Jump to content

Omg...just booked a yolo cruise to Cuba!


Recommended Posts

Ok, so I just got off allure on March 31 and was not happy the Chicago forecast predicted snow this week.  That might have had something to do with it!  Or....I was feeling guilty that my daughter was graduating from university of Illinois and I didn’t go to mom’s weekend!  Or....I was still not 100 days til we head to Barcelona and board our first European cruise!   Or it might have been the excitement of finally making platinum but I totally flipped and decided to give my daughter the choice of a trip for her graduation.  And she picked a cruise!  And in searching I realized that the 4 day cruise to Havana and key west was pretty much the same as the 5 day to Cozumel.  Within 24 hours of coming up with this crazy idea, we booked it with my husband’s blessing...which was nice because he will be teaching summer school to pay for the other summer cruise.  So in 66 days, my 22 year old, my 16 year old and I will be boarding majesty!  With this cruise I will have been on 5 different classes and to 11 different ports.  I never thought when I booked my first cruise in 2015 that I would take more cruises in 4 years than trips to Disney!   My obsessions still war (someday Disney cruise) but I have to say that 4 cruises in a 13 month period will make all those long hours of babysitting worth it!  And I must say, this blog might encourage my yolo book it tendencies a bit too much.  I will need lots of advice on where to go in key west and Havana!   Jane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, you are going to love Cuba. We took a private tour with Blexie. I learned from this blog about him. The tour was awesome. We were in a 1958 Mercedes. The Cuban sandwich was the best I ever had. Congratulations to your daughter! Tell your husband I understand working Summer school. I feel his pain. You have wonderful trips planned this Summer. Cuba and Europe. I am jealous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

  And I must say, this blog might encourage my yolo book it tendencies a bit too much.  I will need lots of advice on where to go in key west and Havana!   Jane

In addition to the great podcasts and blogs here, @monorailmedic did a really nice podcast on Key West on cruisehabit.com - after listening to that we booked one that included Key West.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Matt said:

Great choice! I did something similar last year when I YOLO Booked a Cuba cruise on Majesty

Check out the live blog I did on Majesty of the Seas while sailing to Cuba: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/01/live-blogging-majesty-of-the-seas-2018-preamble

I remembered reading that and I also know there was a podcast I will go back to.  What is the name of the really good store that you can taste all the hot sauces at in key West?  I'm trying to remember!   Any of the bars that are a little more fun than others?

   In terms of Havana, do you feel that a half day excursion is better or a full day?  Do you need the free time to just wander?  We are overnight... Is it easy to find someplace by the ship to eat dinner?  Jane

    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, mom2mybugs said:

What is the name of the really good store that you can taste all the hot sauces at in key West?  I'm trying to remember!   Any of the bars that are a little more fun than others?

Pinging @monorailmedic He went there

Just now, mom2mybugs said:

do you feel that a half day excursion is better or a full day?  Do you need the free time to just wander?  We are overnight... Is it easy to find someplace by the ship to eat dinner?  Jane

I did not do an overnight, but I would encourage you to leave plenty of time to wander on your own. 

We did this tour: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/12/excursion-focus-old-havana-city-sightseeing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last week we were on Rhapsody, and on the very last day I mentioned to my wife that I'd like to go to Cuba.  She grabbed me by the ear and two minutes later we were at the NextCruise desk booking a 5 day on Majesty in July while the kids are at camp!

I tend to hyper-analyze and mentally debate every single purchase I make, so this was definitely a YOLO impulse moment. 

Ours is a 11am overnight to 5:30am stop, so I'm hoping not to get into too much trouble at 3am in Havana.... ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, bcarney said:

Last week we were on Rhapsody, and on the very last day I mentioned to my wife that I'd like to go to Cuba.  She grabbed me by the ear and two minutes later we were at the NextCruise desk booking a 5 day on Majesty in July while the kids are at camp!

I tend to hyper-analyze and mentally debate every single purchase I make, so this was definitely a YOLO impulse moment. 

Ours is a 11am overnight to 5:30am stop, so I'm hoping not to get into too much trouble at 3am in Havana.... ;)

I looked at the 5 day but for my time period it was 1200 more than the 4 day!   I wished I'd yolo'ed this last week when we were on allure!  We could have used the obc for the $75 visas we need.  I hope you have a great trip!  I will let you know how it is in June!  Jane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Key West is super easy to just walk off the ship and find something to do - I absolutely love the charm and walk ability of Key West. 

As for Havana, I can't say because I haven't been but I did book a tour for my trip in November through Blexie Tours. It's a private tour in a classic car, but it is through third party. That said, I know lots of people who have used them with great feedback. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/12/2019 at 7:37 AM, KLA said:

Key West is super easy to just walk off the ship and find something to do - I absolutely love the charm and walk ability of Key West. 

As for Havana, I can't say because I haven't been but I did book a tour for my trip in November through Blexie Tours. It's a private tour in a classic car, but it is through third party. That said, I know lots of people who have used them with great feedback. 

Hi!  I found his website but there isn't much info.  Would you mind telling me how long your tour is for and how much.  My guess is that we yolo booked this so late there won't be availability but it would help if I had a little more info!!!   Thank you! 

Oh yeah, and any particular bar that is good to stop at in key West!  We are going to get the hop on hop off trolley.  Jane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

Hi!  I found his website but there isn't much info.  Would you mind telling me how long your tour is for and how much.  My guess is that we yolo booked this so late there won't be availability but it would help if I had a little more info!!!   Thank you! 

Oh yeah, and any particular bar that is good to stop at in key West!  We are going to get the hop on hop off trolley.  Jane

We used Blexie last year.. It cost us130 CUC.. I was so impressed by his assistant Jorge that I tipped them an extra 30 cucs on top of the bill..   Message him on FB.. sometimes it takes a day or two for him to get back with  you ?

 

I actually own a bar in Key West.. Its called Ricks lol ?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...