My Cuba Cruise

[camarodrivenrs]

My wife and I just booked on the March 18th sailing. This forum post and the live chat with cruise critic have been incredibly helpful in getting this booked and everything lined up. Going to Cuba has been a dream of mine for many years so we are very excited.

 

I have one question that comes to mind right now, has anyone tried to see a baseball game in Havana? I've been able to find a few websites with schedules but they have not listed that far in advance. I would love to see one while there.

[KandCsailing]

Have you seen this Cuban Baseball site. There is a schedule link at the bottom and they mention a second schedule coming out but everything I find so far ends in October.

My DH would have also loved to have seen a game.

 

http://www.baseballdecuba.com/2015-16_season_schedule_revealed.html?language=en

 

http://www.baseballdecuba.com/schedule.html?language=en

[ONT-CA]

The latest issue of La Habana is now available and should be of great interest to those who love to Scuab Dive as they list the 10 best places and cover Cuba's love affair with the sea.

 

http://www.lahabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Whats-On-Havana-Oct-2015.pdf

 

And for the Baseball lovers I found this:

 

http://www.baseballdecuba.com/2015-16_season_schedule_revealed.html?language=en

Edited October 7, 2015 by ONT-CA

[camarodrivenrs]

Thanks for that site. Looks like it'll be playoff time in March. Guess I just have to hope to be in the right place at the right time.

[KandCsailing]

Thanks for that site. Looks like it'll be playoff time in March. Guess I just have to hope to be in the right place at the right time.

Here's a couple more things to read. Looks like tourists pay more, have a separate box office and a special section.

 

http://www.visitcuba.com/2012/07/take-me-out-to-the-ball-game-habana-style/

 

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Travel-g147270-c86425/Cuba:Caribbean:Baseball.A.Must.Do.html

[burm]

Thanks for that site. Looks like it'll be playoff time in March. Guess I just have to hope to be in the right place at the right time.

 

 

To be there in playoffs would really be exciting. If you are in the right place at the right time, I bet that a few extra CUC's will get you in even if they say there are no longer seats available.

 

Kerri, those were very interesting articles. If that is the excitement level at a regular game, imagine what the atmosphere would be like during playoffs!

 

I love that the tour even provides you with a t-shirt. :)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Just watching the Cuban Chrome show I taped which is talking about baseball in Cuba. One stadium there seats 55,000 people. On the show 5 Cubans got into the game for $2!!

The snacks cost more than admission.

 

I wonder how long it will take until all the old cars disappear once things change there .

 

Chimo!

 

Jo

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[ONT-CA]

... I wonder how long it will take until all the old cars disappear once things change there . Chimo! Jo

 

Jo, I think a lot longer than we could imagine. The cost of a car in Cuba is about four times what we would pay here at home. I couldn't understand why that is and checked out the web for answers. I found this;

 

"The (Cuban) government is trying to fund public transport from revenues it collects from car sales.

75 percent of revenues and taxes from car sales are allocated to public transport funding. This significantly increases its costs in comparison with acquiring a vehicle outside Cuba."

 

A noble cause perhaps but one that will keep those old clunkers on the road for the foreseeable future.

 

Chimo

Edited October 9, 2015 by ONT-CA

[KandCsailing]

I think the clunkers will stay on the road because they are a tourist attraction on their own. I know I took lots of photos of them and Cam loved our tour in one at Santiago de Cuba. All the new American tourists will want to see them.

[ONT-CA]

I think the clunkers will stay on the road because they are a tourist attraction on their own. I know I took lots of photos of them and Cam loved our tour in one at Santiago de Cuba. All the new American tourists will want to see them.

 

No question about it, every Cuban brochure highlights at least one of those historical cars. But I'm thinking if the number of tourists to Cuba quadruple as is thought when the doors open wide, the use of these cars will be in high demand. Unlike the North American Antique Car collections, these cars are for daily use. There are only so many replacement transmissions, any brand of transmission to go around. Perhaps when the embargo is lifted, one of the first boatload shipments made to Cuba from the US just might be the contents of one or more of our auto scrap yards :D

 

Chimo

Edited October 9, 2015 by ONT-CA

[tring]

 

Chimo

 

I had been a bit confused as to the meaning of this word until I eventually put it into Google just now - I take it it is used here in the sense of the second listed definition as seen from this link!!!

 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chimo

 

Now back from cruise, but must get into unpacking and washing. We made contact with Celestyal Cruises in Piraeus and I will give report here in next day or so. No new info but confirmation of some things, so overall we are more content with the company than we have been of late.

 

Barbara

[neepawa]

Chimo (greeting), a greeting from the Inuktitut language of northern Canada, also used in some parts of Southern Ontario and Western Canada.

 

Cheers/Chimo,

 

Don

[ONT-CA]

I had been a bit confused as to the meaning of this word until I eventually put it into Google just now - I take it it is used here in the sense of the second listed definition as seen from this link!!!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chimo

Barbara

 

With the help of BBC we eventually get to understand just what the New English from the UK is all about. It was weeks before we realized that "Cori" stood for Coronation Street. But our "Chimo" is a word and not such an non sensible abbreviation

[KandCsailing]

Apparently the government tried to make Chimo a greeting for our 1967 centennial celebration. I was born that year, have lived in Southern Ontario the whole time and have relatives in Alberta. Never heard of the word till this CC thread Tring, so you are not the only one.

 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/51481/chimo-canadas-attempt-new-national-greeting

Edited October 9, 2015 by KandCsailing

[ONT-CA]

There are many salutations available to us, each denoting origins in the world such as aloha, howdy, hi, blow, ciao, salaam, regards but I have been using Chimo for the better part of 50 years. Granted I do not come across it very often but that does not take away from the validity of the word nor our ability to integrate various linguistic sentiments from the many languages and cultures found in our vast country.

[tring]

I did not mention chimo in my post because of it's use here, but more because of the first definition given in the link I supplied, which made it sound like something that could get banned on this site................. but perhaps you have not followed the link.

 

I had assumed originally that it was the equivalent of 'chin up' or 'cheers', as used in England, but just decided to put it into google and that is what came up.

[ONT-CA]

I can see why the oft used British abbreviations for the many English words that call for some larynx dexterity can bring about misunderstanding. That the apathetic treatment of the language is so prevalent is a mystery but don't you feel that abbreviating Child Molester to Chimo negates the gravity of this odious title?

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Wow, the things you learn on this thread!:D

I had never heard of chimo 'til you said it Ron & was shocked to see the other meaning.

 

Kerri ~ I was 20 at Centennial year & had never heard the word, guess I had other things on my mind then.;)

 

I sure hope the old cars last a long time as that's one thing that makes Cuba so special. I love those old cars & also took many pictures of them although I didn't get to ride in one.:( My Dad had a '56 Meteor (in the 60's) that I really liked but he would have preferred a Chev Impala had he had the money.

 

Happy Thanksgiving! I better get off this machine & start making my pie!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I was looking at the Cuba cruise website & see they are offering a 25 day Trans Atlantic again. Wonder how many people will book it this year. It will end in Havana & visit Santiago de Cuba so offers a taste of Cuba.

I think there's a mistake on the website as the price for an outside seems really low.:confused:

 

How about those Jays eh?!!:D

 

Chimo.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

How about those Jays eh?!!:D

 

 

 

Who would have thought after those first two losses?

 

And what a seventh inning tonight!

[broberts]

...

And what a seventh inning tonight!

 

A highlight show all by itself!

 

My brother just emailed a picture of Bautista hitting THE home run. Lucky dog, he was 18 rows straight back behind the plate.

[burm]

A highlight show all by itself!

 

My brother just emailed a picture of Bautista hitting THE home run. Lucky dog, he was 18 rows straight back behind the plate.

 

That is definitely the kind of game it would be exciting to watch from the crowd (as compared to the 15 inning game the other night where they lost).

[tring]

Sorry to interupt the sport, but thought I would give a bit more info regards our visit to Piraeus.

 

We located the head office of Celestyal Cruises at the address given earlier, with the help of a man at a desk in the port (tourist info was closed). The office was only about a ten minute walk to the left as we exited the port building. When I spoke to the reception desk I was put through to someone in the office by phone and then explained the reason for my visit. She asked if I could hand the phone to the receptionist who then explained to us that we should go to an agency, which was a little further away, (25, Akti Miaouli, 185 35 Piraeus, Greece).

 

The agent I spoke to there had some difficulty finding our details at first, but, with the help of a colleague, she found our detais on the computer. I think this was basically what we can see on the website when logged in to our booking and she did say she had no ability to do anything with our booking. She did confirm and clarify a number of things though.

 

It seems that our final payment date is definately one month before our cruise and that our payment will be in Canadian Dollars. She said that once final payment is made we will be sent an e-ticket which is all we need for the cruise. It seems excursions will become available online at a later date, but are not yet available. I mentioned that some Canadian people have been contacted and offered a drinks/excursion package, but she did not seem to know anything about that and said they may have bought a package, (I assume she meant as the cruise is being sold now).

 

The main thing from our point of view is that our booking is definately on their system and we should be able to finalise everything online as we had hoped. I assume that agency deals with bookings over there, but as we have an online booking, (we originally booked on the net), that is how things will continue for us. She did have knowledge about the cruise though and there was a Cuba Cruise advert on the wall of the agency.

 

The only thing that I wish I had asked about is luggage labels. If we are not to get anything other than an e-ticket, I assume there will not be printable luggage labels so we are thinking it will be wise to get some plain labels for our cases and write our name and cabin number on them along with our cruise dates to make sure the cases do not go astray. Perhaps someone could kindly tell me what happened in previous years regards luggage labels.

 

Our Cuban holiday seems much nearer now as it is time to pay the balance for our flight/hotel package and we will pay for the Cuba Cruise towards the end of December which is a couple of months before we sail.

Edited October 16, 2015 by tring

[woody73]

 

. . . It seems that our final payment date is definately one month before our cruise and that our payment will be in Canadian Dollars. She said that once final payment is made we will be sent an e-ticket which is all we need for the cruise. It seems excursions will become available online at a later date, but are not yet available.

 

. . . The main thing from our point of view is that our booking is definately on their system and we should be able to finalise everything online as we had hoped.

 

. . . She did have knowledge about the cruise though and there was a Cuba Cruise advert on the wall of the agency.

 

. . . Our Cuban holiday seems much nearer now as it is time to pay the balance for our flight/hotel package and we will pay for the Cuba Cruise towards the end of December which is a couple of months before we sail.

Thank you for the very encouraging report.

 

Woody

[ONT-CA]

... Perhaps someone could kindly tell me what happened in previous years regards luggage labels...

 

Unlike other cruise lines where one leaves their luggage (with extorted tip) at a point removed from the terminal, at Havana you take your luggage directly to the desk when checking in. A tag with the cabin number is then placed on your luggage and off it goes. On all previous occasions, we found our luggage outside our door no later than one half hour after entering our cabin. With the increase in passengers expected this season this may no longer be the case but that is how it was handled then.

Edited October 16, 2015 by ONT-CA