sailsalot

Thanks for the reassurances. Got confirmation that boarding lunch is still included for us. 🙂

Thanks so much for your review! We leave soon on a 5 night caribbean cruise out of Tampa. Can you tell me what the dress code is for dinner? I can't find that information anywhere. We're signed up for traditional seating (early) in the Main Dining room. Are there more formal nights than others? Thanks so much for any help you can give with this. 🙂

I just checked the Key information for our late May cruise on Serenade, and it no longer lists the embarkation day lunch in Main Dining Room. Anyone ever had that happen, where they take away one of their big benefits like that? We bought the Key when it was lower than the current price and are really hoping they don't start to take away certain benefits.

On 11/16/2022 at 7:20 PM, dateacher said:

I actually forgot my passport (don't ask how).   I had my son scan my birth certificate directly to security at the terminal and that sufficed to get on the ship for a closed loop trip. 

How was it returning to the US with customs? Did they accept a scanned document?

Thanks for your review of the Eurodam. We're doing the same itinerary this summer. We're trying to figure out the fixed dining times for dinner and the evening show times, to help us decide if we should do early or late dining seatings. Do you have any info on the times of dining and the evening shows?

Thanks so much!

Thanks for your review! We'll be on Eurodam for Alaska in July. We're trying to figure out which dining time to do and when the shows are. Could you tell me when the show times were for each dining time seating? Thanks!

Hi Ranchette! It was a ship's sponsored tour. We were on Empress of the Seas.

We took the 4 hour bus tour and really loved all the sights we saw. Plenty of time to get off a different sites and walk around and take pictures. Very nice guide. Bathroom on bus was a perk for those who needed it.

I know someone mentioned magnets with hooks, but actually, we like to use the over the closet door hooks. Bring a few for the closet doors. Also, a laundry bag? Not sure where other people store their dirty clothes, but we hang our laundry bag on the hook in the bathroom.

I also want to second bringing your own conditioner and shower gel. Even though the ship provides bars of soap and 2-in-1 shampoo, we just got off the Empress and did not like the 2-in-1 shampoo. I had to buy conditioner in Key West or risk having my hair look like a brillo pad the whole cruise, which it did on day 2! And we prefer shower gel over bar soap.

How about a lanyard for your Sea Pass? Looked like everyone had one around their neck for ease of use.

BTW, we loved Cuba. :)

In case others want to know about Empress, we were just on it and the small children's pool (10 inches deep) had a sign that said no diapers or swim diapers allowed. Child must be potty trained to be in even the children's pool. Just an FYI!!

Our intinerary for the 4-hour tour was driving through Old Havana and other parts of the city, a 15-20 min. stop at the Christ statue, a 15-20 min. stop at the Colon cemetery, another stop at a shop to buy cigars and rum, a 15-20 min. stop at El Morro fort, a 15-20 min. stop at Revolution Square, and a drop off at a large covered market if you wanted to (but you'd have to find your own way back to the ship by walking or taking a taxi) or drop off at the cruise terminal. Because we had a 76 year old and a 5 year old with us, we bypassed the market and went back to the terminal. We found all of our souvenir needs in the shops at the terminal. All we bought was coffee and a fabulous Cuban music CD.

A little bit across the street from the cruise terminal is the Cathedral Plaza, which is a beautiful little square with a gorgeous old cathedral. You could wander around there. Lots of side streets to explore, but it just depends on your level of adventure. Given the makeup of our little party, we didn't feel inclined to wander too far off by ourselves, but we heard and read about the safety of the city, so you could certainly do so if you wanted. The ship gives you a very good map of the city with landmarks.

Hope that helps!

We just got back from the May 29 Empress Cuba cruise. To answer some of the specific questions, you can bring back 100 Cuban cigars and 1 liter of rum. You can buy individual cigars, or by the box.

As for how Havana handles tourists, I found it to be so much better than some of the really poor Caribbean islands we've visited on cruises. (Nevis, anyone??). The architecture is beautiful, on par with Spain, Portugal, and Uruguay. The people are very friendly. We brought our own bottled water provided by the cruise for free (a very nice touch, and Evian, too!) and we didn't eat any local food, so can't make any statement to that. We really enjoyed the untouched, authentic nature of the city. We were surprised to see the signs of freedom of religion on the island, with the churches and scheduled Mass services. There weren't any tacky straw markets with people tugging on your arm begging you to buy stuff. I read "Havana Nocturne" before the trip and really enjoyed seeing all the buildings mentioned in the book that were run/built by the US Mob. The classic American cars throughout the streets are a real novelty to see.

Our cruise spent 1 day there, and so not having to eat or sleep in the city may have made a difference in our perspective of Havana. But all 4 of us (2 mid-40s, one mid-70s, and our 5 year old) really loved it and have even talked about going back.

Hope that 1st hand input helps!

just got back from the Cuba itinerary of 5/29. On our cruise excursion (4-hour city tour) there were no restroom stops but the very comfortable air conditioned motor coach did have a bathroom in the back. My mother-in-law said it was "functional". Also, in the port terminal there is a bathroom, but you'll need to pay 20 cents (or whatever it was in Cuban pesos) and bring your own toilet paper as there aren't any in the bathrooms there. Hope that helps!

We just got the email yesterday saying we needed to have 2 copies of the Cuba Travel Certificate with us. We already submitted the form to our travel agent and did not know to keep another copy. Did you actually need to have copies of this on hand when you boarded and during the rest of the cruise? Thanks!

Whoa! What in the world is Quest? It looks like something we might stay far from as well. :)

Thank you for the pictures of the closet and drawer space. Too bad there aren't more shelves in the closet. I'll just plan on hanging most of our stuff.

Thanks again!

If you get a chance, can you take a picture of the inside of the closets? Just curious what the storage situation is. Thanks!! This review has helped me be prepared more than anything else!!

Loving your review! We're on the same cruise on May 29 and can't wait! A few questions:

1. From your pictures, it appears that food in Windjammer is self-serve. Is that so?

2. Were there many children on board? We'll have our 5 year old with us. Just curious what the family make-up is of this itinerary.

Thanks again, and I really enjoyed all the pictures especially of the daily planner and menus! Now I know to pack something "Latin" and something white for dinners. :)

Hello again! I've read with great interest what everyone has to say about the topic I presented and appreciate everyone's input. To give you an idea where I was coming from, my husband's family is from an impoverished, I guess you could say third world, country, and when we visited there for several weeks, I remember the people, and the kids in particular, really being fascinated with any little trinket we had on hand and gave to them. Their lives are tough and without much in the way of material things, much less basic things. So to bring a smile (what I think was a genuinely happy smile) to someone less fortunate was nice to do while we traveled there and learned about their country and their living conditions.

I'm no expert on Cuba, and have just finished reading a book about Cuba to learn about this new country that we're visiting. So I don't know much about their culture. I was under the impression that they, too, struggled to make ends meet and provide for themselves, but perhaps that's not the case. In any event, my intentions were to make a kind gesture, not stir up any hostilities or cause any problems. We've decided to not bring anything with us except our excitement to learn about and experience a new country with all it has to offer. We'll save any trinkets we have to our next visit to my in-laws home country. :)

Thanks again, and happy travels to you all!

Thanks so much for the quick reply, JVilleGal! Very helpful!!

Who do you contact prior to the cruise to have the distilled water and extension cord waiting for you in the cabin? Thanks for info!

Thanks for your great review! We leave on the Empress in a few weeks and are very excited to read all about the earlier cruises. We read in another review about temperature being taken by doctors at the terminal in Cuba. Did this happen to you? And if so, how is it that they take your temperature? Can't imagine having someone put something in my mouth (is it sanitary??)

Thanks!

Hello!

We're headed to Cuba this summer on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and had heard that it was nice to bring things to give to the locals that they can't get there or that are very expensive. Has anyone ever done this, and if so, was it received well, or was it a lot of trouble to do? We'd like to put a humanitarian spin on our trip and like the idea of bringing books, toys, etc. for the kids especially. Any info you all might have is much appreciated! Thanks!!

Hello!

This will be our first cruise on Empress and our agent is giving us 3608 and 3610 for our party of 4. I haven't found anything about these cabins, so any info you all have would be greatly appreciated. Specifically curious about noise, and are the windows portholes or picture windows. Any other input you have would be super helpful! Thanks so much in advance!

Thanks for your feedback. Our TA moved us from that cabin, so we're in a quieter location. Thanks again!