Cary Cruiser

We just played it safe and booked 7 excursions with Oceania on our March 2022 cruise.

We went to the Parisian show.  I thought it would be nice to see the famous Hotel Nacional.  The show was nice for about the first hour, and then got seemingly repetitive, being that all the songs were in Spanish.  Also, the chairs were very hard and uncomfortable.  About 40 minutes before the show ended, my wife and I left and just walked around the hotel lobby.

If I ever get back to Havana I think I would go see the Tropicana.

Don't know how many Cuban ports your cruise is doing, but we found better chotckes in Cinefuegos than Havana - actually some very interesting and creative things there.

On 3/28/2019 at 1:12 PM, Coral said:

I know! On the Danube - Crystal's shore excursions (free) were much better than the other lines shore excursions in addition to everything else.

 

I am interested in a longer cruise and Crystal doesn't have it. I have read one scathing review of Tauck which sort of scares me. The other reviews are pretty good but the one review is from a frequent poster on this board.

I have never taken a tour/cruise with Tauck, and probably never will due to the high cost, but one thing I do know is that everything I ever read about their trips and cruises are that they are absolutely top shelf. Can things go sideways sometimes, even on a Tauck trip - probably, but I can't imagine them not making every effort to make things right for one of their guests.

One thing I have learned over the years, is that there are some people who seem to be in a perennially unhappy state, and you are better off ignoring their complaints.

Being Floridians, we actually prefer the cool air.  We did our Danube cruise toward the end of October and loved it, (and we saved some money too).

3 hours ago, SpringBreakMom said:

When I look at the GCT website, it mention traveling in a group of 38-45 aboard their ship that carries 140-162.  Exactly what do they mean by that?

The cruise we took down the Rhone had 43 pax on the ship.  I can't say what happens on their larger ships, but a nice tour bus will accommodate about 40 people, so it seems logical to break things up along those lines.

We went on Grand Circle to Paris, and then down the Rhone.  It sure didn't feel "budget" to me in any way, shape, or form.  Some of the best food and service we've ever experienced.  The ship was a bit older, but very clean and well maintained with a H U G E cabin.

And, yes, you can get some great deals in their Last Minute section.

We went on the Oceania Sirena back in December. 10 days, 3 stops in Cuba.  It was our first time on this cruise line, and we would definitely go with them again on the right itinerary.  Great food and service. We liked the "small ship" format - really first class all the way.

We came back to Miami.  I had a box + in cigars, plus a couple of bottles of rum.  It took about 5 minutes to go through Customs and Immigration. He looked at our passports, asked if we had anything to declare, and then welcomed us home.

Yes, specialty coffee drinks are included, and yes you can purchase an alcohol package if desired (we did not and came out ahead $ wise). But they do let you bring up to six bottles of wine on board, and only charge a corkage fee ($25?) if you bring the bottle into a public area or a dining area.  I brought 3 bottles for our 10 day cruise which I consumed during our diners. 

So while you do have to pay for alcohol separately, and there are excursions included in the "O" package the cost is still far below Regent.  And YES, the food is still excellent, especially in the specialty restaurants.

We recently sailed on an Oceania cruise to Cuba, on one of their smaller 684 passenger ships (Sirena). It was our first time sailing with them...and we really liked it.  Over the years we have sailed down the Rhone on the 45 pax  m/s Provence with Grand Circle, and also on the very large Royal Caribbean behemoths.  This felt just right, and I loved the high tea every day at 4 'oclock.

We had some daiquiris at the El Floridita Bar - best daiquiris I've ever had!!!

One of the best sights we visited during our stay in Cuba was only about a five minute walk from the pier in Havana.  "Palacio de los Capitanes Generales Casa de gobierno" was the palace that the Spanish governors ruled Cuba from and the place contained magnificent treasures and was a truly interesting place to visit.  My wife and I enjoyed it immensely and learned quite a bit about Cuban history.  Also, if I recall correctly, the admission was only $3 CUC.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Palacio+de+los+Capitanes+Generales+Casa+de+gobierno/@23.1398484,-82.3523843,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x88cd79a8d6909d83:0x7d19cf0ce8315595!8m2!3d23.1398484!4d-82.3501903

We tipped about 10% when we were in Cuba.  It seemed that the wait staff appreciated it.

For me - the itinerary is more important than who my fellow passengers are.  For the most part you are going to get somewhat of an older crowd on river cruises.  Then again there are some "seniors" that are much more active that I am.

3 hours ago, ustowas said:

Sorry I should have asked:

Would Cary Cruiser Please share detailed information about how you left the tour and went on your own to Hofburg Palace and then took the Metro back to the ship on our own. I have heard The Hofburg Palace was really nice and as it is our second time in Vienna we hope to do the same thing  this April.

As mentioned, the tour ended at St. Stephan Cathederal.  We informed our guide that we were going to depart the tour at that time (good thing to do as they do a head count when everybody is back on the bus).  Since we had gone by the entrance of the Hofburg on the tour, I knew it was only a few blocks from St. Stephans.  Backtracked to the entrance - spent most of the afternoon there, and then went on to Demel for some coffee and cake.  The Metro station is close to St. Stephans.  Make sure you get on the right train going in the right direction - 2 stops (I think) and then it is a few blocks walk to where the ship is.  Your program director will be happy to give you more detailed instructions I am sure.  We loved the Hofburg.  Very worthwhile to visit.

12 hours ago, HOSKI said:

I'm trying to figure out where the money exchanges are and how to decide how much to exchange.  Don't want to get stuck with extra but at the same time don't want to run short if we want to purchase something.  Any suggestions? 

Do you intend to buy cigars and/or rum?  I spent about $400 CUC on those 2 items alone. One nice box of cigars and a couple of Viejo bottles of rum.  Lunch/food can be had relatively inexpensive.  I brought over $1,000 US with me (on a cruise) and was sure I was going to come home with some cash, but got off the ship penniless.

It's not the end of the world if you convert too much to CUC and wind up having to convert a little back to $US.

We had a total of 3 in our package.  We used 2 of our "O Life" excursions as follows.  One, we went to Cabaret Parisian (which I thought was too long and repetitive - wished we had done the Buena Vista Social Club instead), and the other one that was interesting was the "Colonial Santiago" tour.

We rented one of the classic cars for an hour in Havana ($50 CUC), otherwise it is great to just walk around on your own.  The thing we enjoyed the most in Havana was going to the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales Casa de gobierno.  It is only a few blocks from the pier and was fantastic.  It is the palace from where the Spanish governors ruled.

Just enter "Cienfuegos" in Google maps and print one out.  That's what I did.

Can't say where the tenders dock.  Our ship was docked in Cienfuegos right at the foot of Calle 19.

Pictures of the Oceania Sirena were taken on our November 30 departure from Miami on a 10 day cruise that went to 3 ports in Cuba.

IMO Oceania is by far the best all around cruise line going to Cuba these days. Excellent cuisine.

Well you are kinda missing the main square, Parque José Martí, which has most of the historic buildings (also, probably the most touristy part of town), and well worth seeing.

We sailed on the Oceania Sirena last month, and docked in Havana at 8 AM, stayed overnight and left 5 PM the following day. Then went on to Cienfuegos, and Santiago, each for approximately 1 day ( plus 2 other ports).

We went on a cruise to Cuba stopping in Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago.  There were 684 passengers on the ship, and over 10 days we spoke to quite a few of them.  No one mentioned anything about any vaccinations.