J. Woody Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Is anyone done this before ? I am interesting to go to Cuba. Are there only short cruise with smaller ships ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 30 minutes ago, J. Woody said: Is anyone done this before ? I am interesting to go to Cuba. Are there only short cruise with smaller ships ?? Royal has two ships doing Cuba trips now but they tend to be smaller ships since Cuban ports and infrastructure aren't' ready for large ships. There are several Cuba itineraries including some that go to more than one Cuban port and some that spend the night. Cuban cruises leave from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami or Tampa depending on dates. Empress and Majesty appear to be the only ships doing Cuba right now. There is an eight night that looks really interesting to me: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/8-night-best-of-cuba-from-miami-on-empress/NE08W009?sail-date=2018-12-09¤cy=USD&wuc=USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 I will be sailing on Empress OTS this coming June. This is going to be the smallest ship I have sailed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 2 hours ago, twangster said: Royal has two ships doing Cuba trips now but they tend to be smaller ships since Cuban ports and infrastructure aren't' ready for large ships. There are several Cuba itineraries including some that go to more than one Cuban port and some that spend the night. Cuban cruises leave from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami or Tampa depending on dates. Empress and Majesty appear to be the only ships doing Cuba right now. There is an eight night that looks really interesting to me: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/8-night-best-of-cuba-from-miami-on-empress/NE08W009?sail-date=2018-12-09¤cy=USD&wuc=USA I like the eight day cruise. I did the four days on Empress August 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 We had a great time sailing to Cuba on Empress last May and we look forward to going back. Personally, I found Empress to be fantastic - far better service and less hassle than the larger ships. That in mind, if you're looking for the bells and whistles (flow rider, etc) of the larger ships, you won't find those. You can read about my cruise here, along with links to other Cuba sailings taken by Michael Poole: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/05/21/empress-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-1-embarkation-day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Woody Posted March 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thank you for all the information. Reg, Empress of the seas, I tried to book balcony oceanviw stateroom, but they don’t offer. Only inside or JS/GS. May be all sold out ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whenismynextcruise Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 @monorailmedic since you have been to Cuba do you mind telling us about the experience in Cuba itself? I have had the same thoughts as @J. Woody about going there. I am from the US. I am less interested about the ships (RC hasn't dissapointed me yet) but I am very curious about what your experience in Cuba was like. The food, the sights to see, did you feel welcome, all those kinds of things. I have done searches here on Cuba but so many posts return that I cant really parse through them. If there is a blog here already that someone knows of I will go read that if I can be pointed in the right direction. Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 I have been to Cuba about 9x..none of them on a cruise. I maybe able to answer some questions for you. Although it has been years since I visited Havana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 Doing the Majesty to Cuba at the end of June, originally Empress but switched over to Majesty in the great ship shuffle of 2017. The "cuba" piece of the cruise seems pretty restricted from reading the websites but we shall see in a couple of months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLGooner Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 Did Empress out of Tampa last September and doing Majesty this year, both times doing the overnight in Havana. As others have said, not the amenities of the bigger ships but still a great cruise. We loved Havana as very different to most other ports - anyplace that does NOT have a Diamonds International, Hard Rock, etc is fine with me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 5 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said: @monorailmedic since you have been to Cuba do you mind telling us about the experience in Cuba itself? I have had the same thoughts as @J. Woody about going there. I am from the US. I am less interested about the ships (RC hasn't dissapointed me yet) but I am very curious about what your experience in Cuba was like. The food, the sights to see, did you feel welcome, all those kinds of things. I have done searches here on Cuba but so many posts return that I cant really parse through them. If there is a blog here already that someone knows of I will go read that if I can be pointed in the right direction. Thanks!!! The people couldn't have been more welcoming. Remember, the people of Cuba have no issue at all with Americans, it's all a government tiff. As far as food we had very little as we wanted to explore the city, and when we did stop our options were a tad limited as we're vegetarians, and Cuban cuisine puts lard in just about everything (some that, as South Floridians we were very aware of before). What we did have (some cake, fries, and a couple local beers), was quite good. You dock in Havana Vieja, the old part of the city with beautiful and impressive Spanish architecture. We opted for a walking tour through the city, and next time will probably get a dedicated guide to take us a bit farther out - not b/c Havana Vieja wasn't amazing, but just for a change. There are many squares, parks, and great sites, plus forts and such. This blog post covers the day we spent in Havana, including pics, and tour details: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/05/23/empress-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-3-havana-cuba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsTryThisPlace Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 A Cuba cruise is on our bucket list and if I can get a good deal for a 4-day cruise around one of our long weekends we would be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whenismynextcruise Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Thanks so much @monorailmedic The blog you posted is great! Looks like I will be booking for Cuba. monorailmedic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 1 hour ago, whenismynextcruise said: Thanks so much @monorailmedic The blog you posted is great! Looks like I will be booking for Cuba. Enjoy! We can't wait to go back. Reach out with any additional questions. I have some more tips around currency, documentation, and more at www.CruiseHabit.com/CruisingCuba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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