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Thanks Blue Moon Cruises.

My Cuba Experience.

As I’m sure many of you know, Cuba is now a destination that the US and Cuban governments allow. I’ve been wanting to see Cuba for a long time and my partner and I decided to venture out and see what Cuba has to offer.

There are a variety of ways that you can visit the Island, and since I’ve sailed on many cruises I decided that cruising would be the easiest way. Celestial Cruises offers a 7 night option that leaves out of Montego Bay, Jamaica. They leave every Friday making four stops in Cuba with an overnight stop in Havana, the capital of Cuba. Any US citizen who wants to take this cruise must participate in the People to People cultural exchange program. This costs $95.00 per person and is a great value as it includes a number of shore excursions in each port as well numerous lectures onboard.

The Cuban people that we interacted with were very friendly and welcoming. They want more Americans to vacation on the Island and are eager to please. As a travel experience I was thrilled that I had the opportunity to take this cruise and would recommend it, BUT you must do this with open eyes. Cuba has a long way to go to bring the infrastructure up to the standards that many of us are used to. If you go to Cuba do not expect to find many of the things we as American Citizens take for granted.

School in Santiago de Cuba

As an internet junkie myself I went into major internet shock when I found out that the internet is not generally available around the Island, and in the few places it is available it is expensive and slow. What we were told was that you can go anywhere you want online (when you get it) but remember that there is always someone looking. That was a quote from a local. I am so used to being able to jump on and off Facebook, but that’s not going to happen in Cuba.

We made four stops around Cuba – Santiago de Cuba, Havana, María la Gorda and Cienfuegos. In each of the stops People to People provided a couple of shore excursions, and if the time allowed they had one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The guides they provided were friendly and knowledgeable. They talked a lot about the Castro brothers and the revolution. Some of it was interesting, but there is a lot of propaganda as well. It’s a shame what the Castro brothers have done to this country. Like many things they started off with good intentions but they held onto power, and while doing that they caused a lot of damage to the infrastructure.

Cuba Cruises has a great product here but they need to update the ship. The ship was built in the 80’s and has gone through many name changes. The ship has been updated but it is not ready for the US market. The food was mediocre at best and the service was spotty. I’ve never sailed on a cruise and had the crew actually argue with passengers even if they were wrong. The ship offers drink packages but they can be very confusing. They have 6 or 7 different packages. That needs to be simplified. Even the crew had trouble with the different programs. I had two arguments with two of the crew when they tried to charge me extra because they never checked the package we had. Now I can’t say that all the staff were bad because they weren’t. Many of them did an excellent job but the bad eggs un-did anything that the others could do. I believe that the European and Canadian market can be very forgiving (I was born in England), but this ship needs to be seriously upgraded if they want to attract more of the US market.

Celestial Celebrity.  My Cuba Cruises

To sum this up, I would say that the experience was amazing, and I would go back to Cuba. If the Castros keep to their commitment and allow the country to be opened back up I believe that it’s going to be a great destination. Cuba is not ready for a major influx yet, but they will be. If you want to see Cuba now do it with open eyes. Go to an agent (hopefully Blue Moon) who has been to Cuba. They have the experience and can direct you to the best choice for you. I do not believe that Cuba will be ready for at least 10 more years. I’m not saying don’t go; I’m just saying know before you go.

I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of my friends, Ray and Cheryl, at the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana in January.  Blue Moon Cruises and Tours handled all the reservations for the flights as well as the hotel.  All the travel arrangements were set up through United Vacations and I have to say that they did an excellent job.  Thanks to some great pricing we were able to make it very affordable for everyone.
The Excellence Punta Cana outdid themselves by making the Bride & Groom very comfortable.  All members of the party were very happy with their suites and the food.  As the Islands go, the resort had some good entertainment each evening so everyone was kept very busy.  
Excellence Resorts boasts that they have some great wedding packages, and I would have to agree.  Cheryl and Ray wanted something that would be casual and fun and Excellence Resorts delivered.  The wedding coordinator at Excellence (Yessica) did the resort proud. From start to finish Excellence Resort was there for the bridal party and their guests.  I would highly recommend this resort for your wedding – and of course Blue Moon Cruises and Tours would be happy to help you.  
We hope Cheryl and Ray have a long life together full of love and happiness.

Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness. We really enjoyed the dinners.  You’ll hear from us again.   Pat and Ginger, Asbury Park

Enjoying the perfect weather and fantastic scenery of Erice, Sicily.

Our fifth cruise with Blue Moon Cruises & Tours. Had a great time, looking forward to the next.

Great times, great memories.  Merci Stuart you’ve done it again. Thanks to you our trip to Paris was magnifique!!

Just wanted to say what a fantastic time myself and John had on our first cruise we had a ball! Can’t wait for the next one in 2017 (that seems a long way off!) don’t know if I will cope with three cassel’s for a week haha!! Once again thank you. Debbie xx

Hi Stuart, I tried sending via email, but it didn’t go through. Hope you receive this photo of two very satisfied clients! Thank you again, Lia

Hawaiian Night.  Lets start a new event.  Formal, informal and Hawaiian night.

Had a great cruise, looking forward to the next.

Roll on the next cruise

Thanks Blue Moon…Colin & Shelley

We had an amazing time and stayed in the perfect place in Rome. Grazie Mille

Hello Stuart, Attached is a photo from our amazing vacation. Did you select the room? It was right in the center of the complex looking out to the ocean between the palm trees. The Fast Track service and private car to Sandals was well worth the investment. The Sandals resort was beautiful, the people were so friendly and accommodating, and the food was wonderful. This vacation was exactly what Jean and I needed, total relaxation. It wasn’t that busy so I was able to get up early and reserve a cabana at the pool. That was great. No problem getting a lounge chair at the beach either. Thanks for everything. All the best, Tom and Jean

What a great trip.  The Barrier Reef was amazing!

What a great time.