My Cuba Cruise

[tring]

I have just followed the link given by retiring soon about Globus and the article seems to say they are offering a 9 night trip from Miami and that they are flying to Havana to embark there, so it could be a package tour with flights, a couple of nights in a hotel and other excursions as well as the cruise.

 

Or it could just be that the article is wrong and it has details mixed up, if it is anything like some of our press reports!

Edited July 18, 2015 by tring

[ONT-CA]

I have just followed the link given by retiring soon about Globus and the article seems to say they are offering a 9 night trip from Miami and that they are flying to Havana to embark there, so it could be a package tour with flights, a couple of nights in a hotel and other excursions as well as the cruise.

 

Or it could just be that the article is wrong and it has details mixed up, if it is anything like some of our press reports!

 

Taking into consideration the prices of the best hotels in Havana and that a flight from Miami to Havana takes but minutes and add to that the tours available of and in Havana, one still cannot find the value in these prices. Understandably, error is suspect. Regardless of the perceived luxury offered on the ship, one should realize that within Cuba the degrees of superior service and the availability of luxury is limited and so one would be hard pressed to say that exponential monetary fares will yield a corresponding class of experience.

[tring]

Taking into consideration the prices of the best hotels in Havana and that a flight from Miami to Havana takes but minutes and add to that the tours available of and in Havana, one still cannot find the value in these prices. Understandably, error is suspect. Regardless of the perceived luxury offered on the ship, one should realize that within Cuba the degrees of superior service and the availability of luxury is limited and so one would be hard pressed to say that exponential monetary fares will yield a corresponding class of experience.

 

Agreed.

 

I looked into it further on the Globus website and the hol includes a night in a hotel in Miami and meeting with tour guide etc., flights (between Miami and Cuba only), the cruise and a night in the Melia Cohiba before flying back, as well as a programme of trips/events meals during that time. Prices from US$ 2,549 at present.

 

It is surprising though, how much people will pay for the convenience of having all the organization done for them. Alternatively you could re word those last four words as 'being confined to pre arranged movements'!

[yapmom]

My DH and I are booked for this cruise leaving MoBay on 1/29/16 and are so excited. Have been reading through this forum all afternoon and am even more excited. Anyone else going to be on this cruise?

Edited July 18, 2015 by yapmom
Didn't link reference

[ONT-CA]

My DH and I are booked for this cruise leaving MoBay on 1/29/16 and are so excited. Have been reading through this forum all afternoon and am even more excited. Anyone else going to be on this cruise?

 

It is comforting to hear from new passengers and their anticipations of the cruise. We "old timers" have gone through the initial anxiety and wonderings about the what, who, when and why's and we just want to let you know that you are in for a great cruise and a great time. We will again be aboard at the time of your sailing and can be found in cabin 6000

[bebe1234]

My DH and I are booked for this cruise leaving MoBay on 1/29/16 and are so excited. Have been reading through this forum all afternoon and am even more excited. Anyone else going to be on this cruise?

 

We're going out of MoBay on 1/15/16. This isn't our first cruise, we've done Europe, almost everywhere in the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal so it's not so much the ship experience we're anxious about.....it's CUBA!

[ONT-CA]

... it's not so much the ship experience we're anxious about.....it's CUBA!

 

No question that visiting Cuba is the prime objective but don't sell short the ship experience in itself. Being with Cuban staff also adds to your experience. We have taken over 30 cruises and have visited the world but never have we felt so close to a ship's crew in we being made to feel like part of their "family". When we return we do so to also visit friends aboard.

[burm]

No question that visiting Cuba is the prime objective but don't sell short the ship experience in itself.

 

I totally agree.

 

I also think that Cuba Cruise has done a great job in bringing the spirit of Cuba onto the ship. Usually, once you board a ship, you could be in any country in the world.

 

Oddly enough, this older ship with it's idiosyncrasies make the experience seem all the more Cuban. LOL

 

Board with a good attitude and you will have a cruise experience like no other.

[NextOne]

DH & I are booked for the 3/11/16 cruise out of MoBay. We're thrilled to have the chance to do this before the big ships start arriving! It's been on our bucket list for quite a while, but just found out about CC last winter.

[ONT-CA]

One has to chuckle at the response of the Cuban "man on the street" to the re establishment of diplomatic relations between their country and the USA. Photos in the papers and on line show them carrying American flags and in wearing apparel bearing US logos and flags. Suddenly, Canada, who had never severed relations with Cuba and continued for over 50 years to support their tourist industry, has become somewhat déjà vu. But with little sign of the embargo being lifted any time soon perhaps our continued presents will be appreciated even more so?

[burm]

But with little sign of the embargo being lifted any time soon perhaps our continued presents will be appreciated even more so?

 

Pun intended? LOL

[ONT-CA]

Pun intended? LOL

 

 

double entendre

 

Well done!!

Edited July 22, 2015 by ONT-CA

[NextOne]

Just wanted to send our thanks to Jo (Retiring Soon) who told us about Cuba Cruises at a lovely lunch on Grand Cayman. Jo, you spoke of it so highly that we just HAD to check it out! Thank you, and I hope we end up cruising together again one of these days!

Edi & Ron

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

NextOne ~ why you're welcome Edi! So nice to see you here & learn that you've booked the Cuba cruise!:D I'm looking forward to hearing how the next season with it's changes, goes. Sure hope you like it as much as we did. It should be a great experience for you with the overnight in Havana.

 

That was a lovely tour we took in November. I finally wrote a TA review for the Vivine lunch & the Cozumel Bar Hop but haven't done the Cayman Safari one yet. I especially took that tour to see Blue Iguanas (which weren't as blue as I was expecting:o) only to see a picture of a brilliant turquoise lizard from Aruba later on CC!

 

I see you're going on a HAL 14 day to Alaska from Seattle next year. I did that on Amsterdam last Aug with DSIL & really enjoyed it. Loved Seattle,

especially the Chihuly Garden & Glass visit.

 

Ron ~ good one! ;) I think you & burm hit the nail on the head with the

description of the Cristal experience. I thought of it yesterday at my DS' cottage (if you know what I mean:p). BTW Ron, I came through Campbellford yesterday on the way home & it's a town I hope to be seeing more of.

 

Chimo!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Saw this on another thread & thought it was interesting.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/23/gop-controlled-senate-panel-votes-to-lift-cuba-travel-restrictions/?intcmp=latestnews

 

Have a nice weekend.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

Hi all!

Saw this on another thread & thought it was interesting.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/23/gop-controlled-senate-panel-votes-to-lift-cuba-travel-restrictions/?intcmp=latestnews

Have a nice weekend. ~ Jo ~ :)

 

Thank you Jo for the heads up on this. I had to chuckle at this part though;

"The Senate language goes beyond the administration rules, which lifted a requirement that U.S. travelers obtain a license from the Treasury Department before travelling to Cuba. Instead, all that is required is for travelers to assert that their trip would serve educational, religious or other permitted purposes."

 

Other than the excluded word sunshine, I can't think of any other reason to visit anywhere. This will of course take the passenger compliment of the Crystal to the max. I mean bad enough when one hardly has enough room in one's cabin......:D But this should make for an interesting three weeks in the 2016 season. Where I was dreading this move, the social benefits might well be the icing on what will likely be our final Cuba Cruise.

[burm]

This will of course take the passenger compliment of the Crystal to the max. I mean bad enough when one hardly has enough room in one's cabin......:D

 

Pretty soon there will be more tents than mine pitched on your deck and you will be expected to share two of your three closets. LOL

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Here is something about Havana I read on a Thomson cruise thread.

This person from the UK really liked it & got me pretty excited about it too, lol!;) See what you think.

 

"You may notice that I haven't mentioned Havana yet and that is because I was saving it for last. Havana is fabulous and like no other place we have ever been. It is not possible to fully convey how genuinely different and interesting it is on a chat forum like this you just have to go there. We took a horse and buggy ride rather than an excursion and they are much cheaper in Cuba than they are in Europe. In fact we made a point of going back to the same guy on the second day for a different tour because there is so much to see.

 

I would reccomend the rather expensive but amazing trip to the Tropicana in the evening. When we arrived I thought it was going to be a bit rubbish and I began to wish we had found a cool jazz club instead. But once the show started.... well I have never seen anything like it in my life. The people are friendly and most of them are very poor but not all of them. If you are going to see Havana do it soon. Relations with the US are thawing and within a few years there will be McDonalds, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut outlets everywhere and all the character will have gone.

 

One last thing before you go though, there is a book you should read. It is called 'The Havana Mob; How the mob owned Cuba and then lost it to the revolution' and is by TJ English. It's a history book that reads like a novel and a real eye-opener. If you read this book before you go your understanding of what you are looking at when you get there will be much greater. Sorry to go on about all of this but it is one of the best ports we have been to in 10 cruises with Thomson."

 

Sure hope this isn't plagiarism.:o

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

Sure hope this isn't plagiarism.:o

 

 

Nope. It is only plagiarism if you take someone's words as your own without proper acknowledgement.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Thanks burm, then no crime has been committed!;)

He was so excited about Havana it almost made me want to go back!

 

Have a great week! I'm headed to the City Thursday to house & cat sit for a few nights. Looking forward to seeing some sights, friends & eating out.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[burm]

[quote name='retiring soon']He was so excited about Havana it almost made me want to go back!

[/QUOTE]

Understandable. :)

I had to laugh when you said that your visit to your DS's cottage reminded you of the Louis Cristal. Oh, yes, we knew what you meant. LOL.

[ONT-CA]

[quote name='burm']Understandable. :)

I had to laugh when you said that your visit to your DS's cottage reminded you of the Louis Cristal. Oh, yes, we knew what you meant. LOL.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps [I]papier tranche[/I] would be a good nomenclature? Edited July 27, 2015 by ONT-CA

[tring]

I think this one is newly announced:-

[url]http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6461[/url]


Glad we have booked to go back next Feb/March as a number of the ships are not starting until after that and we have 3 weeks on land anyway.

Do not like the sound of the Crystal being very busy, but at least our cabin has a window and looks OK. We will likely be ashore much of the time anyway. Edited July 29, 2015 by tring

[burm]

That is a really interesting looking ship. The lowest level of balconies looks barely above water level. It would be pretty scary during a storm with rough seas.

[IMG]http://images.cruisecritic.com/news/2015/pearl-mist.jpg[/IMG]

[tring]

Yes, I was thinking it looks more like a river cruise vessel. Do not see them running that in the autumn (hurricane season) and presumably it could easily get holed up in port if the weather is looking a bit iffy.