Carnival Cruises to start going to Cuba

[zboss]

We are not big fans of the dressing up nights, we prefered the casual dining nights. I can't believe the amount of luggage people bring with them on these cruises... 2 or 3 extra large suitcases per person for a week or two! Really?

[BandB]

Originally Posted by zboss

We are not big fans of the dressing up nights, we prefered the casual dining nights. I can't believe the amount of luggage people bring with them on these cruises... 2 or 3 extra large suitcases per person for a week or two! Really?

Wifey B: Oops.... We're guilty in carrying a lot of clothes. And dressed up nights, even when cruising we'll to about once a month. Sometimes more or less depending on where we are.

On those dress up nights, they don't have any casual area?

[makana]

I resided on Maui for 10 years during which time cruise ships began visiting Lahania. We sailed our Catalina 22 out of Lahania and often encountered large slicks of raw sewage as once the ships were 3 miles out they dumped their tanks. Most restaurant and shop owners there felt that the ships brought in little business as most guests had their meals aboard. It did stress the town dock and county beach parks infrastructure as guest used restrooms, left trash etc. More recently I've experienced the impact cruise ships have had on Rockland and Camden in Maine, again it seems merchants are experiencing similar outcomes as those on Maui. However for some people the only way they may be both physically and financially able to visit some areas are via cruise ships. I had a great time on a very small (20 passenger) one in New Zealand.
Having begun the process of trying to take our boat to Cuba next year and researching the requirements to do it legally I find it ironic that the cruise ships are using the pretext of a "Volunteering" type trip which just so happens to be one of the 12 exemptions the US gov. has issued as a requirement for US citizens to comply with if visiting Cuba.