U S Citizens on Celestyal Crystal

[journeymore]

How long does it take to get your people to people paperwork in hand? I'm thinking about booking the Cuba Cruise, Celestyal Crystal, for January 22, 2016. Also, has anyone done this cruise solo?

[bebe1234]

The people to people documents are sent via email. You should be able to get them within a day or so. We're booked on the January 15 departure so we don't have any experience with this cruise. Good luck, it sure sounds like a wonderful experience!

 

 

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[journeymore]

The people to people documents are sent via email. You should be able to get them within a day or so. We're booked on the January 15 departure so we don't have any experience with this cruise. Good luck, it sure sounds like a wonderful experience!

 

 

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Thank you so much.

[cirman52]

How long does it take to get your people to people paperwork in hand? I'm thinking about booking the Cuba Cruise, Celestyal Crystal, for January 22, 2016. Also, has anyone done this cruise solo?

 

I was on the Jan. 1st cruise, not solo, but there were a few people traveling solo, would not be a problem at all for you.

[journeymore]

I was on the Jan. 1st cruise, not solo, but there were a few people traveling solo, would not be a problem at all for you.

 

Thank you.

[NextOne]

We're booked for the March 11 cruise, and received our P2P documents yesterday. Looking forward to this adventure!

[jmbklj]

I'm getting a bit concerned about having no documents yet for our 2/5 sailing from Montego Bay. Even tho we're on the 2/5 sailing, our last day home is 2/2 because we are leaving early to go to MB. I'm also wondering what documents I need? I'm thinking that I need 3 documents that I don't have yet:

 

1. Some type of boarding passes to board the ship.

2. A P2P form.

3. The 'newly' required medical insurance that I only learned about in Dec & purchased it.

 

I first completed 2 and 3 above in early Dec as requested via the travel agency website (Legendary Journeys travel agency), but my credit card was not not processed and I had to do it again on 12/17. At this point, I'm wondering why it takes so long to receive these materials. Has that been your experience?

 

Plus we have our other travel insurance policy that I purchased back in Nov when we first booked the cruise. Anything else that we need, as Americans?

[Kiwi935]

I'm getting a bit concerned about having no documents yet for our 2/5 sailing from Montego Bay. Even tho we're on the 2/5 sailing, our last day home is 2/2 because we are leaving early to go to MB. I'm also wondering what documents I need? I'm thinking that I need 3 documents that I don't have yet:

 

1. Some type of boarding passes to board the ship.

2. A P2P form.

3. The 'newly' required medical insurance that I only learned about in Dec & purchased it.

 

I first completed 2 and 3 above in early Dec as requested via the travel agency website (Legendary Journeys travel agency), but my credit card was not not processed and I had to do it again on 12/17. At this point, I'm wondering why it takes so long to receive these materials. Has that been your experience?

 

Plus we have our other travel insurance policy that I purchased back in Nov when we first booked the cruise. Anything else that we need, as Americans?

You should have received your P2P letter by now. Email John McAuliff, Director of P2P, @ jmcauliff@ffrd.org. We booked cruise and purchased insurance directly with Cruise Company and received eDocs and Ins Policy minutes after final payment. Suggest contacting Legendary Journeys too.

[jmbklj]

You should have received your P2P letter by now. Email John McAuliff, Director of P2P, @ jmcauliff@ffrd.org. We booked cruise and purchased insurance directly with Cruise Company and received eDocs and Ins Policy minutes after final payment. Suggest contacting Legendary Journeys too.

 

Thank you for your response. I've contacted Legendary Journeys. Just called again and got through to someone else there; this afternoon I was advised that they email documents a week in advance. I don't know why they have to call it so close, especially when people sometimes travel in advance of the cruise departure date.

[tring]

That does sound very late and would not suit us the way we travel - we will be in Havana for 10 nights pre cruise. We are British though, so are not relying on your P2P arrangements.

 

We booked online direct with the cruise company last March, when it was still under a Canadian company. The current (Greek) company send out final documentation as soon as final balance is paid. We paid early as well (mid Dec), although our final payment was not needed until end of Jan for our 29/2/15 sailing.

 

Sounds like you US agents are stalling quite a lot.

Edited January 22, 2016 by tring

[dcronin]

If Celestyal Cruises is no longer being run by a Canadian firm, who is running it? We are on the January 29th cruise.

[tring]

The ship is now been run directly by the company that runs, (and possibly owns), the ship, which is Celestyal Cruises in Greece. Cuba Cruise had been leasing the Crystal from them to do the Cuban cruises in the Winter.

 

We had no official notification that anything had changed, but their website has changed accordingly and a lot has been said about it on the 'Cuba Cruise' thread in this section. We were in Piraeus in Sept and were able to call in and check all was OK with our booking. We were told it would and sure enough it did. Everything was done online through the website and we now have final docs and necessary details for the cruise via email.

 

Re reading your post Celestyal Cruises were never run by a Canadian company, It was the company called "Cuba Cruise" that was leasing the ship from Celestyal Cruises, which is a greek Company. The changes were made some time back so most US people would have booked with Celestyal - we booked in March.

Edited January 23, 2016 by tring

[Kiwi935]

P2P paperwork suggests allowance of $100 per day. For a family, this means travelling with a large amount of cash. Are there any ATMs in Cuba that will accept US cards? Does the Crystal have a ATM on board?

[tring]

If you are travelling on the Crystal with accommodation, meals, trips and even drinks on the ship included in your deal, I cannot possibly see how you would need anything resembling $100 pppd.

 

American cards, (or ones that are issued in other countries by banks affillliated to American banks), do not work in Cuba. You cannot get Cuban money outside Cuba as it is a closed currency.

 

I suggest you contact your tour operator about that - are you sure you are not limited to a maximum of $100, or that the presumption is you would not be on an inclusive trip?

Edited January 25, 2016 by tring

[Two Boys Cruising]

It appears that these cruises are sold through a number of outlets with a dizzying array of packages. Ours included nearly everything, and all of the reviews state that there is not much to purchase...no endless shops, etc. Other than tipping the guides on our already included excursions or picking up a drink or perhaps a meal on shore during free time, I cannot fathom what I would need $100 a day for either. Even our gratuities for the ship staff are prepaid. I will, of course, do a little extra as I always do for our cabin stewards and the waiters and bar staff that make it a memorable week. They work hard and earn every bit of it. There is an exit tax in Jamaica that is not included. And Americans are limited to $100 of rum and cigars and $400 of anything else. None of the reviews seem to indicate anyone found anything other than cigars and rum to purchase. If anyone sees or hears anything different...please post!

[JudiinMt]

We are leaving next week on the Celestyal Crystal and would love to hear more about your experiences on the ship and in Cuba. Any pointers or tips would be appreciated.

[pidroelpirata]

How was your trip? Please post review for those of us planning a future Cuba trip. Did you receive the P2P paperwork in time? How was the cruise/excursion experience as a US citizen?