Celestyal Crystal Review

4.5 / 5.0
241 reviews

A Great Way to See Cuba; Pros, Cons, and Advice

Review for Cuba Cruise on Celestyal Crystal
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travelersRus2
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jan 2016
The very tiny "desk" which is mostly taken up by the phone & your only seating, one stool. There are some very nice lounges empty during the day where you can go to read/write) (deck 9 or 10)
Bathroom Interior 6107 and all the ID (green) interiors
the small set of drawers--6107 and all the ID (green) interiors Except those next to the elevator have a different configuration and a real desk.
Celestyal Crystal off Maria la Gorda
Celestyal Crystal tenders to the Maria la Gorda beach
Celestyal Crystal door from which you take the tenders to the Maria la Gorda beach
Interior showing mural--6107 and all the ID (green) interiors
multiplug adaptor brought from home, this style any larger than 2.5" won't fit because of the light switch to the right.  This was the only socket in the room
little closet with safe and 2 small drawers...bring extra hangers
Shower with sliding door (hurray)  Loved this shower as opposed to the curtained showers in the small window rooms.
The Cienfuegos artistic community

First of all, I am very happy to have taken this cruise to see Cuba. We took part in the People to People Program which gives Americans the ability to travel to Cuba under the humanitarian exemption. The stops in the 3 city ports were awesome. Side trips you can take on your own or through the Celestyal Crystal (CC) are very interesting. I would give a positive recommendation for the People to People program and using CC to get to Cuba. I thought the beach day stop at Maria la Gorda was a bit of a waste of time and would have rather stayed an extra day in Havana.

Having said that, here are my suggestions for cruising on the CC. I had read so many reviews with complaints about the ship that I was prepared for the worst...Happily I was favorably surprised on all counts. Yes, this is not a luxury cruise and it will not be up to the highest standards of the big cruise lines...but our purpose was to see Cuba, not to have the cruise experience of a lifetime...having said that, the ship was very clean and our on board experience was very positive.

We had cabin #6107. I was very nervous about having an inside cabin with no window. That was a first for us, we usually do balconies. As it turns out, yes, they are small but we settled into the space and did very well. I was pleased to see the large mural covering showing two hills and the ocean covering the wall at the end of the room BUT the thing I was most pleased about was the shower...It was roomy with a slider door, not a curtain. Our friends paid more for an outer cabin with window and their shower had a curtain and very little space plus some upper berths that were folded up. I think we got the better deal.

Cabin Review

Cabin inside ID(green)

We had cabin #6107. I was very nervous about having an inside cabin with no window. As it turns out, yes, they are small but we settled into the space and did very well.. I was pleased to see the large mural covering the wall showing two hills and the ocean covering the wall at the end of the room BUT the thing I was most pleased about was the shower...It was roomy with a slider door, not a curtain. Our friends paid more for an outer cabin with window and their shower had a curtain and very little space plus some upper berths that were folded up. I think we got the better deal.

The 6th level is a very quiet one with little traffic and you don't hear the elevator noise at all.

About the cabins and what we did that make our cruise better:

1. After reading a review that talked about odors in the cabin, I threw in a Renuzit Odor Neutralizer to put in our cabin which ended up having no odors but I was happy to put it into the bathroom anyway.

2. I took several hangers to supplement the closet allotment.

3. There is one plug socket 110 and one 220. I took a multi-plug adaptor (see photo) and a European adaptor so we ended up having 4 possibilities for our American plug-ins instead of just one. If you have a CPAP, take an extension cord as the plug is across the room.

4. Don't worry that when you enter your room it seems hot and the air conditioning doesn't seem to work. Once you get underway for a few hours the AC will kick in. Halfway through the first night we found ourselves diving under the covers.

5. Yes, you can not put TP into the toilet...they have a little pedal operated waste-can which which they empty throughout the day. It never seemed to be a problem.

6. There are three little drawers and also two littler drawers inside the closet for storage. There are also 2 shelves in the closet. You get one stool to sit on...no chairs. I used my standing up suitcase wedged between the bed and the wall for a nightstand on the far side of the bed. There is also a 4 inch shelf all along the wall above the beds that was good for placing glasses, small items...the push-on nightlight I took along for reading and maneuvering in the middle of the night...

7. There are tissues and glasses and a soap dispenser in the bathroom...a soap and a shampoo dispenser in the shower. Two giant towels and two small towels on the bars.

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