Quail cruises, - anyone heard of them

[janacin]

I was thinking about our first cruise back in 1971. It was on the RCLL "Song Of Norway". That was before the ship was stretched. Anyway, I did a search and the ship is still cruising the Mediteranean. After many owners and a checkered career the old girl is still afloat after 40 years. She sails for Quail Happy Cruises out of Spain and calls herself "Ocean Pearl".

[SwissMyst]

I believe Quail Cruises also uses the old TV "Love Boat" star, the Pacific Princess who also now has a new name.

 

We sailed last year on her sister ship the Island Princess, who got to be the stand-in Love Boat on a few episodes and now sails as the MV Discovery. While researching the parentage of the MV Discovery is when I came across Quail Cruises, who seem do the islands off Spain as you also discovered.

 

Wonderful to have ship nostalgia and I gather a lot of things looked the same when our ship had its former life as the icon for cruise travel back in the 1980s. (?) I even tracked down where my original ship, the Lloyd Triestino Galileo went down off Penang and saluted as we sailed past since she is now a wreck diving site. And she to had gone through various iterations and became the Meridian which was the start of Celebrity Cruise Lines, before she went down in a fire as a gambling ship Sun Vista.

[Downdie]

Hi janacin:

I've not only heard of Happy Cruises, I,ve sailed on one of their ships as recently as last November, on the Gemini (ex Superstar Gemini) from Cozumel on a one week cruise that had a two night stop in Havana on it's itinerary.

Hi Swissmyst:

The Pacific (ex Pacific Princess) no longer sails for Happy Cruises. She is laid up in Greece I think, due to an ongoing legal dispute against the company that Quail chartered the ship from.

[jefa]

Hi Downdie!

 

Would you recommend the cruise you took? I am looking at the same cruise to take at the end of April, but can't find much information.

 

Thanks in Advance:)

[Downdie]

Hi jefa:

We sailed on the first cruise of the season of the Gemini out of Cozumel. We really enjoyed our trip on this nice little 20,000 ton ship on it's interesting itinerary that included two nights in Havana. Food and service were excellent,and the fact that the ship is all-inclusive as far as drinks are concerned didn't hurt either. My wife and I made many Spanish friends, and found the cruise staff helped us constantly as we were the only native English speakers on board that particular sailing. I really enjoy that size of ship: more personal service, and no lineups for anything.

[jefa]

Thanks so much for the quick reply!!! I have booked it today!! Same itinerary as you, and yes the all inclusive drinks is a nice little extra ;) I am sooooo excited now, roll on 2nd May!

 

I am sure there will be no rollcall for this cruise, so any tips you may have for me would be gratefully received. Especially re excursions.

 

Would you mind answering some questions for me, as I think of them :D

[Downdie]

Hi jefa: You're welcome. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have. As you said, I'm pretty certain you won't find a rollcall for this one, not in English anyway.

I think you'll find this cruise quite different from any previous cruise(s) you may have taken, a much smaller laid back and less formal ship with a definite Spanish flavour in cuisine and entertainment. We found the nightly show was the only area where we found our lack of Spanish language a problem. You, being a Spanish resident may be more fluent. The only ship excursion we took was in Havana, where we took the Tropicana nightclub trip. We found it fabulous.

[jefa]

:) I've only been on one cruise before, which was a holiday of a lifetime, and I know this is going to be completely different but hey, look at the places I will be visiting!!

 

OK, sorry in advance for perhaps too many questions!

 

My cruise is all inclusive, including the flights and transfers to and from the ship. I think we arrive too late on the day of the cruise to do anything bar go straight to the ship. Does the ship have any excursions on the final day for those with later onward flights? Did you actually get to see anything of Cozumel? Or did you fly in earlier?

 

I too like the sound of the Tropicana excursion, so thats a definite! I also thought about taking the city trip around Havana too? Did you pick up your own excursion in Grand Cayman? How expensive are the excursions? Did you have to wait until you were on board to book?

 

How far away does the ship dock in Havana? Is it possible for me to walk to wherever, or will I need taxis? I'm travelling solo by the way.

 

Re the ambience on board, I am looking forward to it being more relaxed. I see there may be one Gala Night, so maybe put a posh frock in for that, but would jeans/trousers and a nice top be suitable for other evenings in the restaurant? I am on 1st sitting, do you get given the same table and companions for the length of the cruise? This may sound silly, but is the food actually served hot? I know the spanish tend to prefer their meals rather lukewarm by my standards!!!

 

See, told you I had a lot of questions, apologies;) I am ashamed to say I am sure my spanish will not be able to cope with the nightly shows, although I will probably be ok on a day to day basis, and am looking forward to meeting lots of interesting people.

 

Thanks again :)

[Downdie]

Hi jefa: I'm sure I can give you answers to the questions you posed. We actually flew into Cozumel from Canada a few days before the cruise and spent a total of a week in an all-inclusive hotel pre and post cruise, so we were able to spend a couple of days touring around the town of San Miguel where you board the ship. We even took a tour of the Mayan ruins at Chichen Iza on the mainland. This is impossible to do on a ship excursion, but a trip to Tulum is one of their excursions, and can be taken on the last day before flying back to Madrid. If I remember correctly you'll arrive at Cozumel in the late afternoon and be transferred to the Punta Langosta pier about a 10 minute ride away.

On board the ship you'll be allocated a table for most of the cruise for your first sitting dinner at 8pm and I'm sure you'll be seated with any other English speaking guests.I think the boarding night in Havana was the only open seating dinner. Your thoughts on dinner attire seem perfectly appropriate to my wife.

In Grand Cayman you'll find three or four other ships docked, and we found it quite easy to find a local mini-bus tour for $15-20 for about a two and a half hour trip.

In Isla Paraiso you will be the only ship there and be tendered over for a beach day with lunch and drinks included.

You'll dock late Friday morning in Havana and again the only ship there. The cruise ship dock is right at the old colonial city across from San Francisco square, so it is an easy walk from there into the older part of the city. If you turn right coming out of the terminal and walk about 200 yards along the Malecon you'll find the hop on/hop off double decker which gives a city tour for CUC5.00. About a ten minute walk to the left of the terminal is an interesting arts and crafts market We found Havana very safe to walk in during the day but watch for the vendors (cigars etc).The main historic buildings, museums and art galleries are about a 4 block walk from the terminal.

We found the food was served at the proper temperatures, soups and main courses hot, salads,desserts and cheese and fruits chilled. So enjoy and have plenty Cava and other Spanish wines.

[jefa]

Thank you very much Downdie, that information is great, and thank your wife for the input on the clothes side:)

 

Lovely to know I can get to see Tulum, and that there is an HOHO bus for a tour round Havana.

 

Did you change up money before you boarded? I know the euro is the currency on board, what exactly is a CUC? Can I get them on board?

 

Re tipping, I know I have to pay 65€ anyway, did you pay your cabin steward separately, or is this really not necessary?

 

Thanks again :)

[Downdie]

Hi jefa:

I'm glad to help with your queries. Yes the currency onboard is the euro,but we just registered our credit card at reception and everything was converted at billing. The CUC is the Cuban currency for the tourist and is the easiest to use in Havana, although they will take Euros. There is a currency exchange in the cruise terminal, although there may be some lineups as there is at the exchanges in the rest of the tourist areas in Havana.

Your automatic 65 euro for gratuities is charged to your ship account, however we received such good service from our cabin steward we gave him a little extra.

A little heads up if you choose the Tulum excursion. the ferry ride from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen is often very choppy, so if your prone to sea sickness take something for it before you go.

[jefa]

Thanks again!! I am hoping the ship does a last day tour to Tulum, otherwise I doubt if I would dare do it by myself - it would be a long walk back to Madrid if I miss the plane :D

 

Something that came up yesterday, I wanted to walk the Mastic Trail in Grand Cayman rather than have more beach, but the guide is away. He suggests I hire a car for the day? What side of the road to they drive on there, and did it look like a sensible thing to do? (Hire a car I mean!!)

[jefa]

Ah I found the answer, they drive on the "wrong" side of the road :D No good to me then!!!!!!!!!

[jefa]

After a very tense (for me!) couple of weeks waiting to see if the proposed airport strikes throughout spain were going to materialise, they have been called off!! Which means I can now get excited again about going on this cruise:D

 

A couple more questions, Downdie, if I may. I know you only did one ship excursion, but were you able to book that before you boarded, via a website, or are all excursions booked on board?

 

With regards to cash. Would you suggest I changed my euros to another currency before I travel? Is any other currency more readily accepted than others for exchange purposes.

 

Thanks in advance :)

[Downdie]

Hi jefa once again:

I haven't come across a website where you can pre book excursions on the Gemini, but I do not think you'll have any difficulty booking one onboard as there are no hoards of passengers to combat.

As regards your currency, you will probably find US dollars the most acceptable in Cozumel and Grand Cayman,but not in Havana where Euros are accepted as well as the Cuban tourist currency which you can only exchange there.

[jefa]

:) Thanks again! I forget there will be relatively few people on board, compared to the only other cruise I have been on. I booked so much in advance on that trip, so this time I will just go with the flow!

[jefa]

I am back from my cruise on the MV Gemini and it was a lovely experience!

 

If I have one minor complaint it would be the cabin. I chose an inside and the light was very dull, plus the bedding and towels smelt very strange, and were stained and old. I could have upgraded to an outside for only 50€ when I booked but chose not to - I would definitely upgrade the next time. Apart from that one thing the rest of the cruise was amazing.

 

In the end I booked ships tours in all the ports, and can't fault any one of them, they were cheap, very well organised and lots of fun. Due to the size of the ship, getting off via tender didn't take very long, and the tours I joined were mainly only around 30 people.

 

The food was excellent, plenty of choice, and it was available seemingly 24 hours a day! Even after a long days touring dinner was available in the buffet should people be hungry. The waiting staff were very attentive and friendly no matter what time of the day (or night).

 

Entertainment was fun and although I couldn't join in the trivia quizzes etc they were still great to sit and watch! The shows were very professional and I particularly enjoyed all the dancers.

 

Apart from myself, there was only a couple from Canada, and a family from Australia who were native English speakers. Everyone else was spanish. For myself, this wasn't a problem, I love the spanish attitude to partying and life! However, the Australian family found it very difficult and I think missed out on a lot of the fun.

 

Thanks Downdie, for all your info pre-cruise! To anyone else who likes any of the Quail itineraries I would say go for it, and if you are worried about not understanding the language, there was always someone on reception who spoke English and could explain.

[Downdie]

Hi jefa:

So nice to hear that your trip on the Gemini went so well. I do believe that you have to be a very open minded cruiser to really enjoy the benefits of this mainly Spanish themed little cruise ship.I think the fact that you are a Spanish resident helped. Thanks for getting back to the forum and letting us know your impressions of this alternate style of cruising.