Empress or MSC Armonia to Cuba?

We are planning for our next cruise (Christmas/ New Years) and having trouble deciding between these two options:

Empress of the Seas, 8 days

Miami

At sea

Santiago de Cuba / Cuba

Labadee

At sea

Cienfuegos / Cuba

George Town / Cayman Islands

At sea

Miami

OR

MSC Armonia, 7 Days

Miami

At sea

Montego Bay / Jamaica

George Town / Cayman Islands

Cozumel

Havanna / Cuba

Havanna / Cuba

Miami

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We are a couple in our early 30s, and as you can see from my signature, we've only cruised on Royal Caribbean so far. But

the most important thing for us is the itinerary, so we don't have a problem changing cruise lines, as long as we still get the basic cruise experinece we are used to.

The main thing with this cruise is that we'd like to visit Cuba. Cayman Islands is a great bonus that comes with both of the itinerearies! We've already been to Labadee twice and Cozumel once. Montego Bay would be a new port in Jamaica, since on our last cruise we went to Falmouth. Anyway, any of these "extra" ports would make nice beach days for us. Choosing Armoni would give us an extra day to spend in Miami, which would also be welcomed, since we are flying in from Finland, so we don't get there that often.

So basically it comes down to, which would be a better way to see Cuba, two days in Havanna, or Santiago de Cuba + Cienfuegos? Based on a quick search, in Cienfuegos we would probably visit the El Nicho waterfalls. In Havanna I'd probably look for something ballet/dance related. But other than that we don't have any specific plans.

Another question is the ships. Both are pretty small, right? So far we've enjoyed all the Royal Caribbean ships we've been on, from Enchantment to Harmony, and don't necessarily need all the bells and whistles. We go for the inside cabins since we don't spend that much time there. All we need is two loungers in the sun, books to read and a jacuzzi(+pool) nearby! We don't drink or party, but like to go to the gym, and we mostly eat at windjammer (mdr once or twice per cruise). We have chosen the soda package on all of our cruises because we only drink diet coke. Is there a package like that at MSC? It seems like on MSC you have to choose between different experiences (bella, fantastica...). If we choose the most basic option, will we be missing out on something essential? On Empress, we'd be in Platinum class for the first time. Is that anything worth considering?

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

Platinum does not give you anything worth mentioning.....

I think MSC would be a better choice and itinerary! (y)

These both look like great itineraries to me. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. It really will depend on what’s important to you and your family. I’ve been to Havana so I’d lean towards the Empress and the other Cuba stops, but that’s just me. I’d love to visit Havana again, but I’d also want to see the rest of Cuba.

FWIW I have a friend I met several years ago and he loves Cuba (especially Havana) and visits there several times a year.

We sailed the Empress to Havana in Sept 2018. It was a four nighter. I had a great trip. Empress is small and showing signs of her age. But would consider sailing her again for the right itinerary.

Here is a review I did several months ago.

Empress of the Seas-September 23-27; My .02

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=24703&share_tid=2548531&url=https%3A%2F%2Fboards%2Ecruisecritic%2Ecom%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D2548531&share_type=t

Tom

These both look like great itineraries to me. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. It really will depend on what’s important to you and your family. I’ve been to Havana so I’d lean towards the Empress and the other Cuba stops, but that’s just me. I’d love to visit Havana again, but I’d also want to see the rest of Cuba.

 

FWIW I have a friend I met several years ago and he loves Cuba (especially Havana) and visits there several times a year.

 

We sailed the Empress to Havana in Sept 2018. It was a four nighter. I had a great trip. Empress is small and showing signs of her age. But would consider sailing her again for the right itinerary.

 

Here is a review I did several months ago.

 

 

 

Tom

Armonia is also a small, older ship....so to me, it is a toss up. I would choose by the most attractive itinerary to you. :)

We've sailed w/ MSC once, have three trips booked w/ them, one being the Armonia in 2/19 for the same itinerary you're thinking of. Yes, it is an older boat, but that seems true across all lines for the Cuba cruises. We really enjoyed our MSC Divina cruise, hence the three future cruises with them. MSC does have a non-alcohol package, not sure if includes juices and water in addition to soda. If you book Bella your cabin will be in the least desirable areas of the ship, if you can swing it you might want to go to Fantistica. No need for Aurea, since you don't drink, and I don't think Yacht Club is an option on Armonia.

Tough call, to me, it will be a toss up between cost vs itinerary.

We did Havana a year ago on the Empress, and I'd suggest to anyone that if you are worried about anything related to visiting Cuba, cruising is a good way of doing it, as the ships and crew do a lot of explanation to keep the concerns to a minimum, and explaining how things really work.

We learned enough that we flew back for a 4 night weekend in Havana over Labor Day weekend.

IMHO, you will learn enough about travel to Cuba in either itinerary that you will be comfortable to fly back and spend more time on your own (which is considerably less expensive, BTW).

And not knowing the ships, based on that, I'd almost lean to not visiting Havana. Why? Flying and staying just there is pretty easy. I'm not sure how you travel from the airport to Santiago or Cienfuegos.

Good luck, and enjoy the trip- Cuba is a great place to visit. Not at all like any other port that ships sail to.

Thanks for your input so far, everyone!

This "people to people" thing seems very confusing. There seem to be many different views on how this works. On MSC site it says "You cannot get off the ship in Cuba unless you are on a shore excursion." Is that true (or are they just trying to sell excursions), and is it like that with Royal Caribbean as well?

Thanks for your input so far, everyone!

 

This "people to people" thing seems very confusing. There seem to be many different views on how this works. On MSC site it says "You cannot get off the ship in Cuba unless you are on a shore excursion." Is that true (or are they just trying to sell excursions), and is it like that with Royal Caribbean as well?

They both say the same thing, but it's not true. The treasury FAQ is pretty clear how you satisfy the "Support Cuban People" pretty darned easily- 1) don't do state sponsored stuff (eating, touring, drinking) 2) do privately owned stuff (eating, touring, drinking, etc).

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_fact_sheet_11082017.pdf

The safe bet is to check BOTH person to person and support Cuban people on your affidavit. That way you are ok when boarding the ship, and also ok to make your own excursion. From what I've seen posted, it's more about the people at embarkation than it is the people on the ship. When we were on the ship, the crew was very helpful in explaining how to DIY your tour, if you had made arrangements before the trip. There are a number of tour companies here in the US that runs tours in Cuba- we've used both Tour Republic and AirBnB.

And the requirement for tracking what you are doing is easy- if you take iPhone pictures, as long as you have the GPS on, it will have that and a time stamp in the pictures, documenting what you are doing, if anyone calls you about it.

EDIT- this is interesting, I just checked the affidavit that RCI now asks you to submit at check in- and you should know this form- https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/content/faq/cuba-guest-travel-certification.pdf

There are some interesting choices there-

1) RCI tour. Everyone is aware of that choice- as been there forever.

2) FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN) (I cut and pasted, hence the all caps)- this one is actually new, so you can make your own tour. because this:

3) SELF-GUIDED PROGRAM (ONLY PERMITTED FOR PASSENGER BOOKINGS MADE BEFOREJUNE 16, 2017) is still there.

So, yes, you can make your own tour.

If you decide on MSC - note that they will status match RCL. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Loyalty-Match-Program.aspx

Thanks everyone, this is all valuable info.

We're slowly starting to lean towards MSC now.

If you go with MSC check a few different cabins in the category you want to book. When I booked mine the first option was for a very small interior, something like 130 sq ft. By moving to a different deck and checking the deckplans I ended up w/ same price room but with twice the sq footage. MSC is nice like that. Divina and Preziosa both have two room Aurea suites that you can book for the same price as the one room suites.

I hope someone can answer one more question:

So far we've booked all of our cruises straight from Royal Caribbean website. As for MSC, booking straight through the cruise line does not seem to be possible. Which site would you recommend for booking MSC?

I hope someone can answer one more question:

So far we've booked all of our cruises straight from Royal Caribbean website. As for MSC, booking straight through the cruise line does not seem to be possible. Which site would you recommend for booking MSC?

Best to ask this on the dedicated MSC forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=80

Best to ask this on the dedicated MSC forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=80

Here's another choice- took some research- we are doing RCI Empress B2B- Nov 19 & Nov 26- fares are very reasonable. 1st week is Cienfuegos & Santiago & Georgetown. 2nd week is a very good Havana overnight, with Cozumel & Nassau. Seeing all 3 major Cuban ports. No changing of cabins. This was the only one I could find like that this year.

Bonus- RCI cooks the Thanksgiving turkey this year, not me!

Here's another choice- took some research- we are doing RCI Empress B2B- Nov 19 & Nov 26- fares are very reasonable. 1st week is Cienfuegos & Santiago & Georgetown. 2nd week is a very good Havana overnight, with Cozumel & Nassau. Seeing all 3 major Cuban ports. No changing of cabins. This was the only one I could find like that this year.

 

Bonus- RCI cooks the Thanksgiving turkey this year, not me!

Sounds great! However, we're limited to cruising during the Christmas vacation...