Cuba-Everything We Expected.

Warmer weather is finally here and I can sit on my patio, smoke my Cuban cigar, and write about….well, Cuba.

This was our first family-of-four vacation!!!  We stayed at the Memories Azul/Pariso in Santa Maria.  Yes, from previous post, my readers may know that I love cruising but with four people it is simply not the most economical way of vacationing.  Even when looking at resorts that offer “Kids Stay Free” it was tough staying within our budget.  We settled on a sell-off to Cuba in March, 2015.  This was my first time to Cuba, but I hope they never find out that they are unjustly cheaper than the rest of the Caribbean.  The resort has mixed reviews, but we found nothing wrong with this resort in Cuba that I would expect to be right anywhere else.  So let’s begin…

I say vacation, but for those of you who have traveled with a young family may know that it is a lot of the same but with a prettier background.  By more of the same I mean, kids still wake up at 530am, they still need to eat at 7, 12, and 6ish, they still need their naps, and they still need to be entertained. But…

Waking up at 5:30 guarantees a prime lounger on the beach, getting to the buffet early means you beat some of the line-ups, naps mean chilling on the balcony, and entertaining kids is as easy as dancing on the beach or tossing a ball in the pool.

The trip started with a usual stressful commute to the airport. Not sure if having two kids had any impact on this as my wife and I always find it stressful to get to the airport.  (We once missed a flight to Calgary because we slept in, but that is another story).  EmC (3years+) is a bit of a runner, and thankfully a bit of a flirt.  My wife had to chase EmC through the doors of the airport while carrying LeeP (~10months).  I was already in a mood and lagged behind after loading up 7 pieces of baggage on one of those tiny carts.  It helped to lighten my mood when I walked in and saw this….

Yes, that is EmC commandeering a Police Segway.  She screamed when I took her off and strapped her into a stroller.

We were a little worried about the transfer to the resort.  First the flight was 3.5 hours to Santa Clara, then we were to board a 2 hour coach ride to the resort.  We were the last people to board the bus and the staff miss-counted.  There were 2 too many people on the bus.  They tried to get the four of us off the bus, but our luggage was already on and we had 2 young kids.  We did fuss a little and are very thankful to the couple that did get off to let us stay on.  We never met them, but we greatly appreciate their kindness.  Anyway, both kids were great on the flight.  It didn’t hurt to have a laptop loaded up with The Wiggles movies.  Then both kids slept on the bus…the whole way!!!

 


















One of the most spectacular things was to see EmC’s eyes light up when she found out that Mr. Sun, you know Mr. Golden Sun, was real.  She saw him from the bus and had this look of “he’s really real?” After she got off the bus she looked at him with absolute amazement. Then it happened…she got swept away by Mr. Sun himself. (EmC was so in disbelief that I could not get her to smile for a picture)






The only other “blunder” that I recall was at check-in.  We waited in line, got our room number, and were told to go to the trolley and the Bell Hop has our keycards.  The Bell Hop was very friendly and helpful.  However, he did not have our keycards.  I walked back to the desk where I was told to “wait in line” a second time to get my keys.  After that the vacation was excellent.



We stayed in bungalow 52, first floor, which was perfectly located overlooking the “quiet” pool.  The resort had 2 other massive pools where the “animation” staff would try to get guests involved in activities, but this pool was quiet and relaxing.

Our days would start at 5:30 ish when one of the kids would wake up.  As soon as one was awake the other would be minutes later.  I would head to the beach with a towel and a T-shirt to reserve 2 chairs.  We needed the closest set as we were dragging an Uppababy Vista on the sand for LeeP to relax on.

Then we would head to the 24h Lobby bar for Cappuccinos until the buffet opened.  Caps were great!!! They were deliciously frothed, topped with cinnamon, and came with a sugar cane stir stick. Simply Amazing.










After Breakfast we would head to the beach before the sun got too hot.  As many reviewers have already posted the beach is beyond incredible.  The sand is white, the sea is pristine, and the surf stays shallow for dozens of yards. 
  

Around 11am we would head back to room for a siesta.  Did I say thank goodness for a laptop and The Wiggles.  It was the only way to get EmC to lay in bed and fall asleep.







After nap was Lunch and then the pool for the afternoon.  The pool was great.  It was quiet and there were lots of families. This pool has a "sloped" walk-in so the depth went from inches to about 4ft gradually.  There was a perfectly safe depth for both LeeP and EmC. 

Oh, and if you see one of the gardeners on the grounds ask for a coconut.  True bliss is lounging by the pool with a straw in a coconut fresh off the tree.

After the pool was dinner and onto the entertainment.  The food was not spectacular, but I would not complain about it either.  There was plenty to eat and the A-La-Cart dining really made an effort.  At the buffet we stuck mainly to the "made-to-order" dishes as the buffet did look a little "dry" and "neglected".

I would have to say the entertainment was a little disappointing, but no worse than any other resort I’ve been too.  There was a kids club that would look after children that were very young, however we would not feel comfortable leaving any child there unless they were able to tell us what was going on.

The staff did make a great effort to advertise and encourage people to come to the shows and the turnout was pretty good.  But our children never made it through an entire performance... except the Toopy and Beenoo show.

The Cons of the trip were minor, few, and expected.  The resort only provided 1L of bottled water per room per day.  This is clearly not enough for a family of 4.  We had to tip for extra bottled water which was guarded like a gold mine by the staff.  LeeP spent less then a minute on the sand before he started to eat it.  We did manage to get a few photos in though.  He was also not too fond of the sand beneath his feet and was quite scared of the ocean so he spent his time at the beach lounging in the Uppababy.

After our experience at the Memories Azul/Pariso in Santa Maria, Cuba I would have to say the beach is splendid, the grounds were clean, the room was comfortable, and the food was...well food. I have no reservations in recommending this resort as a great place to take a family.

Norwegian Epic Cruise Experience

As we prepared for our upcoming vacation I found myself thinking about the last trip my wife and I went on and feel compelled to share our experience aboard the Norwegian Epic over the December break 2013.  I know, I know, my last cruise review was all about how we remain “Loyal to Royal”, but with a 2 year old and our second child expected it was difficult to travel with our preferred brand.  Besides, how can you trust the opinion of someone who hasn’t shopped around?  Full disclosure, we have traveled with Princess and Norwegian Cruise lines and are not opposed to trying other brands as well.  This is how we know what our preferred brands are.

(Note: I did intend to include wonderful pictures of the ship. However, I have lost all pictures taken from Dec 15 - 31, 2013, but for the few included.)

This truly is a “you get what you pay for” experience, which is probably why the trip wasn’t spoiled.

I hope this review comes across more comical than cynical, because the crew of the Epic is truly a caring and hardworking bunch. But….

It had been a long trying year.  The holiday season was fast approaching.  We found out in August that we were expecting our second child.  We knew that there would be little opportunity to travel “in style” for a while.

EmC was just over 2 years old and doing well in daycare.  We made arrangements with our parents to look after her for a week if we could get a sell-off.   When we saw the price of the Epic vacation we were floored.  It included Flight, transfers, Balcony cabin...and it was cheap!!!

We know that some things are too good to be true so…  We looked at many reviews of this ship and for the record I would like to say that they are all true.  From the people that loved the ship to hated it, they were all right.  After reading the review we felt the price was worth the risk.  Besides all we wanted was hot sun and a beach.

Given that the ship has been reviewed in depth I will only talk about our experience.  Because we read the reviews we were able to board the ship with an open mind.  If we didn’t like the room, oh well, we were warned.

Our trip started out really nice. The flight was smooth, embarkation was quick, and the ship is quite impressive.  What we found lacking from Norwegian was their attention to detail on the service side.  This ship is listed as 5 star and if we hadn’t paid 3 star price, we would have been more upset by our experience than amused by it.

Having a balcony really makes a difference on any ship.  We travelled over the December holiday season so the ship was packed.  To make our mornings less stressful, we would order room service for breakfast.  It’s simple, you fill out a door hanger before you go to bed and the breakfast arrives in the morning….simple.

Day 1 was absolutely splendid.  Day 2 they mixed up the yogurt flavour, but what the hey?  Peach instead of cherry would not ruin our day.  Day 3 we had to call the desk after room service was 10 minutes overdue.  They assured us the meal was on its way so we waited.  Another 5 minutes…. 10 minutes.  We called again to cancel the breakfast.  We were at port and wanted to get off the ship, so we would just go to the buffet.  As we left the room a pleasant serviceman was yelling down the hall “Mister! Mister! Your Breakfast!!!”  So we went back in to eat it on the balcony.  They got both yogurts and croissants wrong (I like the chocolate filled).  The wrong order wasn’t as bad as insisting we wait for things we did not order. 

        

Meanwhile, for lunch and snacks we visited the Garden Cafe (buffet).  I understand that the ship was full and the restaurants were very busy, but for 3 days there were food and plates thrown all over the buffet restaurant and the pool deck.  I tried, but couldn’t flag down any staff to clear tables.  If we wanted a table to sit at and eat, I had to remove the dirty plates from previous passengers.  I wouldn’t take note of this if the dining staff looked like they were trying to keep on top of things, but one guy holding a cloth looked at me as I cleared the table myself as if to say “great! He’s got this” and walked away.

Despite my ranting, my wife and I are actually easy going people.  None of this was ruining our time or holiday.  However, we also know that comment card are requested to be filled out at the end of the trip.  What is the point about complaining to someone when they have no time to correct themselves or make it right?

After lunch on day 3 I went to the porter’s desk to voice my concerns.  I spoke calmly “Hi, none of what I am about to say has ruined our holiday and we are having a wonderful time, but for a 5 star ship…..” The lady was very polite and extremely concerned.  She wanted to know what they can do to fix things.  I assured her that we were not upset, but we felt we would bring these little details to their attention.

After dinner we returned to our stateroom and were delighted to find a bottle of wine with 2 glasses, a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries, and a note that requested us to accept their sincerest apologies.  Since my wife was expecting a baby and I had no intent on drinking a bottle of wine on my own, we didn't care much that there was no corkscrew to open it with.  The gesture was well received, as we had left the desk telling them we were not that upset and we actually didn’t expect anything.  We enjoyed the strawberries and laughed it off that they forgot the corkscrew.

The next day breakfast was correct and on time.  It was clear that calls were made after we spoke with the desk.  Lunch time at the buffet seemed to turn a 180, tables were cleared as people got up and the pool deck was spotless.  Perhaps I was imagining the power one polite “observation” could have, but no.  As we returned to our room for a siesta, our room steward asked how breakfast was.  We replied “wonderful, thanks,” put on the “do not disturb” indicator, and closed the door.  There was a message on the phone from the ships maitre d apologizing for our previous dining experiences and invited us to make a reservation at one of the (included) a la cartes (they don’t normally take reservations for the included restaurants).  We returned the message and took him up on the invitation to the “Manhattan Room”.  He said that we would be seated at the best table and he would see to it personally that we were taken care of.  Great!! We laid down to take a nap.

About 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door.  “Was that our door?” “No hon, I put the DND on.”  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!! I got up.  There was a very pleased looking steward standing at the door with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine.  “These are for you sir.”  “Are you sure? We got the same thing yesterday.”  “Yes sir” he showed me a card with my name and room number.  He would not let me refuse the gift, I accepted and asked him if the DND was still on.  “Yes Sir, it is.”  I said thank you and closed the door.  This bottle of wine came with no glasses and no corkscrew.  We enjoyed the strawberries and took a nap. 

Day 5 and 6 were again “top notch”, the decks were clean and the staff was great.  The Crew were really making an effort and it showed.

Day 6 was our invitation dinner.  The Manhattan room is very elegant.  We were taken to a table right at the back of the room and given the evening menu.  The wall at the back of the room is a 2 deck window looking out the stern of the ship.  During the day this must provide a breathtaking view of the open horizon, but this being dinnertime, it was just black abyss.  But the table was close to the entertainment which did make it nice.  I noticed the menus we were given were Spanish.  The waitress came over to introduce herself so I asked her “Hablo Español?”  to which she replied “no”.  I responded “Well, neither do we.”  I was trying to be funny, but it may have come off a bit rude, so I don’t know if her laugh was because she thought I was funny or she was being polite.  Nevertheless, we got English menus.

The wine steward came to offer us a bottle of wine from a menu titled “Complimentary Wine Selection”.  I told him that we already had 2 bottles in the room and that my wife is pregnant.  But he insisted and told us we could take it home with us.  Dinner was lovely.

Take away from our experience what you want.  I would travel with Norwegian again, but only if the price is right.  My wife claims she will not get on another Norwegian ship.  I would not recommend the Norwegian Epic to anyone, but more importantly I would not detour people away from the Norwegian Epic.  It was unfortunate that the crew had to be reminded to keep up standards, but once they knew people were watching, they really stepped it up.  And although their efforts to apologize were well received, these efforts were also plagued with lack of attention.

                                  

Once again, the crew of the Norwegian Epic are very hardworking people that really tried to make our experience as wonderful as possible…. After we gave them a failing midterm grade.  The vacation for the price could not be beat. And we ended up using the three bottles are wine to celebrate the birth of our second child…. A healthy baby boy!!!