My Cuba Cruise

[Kim Viktor]

First some photos from Havana.

 

 

 

Europa and Louis Cristal togehter in Havana.

 

Day at sea.

 

The amazing Star Lounge.

 

New years dinner

[ONT-CA]

...If you take Cuba for what it is and can appreciate some of the quirks of sailing on a comfortable mid-90's ship, you'll have a lovely time.

 

Aaron, a million thanks for keeping us informed in what was a pending voyage to the unknown. Concerns are replaced with new expectations. I wonder if we could ask you to comment on the accessibility of wheelchairs both aboard and on tour. Obviously beaches are out but we wonder about the walking tours and special locations like The Jardin Botanical Gardens.

 

Thanks

[Atomica]

Aaron, a million thanks for keeping us informed in what was a pending voyage to the unknown. Concerns are replaced with new expectations. I wonder if we could ask you to comment on the accessibility of wheelchairs both aboard and on tour. Obviously beaches are out but we wonder about the walking tours and special locations like The Jardin Botanical Gardens.

 

Thanks

 

The ship is fully wheelchair-accessible, but it's worth noting that disembarkation in Punta Frances and in Holguin (Antilla) is via the ship's tenders, which are not wheelchair-friendly. The Jardin Botanical Gardens are mostly flat with dirt and paved roads, which shouldn't pose too much of a problem. While most places visited will have elevators, some sites are decidedly not wheelchair-friendly; the one that springs to mind is La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana where Hemingway liked to have his drinks. It's very crowded and very narrow.

 

I hope that helps!

[ONT-CA]

Muchos Gracias amigo

[Balloon Man]

I thought the CC on the funnel of Louis Cristal stood for Cruise Critic ;)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Kim ~ nice pictures!:D I particularly like the b & w of the car & street scene.

What was that round thing on top of the steak please?

 

Jan 31st can't come soon enough for me. It's so cold & white here!

 

Have a great week!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[Balloon Man]

Aaron: you mentioned you bought a litre of rum in Havana. Hope you didn't smuggle it on board :rolleyes:

[kahlolin]

Kim Viktor ........... we really enjoyed your photos since we were on the ship Jan. 10 - 17. What a fabulous cruise! We have sailed on various cruise lines over 20 times, and we rate this cruise right at the top!!!!!!! Cannot say enough good things about the crew, the ship, our stateroom, the food - everything was wonderful. And ............. we met some of the nicest folks. Hopefully we have made some long-term friendships. :o Maybe ................ we will be able to repeat this wonderful cruise vacation again next year. :)

[retiring soon]

Hi again !

 

Kahlolin - welcome back ! Glad to hear you too thought the cruise was top drawer. Could you comment on what excursions you did please?

 

Jo

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[ONT-CA]

Hi all! Kim ~ nice pictures!:D I particularly like the b & w of the car & street scene. What was that round thing on top of the steak please? Jan 31st can't come soon enough for me. It's so cold & white here! Have a great week! ~ Jo ~ :)

 

~Jo~ It is only fitting that for having gone through the most miserable winter in many many a year, that we should now then be privileged to climb aboard the best cruise of the season. We follow you by a week provided of course that we survive this new cold front. My dentist is giving me top priority in completing a needed root canal in order that I do not miss the boat....oops, ship.

 

I'm hazarding to guess that the item placed upon the steak is a carving of Foie Gras

[burm]

And Jo, I would like to see a photo of you dancing salsa with a hot, young cubano. :)

Please don't disappoint me.

 

I am now down to the point where I am thinking "Am I really going to get everything done and be ready by next Friday! A ticking clock makes the last days go so quickly.

[retiring soon]

HI again!

 

ONT-CA ~ good luck at the dentist. I watch a lot of cooking shows but wouldn't know a piece of foie gras if it turned up on my plate.:o

 

burm ~ well if I have both drinks I'm thinking of on the same day that might be a possibility!;) That is some cruise you are counting the minutes to.

Heck we're leaving here on Wed. to go to the airport & I haven't done anything but get some money & insurance.

 

We're all a day closer to possibly the best cruise of our life. DH doesn't want to hear any more glowing reports as he doesn't want his expectations to be too high..

 

Ciao

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

Heck we're leaving here on Wed. to go to the airport & I haven't done anything but get some money & insurance.

 

We're all a day closer to possibly the best cruise of our life. DH doesn't want to hear any more glowing reports as he doesn't want his expectations to be too high..

 

 

Today I started to pull things out of the closet and pile them up on the bed. Next I start the first elimination round.:o A few days before we leave, I will perform the final elimination round. Once that is done, I will have only the usual 50% too much left.:p

 

I don't think you will be disappointed. You love to cruise, you love Cuba, people are saying that they cabins and crew are are delightful. It is nice to be one of the first in on this wonderful new opportunity. Most important of all, you have a great attitude.

[ONT-CA]

With a wind chill reading here in Ontario of minus 41 C (41.8 below zero F.) you can bet all minds are on an escape. This cold air mass coming down from Siberia (the Americans blame Canada, we blame Siberia...) even affect Cuba where it will only reach temperatures in the mid 70's F. Poor souls

[Kim Viktor]

Hi all!

 

Kim ~ nice pictures!:D I particularly like the b & w of the car & street scene.

What was that round thing on top of the steak please?

 

Jan 31st can't come soon enough for me. It's so cold & white here!

 

Have a great week!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Thank you! :)

The round thing is a duck liver pâté.

 

I wish you a wonderful cruise!

[Balloon Man]

Just received an offer from Cuba Cruise offering "second passenger goes free" on our 24 February voyage (and some others). Of course those of us who booked early can't benefit. This type of promotion makes me so angry. If it was a main stream line we wouldn't book with them again, but I guess that doesn't work with a one-trick pony outfit. However if they are having to give such discounts to fill the vessel it might mean it's a one-trip pony! I hope not because they seem to have a good product.

 

Still, we won't let it spoil our enjoyment of what promises to be a great cruise.

[On y va!]

Hi All,

We were on before the internet was fixed on-board (6-13 Jan) so my thought to post from the ship was put on hold, and then a bit of a vacation in Varadero after. Everyone is reporting in just what we would say....what a great way to spend a week! It accomplished what we wanted...to get to know several different parts of Cuba in one voyage, with our hotel moving with us and great service and staff. In all fairness, it is not likely that we will ever get the personalized service that we did on the cruise (3 staff to each passenger), this being the lowest week of the winter travel year. Both passengers and staff became a bit of a family, some of whom will extend beyond this cruise. (It was great meeting you Caroline! and Orv). Having said that, the wait staff (including wine stewards) in the restaurant were excellent, both friendly and skilled. The entertainment was perhaps the best ensemble that I have seen with only one weak spot, the magicians-cum-comedians. Danny, the Cruise Director is excellent..full of energy and joy and keeping everybody organized and happy. We were a little disappointed at the hours for the pool and hot tub (closing at 7 pm). The ship is small but everything is easily accessible. Boarding and Disembarking was very easy but then, with so few passengers it would be hard to get that wrong. You'll be able to let us know if it changes as the ship fills up. Interestingly, your ship-board account is cleared (either charged to your credit card or you pay it up with cash) twice; once at each cruise start and end port (Jamaica and Havana). As well as being an easy way to manage to disembarkation ports, I suppose that helps a bit with cash flow for the cruise line but it also spreads out the expenses for us too. :). all in all, would we recommend the cruise? Absolutely! Would we do it again? Probably, the only real reservation being that there are so many other places to see and things to do. Happy travels everyone!

Janet

[Atomica]

Aaron: you mentioned you bought a litre of rum in Havana. Hope you didn't smuggle it on board :rolleyes:

 

No, no smuggling for me :)

[ONT-CA]

Just received an offer from Cuba Cruise offering "second passenger goes free" on our 24 February voyage (and some others). Of course those of us who booked early can't benefit. This type of promotion makes me so angry. If it was a main stream line we wouldn't book with them again, but I guess that doesn't work with a one-trick pony outfit. However if they are having to give such discounts to fill the vessel it might mean it's a one-trip pony! I hope not because they seem to have a good product.

 

Still, we won't let it spoil our enjoyment of what promises to be a great cruise.

 

A natural reaction, one that will be shared by many. But the plus side for us is that we were a little discouraged at learning that there might be less than optimum passengers to sail with. Like going to a party and finding nobody showed up. So if this offer results in a more the merrier situation then that's a good thing. And as you say they have a good product one well worth the price and one we do not want to loose. This deal is helping all of us to keep this annual itinerary alive

 

PS We are forwarding that announcement to everyone we know

Edited January 21, 2014 by ONT-CA

[jilliebean55]

Have been reading the reviews on "from the deck chair" and the cruise sounds great, boarding on January 27, Cuba Cruise indicated via email to me that we could board at 1 o'clock in Havana. Can hardly wait, have my drink package bought so as long as they have Canadian beer, I will survive.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Kim ~ you're welcome & thank you.

 

burm ~ thanks for the kind words. You're further ahead than I am. I haven't even begun to get clothes together.

 

Janet/kahlolin ~ could you tell us a bit about what shore excursions you did please?

 

Atomica ~ I noticed on today's blog entry that you said the cruise will be repeated next year. Has that already been decided even with this year's season not over?

 

My last 2 cruises in Nov were on Allure of the Seas & Carnival Breeze so Cristal is going to be a big change. I just noticed today that the MS Triton that our family went on in the early 90's carried only 625 passengers & ended it's time with Louis Cruises.

 

Counting the days...

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[kahlolin]

Retiring Soon ........... this is the first cruise in more than 15 years which we have done without my husband bringing along his wheelchair ..........he is more-or-less learning to walk again :o , so we did not book any of the excursions offered by the cruise line, we took local cabs in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, and a horsedrawn carriage in Havana. That was great! We heard that the "Cuba Life" tour in Holguin was very good - more than one couple told us that. We did not ride the life boats, but enjoyed those days at leisure on the ship. Oh, we were also on the Triton - a really nice little ship.

 

On y Va ........... it was so good to meet you, Janet, and Howard. I will be in touch by email .............

 

I am envious of those of you who are still looking forward to this cruise - what a delightful vacation you all have awaiting you!

 

Sweet dreams all :)

Edited January 22, 2014 by kahlolin

[On y va!]

Hi Jo,

Here's where I say that Marie and her staff on the Excursions desk are doing an excellent job. The tours we took were well thought out and the local tour guides and drivers were very good. We did not do a cruise tour in Havana since we explored on our own for 3 days pre-cruise. At Antilla (Holguin) we did the Cuba Life tour and would happily recommend it to anyone who would like a taste (literally and figuratively) of the countryside around the Holguin area, without going to the resorts. It was a full day of history and seeing countryside and included visits to a small farm business where they showed us fresh brewing of coffee (with sample) then cracked a fresh coconut for each of us, (Hint...the cats love the milky coconut flesh!) a visit to an aboriginal village for a ceremonial dance (good fun, but no real content), an archaelogical dig/museum of an aboriginal gravesite (well done), lunch overlooking the bay where Columbus first set foot on the island etc and a visit to a farmer who has samples of all the fruit trees on the island. In Santiago de Cuba we wandered around on our own in the morning and then hired a taxi to drive us further afield. Fine for us but if you want a bit more structure and info on what you are seeing, you may want to either take one of the ship's tours or hire a taxi (check their English and agree on a price first) to take you around. The historic sites are a bit spread out. Warning, the port is industrial, perfectly safe, but a few blocks from the historical centre and those few blocks are full of very determined locals wanting you to hire them. A little more agressive than other places in Cuba. In Cienfuego, we took the ship's tour to Trinidad, an all day trip with again a long bus ride but it was worth it. We did stop in the square in Cienfuego so got a taste of that town before heading to Trinidad. The tour included a lot of walking on uneven cobbled streets but was not really difficult. The tour included a small museum, a special local drink, a visit to a great pottery place (we regret that we did not buy something there!). The guide and driver were again excellent, informative, approachable. In Montego Bay we chose to do the ship's bamboo raft tour...a lazy drift down a portion of a river. The ultimate of leisure, with a fresh coconut to drink and a foot treatment using the limestone rocks in the river. That's the end of the story. there were other tours we could have happily done but we were happy with what we did. Hope this helps.

Janet

[Atomica]

 

Atomica ~ I noticed on today's blog entry that you said the cruise will be repeated next year. Has that already been decided even with this year's season not over?

 

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

In conversation with the Officers aboard Louis Cristal it seems to be common knowledge that the ship will sail back to Cuba again next winter. In many ways, that didn't come as a surprise to me; it likely takes more than a single season to prove the viability of a product like this, simply because of the relatively short initial duration (approximately four months.) However, I am excited to see how the rest of this season plays out for them.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Thank you all for your quick responses!:D Now I have to make a decision on what to do.

 

I'm torn between the Cienfuegos vs Trinidad excursion but feel sure I'll do Cuba life from Holguin.. We've been to Santiago a couple of times but never to the park so maybe I'll do that. DH is the type who likes to wander around & see how the people live whereas I want somebody telling me about what I'm seeing.

 

That reminds me any of you on the ship at the same time as me please approach me. I think you can see from my avatar here I'm a short silver haired senior with black glasses ( DH is a 6'1" balding guy probably wearing jeans).;)

 

ONT-CA ~ I too forwarded the message on to people in my contacts I thought might be interested.

 

Have a great day, coldest one we remember here!

 

~ Jo ~ :)