juliasurgent

Just saw on news this morning that the current administration is moving to end cruises by Americans to Cuba.  We very much enjoyed our Pearl Seas cruise to Cuba in April, 2017.  Wondering which itineraries will they put on to replace Cuba?

As we loved both Cuba and Canadian Maritimes cruises with Pearl Seas, we are eager to cruise again with them, particularly in a cruise that offers Central American ports not usually offered, and Cartagena.

Anyone have insight into this?  Our travel agent is unavailable at the moment.

@Ken,

That's great! I will be interested in your experience, as we've never been on Oceania before (being relatively new to cruising).

Twice on Pearl Seas, though! Once on Royal Caribbean to Alaska. Love the small ships.

Thanks, pbenjamin, read your review of Adonia!

@quiltsnh,

I see that although I attempted to post my review April 9, it didn't go through, so I posted again today. Will post it here, also.

My sister and I sailed March 28, 2017 on Pearl Seas' seventhtrip to Cuba. A year earlier, thecompany suddenly canceled our April 2016 Cuba trip.

Instead, we tried out the ship on the Canadian Maritimes 14day itinerary, and were impressed by its obliging crew, good food, largequarters and Swiss precision of timetables and communication by tour directors.

So we had confidence that, once Pearl Seas receivedpermission from Cuban ports, (which was communicated in early December, 2016),we would have a great trip to Cuba with this ship and crew.

Cruise director Kristen came right over to us in the Ft.Lauderdale terminal, and we were warmly greeted by Akin, Boro, Sarah, Paulino,Celeste, Alvin and Chris on board. Thiscruise line has the human touch.

This time we were on second deck forward, in a spaciouscabin. We find the beds comfortable, thefurniture well-made and the bathroom attractive. Deck two gets wet, however, from sea spray. The ship’s passage around both west and easttips was in rough water, causing seasickness.

The lecturers were outstanding. Rafael's perspective from his upbringing as achild of Cuban immigrants, his densely packed coverage of Cuban cuisine and Bayof Pigs talks were nuanced, with excellent diction and insight.

Janis Lewin's decades of photographs expressed wordlesslythe human condition of Cuban people.

We enjoyed a wonderful participatory salsa class put on byballroom dancing expert and musician Leelyn, and heard a wide variety of musicof Kenny Holliday each night. Not quiteenough Latin for me, though!

Tour directors Kristen, Kathleen, Coryn, Kevin, gave clearpublic announcements, help and advice.

The tours were excellent, with some excellent Englishspeaking guides, such as Adolfo in Cienfuegos and Yenia in Santiago. The meals out were impressive, Brasso inparticular. As were the meals and serviceon the ship. Akin and crew had takenmany of my suggestions for Cuban menus and implemented them! A different quiche every morning, nice buffetat breakfast with food sculptures. Thechef has a light touch, and is a master at garde-manger, not wasting any fooddue to our ordering each morning on a paper menu. We also appreciated being able to orderhalf-portions.

We experienced fine treatment, with champagne, birthday cakeand serenading, as well as platters of bland food when we had a bout of seasickness in rocking swells.

Traveling in comfort and safety on this ship offered aparticular advantage to us two women over the age of 60. Cuba’s people are warm, welcoming, and theroads are good, the water safe to drink, and the island is educated, and safe. However, the dilapidated state of waterdelivery, the electrical outages, and sketchy transportation makes it muchbetter a destination for young, robust backpackers, rather than older touristswith less physical stamina in the heat, agility and tolerance for suchoutages. We wish we had brought boxes ofpencils and papers for the students, or musical instruments. Our coming on a ship and tipping guides andlocal people surely helps support families living on $20 month governmentsalaries. Having our ship offshoreemboldened us to come see this once forbidden place, but in comfort, andavoiding the schlepping of packing and unpacking.

Mojitos or frozen drinks on deck six. Nice and easy embarking and disembarking withonly 182 guests and 66 crew. Guests areinteresting, and do not put on airs. It's a ship we would gladly return to. Canary islands anyone? Mexico? Iceland? Hawaii? Central America? Circumnavigationof Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic? We would be on board!

@CoolCruiser,

Yes, Pearl Seas could not get permission to dock in Trinidad so we spent two days in Cienfuegos taking tours to Trinidad and the Botanical Gardens. Then we spent two days in Santiago, taking tours by bus to El Cobre to see the cathedral and copper area, as well as touring around Santiago. An aside, on the Pearl Seas, we had a decent internet connection practically the entire time. Seas were choppy around the western and eastern end. We spent Wednesday and Thursday cruising back from Santiago to FLL.

@pbenjamin,

Yes, that was us out in Santiago's harbor on our second day there. The first day, we were at the dock, and on the second day, we walked off onto the wharf, but tendered back, because your ship was anchored there. Our ship had only 182 passengers, and docked both in Havana and in Cienfuegos. How did you like the Adonia? I just posted a review of our fantastic 10 days on the Pearl Mist, March 28-April 7. Loved it!

Richard,

How much we greatly appreciate your impressions and advice. In one month, hopefully, we will enjoy the Cuban people and carry with us an open mind. Thank you so much for putting your thoughts into this thread!

Richard, thanks for your impressions. We look forward to your lectures on the March 28 departure. Is there any opportunity for snorkeling or swimming on this cruise? How about salsa dancing lessons!Which ports did you most enjoy?

Is there any change in ports coming up for future cruises?

Can't wait to hop on board!

So far no one has posted their impressions on any of Pearl Seas Cuba cruises, but we look forward to any feedback about which ports are still on the agenda, and which have been canceled.

Post away!

Hello to anyone who headed to Cuba on 2017 Pearl Mist Cuba cruises. We are booked for their March 28 departure, and would greatly value your impressions, both what you liked and suggestions for improvement.

Also, were you able to get on Wifi at any time after you left Ft. Lauderdale?

Yes, for 2016 Pearl Seas ran the cruise both ways, and there are also shorter versions of the cruise involving fall foliage.

We were really impressed with the company and that Canadian Maritimes itinerary.

We took the 14 day Canadian Maritimes cruise in September 2016, and it was great. There is no more efficient and pleasurable way to see eastern Canada's cities, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, while then venturing into the seaways and natural beauty of the eastern fjord and islands, finishing in Portland, ME. Good food, excellent and organized crew, comfortable quarters, and decent weather. Lobster was served often and the quiche for breakfast became an everyday ritual. Lectures excellent.

We're headed on their cruise to Cuba March 26 based on our favorable impression of the ship and the company. We in fact took the Canadian cruise as a substitute when all of their Cuba cruises were canceled in 2016 due to their not receiving permission to enter from Cuban port officials. Glad to hear in December that permission had been granted, and now January 17, we see that the Pearl Mist sailed from Ft. Lauderdale on this first edition of their Cuba program. Can't wait!