Havana Some Fun on the Sun - Quick Review of the June 4th - 8th Cruise

My husband and I had been thinking about a Cuba cruise since Fathom started visiting a couple years ago. We're primarily NCL cruisers, but were thinking about going to the RCCL itinerary on the Empress out of Tampa - we're driving from GA, so Tampa is a shorter trip, and we preferred the Key West stop to the one on GSC. However, when NCL announced the Sun's itinerary last year, we jumped! A port we like, a ship we like, an itinerary we like and free booze! :D:D:D

Cruisers: My husband and me, both early 50s and my sister and brother-in-law, also both early 50s. My husband and I are platinum NCL, and my sister & BIL haven't sailed since a 3 day Bahamas cruise on the Big Red Boat - NCL newbies for sure.

Pre-Cruise: We drive down the day before and stay at the Radisson Resort at the Port using their Park & Cruise package. Since it was the four of us, we got a suite with two queen beds. The room was renovated fairly recently and was clean, well-decorated, attractive, and spacious for the 4 of us. The grounds were very nice, and we spent some time relaxing by the pool deck before heading to Cocoa Beach pier for dinner. There is an on-site restaurant. We've eaten there in the past, but not on this trip. We stayed on a Sunday night, so the Tiki Bar by the pool closed early, but you could still get drinks inside. We did pay extra for the shuttle as only the first two were covered by the package. The shuttle was fast and efficient and got us to the port around 10:30.

Embarkation: We arrived pretty early so lines weren't too long. Since my sister & BIL were new to NCL, we checked in with them rather than the platinum line. They had our Cuba visas ready. We did not have to show our OFAC forms. We were all given group 3 for boarding. There was a separate waiting area for Latitudes, but we stayed together. We were called very quickly and had a drink in hand by about 11:45.

Stateroom: Both of us booked sideways insides on deck 9. These rooms are terrific! The layout makes them feel very spacious, and neither of us were able to use all of the storage space. Both rooms had been renovated with new carpet, bed lamps with chargers, and new art. The couch was recovered a beautiful blue. The décor was a cool, blue, abstract type of thing - very attractive. I warned my sister that the bathroom was a little "RV-ish" but in reality we all found it fine (and both of our husbands are over 6 feet tall).

Service: We had wonderful service from our stewards, bar staff, and wait staff. Our steward greeted us by name with a smile - impressive for just a four day cruise. We had a lot of fun with the bartenders in Champs bar (the upper bar on the pool deck - only open on sailaway and Thursday's "sea" day). We ate 3 dinners, 2 lunches, and one breakfast in the two main dining rooms, and had very attentive and pleasant service. We did not go to any specialty restaurants, though we did buy espresso in the afternoon everyday.

Ports:

First, Key West - I was a little disappointed that we were docking at the naval base, because the shuttle is a bit of a pain. We were going to wait for open shuttle, but my husband eventually went to get tickets. Our group was called around 2:15. We just did our own thing - went to the Hemingway House, checked out the Flying Monkey and Irish Kevin's, and finished with a Key Lime Pie on a Stick from Kermit's. Last shuttle left Mallory Square at 7:00.

Second, Havana - My husband is an early riser and grabbed tickets for us. We were in group 5. Royal's ship was in port that day, and so we had half the normal number of customs stations to use. Customs took maybe 20 - 30 minutes, and then changing money took maybe another 15. Our tour was at ten and we made it with a couple minutes to spare. I followed the suggestion I read on the Cuba boards for Food Tours Havana. Great tour, energetic guide, easy to book online, and OFAC compliant. That was several hours long. While we had some other things planned, we were hot and tired at the end, and so we ended up going back to the ship around 3:00. We shopped a little in the port before getting back on. After a dip in the pool and a nice dinner, we were reenergized and went back out to some places recommended by our food tour guide. We also decided to check out El Floridita, even knowing it was likely to be very crowded and expensive. On our way there, it began to rain - we made it, but we were definitely soaked and bedraggled! We each had a daiquiri and a mojito, and were able to score a seat at the bar next to the Papa Hemingway statue - great for us in terms of taking pictures - annoying because we kept having to move so others could get pictures, too. It was very crowded and service was pretty slow, but I'm glad we checked it out. Music was great, but be aware, the musicians will come around with hat in hand for donations (this happened at all three places we had live music). Keep some CUCs ready if you're going out for music.

Disembarkation: Our last cruise was on the Epic when it was delayed several hours by fog...this was a piece of cake compared to that, even though the power went out right before we were getting off (it didn't prevent us from being scanned out). Customs was pretty painless, and if you get a porter to assist you, you'll get through a shorter line (we didn't do that, but saw some folks that did). The Radisson's shuttle was ready when we got off - we were in our car on the road by 9:00 AM.

Final Thoughts: This was a whirlwind trip that was a lot of fun. The focus was on the ports and we didn't do a lot of our usual activities on this one (though we did play and win one trivia game). The Sun looks great with the refurbishments, all-inclusive was awesome, and we thought service and food was pretty good (I wrote 4 Vacation Hero cards). The only show we saw was Rock Me Tonight - entertaining enough. I didn't save the dailies, but I think the Norwegian Night Out party was Tuesday and the White Hot Party was Thursday. Both were held in Bliss, but we didn't go to either. I was a little worried about the process and paperwork for Cuba, but it was actually very easy, and nothing to worry about. If I were able to go again next week, I would in a heartbeat!

Happy to answer any questions if I can!

I wonder why you guys docked somewhere different in Key West. I went two weeks ago and we were right in the city, no shuttle.

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Good to hear the paperwork/process to visit Cuba was easy. We are visiting in January and we’re nervous about that. Great review! Sounds like a blast!

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I wonder why you guys docked somewhere different in Key West. I went two weeks ago and we were right in the city, no shuttle.

 

 

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I have no idea what determines it - last time I was on NCL in Key West we docked at the naval base then, too. There was a ship (Carnival, I think) docked at Mallory Square, but they left around 2:00.

Good to hear the paperwork/process to visit Cuba was easy. We are visiting in January and we’re nervous about that. Great review! Sounds like a blast!

 

 

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The paperwork was very easy - big relief! It was a great trip - hope yours is as good!

key west: is there anyway to tell where you're docked (in the city or at the naval base) BEFORE you book?

key west: is there anyway to tell where you're docked (in the city or at the naval base) BEFORE you book?

Since you're docked in Havana, I wondered what the tickets were for that your husband had to procure? Was NCL releasing passengers in groups just to walk off the ship instead of their usual process of just announcing that the ship was cleared and passengers were free to disembark?

Since you're docked in Havana, I wondered what the tickets were for that your husband had to procure? Was NCL releasing passengers in groups just to walk off the ship instead of their usual process of just announcing that the ship was cleared and passengers were free to disembark?

That's exactly what the tickets were for...in Havana, you can't just walk off - you have to clear customs (they checked the visa, stamped our passport, and took a picture) and then (probably - if you want to buy anything) exchange money. To keep everyone from going down at once, they give you tickets assigning you to a group. You go down when your group is called. They did check our ticket before letting us off. I think there are 12 customs stations and normally, NCL would use all 12, but RCCL was in town, too, so it slowed things down a bit. If you have an NCL excursion booked, then you don't need a ticket - your excursion ticket is your ticket off. We weren't in a suite, so I don't know if the concierge assisted those folks, but there was nothing special for platinum like there is for tendering.

The process probably took 30 - 45 minutes from start to finish, but it was relatively painless. We came back in the afternoon, and then went out later that night - it was increasingly easier as the day went on.

The tickets for Key West were for the trolley - since we were parked at the naval base, we were not allowed to walk on and off freely; we had to take the trolley. It was very much like tendering. Again, I'm not sure if there was something for the suite passengers, but there were no perks for platinum like there is with tendering.

That's exactly what the tickets were for...in Havana, you can't just walk off - you have to clear customs (they checked the visa, stamped our passport, and took a picture) and then (probably - if you want to buy anything) exchange money. To keep everyone from going down at once, they give you tickets assigning you to a group. You go down when your group is called. They did check our ticket before letting us off. I think there are 12 customs stations and normally, NCL would use all 12, but RCCL was in town, too, so it slowed things down a bit. If you have an NCL excursion booked, then you don't need a ticket - your excursion ticket is your ticket off. We weren't in a suite, so I don't know if the concierge assisted those folks, but there was nothing special for platinum like there is for tendering.

 

 

 

The process probably took 30 - 45 minutes from start to finish, but it was relatively painless. We came back in the afternoon, and then went out later that night - it was increasingly easier as the day went on.

 

 

 

The tickets for Key West were for the trolley - since we were parked at the naval base, we were not allowed to walk on and off freely; we had to take the trolley. It was very much like tendering. Again, I'm not sure if there was something for the suite passengers, but there were no perks for platinum like there is with tendering.

This has been very helpful! Did you check “support for the Cuban people” on your form? Also did you keep a journal of things you did and people you talked to while at port?

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This has been very helpful! Did you check “support for the Cuban people” on your form? Also did you keep a journal of things you did and people you talked to while at port?

 

 

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I checked the group people-to-people through Norwegian - I figured they brought me there as part of a group. LOL.

I didn't keep a journal per se, but between my pictures and written content online (here, FB, Instagram, emails, etc.) I have a pretty good record of everything I did - I was going to make a book (though Shutterfly) of the trip and include a lot of those details. It would be for me, obviously, but it will make a great record of my trip, in the event OFAC ever comes knocking.

"My husband is an early riser and grabbed tickets for us. We were in group 5."

How early was early for your husband to get the tickets to get off in Havana? Thanks.

"My husband is an early riser and grabbed tickets for us. We were in group 5."

 

How early was early for your husband to get the tickets to get off in Havana? Thanks.

Seven-ish? I ordered room service for 6:30 and he headed down shortly after it arrived.

We set up our tour with Blexie to begin at 11 a.m. We walked off at 10:30 and there was no one in line at immigration. Only two agents working as well. Because it was later, we also didn't have to get a ticket from NCL to get off the ship.

We set up our tour with Blexie to begin at 11 a.m. We walked off at 10:30 and there was no one in line at immigration. Only two agents working as well. Because it was later, we also didn't have to get a ticket from NCL to get off the ship.

Our tour was at ten, so we were kind of stuck. It wasn't that bad, and it went quickly enough. My poor sister asked if getting on and off the ship was like this all the time (Key West at the Naval Base and all the Cuba hoops) - I just laughed and said nope. :D