Empress of the Seas 2018 Review (Cuba & More)

[tweetylori]

Husband had another Caesar, while I tried the Lobster Bisque.  The deeper I went into that bowl, the more small pieces of lobster jewels I discovered.

[tweetylori]

Our entrees for the evening were flat-out spectacular.  My Duck was my favorite entree of the trip.  Cooked perfectly.  So flavorful.  Not too sweet like some versions of 'a la orange can be.  Mmmmm!  Husband's Tenderloin was the best steak he had on this voyage, as well.  Highly recommend both these dishes!  

[tweetylori]

As if all that wasn't good enough, desserts were really good this night also.  Especially the Carrot Cake!  Get it!  The Peach Shortcake was nothing like I expected.  More whipped cream than anything else.  Get the Carrot Cake!

[tweetylori]

I do believe this was the first night of evening announcements and/or entertainment in the dining room.  Might have been just announcements, as later in the trip there was much activity on these stairs.

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Pretty night!

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Entertainment for the evening...Travis Ledoyt "A Tribute to the King", and he did a mighty fine tribute, complete with coming into the audience.  Very much enjoyed him!

 

 

[tweetylori]

I do believe Husband turned in a little early this night, while I hit up the casino for a bit.  I'm a Blackjack gal.  They had 1 to 2 blackjack tables on this cruise, both $6 minimums.  My rule has always been, and continues to be, if it's a fun table and a fun dealer, I enjoy playing and spending entertainment dollars with the hopes of winning something.  If it's not a fun table, it's never good.  On this cruise I found both.  I don't believe it was this night that I had my special win.  I believe that was later.  But Cuba was calling, so time to turn in!

 

When I did get back to the room, Husband was out like a light, and this was waiting for me.  Both made me smile.  

[sjb317]

13 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

Hi were you @ Pier B in Key West?  If so, did you find it convenient to everything?

I did this itinerary on Empress last year and we were docked right at Mallory Square, it was great.  

Returning in December on Majesty, and we are scheduled to be at Pier B. 

 

Thanks

I think pier B is the dock at the coast guard base. We docked there once on Vision and you are required to take the shuttle to a drop off point as passengers are not allowed to walk through the base.  Not very convenient.

 

Sherri🙂

[NSinMG]

I'm really enjoying your report.  The pictures are great.  We want to take a cruise to Cuba one of these days and also like the idea of a small ship.  Worried about the tiny cabin with no balcony though.  Looking forward to the rest of your report.

[sjb317]

1 hour ago, tweetylori said:

Here is where I must warn all of my future Empress of the Seas passengers...don't believe everything you read!  I read repeatedly here on CC that there were no formal nights on Cuba sailings on Empress.  Well, let me tell you that our Compass for this day clearly says:  "Tonight's Dinner Suggestion Formal".  UH OH.  All I can say is...TOO LATE Empress!  Husband took the "no formal nights" cruise at its word and brought nothing to dress things up.  Now, here's the good news:  no one seemed to care.  For this night or any of the others.  Some folks dressed up a bit, but nothing like we've seen on other cruises.  But if you're a stickler for suggestions, do know that they either haven't changed the Compasses, or they really do have formal nights.

I had read that also on CC and had told my husband not to bother with a tie or jacket.  Guess CC was wrong😂😂

Husband wore jeans and a button down shirt. 😂

 

Sherri🙂

[tweetylori]

16 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

I think pier B is the dock at the coast guard base. We docked there once on Vision and you are required to take the shuttle to a drop off point as passengers are not allowed to walk through the base.  Not very convenient.

 

Sherri🙂

Thank you Sherri for coming to the rescue with this one!  I didn't know.  Been on Vision of the Seas before though, in Alaska.  🙂

[tweetylori]

14 minutes ago, NSinMG said:

I'm really enjoying your report.  The pictures are great.  We want to take a cruise to Cuba one of these days and also like the idea of a small ship.  Worried about the tiny cabin with no balcony though.  Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

Thank you, and I say DO IT if you want to see Cuba.  I wouldn't worry about the tiny cabin, just expect it and plan accordingly.   That being said, I know how nice a balcony can be, so if that's a deal breaker for you, then plan another itinerary or wait until Cuba can handle bigger ships.  I'm guessing that's coming pretty soon. 

[tweetylori]

14 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

I had read that also on CC and had told my husband not to bother with a tie or jacket.  Guess CC was wrong😂😂

Husband wore jeans and a button down shirt. 😂

 

Sherri🙂

And nobody seemed to care, right?  My Husband even did shorts some nights.  

[EatonDoolittle]

23 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

I think pier B is the dock at the coast guard base. We docked there once on Vision and you are required to take the shuttle to a drop off point as passengers are not allowed to walk through the base.  Not very convenient.

 

Sherri🙂

I checked the Key West calendar, and OP was indeed at Pier B. Good to know it is convenient, it looked so on the maps I have seen.

 

The CG Base where you were is called the Outer Mole. No one seems to enjoy docking there because of the shuttle situation. There are actually 3 places for cruise ships to dock in KW. Mallory Square, Pier B, and the Outer Mole

 

 

[tweetylori]

Saturday, October 13, 2018 and OMG we wake up in CUBA. Note:  265 nm so far. And even though this was such a teeny cruise (distance wise from our last transatlantic one), it's what I love most about cruising. You eat, drink and be merry and wake up somewhere new!  Isn't that so exciting?  I find it the most invigorating part of cruising. And to finally be in the land so long forbidden to Americans...well, we couldn't wait!  Havana, here we come!

 

 

[tweetylori]

2 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

I checked the Key West calendar, and OP was indeed at Pier B. Good to know it is convenient, it looked so on the maps I have seen.

 

The CG Base where you were is called the Outer Mole. No one seems to enjoy docking there because of the shuttle situation. There are actually 3 places for cruise ships to dock in KW. Mallory Square, Pier B, and the Outer Mole

 

 

Thank you for keeping us all straight!

[tweetylori]

Let's talk a minute about the necessary evils of getting into Cuba. First you fill out the form you hand in when you're boarding regarding tours.  Ship tours?  Private Tour supporting the people?  Honestly it doesn't seem to be a big deal.  We were doing a private tour that wasn't an all day one.  Didn't seem to fit any particular category.  Wasn't a problem.  

 

 Yes you have to pay a $75 visa charge.  It simply gets charged to your Sea Pass account. They give you the Visa form to fill out, which you take with you when you leave the ship.  Note:  some people will scare you that if you fill it out wrong you have to pay another $75.  I can personally attest to having screwed it up and not having to pay it again. 

 

 I put my birth date and passport numbers in the wrong places.  I still got off the ship with no problem other than a crew member pointing out to me that I had put things in the wrong blanks.  I was told to scratch through the wrong spot and put it all back in the right spots.  Voila, it worked fine!  Seriously took just a few seconds.

 

  Note:  if you are smart enough and patient enough like Husband, you will look at the example that is presented to you and not make the mistake to begin with.  Isn't he SMART, everyone?  Pats on the back for him please!  (okay, he only gave me so much grief for not getting it right to begin with)  I know, I deserved it.   

[tweetylori]

First look at Cuba, and I have to say, it was not a "wow that's beautiful moment".  See what I mean?

 

 

[tweetylori]

Our private tour was scheduled to begin at 10am.   We had found this tour online, with its 5 star reviews, and had pre-paid the $79 per person for a 4 hour tour that included food and some drinks.  It's the Old Havana Food Tasting & Cultural Tour.  Our guide, Ana, emailed us before we got out of US range, to let us know where to meet for the beginning of the tour, and I felt pretty confident that we would have no problem finding it.  Hmmmm....

 

Food tour upon us, we didn't even consider breakfast on the ship.  (we had learned better from previous food tours).  We had also checked with Ana to know how long it might take us to find the meeting place for our tour, so we knew to get off the ship around 9:15.  That would allow us a good cushion to exchange money.  We actually exchanged Euros instead of dollars, since we had some leftover from our Transatlantic.  That saved us from paying the automatic 13% or so that comes off of US dollar transactions.  When you get off the ship, it's like going to any bank.  You wait in line for the next available Teller.  Quick exchange, with receipt, and you are on your way.

 

Ana had told us to go out of the building, cross the street at the crosswalk and take ANY street to the left.  She said it didn't matter what part of the square,  just go left and turn right on Muralla.  Please note, if you do this tour, the street sign to Muralla is not there on the first left.  Believe me, we know, because we kept walking and felt more and more uncomfortable.  My suggestion would be to go straight to the end of the square, small left, then immediate right on Muralla.  Believe me...BIG difference.  There is a lot of poverty in Old Havana, and you will see some pretty intense poverty if you go the way we went.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, we just didn't know where we were going.

[tweetylori]

I cannot begin to tell you how glad we were to finally find our meeting location.  Believe me, this looks NOTHING like the street we had just been down.  Our meeting location is not open for breakfast.  They open up just for this tour.  Nice place!  With a bathroom, complete with toilet paper and water.  Note:  we had been warned to bring toilet paper with us, but never had any issues with that on this tour.  Pays to go with a reliable tour!  That being said, I was soooo kicking myself for not bringing hand sanitizer.  Because by this point, we had already shaken the hands of a couple very friendly Cubans on some of those back streets.

 

 

[tweetylori]

Right on time, the other two for our tour showed up.  How exciting to have such a small group with our own guide.  This was seriously awesome!  We started off with Ana explaining a typical Cuban breakfast of bread and butter.  And of course coffee!  In Cuba, she said, it's not about whether you will have coffee, it's how do you like it?  We were given a very milky version with bread that had a touch of rosemary.  One gal in our group doesn't do gluten, so they fixed her a lovely fruit plate of papaya and star fruit and such that she shared.  What a wonderful start to our tour!  Note, Cubans love their sugar!

 

 

[sjb317]

8 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

I checked the Key West calendar, and OP was indeed at Pier B. Good to know it is convenient, it looked so on the maps I have seen.

 

The CG Base where you were is called the Outer Mole. No one seems to enjoy docking there because of the shuttle situation. There are actually 3 places for cruise ships to dock in KW. Mallory Square, Pier B, and the Outer Mole

 

 

Good to know🙂

 

sherri🙂

[sjb317]

9 hours ago, tweetylori said:

And nobody seemed to care, right?  My Husband even did shorts some nights.  

You’re right, no one cared!  Our table mate wore shorts every night, no big deal.😀 Did you notice the dress suggestion one night  as “dress to impress”?  I’ve never seen that before😂

 

Enjoying your review!

 

sherri🙂

[tweetylori]

3 hours ago, sjb317 said:

You’re right, no one cared!  Our table mate wore shorts every night, no big deal.😀 Did you notice the dress suggestion one night  as “dress to impress”?  I’ve never seen that before😂

 

Enjoying your review!

 

sherri🙂

 

Yes, what the heck?  Had never seen that before either.  Husband took it to mean "Dress to be comfortable" 

[voyager70]

Thanks for the info on formal night.  It had always been my understanding as well that Empress had no formal nights.  I would have dressed casual, like you said no one really cares!  BTW those nachos at Sloppy Joe's looked soo good.  I've been there many times but have never ordered any food.  Too busy drinking!