Detailed review of Empress of the Seas inaugural Cuba cruise

[Snit13]

Alter Ego,

 

I just read on another review that if you are mobility impaired you should not get off the ship. Have read more than one review advising that there are 42 steps to get from ship to street. I do not do stairs well so will take me some time to get to street level.

 

It would be my guess that facilities will be few and far between.

[ukbballfan]

To answer some of the questions...

 

Yes, public restroom are plentiful but be careful with the doors. There are a few that open easily for about a foot then it takes a considerable amount of push to open it fully. If you're not ready for this it can kinda knock you off balance.

 

There was a kinda formal night where there were pictures taken with the captain and more photo opportunities but that was about it. I saw a few people who were dressed up a little but not a single tux.

 

As far as mobility I didn't find Cuba to be any different than Europe or some of the other Caribbean islands...no ADA standards.

[ukbballfan]

Day 5 Cuba!

 

It finally arrived! After all the buzz and excitement it was finally time to make it a reality. We awoke at 5:30 and I looked out our window and could see the lights of the city in the distance. I was showered and ready by 5:50 and went out on the front viewing deck to watch the approach. I was all alone and the view was...well the best way I can describe it was emotional. After wanting to see Cuba for so long and not knowing if I would ever get to in my lifetime it was a special moment for a travel geek.

 

 

As you can tell by the distance I was up way too early and the reason was the ship was not moving very quickly. I assumed that we had a certain time to enter the harbor and although we were scheduled to dock at 7:00 the Captain had announced the night before it was going to be 8:00/

[ukbballfan]

Day 5 Cuba!

 

It finally arrived! After all the buzz and excitement it was finally time to make it a reality. We awoke at 5:30 and I looked out our window and could see the lights of the city in the distance. I was showered and ready by 5:50 and went out on the front viewing deck to watch the approach. I was all alone and the view was...well the best way I can describe it was emotional. After wanting to see Cuba for so long and not knowing if I would ever get to in my lifetime it was a special moment for a travel geek.

 

 

As you can tell by the distance I was up way too early and the reason was the ship was not moving very quickly. I assumed that we had a certain time to enter the harbor and although we were scheduled to dock at 7:00 the Captain had announced the night before it was going to be closer to 8:00. Since we were so far out from shore we decided to go the Windjammer and grab a quick bite. It was crowded and everyone was excited. As we finished eating the ship was approaching the mouth of the harbor so we headed back to the viewing platform to watch us enter the harbor. There is a large fortress on the right and behind it a large sculpture of Christ. To the right you can see the old town and there was a ship already in port.

 

 

 

As you enter the harbor is pretty narrow and then once inside it opens up greatly. The dock is to the right and we sailed around the large MSC ship and to our berth next to it. The terminal buildings looked like they had been condemned but later when we entered they were quite modern. The harbor is huge and there were many industrial buildings complete with large amounts of smoke about a half mile to the left. The streets were pretty empty at this time and the only people we saw around the terminal was a group of, what I assumed were Cuban dignitaries, greeting the ship. The dock area is rather compact and would not hold a ship much larger than the Empress.

 

 

 

 

Yes, that's our berth straight ahead...glad I wasn't driving! The terminal between the ships is the one we used. Once we docked we went back to the cabin and headed down to try and get off as soon as possible. We had received a questionnaire a couple of days before and it had asked if you planned on getting off the ship before or after 9:30. Our tour was scheduled for 8:00 so we said before. The night before Cuba an envelope was slid under our door with departure tickets saying we were in group 3. I went down to the desk to see about moving up and was told they couldn't change anything but come down to the lobby area where the gangway was to be set up and they would see what they could do. We were also informed that everyone going ashore would have their temperature taken.

 

Well the lobby was complete chaos. They had gathered the ships tours in the Royal Theatre and those with private tours were sent to the Schooners Bar next to the lobby where they had it sectioned off into 5 group areas. The plan was to let all the ships tours off first then they would get to everyone else...no surprise here. Once the gangway was set 3 Cuban doctors came onboard to start the temperature taking we were told about. In about 10 minutes the first passengers were led out of the Royal Theatre and went ashore. While we waited we started talking with another couple who had a private tour and since it was now 8:30 and there were still tons of ships tour people yet to go ashore, we decided we would look for an opening and jump into the line. Ordinarily I'm a follow the rules kind of guy but with us already 30 minutes late for our tour and not knowing how much longer it was going to be...I went for it. The first time someone let the divider down we jumped into the line...scanned our sea pass card and set foot on Cuban soil!

[ukbballfan]

Sorry about the duplication above...hit a wrong button. Here are a few shots of our first impression of Havana...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ukbballfan]

After we dodged the group of picture takers we were sent into the customs area where we approached the window one person at a time...had our picture taken...passport stamped...then off to the security screening. It was quick and easy and after watching the presentation that ran on channel 41 we knew exactly where to go next..

[ukbballfan]

 

 

The first pic is where we came from, the second where we were headed. At the end of the hall under the Cuban flag is the money exchange area. The elevator is to the left and the famous 42 stairs are to the right. At the bottom of the stairs you head straight and its about a 40 foot walk to the street. San Francisco Square is across the street and this was where we were to meet our guide....

 

 

 

We had booked I Love Cuba Tours from their number 1 status on Trip Advisor. Yosul, the owner had already been booked but he has guides that work for him and we were paired with Patricia for our full day tour. I had emailed him a few times leading up to the cruise and he was efficient in returning my emails. Patricia spoke perfect English and we later learned that she actually teaches English in the schools there. We dodged the group of people asking us about taking tours...well all but one who captured my wife's attention. She politely told him that we already had plans and he said ok, but where are you from? When she said the US his eyes lit up and he took her hand and said "Thank You for coming"! He was so sincere and it left a great first impression on Deb.

 

We walked into the square to the fountain and there was our guide with a sign with my name on it. With her was the owner Yosul and his 2 other guides. He introduced himself and we had an enjoyable back and forth...mostly about baseball...the universal language. We then headed off with Patricia on about a 2 hour walking tour starting with the old town. We first walked along the waterfront...

 

 

 

 

Then by the fortress

 

And into the interior of the old town...

 

[ukbballfan]

Pics of the old town...

 

 

 

 

 

This is a wooden street. A high ranking government official lived on this street back in the 1920's and he had a wife who was a light sleeper. The horses hooves made too much noise on the cobblestone street in front of the residence so he had the cobblestones removed and a wooden replacement constructed. It has to be replaced every year and for some reason they have kept it this way.

 

 

This is one of the more interesting statutes I have come across in my travels and it's message is one of women's strength. You can make your own jokes.

[ukbballfan]

We next entered into the centro area which is where most locals live and the conditions decreased rapidly. Here you will find the 3rd. world living conditions most Cubans face.

 

 

 

 

This was a flower market in a collapsed building. There are many partial and fully collapsed building that just set there and are not cleaned up. Our lecturer told us that in this years budget...for the first time...there was no money allotted to restoration projects...so you will probably see the same things we saw. However, it really wasn't as bad as I was prepared for. The people were incredibly friendly and at no time did we feel unsafe...even in the worst areas.

 

The main attraction for me was the old cars...and they didn't disappoint!

 

 

 

 

They were lined up by the Capital building and were offering tours. We were told they would be around 30 - 50 CUC's an hour depending on hardtop or convertible but you could haggle with them.

[ukbballfan]

Next up was the newer part of Havana including the Capital Building which was modeled after ours...as well as a few other nicer buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were walking our guide pointed out a local bank and we went in to exchange some money. I was surprised they were open on a Sunday and our guide said they are usually only closed on Mondays. This took about 10 minutes and you have to show them your passport. No matter where you exchange you will get 84 CUC's for $100. There are 2 different monies in Cuba...one for tourists and one for locals. Always make sure you are given change in CUC's as they are much more valuable than the regular peso. You can tell them apart as the tourist CUC has a monument on them while the regular peso will have a persons picture on them. As far as I know you can not get them anywhere but in Cuba as they are not on an International exchange.

 

By this time it was around 11:30 and we were getting tired of walking so we headed to our waiting car and she was a beauty...a 1956 Bel Air in mint condition.

 

We decided it was time for lunch and we went to a palladar that the guide used frequently. A palladar is a family run restaurant...opposed to one run by the government. These had been allowed since 2011 and were almost always in the families house. . The meal was very good and for two of us each having a three course meal with a beer was 42 CUC's. This place accepted US dollars and it was converted to $48 We wanted to save our CUC's for shopping later.

 

After lunch we headed out to Revolution Square...the place all the big speeches are given. Across the street there are two buildings with images on them, one of Fidel's good friend and the other his revolutionary counterpart Che Guevara

 

[ukbballfan]

Next up we headed to an area called the Jungle...which appears to be Havana's green space. Here we saw a bunch of men playing baseball, and after crossing a small river, we saw something you just don't see everyday. Now I must warn you a couple of these pics could possibly be disturbing to some.

 

 

 

 

 

The man in blue is a Santeria priest performing a cleansing ritual. It was done by sacrificing a chicken...whose blood was dripped all over the person in the water. Santeria is a religion our guide said was sweeping the country. Apparently when Fidel came to power he outlawed all religions so most of the 8.8 million Cubans born after 1960 had no exposure to religion. The Catholics were the first ones back and others followed but the vast majority have no religious affiliation. If you see people on the streets dressed all in white you will know they are making the conversion to the Santeria religion. They must wear all white for 1 full year. This, I would say, is similar to the things that occurred in the old testament of the Bible.

 

Next up we headed to the suburbs of Havana to an area called Fusterlandia...a kind of folk art neighborhood where an artist...Jose Fuster started putting tile mosaics on his house. This has now spread throughout the neighborhood. It will remind you of some of Gaudi's work...especially if you have been to Parc Guell in Barcelona.

 

 

 

It was an interesting place to see but if you're short on time I would skip the 25 minute drive out to it.

[ukbballfan]

After returning to town we went to the Nacionale Hotel. This is where all the big names stay while in Havana. Our guide said she had met Danny Glover and Jamie Lee Curtis there. We came here for the views and to shop for cigars and rum. We had stopped by a cigar factory but it had been closed. Cigars were about 10 CUC'c each for Montecristo's and Cohiba's were about the same. Rum varied in price but was from 7-20 CUC's depending on age.

 

 

 

 

By this time it was about 3:45 and we needed to be back onboard by 5:30 and we still needed to pick up some souvenirs. Our guide took us to the market about 600 yards from the ship and helped us navigate the many stalls. We found t-shirts for 12 CUC's and hats for 8 CUC's. They were of surprisingly good quality. We then had our driver drop us off in front of the terminal and we each received a hug and we thanked her for a most amazing day. We headed back up the 42 steps and through security. Surprisingly our rum was not taken to storage...I guess since just about everyone had bought rum and it would have taken a lot of manpower and a huge room to hold it all.

 

We hurried to our rooms to shower and then to dinner. The MDR was again buzzing with everyone telling their stories. Our waiters both were lucky enough to have gotten to go ashore for a couple hours and they were as excited as we were. There was a nice farewell performance by the dining staff and we said our goodbyes. We then went to the show which was a comedy/stunt performance. The guy was great and we laughed till we cried. I have to say this cruise had the best entertainment of any cruise we had been on. We took one last stroll around the Empress picking up our photos and then headed to the cabin to pack. We always do self disembarkation and it went smoothly. We were up at 7:00 and out of our cabin at 8:00. We went through the terminal and got in the long line for immigration. You no longer have to fill out the little blue forms and things went quickly. We were not asked about cigars or rum. Once outside I called QLS and our van was there in 10 minutes. We decided not to eat on the ship as we had a couple hours to kill at the airport before our flight.

 

All in all it was a very good cruise. The food in the MDR was above average, the crew was excellent, and the entertainment top notch. I wasn't sure about sailing on such a small ship but I would do it again tomorrow. I guess if we had a complaint it would have been the food in the Windjammer but a mass buffet is a mass buffet. I hope this wasn't too long winded...I just wanted to give out as much info as I could as we had so many questions before we left. For perspective, we are a couple in our mid to late 50's and this was our 23rd cruise. Feel free to ask anything about the cruise and I will try to answer. Here is the compass from the last day.

 

[hannibal54]

Thank you for your review and all of your pictures. We leave May 1st on the NCL Sky's first sailing to Cuba, can't wait to see it.

[put me on a ship]

We're on the May 20 sailing. Do they really take everyone's temperature??? Seems like that would take forever!

[FLACRUISER99]

After we dodged the group of picture takers we were sent into the customs area where we approached the window one person at a time...had our picture taken...passport stamped...then off to the security screening. It was quick and easy and after watching the presentation that ran on channel 41 we knew exactly where to go next..

They did not stamp my US Passport only the visa that they kept.

[dinse4par2]

To answer some of the questions...

 

 

 

Yes, public restroom are plentiful but be careful with the doors. There are a few that open easily for about a foot then it takes a considerable amount of push to open it fully. If you're not ready for this it can kinda knock you off balance.

 

 

 

There was a kinda formal night where there were pictures taken with the captain and more photo opportunities but that was about it. I saw a few people who were dressed up a little but not a single tux.

 

 

 

As far as mobility I didn't find Cuba to be any different than Europe or some of the other Caribbean islands...no ADA standards.

 

 

First of "Go Cats!!!" #BBN. We are in the 5/20 cruise also. Really enjoyed the review and pics. Answered so many of the questions we have. Sounded like you just merged in with people on RCI excursions to get off the boat early. We are also doing a private tour first thing. What's your advise to get off early??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[EatonDoolittle]

Thank you for taking the time to do this wonderfully detailed review.

[Snit13]

Simply wonderful review. The pictures were excellent.

 

Did you see the "small elevator" many have mentioned? I believe we will be able to make it down the stairs but going back up will be a major issue. We always use the elevators when we sail to get from landside to ship and back.

 

Others have reported that we must take our own toilet paper/wipes for use off the ship. Did you find this to be true? Have had to do this in many countries we have traveled in previously (Mexico and China to mention two) so not an issue if we know.

 

Thanks for taking your valuable time to share so much helpful information with us.

 

Grace

[catella02]

A very interesting and informative review. Lovely pictures. Thanks so much for taking your time to do it.

[ukbballfan]

Simply wonderful review. The pictures were excellent.

 

Did you see the "small elevator" many have mentioned? I believe we will be able to make it down the stairs but going back up will be a major issue. We always use the elevators when we sail to get from landside to ship and back.

 

Others have reported that we must take our own toilet paper/wipes for use off the ship. Did you find this to be true? Have had to do this in many countries we have traveled in previously (Mexico and China to mention two) so not an issue if we know.

 

Thanks for taking your valuable time to share so much helpful information with us.

 

Grace

 

 

We did not note elevator but was told it was incredibly slow. Stairs are about 15 feet wide with a hand rail down the center.

 

YES, take your toilet paper!

[ukbballfan]

First of "Go Cats!!!" #BBN. We are in the 5/20 cruise also. Really enjoyed the review and pics. Answered so many of the questions we have. Sounded like you just merged in with people on RCI excursions to get off the boat early. We are also doing a private tour first thing. What's your advise to get off early??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

I would hope RCL learned a lot from our cruise and the one leaving today, I think, so yours might be better organized. We simply hung near the center stairs in the atrium and jumped in at the first opportunity. I would also venture to guess that after reading reports from previous cruisers your cruise will have a lot more people doing private tours themselves.

[ukbballfan]

We're on the May 20 sailing. Do they really take everyone's temperature??? Seems like that would take forever!

 

 

That's what they said and 3 doctors did come aboard but by jumping the line we never got ours taken and nothing was said in the terminal about it. I didn't think to ask our tablemates about it. They mentioned it was a scanner they would use so maybe that would be quicker.

[Ruskincruiser]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review and all the fabulous pictures! We will be on the July 1st sailing.

[Ocean Dancer]

Wonderful review with excellent pictures, I really enjoyed it.

 

We have cabin 7508 on hold for the Nov 20 sailing. I see you had cabin 7008 across the way. You mentioned a viewing deck where people could see in your window. I like the easy access to the outside, but would you book this cabin again and do you have any pictures of the cabin and viewing deck?

 

Thank you so much.

[DonnaK]

This is one of the most interesting reviews I've ever read on CC. Thanks for sharing your experience in such detail with us!