Sun toCuba

Just got off the Incredible Sun to Cuba cruise. Embarkation and debarkation was a breeze. Our cabin (1207) was great. Located on the 11th deck it was close to everything. The all inclusive was great. Just walk up to the bar and order your drink. For that matter just ask any of the waiters for a drink and they will get it for you. Food was good, service great, room attendant superb and no negatives. Ask a question and I will try to answer. The Tropicana Show in Havana was the highlight and highly recommend.

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Oh wow, we will be on this cruise next month, can't wait. I'm glad you enjoyed it

Glad you had a good time! I love the Sun. We were in 1209 on the Pool Deck (Deck 11) doing two weeks around South America. Great room and location.

We will be on the Sun in August - did you tour Havana on your own or take the ship excursions? We have arranged for a tour but have heard from several on another cruise line that they insist they must take a ship excursion.

Glad you have a great time. The Sun is a great little ship

We will be on the Sun in August - did you tour Havana on your own or take the ship excursions? We have arranged for a tour but have heard from several on another cruise line that they insist they must take a ship excursion.

I'm not the OP but just came off the Sky last Friday. We booked our own excursion through Blexie. Rolando (Roly) was our guide. It was an incredible day. You need to check "Support of the Cuban People" on your affidavit.

So great to hear! We are leaving for the airport in an hour to fly to Port Canaveral, will board the Sun on Monday. Can't wait! Do you happen to still have any dailies by any chance you could snap a pic of to post?

Just got off the Incredible Sun to Cuba cruise. Embarkation and debarkation was a breeze. Our cabin (1207) was great. Located on the 11th deck it was close to everything. The all inclusive was great. Just walk up to the bar and order your drink. For that matter just ask any of the waiters for a drink and they will get it for you. Food was good, service great, room attendant superb and no negatives. Ask a question and I will try to answer. The Tropicana Show in Havana was the highlight and highly recommend.

 

 

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We are doing this cruise in July and are looking at an excursion to one of the nighttime shows in Havana, however we're concerned about a lot of dead time waiting and crowding at the venues. What was your experience? Stephen and Holly.

We rented a 56 Chevy Conv. On our own and it was great. They will take you where you want to go or design a tour for you. Did not keep the dailies.

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If you use the cruise excursion you are at the mercy of the bus travel. We did stand in line but it was quick to our seats. Don’t get hung up on this. The show at the Tropicana is worth any wait you may experience.

Just got off the Incredible Sun to Cuba cruise. Embarkation and debarkation was a breeze. Our cabin (1207) was great. Located on the 11th deck it was close to everything. The all inclusive was great. Just walk up to the bar and order your drink. For that matter just ask any of the waiters for a drink and they will get it for you. Food was good, service great, room attendant superb and no negatives. Ask a question and I will try to answer. The Tropicana Show in Havana was the highlight and highly recommend.

 

 

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Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise! Leaving in 9 days - same itinerary. (Waiting for word on my upgrade bid - would love that Deck 11 suite!)

One question..how was embarkation at PC and embark/disembark in ports? I’m reading that they use a ticket system and there are still long lines to exit the ship in ports.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise! Leaving in 9 days - same itinerary. (Waiting for word on my upgrade bid - would love that Deck 11 suite!)

 

One question..how was embarkation at PC and embark/disembark in ports? I’m reading that they use a ticket system and there are still long lines to exit the ship in ports.

If you're on an NCL booked excursion, you get off the ship at an appropriate time to meet up with your guide.

Havana is a docked port, so there aren't the same issues that one finds with a tendered port. The only hold up is Cuban Customs, which slows things up, a lot, and the currency exchange, which is another chokepoint.

Coming back to the ship, the Cuban authorities will run you through a metal detector and re-check your passport, otherwise not much of a big deal.

Embarkation at Port Canaveral was great. Recommend you get there around 1030 or so. We had rather sit in the terminal than stand in lines. Although the lines were not bad. Getting off the ship is the same as any port. You go as fast as customs let you. Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks guys! Appreciate the 4-1-1. 8 days and counting...

So great to hear about the Sun, thank you for sharing! We are on it in a few days for the first time, also on deck 11. I had a bid in for a mini suite and then the prices went lower than my bid so I booked the sailaway rate mini suite. We aren't doing the Cuba itinerary...Nassau and GSC. Think we will be able to get near the pool if we stay onboard in Nassau?

No problem on the pool. You will like the mini suite. Bathroom is very large with an area for dressing. Enjoy.

Thank you! :)

This is great to hear. I have never done one of the NCL all-inclusive ships, though I've had the drink package on many cruises. I know that they are different, however. Were there many things that you couldn't get without paying the upcharge?

This is great to hear. I have never done one of the NCL all-inclusive ships, though I've had the drink package on many cruises. I know that they are different, however. Were there many things that you couldn't get without paying the upcharge?

Every bar and restaurant has drink menu -- anything in the drink menu that has a price isn't free (exception -- there are drinks on the first page with prices, but that's because they come in a souvenir glass -- tell the bartender you don't want the glass, and the drink is free.) If the wine on the wine list has a price per glass, you have to pay for it.

People get confused, because on the other ships with the Ultimate Beverage Package, anything under $15 is free, but on the Sun (and Sky,) if it has a price listed, no matter what it is, it isn't free.

That said, unless you absolutely have to have top shelf liquor in your drink, or you can't get by on "house" wine, everything you're going to order will be free.

Dawg67, were you able to get into the port before 10:30? We like to get there early, but we were told today (at our hotel) that the port doesn't even open till 10:30. Yet we were able to choose 9:30 as a pier arrival time. I don't mind waiting there, but do hope to at least be able to get in. :)

Dawg67, were you able to get into the port before 10:30? We like to get there early, but we were told today (at our hotel) that the port doesn't even open till 10:30. Yet we were able to choose 9:30 as a pier arrival time. I don't mind waiting there, but do hope to at least be able to get in. :)

Your pier arrival time (we think of it as checkin time) only puts you in another queue to get onto the ship. The earlier you are scheduled to arrive at checkin, the earlier you are to get on the ship, but the times don't really line up.

First on the ship, around 11:00 - 11:30, depends on how disembarkment went, Haven guests. (If you're on a ship that doesn't have Haven, skip this)

Shortly after that, NCL Latitudes Platinum and higher people.

After that, general boarding ensues, which is in the order that people showed up at the port. So, if you showed up at 9:30 and are neither Haven nor Latitudes Platinum, you're going to sit in the waiting area for a couple of hours.

Another alternative might be picking a late arrival time, showing up then, and getting straight on the ship after you get to the port. That's what we usually go with (since we're driving down from Daytona Beach, we can manipulate our arrival time.) At 1:00PM, when you arrive at the terminal, you're pretty much going to walk right on the ship.

We took the HAVANA bus tour from NCL on our first cruise...we thought it was a BUST...Cemetery 45 minutes...too much wasted time, Fort 40 minutes...too much wasted time Christ statue 30 minutes...too much wasted time...too many of the 'sights" where just whizzed by.

Last week we were in CUBA again....

Do yourself a favor, book an Old Cars Tour...4 hours or whatever you want...they will take you WHERE YOU WANT TO GO..................FUSTERLANDIA (art neighborhood, google it) is NOT TO BE MISSED.

I'm not the OP but just came off the Sky last Friday. We booked our own excursion through Blexie. Rolando (Roly) was our guide. It was an incredible day. You need to check "Support of the Cuban People" on your affidavit.

Just curious. We are planning on taking a private tour (was there last October on RCL and took their bus tour, so now want to see what we missed). My booking agent directed me to check the group people-to-people option on the affidavit. Did Norwegian direct you to check Support of Cuban People?

This will be my first time on NCL in 10 years, so I appreciate the tips in this thread.

We ended up having a great embarkation just now. Got to Port about 9:30, did have to wait in line w/ a few other “earlybirds” but then they let us in to Terminal 10 at about 10:00. Smooth paperwork check-in, then waited till boarding started around 11:30. Walked right on. Just finished up delicious lunch in the Garden Cafe. Couldn’t ask for a better start to our much-anticipated cruise! :D

Our cabin (1207) was great. Located on the 11th deck it was close to everything.

We have a mini-suite on the 11th deck for the 9/3 cruise. I'm concerned about the noise level and foot traffic being on the Pool & Spa Deck." Did you find this to be an issue?