My Cuba Cruise

[burm]

KandCsailing and burm

 

Thanks for your replies. Since we don’t drink much either, we will probably drink the ship’s offerings.

After seeing a video of the balcony cabin, we have decided to go for a Deluxe Outside Stateroom (XF) on Deck 7. Do you have on thoughts/comments on these cabins?

 

Cheers,

 

Don

 

We don't usually hit the bar as soon as we return to the ship, but the evening we were in Cienfuegos we went to the outdoor Hemingway bar with K and C and enjoyed listening to a Cuban band from shore play while we watched the sun setting. I recall thinking at the time that life just does not get any better than that. Does anyone know if there were local bands there in any other ports?

 

I cannot comment on the XF. I certainly recommend the S1 if you have the opportunity to grab one. They go fast!

[oneidealvacation]

After seeing a video of the balcony cabin, we have decided to go for a Deluxe Outside Stateroom (XF) on Deck 7. Do you have on thoughts/comments on these cabins?

 

I got a chance to tour (or at least sneak into) every category on the ship with the exception of the SB. The XF cabins are very nice. The window lets in a lot of light, and you get a mini fridge in the room as well as a sitting area with a sofa and chair.

 

[neepawa]

Are there North America style outlets for charging iPads and cameras?

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[KandCsailing]

Are there North America style outlets for charging iPads and cameras?

 

Cheers,

 

Don

I'm thinking there was a European plug and a North American plug on our little desk like other cruise lines I've done.. I didn't take a transformer.

I always do take my small Belkin 3 outlet power bar to give me more spots to charge stuff. It also has 2 usb slots.

[ONT-CA]

Are there North America style outlets for charging iPads and cameras?

Cheers,

Don

 

Nice to see our board active again.

 

Yes, you will have both 220 Volt and 110 Volt outlets available in your cabin.

[ONT-CA]

...what is the policy on bringing wine/spirits on board?

Cheers,

Don

 

While it is clearly stated that alcohol purchases made ashore should not be brought aboard there is little monitoring of this fact. But the availability of types of alcohol ashore other than rum is very limited and so if rum is not your drink, the ship's bars are at your disposal with reasonable prices especially at times of 2-4-1.

 

Rum is most reasonably priced ashore, some telling us that they paid as little as three to four CUC's per bottle. Packaging is different in that the alcohol content is 37.5% as compared to our 40% and the bottle size is not our customary 750 ml but rather 700 ml. Unusual brand names and interesting packaging make for unique gifts. Never purchase a bottle of alcohol in Cuba that does not have the "Republic Of Cuba Garantia" label on the bottle.

Edited June 20, 2015 by ONT-CA

[burm]

But the availability of types of alcohol ashore other than rum is very limited and so if rum is not your drink, the ship's bars are at your disposal with reasonable prices especially at times of 2-4-1.

 

When it comes to alcohol, I am definitely not an authority, but you are certainly right about limited alcohol available other than rum.

 

Our guide took us to a fairly large store near the former Governor's Palace and all the book vendors in the square. All they sold was many types of rum in a wide price range. Our guide told us this store was cheaper than other tourist places.

 

We did see a number of tiny stores in Old Havana with rum and cold beer for sale. All the locals (and us) were buying from these small places. In fact, we had to wait while they served all their friends and neighbours first. No problem- we had some great conversations while we waited. All part of the fun and we received two invitations. :)

 

They only offered a limited selection of Havana Club and maybe two of the most popular beers, like Cristal. However, we did notice that they were selling their friends bottles that came from a back area of the tiny shop. :p

 

I, too, am grateful that this thread is being kept alive. This cruise (and the extra 1.5 wk in Havana) was an experience like no other.

[ONT-CA]

With thoughts of cruising being rekindled, a reminder that there is a monthly on-line Cuba magazine outlining "what's on" giving a wealth of tourist information in and about the country. Now that there is to be an overnighter in Havana it can be very useful. It is found at:

 

http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/What's-On/What's-On-Havana.php?

 

You can subscribe or just review monthly. It is available in Spanish (of course), in English and pour nos amis au Quebec, aussi en Francais.

[cruising cockroach]

FYI, rum prices in Cuba are pretty much fixed (same price at duty-free outlets so you're not saving any there). Havana Club (aged) white rum is CUC 3.85 a 700 ml bottle and goes up from there. I think the dark rums is CUC 5-something and the reserve dark is CUC 8. The aged reserved with years on them go up to CUC 20 or more. Didn't shop for other brands as they were cheaper or much more expensive especially for the aged stuff.

 

You'll find that rum is as easy to buy as water and as available, sometimes easier and more available (couldn't find any bottled water to buy in Gibara but could buy any rum I wanted).

 

FWIW, Pernod-Ricard has some interest in Havana Club.

 

The stuff in unmarked/refilled bottles is most likely bootleg or more likely low-grade for local consumption.

 

For beers, I prefer Bucanero Fuerte to Cristal personally (more flavour). Would definitely avoid Hatuey which I didn't like at all.

 

Bucanero is said to be made in a joint venture with Labatts.

Edited June 26, 2015 by cruising cockroach

[ONT-CA]

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150627/1023911110.html

[burm]

I wonder how minor is "minor" damage. Sailor Jack's incident in Montevideo comes to mind.

 

Please keep us updated if you hear more, Ron. Thanks.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Here's what Laura posted about the incident:

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6425

 

Sounds like the company is treating the passengers well. Cristal has survived worse!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

HI all!

 

Here's what Laura posted about the incident:

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6425

 

Sounds like the company is treating the passengers well. Cristal has survived worse!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Jo is right - they are treating their passengers extremely well. They are getting 2 free cruises, a refund on this (even after providing an alternative) and another to be taken before the end of 2016.

 

It is really commendable that they are even seeing that the passengers don't miss their excursions! I don't believe that any other cruiseline has gone so far out of their way to make their passengers happy after a misfortune like this.

Louis/Celestial is a class act.

[ONT-CA]

It looks bad but I bet they can have this turned around well before the Cuban season.

 

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/pimlico42.jpg

 

Not much detail except that it is being said both ships were at fault.

[ONT-CA]

Considering the cargo of the tanker involved they were very lucky indeed.

 

From the net:

 

On the way from Myconos, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey, 162 meters long Maltese flag cruise ship 'Celestyal Crystal' collided with 182-meters long Marshall Islands-flagged tanker 'Sti Pimlico' which was sailing towards Malta from the Russian port Tuapse. The accident took place at 01:30 after midnight today in front of the Gallipoli Lighthouse for an undetermined reason.

 

The 854 passengers onboard passenger cruiser Celestyal Crystal, with 240 of them Turkish citizens, had no injuries in the accident. Governor of Çanakkale Province, Ahmet Çınar, said in a press statement that passengers onboard the cruiser will be evacuated by smaller ferries and transferred to Gallipoli. Special mobile customs team has been formed for this purpose, the Governor said.

 

Tanker leaks from damaged tank

 

The tanker STI Pimlico is reportedly leaking nafta into the sea from the damaged tanks. According to the declaration made by the Governor of Çanakkale district, Mr. Ahmet Cinar, the leaked cargo have evaporated when met with the air and therefore there were no pollution occurred at sea surface. General Directorate of Coastal Safety said that they have sent two tugboats to the scene. Later the number of tugboats were increased to four. It was also learned that the barrier against leakage probability has been set around the tanker.The tanker 'Sti Pimlico' had an explosion in her tanks and listed 15-degree into the side after the accident. Cruise ship Celestyal Crystal with 382 crew and 854 passengers also anchored near Gallipoli under the command of a local pilot.

 

TWO WAY TRAFFIC was CLOSED

 

The traffic has been closed to traffic on both directions at the Strait of Canakkale due to the accident. After the both ships were taken at the anchorage, the traffic has been resumed again.

 

Aircraft fuel tanker was carrying ...

 

Laden with 30 thousand tons of nafta wuel which is an extremely dangerous type of fuel tanker tanker has the risk of explosion. Nafta LPG as an alternative fuel type is used as jet fuel. Extremely volatile and reportedly a big danger of fuel vapor heavier than air.

 

What was the reason of the accident?

 

KaptanHaber.Com experts has said that the passenger ship seem to have crashed into the tanker from the bow to the tanker's port side but however, it was too early to find out the errant side or to say how the accident happened.

 

According to the unconfirmed information received from the accident site, the passenger ship Celestyal Crystal had no pilot onboard at the time of accident and was under the command of Chief Officer. It was also reported that the cruise ship was overtaking another vessel and increased her speed to 15 knots right before the accident. The chief officer of the cruise ship is an experienced mariner, it was reported. The other ship involved in the accident, the M/T STI PIMLICO had no pilot onboard, either.

[neepawa]

We are sailing on the "Louis Cristal" in Feb 2916. Is this the same ship that was involved in this collision?

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[ONT-CA]

We are sailing on the "Louis Cristal" in Feb 2016. Is this the same ship that was involved in this collision?

Cheers,

Don

 

Yes, the ship is now listed as Celestial Cristal but is the very ship you and we are booked on for the coming season. A lot of questions to be answered and we hope that in the not too distant future Calgary will issue an update on our booking situations.

Edited June 27, 2015 by ONT-CA

[KandCsailing]

It looks bad but I bet they can have this turned around well before the Cuban season.

 

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/pimlico42.jpg

 

Not much detail except that it is being said both ships were at fault.

That's pretty ugly. Thanks for the photo. Wonder what the other guy looks like. :)

[ONT-CA]

That's pretty ugly. Thanks for the photo. Wonder what the other guy looks like. :)

 

Considering that the "other guy" was carrying jet fuel it is a wonder they are all still with us. But we did see the video of the incision on the tanker and it looked relatively minor. All in all the required repairs to the CC will probably cancel out the balance of their Mediterranean cruises but she should be ready for the trans Atlantic over to Cuba in December. Let's hope.

[KandCsailing]

Just slap on a bit of paint. Maybe a few extra flower decals for the Cuba season.

[ONT-CA]

In directing a friend to the Cuba Cruise site to look at availability, he reported back that fares are no longer shown in Canadian dollars but rather USD. I trust that the quoted Canadian dollar prices for our current three bookings will be honoured.

 

The new site is not as specific in cabin types and prices and in comparing the navigation to that of last year I find it somewhat confusing.

 

But all this may be for naught if the ship is not made ready.

[burm]

In directing a friend to the Cuba Cruise site to look at availability, he reported back that fares are no longer shown in Canadian dollars but rather USD. I trust that the quoted Canadian dollar prices for our current three bookings will be honoured.

 

 

 

That certainly tells us who they are targeting.

 

If I were going to book, I would phone and ask if it is still possible to book in Canadian dollars. I expect that it is. The conversion rate could be interesting.

 

Do they still tell you that the ship's currency is Canadian?

 

They have to honour the prices you booked at in Canadian.

[ONT-CA]

My apologies, I did find the prices stated in Canadian dollars. But there is a section where it was shown in USD. As I say the site is somewhat confusing. Just glad we have our bookings all down pat.

[oneidealvacation]

In directing a friend to the Cuba Cruise site to look at availability, he reported back that fares are no longer shown in Canadian dollars but rather USD. I trust that the quoted Canadian dollar prices for our current three bookings will be honoured.

 

The new site is not as specific in cabin types and prices and in comparing the navigation to that of last year I find it somewhat confusing.

 

But all this may be for naught if the ship is not made ready.

 

That certainly tells us who they are targeting.

 

If I were going to book, I would phone and ask if it is still possible to book in Canadian dollars. I expect that it is. The conversion rate could be interesting.

 

Do they still tell you that the ship's currency is Canadian?

 

They have to honour the prices you booked at in Canadian.

 

I just ran into this issue on Thursday. I had to call in the deposit for my cruise for next February as the Cuba Cruise site was acting up and saying that my booking did not exist. The site has been completely redesigned some time in the last 2 weeks, between the day I held the booking and the deposit due date. When I received the email confirmation after making the deposit, it prominently listed "USD" after the amount. When I made the booking 2 weeks ago, the confirmation screen showed only a dollar amount with no currency noted. The numbers were exactly the same, i.e. no exchange rate was used at all. Obviously, this is a very significant difference right now and effectively adds about 25% to the expected cost. I immediately called back and questioned this, and was told that very recently (just a few weeks ago), "the office in Greece" had switched over to processing all payments for cruisers from the U.S. in U.S. dollars rather than Canadian. Furthermore, they apparently did this without consulting -- or even notifying -- Cuba Cruise, who found out when passengers began calling to complain about seeing charges post to their credit cards in U.S. dollars. Given that all of the information provided to all of us until this point has indicated that all transactions are in Canadian dollars, it seems they are going to continue to have a lot of questions about this issue. I have information dated as recently as May 20 stating that "All cabin rates are in Canadian Dollars." I have been promised an answer from Cuba Cruise early next week about the currency mixup. Likely this will be a matter that will need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis until a new policy is announced. However, I'm guessing these latest events (that have the ship looking like Jaws :eek:) will take precedence over getting the main office to reconsider the currency issue.

[Liz54]

Yikes...."Our" ship has had a fender bender. Luckily all are safe!

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6425