorry for your loss. Prayers for comfort, strength & healing.

We've done about 6 gty's over the years and never had our cabin changed until this past October on Sky to Cuba. On check in we were told we had a change & naturally assumed it would be an upgrade due to our platinum status. No such luck. Exactly the same category but one floor up. Smallest cabin we've ever had.

We toured Havana on 10/18 in a 1950 Chevy convertible. It does have a convertible top. Lino had to put the top up at the end of the tour when it started raining.Reach out to Lino Blanco at Lino.blanco1983@nauta.cu. He can customize a city tour for you.

His English is excellent and he is a personable guy.

We had a great city tour with Lino Blanco on 10/18. He can be reached at

Lino.blanco1983@nauta.cu.

He has a 1950 pink Chevy convertible, great english skills, and will tailor the tour to your needs.

You can book a classic car city tour in Havana through Lino Blanco. He can be reached at Lino.blanco1983a@nauta.cu.

We had a group of 8 and Lino had one of his friends, Alain Santana bring his convertible as well. We had visited Havana in the past and another friend, Felix Martinez, gave an excellent tour.

We booked classic car tours with Lino.Blanco1983@nauta.cu. We had a group of 8 and did a city tour in a 1950 Chevy convertible and a 1954 Buick convertible.

Lino and his friend Alain Santana showed us the sites that day. Another friend, Felix Martinez, showed us Havana last year.

If you want to see the sites and have a great time on a private tour reach out to Lino.

We just got back from Havana on the Norwegian Sky. We had a great. 6 hour tours in classic convertibles with Lino Blanco and Alain Santana.

They did a great job - professionable, personable, excellent english skills.

Lino can be reached at Lino.blanco1983@nauta.cu.

If you need multiple cars Lino can hook you up with Alain or Felix Martinez. They are a lot of fun and will make sure you have a great time in Havana.

Cruising on the Sky Cuba cruise soon. What type of entertainment should we expect onboard?

Thanks for the great ideas everyone.