Going to Cuba was a good experience. We selected this cruise because we did not want to stay in a hotel. NCL was the only cruise line we could find that spent overnight and basically 2 full days in Havana. We arrived about 8 AM the first day and left at 5 PM the second day. The first day we took a tour which was a good overview. The 2nd day we went on our own. We had lunch in the Hotel National which was very good and I recommend it. REMEMBER you cannot use a US credit card in Cuba. Many places will not accept US money but there are money changers. If you want to go to Cuba, this is a good way to go.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embarkation was pretty smooth - since people reserve times to board in advance, we didn't have 2,000 people there all at once trying to get checked in at the same time. We were only waiting on line for about 10 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
This was our first NCL cruise. Food was OK, nothing bad about it. We've cruised more high-end lines so as a comparison, NCL's food and service are not up there with Holland America, Cunard, Celebrity, Disney, Crystal, etc. The buffet was over-crowded without sufficient seating and long lines. The smaller buffet by the pool seemed to have less of a line but at breakfast, we felt like they were not stocking the food quickly enough and many things were not available due to empty trays. We did not purchase dinner in any of the optional restaurants.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Short cruise (4 nights) not lots of time for on-board activities but they did have a full schedule. It's an older ship so it doesn't have some of the features of the newer ones. Due to a sea day being added (we could not go to Great Stirrup Cay due to winds) they put a bunch of stuff together real fast. We lounged around and had a very quiet relaxing day. While I would have enjoyed the beach island, we have done so many cruises and been to so many islands, it was not a huge loss to us.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
They had decent production shows and for once the comedian was actually pretty funny (and family acceptable).
Children's Programs
We didn't bring any kids with us.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Room steward was just fine. Dinner service was fine. Breakfast service in Palace dining room has major issues. Not sure it is a personnel training issue or a process issue. Very slow to get refill on orange juice, my wife's breakfast came out but pancakes took until she was nearly done with her breakfast for mine to arrive and all they would tell me on the OJ and the pancakes is "they are coming". They seem to know when things are not going well because the servers didn't come around during the lulls. After they finally served they showed up and asked if "everything is ok"?
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was very clean both in cabins and public spaces. It's an older ship but was recently renovated. Other than not enough space in the buffet area for seating and heavy crowding in the buffet, the ship was fine physically. Frankly, with 2,000 passengers on board, it felt crowded. We couldn't find a lounge chair on the deck, for instance, on several occasions. Capacity they said was 2400. I can only imagine with 2400 on board.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
VERY VERY small, the smallest we have ever had on a cruise ship. We also tried inside for the first time and we were fine with it. Our friends traveling with us had an ocean view outside cabin and their cabin was identical in size, so it wasn't small because it was an inside cabin. Virtually no drawer space, some limited shelf space. Coat hanger space was sufficient. Bathroom/shower was typical on a cruise ship, it could have used a little more counter space. TV receives satellite news channels such as Fox, CNN, MSNBC, BBC. There are movie channels. However, the video quality is poor, looks like old analog TV even though the TV was a digital. Also, being inside, we were planning to use the ship's bow camera to see the weather (sunny, raining, etc.). The color on it was so bad you couldn't tell if the sky was grey or blue! Shame.
Ship tip
First day of cruise lunch in buffet is pandemonium. If other dining options are available, use them. Don't over-pack, bring just what you need because there isn't much space for storage. There is only 1 120v AC plug in the cabin but if you have the 2 pin adapter used in Europe to convert to US plugs bring it because you will then get 2 plugs. We did that and could both charge our smart phones.
It was fun to go there, see the old cars. The city is in a long state of decay. People are warm and nice. A few bright spots such as the Hotel National (a must see) but all-in-all crumbling buildings, streets and sea walls. Progress seems to have stopped about 1958 and proof that Socialism/Communism does not bring economic boom. While I am glad we went, Cuba is not on our list to revisit. I would never discourage anyone from going but it's not like Hawaii or even the Bahamas. We did find people who spoke English and it was fun to chat with them.
We did a walk-off with our own luggage which worked fine. It meant we could leave anytime between 745 and 915 AM. The line to immigration was quite long but it did move along fairly well.
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