Empress of the Seas 2018 Review (Cuba & More)

[tweetylori]

I'm not a big dessert fan, but I can never resist fried dough.  Warm donuts with whipped cream and chocolate sauce?  I'm all in!  

Husband was happy with "just ice cream". Good coffee too.  I had to have some decaf with those donuts!

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by tweetylori

[tweetylori]

It was another night of the staff performing.  Not sure if you can see it, but this night included dancing on the piano!

 

 

[tweetylori]

This night's main show was Bailamos.  Having had our usual early dinner, we went to the 7:00 show.  The description of the show in the Compass is:  "Feel the Rhythm and Celebrate All Things Dance Starring:  The Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers, featuring Ballroom Couple Valerila & Yuril with the Empress of the Seas Orchestra and the High C's Horns!"

 

Terrific show!  So much energy and talent.  Loved the show!  We even managed to score up front seats for this one, although being that close to the band was loud.  They were so good though!

[watertraveler]

Lori ~ Can you explain a little about the difference between CUC and CUP's?  When you get off the ship, which do you change your $$ into? What is it equivalent to in US?

[tweetylori]

I do believe this was my good-luck night in the casino.  Husband was off at Karaoke.  By this night there were several of us who were getting to know each other at the tables.  A friendly group, which is what I'm mainly looking for.  I want to have fun playing.  The minimums never changed for the whole cruise.  $6.  They were 5-6 tables...not favorable, but the only choice.  The tables had side bet options where, if you played it and got a 20 on your first two cards, you would win.  Some 20's were better than others.  The very best being two Queen of Hearts.  Apparently it's rare enough that it pays 125 to 1.  I kid you not, I managed to get dealt two Queen of Hearts with a $1 side bet out.  It did indeed pay $125!  Now, get this...if the dealer had gotten a blackjack on that same hand, it would have paid $1000!  

 

Needless to say, I liked that side bet.  Oftentimes, that side bet did better for me than my regular hand.  I did enjoy lots of hours of fun times at the blackjack tables on this ship.  Would have played more if there were more favorable conditions more often.  (too much of the time the tables were empty and I don't play one-on-one).

 

Too soon though, it was time to call it a night and get ready for Cienfuegos the next day. Or so I thought.

 

[tweetylori]

7 minutes ago, watertraveler said:

Lori ~ Can you explain a little about the difference between CUC and CUP's?  When you get off the ship, which do you change your $$ into? What is it equivalent to in US?

'

You don't need to worry about CUP's at all.  They are only for the folks that live there.  Generally speaking, CUC's are fairly equivalent to the US dollar.  The main difference is the taxation that comes off when you trade in for them.  They take a percentage right off the top.  (my understanding is that it's the US that's taking the percentage off, not the Cubans).  Which is why you can get a bit more of a favorable return on the Euro.  But then you would have to compare what the Euro is right now with the US dollar.  I say don't worry about it.  Trade in your dollars, think in terms of a US dollar being mostly equivalent to a CUC, and go for it!

[accio_7]

I'm sorry that your brunch companions weren't very nice to you because you and your hubby sound like people I could really get to know on my cruise 🙂 

 

I'm debating as to whether to book a Cuban, Southern Caribbean or Bermuda itinerary for my 2020 cruise. It's going to ultimately come down to cost as I cruise solo, but I really like your seven night Cuban itinerary! 

[voyager70]

Lori your food pics are killing me!  I'm starving and still an hour and a half til lunch!  But please keep it coming

 

[tweetylori]

5 hours ago, accio_7 said:

I'm sorry that your brunch companions weren't very nice to you because you and your hubby sound like people I could really get to know on my cruise 🙂 

 

I'm debating as to whether to book a Cuban, Southern Caribbean or Bermuda itinerary for my 2020 cruise. It's going to ultimately come down to cost as I cruise solo, but I really like your seven night Cuban itinerary! 

 

Thanks!  It wasn't that they were mean to us, but the conversation was so negative and they were rude to the Waiter, which is inexcusable imho.  I wish you had been at our table instead!

 

Choices, choices on those itineraries!  I hope you find the perfect cruise for your next adventure!

[tweetylori]

5 hours ago, voyager70 said:

Lori your food pics are killing me!  I'm starving and still an hour and a half til lunch!  But please keep it coming

 

 

Haha!  Good thing I have plenty more food porn.  🙂  It's my specialty.

[watertraveler]

Thought I had lost this thread!  I looked earlier today and couldn't find it so I'm bumping it up!🤣

 

Lori, you're providing lots of good info.  I spoke to a friend who went last April and she recommended getting Canadian $ before we leave.  Any thoughts either way?

[tweetylori]

1 hour ago, watertraveler said:

Thought I had lost this thread!  I looked earlier today and couldn't find it so I'm bumping it up!🤣

 

Lori, you're providing lots of good info.  I spoke to a friend who went last April and she recommended getting Canadian $ before we leave.  Any thoughts either way?

 

Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn't go through the hassle.  Unless you're planning on spending a whole lot of money.  I will say that one thing that made the money issue easier  for us was to have pre-paid for our tour before we went, since I was able to put it on a credit card.  

 

And thanks for not losing me.  🙂

[tweetylori]

Before we knew it, it was Monday October 15, and we were in Cienfuegos!  We were really looking forward to seeing more of Cuba.  The plan for the day for was to just get off and walk around.  No tour.  We had another food tour planned for Grand Cayman, so we decided to keep it simple in Cienfuegos.  

 

Taking a peek at the tv, we could see that we had gone 754 nm since leaving Miami.

 

 

[tweetylori]

First glimpse of Cienfuegos was simply this

 

 

[tweetylori]

The night before at the show, the Cruise Director had emphasized that the word for this day needed to be "patience".

Cienfuegos does not have any of their own tenders, so only the four onboard ones would be used to haul everyone to and from.  Empress had to drop anchor outside the harbor, so the boat ride would be approximately 20 minutes, and each tender would hold around 30 people.

 

They explained if you had a Royal Caribbean shore excursion, your tour ticket was your tender ticket.  And that ticket was supposed to have instructions on it.  If you did not have one of their tours, you had to go to the Viking Crown on Deck 10 between 9:30 am and 11:45 am.  You were told to only collect your tender ticket when you were ready to proceed ashore.  Once you had your ticket, you were to listen for announcements as to when your tender number was ready.  

[tweetylori]

I wish I could say that we did as instructed and left the ship to explore Cienfuegos, but we didn't.  Not because it sounded complicated or time-consuming, but because sadly I was having some tummy-type of problems that made me scared as heck to be away from a bathroom.  I kept hoping I'd do better and be able to leave, but it just didn't feel safe.  It was especially frustrating, because I felt fine.  Husband was extremely understanding, especially when I kept changing my mind about whether we should try to go or not.   By the 11:45 deadline, we had to call it.  Another ship day it would be.  And I do have some food porn from it!  Plus we did get off in Grand Cayman for our food tour, so I won't let you down there.

 

One of the complications for us was that we still had CUC's that we hadn't exchanged back because we were planning on using them in Cienfeugos.  In order to trade in that money we had to get off the ship, so that was adding to my frustration.  Finally, something the Cruise Director said on tv that morning gave me the perfect out.  He said that if you have CUC's left, feel free to use them to tip on the ship.  Bingo!  That was the answer.  

[tweetylori]

By now it was noon or so and we hadn't had anything to eat   So we headed up to the Windjammer.  Washy-Washy!  It's always amazing to me how many people think it doesn't apply to them.  But let me tell you, the crew wouldn't take no for an answer.  And not just hand sanitizer, but full sinks with soap and very hot water.  I think it's terrific!  Others did also.  I heard several people thank them "for keeping us safe".

 

There is a main part of the Windjammer where the majority of the buffet is.  It's fairly small and can be crowded and hard to maneuver around, and harder to find a seat.  But if you walk around to the side,  there's usually plenty of seating available, and there's a whole Burger Bar every day.  I'm talking Beef, Pork, Turkey Burgers, sausages & hotdogs, plus all the fixin's and sides for them, including fries.   I tried a beef burger, caesar salad, a little pasta, and my favorite...a veggie stuffed baked potato.  

 

 

[tweetylori]

View from our table

[tweetylori]

This is the Burger Bar part.  Note, right next to it is the bar.  They did have Servers that would come around to see if you wanted anything to drink, which was very nice, since the drink station around the corner was super crowded.  There was also a sweet Gal that would see if you wanted any cookies.  Great staff everywhere on the ship

[tybeelucy2]

So it sounds like it's best to do a ship tour in Cienfuegos, or it could take hours to get off the ship? Is the tender ride 20 minutes one way, or round trip?

 

Also, do you recall if the drink cards were offered for sale? I believe it's 75.00 for ten drinks or something like that (alcohol drinks)

 

Thanks!! 

[voyager70]

14 hours ago, tweetylori said:

I wish I could say that we did as instructed and left the ship to explore Cienfuegos, but we didn't.  Not because it sounded complicated or time-consuming, but because sadly I was having some tummy-type of problems that made me scared as heck to be away from a bathroom.  I kept hoping I'd do better and be able to leave, but it just didn't feel safe.  It was especially frustrating, because I felt fine.  Husband was extremely understanding, especially when I kept changing my mind about whether we should try to go or not.   By the 11:45 deadline, we had to call it.  Another ship day it would be.  And I do have some food porn from it!  Plus we did get off in Grand Cayman for our food tour, so I won't let you down there.

 

One of the complications for us was that we still had CUC's that we hadn't exchanged back because we were planning on using them in Cienfeugos.  In order to trade in that money we had to get off the ship, so that was adding to my frustration.  Finally, something the Cruise Director said on tv that morning gave me the perfect out.  He said that if you have CUC's left, feel free to use them to tip on the ship.  Bingo!  That was the answer.  

 

So sorry you had to miss Cienfuegos but I can totally relate.  I get occasional tummy-type problems as well and fully understand the need to be close to a bathroom.  Hope the rest of the cruise goes well and keep those food pics coming!  Funny, I just got back from lunch - had a Cuban sandwich! 

 

 

[tweetylori]

9 hours ago, tybeelucy2 said:

So it sounds like it's best to do a ship tour in Cienfuegos, or it could take hours to get off the ship? Is the tender ride 20 minutes one way, or round trip?

 

Also, do you recall if the drink cards were offered for sale? I believe it's 75.00 for ten drinks or something like that (alcohol drinks)

 

Thanks!! 

I would think if you're going to do a tour here, yes a ship one would probably be the way to go.  Tender ride was 20 minutes each way.  As for drink cards, I didn't see them offered until later in the cruise.  I just double-checked the compasses and the first mention I see was for Tuesday Oct  16.  Grand Cayman Day.  We disembarked on Thursday the 18th.  I was surprised how late in the cruise it was offered.  And it was a 10 drink package (shareable) for $79.

[tweetylori]

7 hours ago, voyager70 said:

 

So sorry you had to miss Cienfuegos but I can totally relate.  I get occasional tummy-type problems as well and fully understand the need to be close to a bathroom.  Hope the rest of the cruise goes well and keep those food pics coming!  Funny, I just got back from lunch - had a Cuban sandwich! 

 

 

 

Appreciate the compassion.  🙂  And yes, it went fine, and we still enjoyed our relaxing day aboard.  More food pics coming up now!  I do have a Cuban sandwich one, but it's from Miami before we embarked.  Will post that later.

[tweetylori]

The last tender back to ship was scheduled for 5:30, and it was starting to rain.   It made it a little easier to have missed the day knowing we didn't get rained on.  I do believe this was the first time we have ever missed getting off at a port on any cruise.  Oh well, there's always next time.

 

And good news, tonight's dinner dress suggestion:  Casual.

 

 

[tweetylori]

Fernando brought Husband a cheese plate as usual.   Plus he had his usual Caesar.  Fernando brought him some Salted Cod Fritters as well, which he wasn't overly fond of.  I was not about to try anything fried, so i can't attest to them.  This seemed like a good night for me to try the French Onion Soup.  It was good, but the broth could have used a bit more depth.