Just off the Armonia (Cuba/Christmas)

[lmfinney]

MSC Cruises is growing a lot, and we were on one of their older, smallest ships. I don't know how the experience would be on their modern megaships.

 

The disadvantage for the MSC Armonia is the age. It doesn't have all the new bells and whistles, and the age is showing if you look carefully (a couple ceiling panels in the theater out of whack, etc). It had two advantages, though: it's small enough to fit in Havana's cruise terminal, which is a holdover from the 50s and can't accommodate larger ships; and it had a "family cabin" that we were able to nab that was 65% larger than most for the same price (you can see the layout).

 

Cabin:

The Family Cabin is great if you can snag it, but there are only two of them on the ship. The availability of the cabin (combined with 100% refundability of the deposit and the Cuban overnight) are why we booked this cruise. It was really nice to have a separate room for the kids and for the adults - it felt like a comfortable hotel room, not a cramped ship cabin. The only downsides were that the hideabed sofa showed wear on its cushions, and the shower is _tiny_.

 

Food and Drink:
The food was fine. The buffet was acceptable, with gelato available by the pool, and pizza available 24 hours (the pizza is European-style, and I've seen some American reviewers dislike it). The restaurant food was good, but fancier dishes like surf and turf required an upcharge (except for the special menu on Christmas).

We didn't do a drinks package, but the cabin level we purchased ("Fantastica") included 12 drink coupons apiece for the 7-day cruise. That was enough for us (especially with some free drinks thanks to the the CruiseCritic connection - see below). The biggest issue is that they were out of some wines and cocktails that were on the menu, but we were able to find alternatives.

 

Passengers:
The biggest difference between this and other cruises we've done (Holland America, Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean) is that the clientele was much more international. About 20% of the passengers were Chinese (which may have been a special group because of Christmas), and there were also large contingents from Italy, Brazil, and France (in addition to other languages). So, many announcements were in multiple languages, and the in-cabin TVs showed movies dubbed into other languages in addition to English.

A practical effect was that the nightly entertainment de-emphasized words. We didn't have any magicians or comedians - it was all singing, dancing, and acrobatics. The acrobats were really impressive the first night, but they essentially repeated their acts with different costumes and music in the different shows, so it wasn't as impressive by the end of the trip.

This sailing was only the 3rd sailing for MSC Armonia based out of Miami (previously based out of Mexico or Cuba). The one American cruise staff member said that she could tell that they were already changing the food to match the American audience instead of the Latin audience they were used to. Another change was adding trivia - that's apparently unique to American passengers. I suspect there will be other changes over time as they get used to the new clientele.

 

Embarkation:
Embarkation worked very smoothly for us. Our tickets asked us to arrive at 4:15, but they actually started boarding at 11:30. We split the difference and arrived at around 2:30, and there was barely a line at all. The only quirk was having to fill out an extra form because we were going to Cuba (I'll talk more about that later). But with that filled out, we boarded, and our cabin was immediately ready.

 

Kids:
There are kids' programs on board, but our kids have no interest in them. So, besides popping our heads into the room once on the first day and seeing kids dressed up for Christmas at the end of the cruise, we didn't experience it at all.

 

Christmas:
Christmas was celebrated on the ship with both a morning Catholic mass and an afternoon Santa party. There were also decorations around the ship and Christmas music playing a lot. The Santa party included a professional video about Santa waking up in the Italian Alps and racing to the ship. It was cute, and I suspect it was shown on a bunch of MSC ships. We could have received a gift of a Lego set, but the kids didn't care enough to wait. Overall, the Christmas theming and feel was stronger on a Holland America Oosterdam Christmas cruise we did two years ago, but it was fine.

 

Special party:
We had signed up for the Roll Call (https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/) in advance, and we learned about the Meet & Mingle (https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/) through that. I advise signing up for that, if you go. The event was on the morning of the first full day of the cruise, which both happened to be a sea day and Christmas. We got some hor d'oeuvres and a couple glasses of champagne/mimosa apiece, and got to meet most of the senior staff. We had a nice chat with Claudio, the Cruise Relations manager, and he sent a bottle of champagne and some chocolate-covered strawberries to our cabin the next day (I think they usually charge $85 for that). I don't know if they do that for everyone from the Meet & Mingle, or if it was special because we talked with him. Either way, it was really nice to get a couple days of free champagne for just the cost of signing up for the Meet & Mingle!

 

Stops:
The first stop was supposed to be Montego Bay, Jamaica, but they announced the day before that we were going to Ocho Rios, instead. We didn't care, because we didn't have anything planned for that day. When we got there, we disembarked, walked through the gauntlet of taxi drivers, explored the tourist fake town a bit, and then found another taxi driver to take us to the Blue Hole (a series of waterfalls on the White River with places to play in the water). Everything (taxi drivers and Lonely Planet) said that the entrance fee would be $10, but it was $15 instead - we barely had enough cash on hand for that and for the driver. But it was a fun time there, and a decent exposure to Jamaicans having Boxing Day fun.

 

The next stop was Grand Cayman. We booked an independent Stingray cruise with Captain Marvin's Watersports, and it went really well (and was cheaper than what the ship offered). We had booked a 10:30 outing because we didn't know when the ship would get in, but we were able to tender to the island by 8, and thus switch to the 8:30 trip instead. We really enjoyed meeting and feeding a large ray at the sandbar and then snorkeling at the reef.

 

The third stop was Cozumel, which was the only stop we'd visited on previous cruises. It was also the only stop on which we bought a ship excurion - a trip to the Tulum ruins. We went with the ship on that one because the logistics of getting to Tulum were more complicated (two ferry rides and two bus rides), and we didn't want to risk being independent of the ship's responsibility for that. We were in the first group to leave the ship, the first ferry to the mainland, and the last ferry back to Cozumel - it really was a full day. The excursion itself was pretty good, with information about the Mayans and the site. We had time to use the beach, but the lack of a changing facility and the crowded beach dissuaded us. The only (minor) downside was the attempt by the guide to sell us customized Mayan jewelry.

 

Cuba

The last stop on the cruise was the main event - Havana. The 28-hour stop there was the original reason we looked at the MSC Armonia. 

 

Getting to Cuba is more involved that getting to the other countries. There's a $75/person visa to enter the country. The visa forms were delivered to the cabins, and the fee was charged automatically. If we hadn't wanted to use it, we could have turned the forms in for a refund, but only if the forms were not altered in any way - an accidental pen mark would be a $75 pen mark. And if you messed up the forms at all (by using a date format like 12 25 2000 instead of the Cuban format of 25 12 2000), you've have to pay for a brand new form. When we actually disembarked the first time, it was with the mad rush of hundreds of people, and we had to wait in line for about an hour, get our passports stamped, and then we were able to enter Cuba. Every time after that, we would just say "we've been off the ship before," and they would wave us through without looking at our passport. I'm not saying that you wouldn't necessarily need the visa if you just waited until the initial crush was complete, but it might be possible.

 

That was the Cuban side - there was also additional bureaucracy on the American side. Before we arrived, the Cruise Director had a meeting in which he said that he knew we might have heard online (like on these boards) that cruise excursions weren't necessary, but the only way he knew for sure that we wouldn't have problems re-entering the US would be if we bought an excursion from them and showed our ticket stub to US Customs and immigration. Well, we didn't do that. Instead, we bought a 3-hour walking tour of the Old City and a 4-hour driving tour of the rest of the city from havanacar.net (the guide was better with the car than with the walk), and we didn't have that ticket stub. Havanacar recommended that we enter "Support for the Cuban People" on our form at embarkation, so that's what we entered as we boarded, and we never saw the form again. And when we left the ship in Miami, the Customs agent just waved us through when we said we had nothing to declare, and the immigration agent looked at our passport and welcomed us back.

 

So, in practice, there were no US restrictions on us at all. I'm not saying that everyone would have the same experience (we're a white family - maybe that helped; this happened during the partial government shutdown - maybe that had an effect), but we had nothing to worry about.

 

For the visit to Havana itself, we had a great time. Unlike many Caribbean stops, Havana is a real city. It has 2 million people and 500 years of history. There's a lot of real local culture there. We were lucky that our overnight coincided with a free performance by the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba in San Francisco Plaza, and we loved watching the Cuban audience sway and dance with the music, even though we didn't know the music ourselves. Havana could easily be a place to visit for a week-long trip later on.

 

Summary:
Before we booked the cruise, I saw reviews that warned that we would likely be miserable on the ship, and that definitely wasn't the case. There were definite flaws (deferred superficial maintenance/trouble getting the right wines sometimes/etc), but they were minor in the overall scheme.

 

I would sail with MSC again, and I would do the Armonia again as well. That said, I would go with Holland America instead if they had identical itineraries and prices - HA seems to just have everything pulled together better and is more luxurious. But if the Armonia continues to have the cheapest fares for Havana overnights and also continues to have the family cabins, I'd go for it again without question.

[NCTribeFan]

I'm on the verge of booking either this itinerary or the other within the next couple of days to sail in May.  I sailed Divina on 12/9 ( my 1st on MSC but have >30 total cruises) and really enjoyed the European differences but the ship was a big too large for my tastes.  I think I'd really enjoy Armonia.  I don't need all the bells and whistles of larger, newer ships.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

Oh, and for the record, I checked HAL prices for next fall (they aren't in the Caribbean in May) and the price on Veendam for an inside cabin (that's pretty much all I sail) was over $2k with my Mariner discount.  The 2 Armonia sailings I'm looking at are between $1,154 and $1,239, so HAL is quite a bit more, sadly.

Edited January 2, 2019 by NCTribeFan

[Beamafar]

Thanks for the report.  We're booked on the Jan 21st sailing and I was hoping to read some reviews before then.

 

We've been on Sinfonia, so will be familiar with the layout of the ship and have a good idea of what to expect onboard (it'll be our 21st MSC cruise).

 

" ...  fancier dishes like surf and turf required an upcharge (except for the special menu on Christmas)."  I'm surprised to read this as it stated in an item on the MSC website about this new itinerary that "In the main dining room, guests will be able to enjoy cold-water lobster to create their own surf ‘n turf at no additional cost."

[lmfinney]

24 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

" ...  fancier dishes like surf and turf required an upcharge (except for the special menu on Christmas)."  I'm surprised to read this as it stated in an item on the MSC website about this new itinerary that "In the main dining room, guests will be able to enjoy cold-water lobster to create their own surf ‘n turf at no additional cost."

 

I don't recall seeing that on the website, so I didn't expect any different from what we saw. In our case, we were in the main dining room, and Surf n Turf was a $24 upcharge that was available most nights. I've attached photos I took of the menu on Wednesday - the Jamaica day. As you can see, there were three options that cost extra in the main dining room (sorry about the quality and the glare).

 

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by lmfinney
Had uploaded the wrong pictures

[Beamafar]

It was in an article in the News section of the website at the time of the announcement about the enhancements for this itinerary.  It's in the second paragraph on the second page, under the second heading "New included delights"

 

Cruise From Miami To Cuba with MSC Armonia | MSC Cruises.pdfCruise From Miami To Cuba with MSC Armonia | MSC Cruises.pdf

[lmfinney]

Interesting. Some of the things they mentioned were there (unlimited gelato, the updated pub menu, and the mojito restaurant), but I never saw a way to get lobster included, excluding the special Christmas menu.

[Beamafar]

Can you remember where the new speciality restaurant is located?  I'm really curious about this new addition as Armonia is the only Lirica-class ship to have one, now.

[lmfinney]

It's on Deck 6. The Deck Plans show La Pergola taking the entire aft section, but now the port entrance was for "Surf and Turf" and only the starboard entrance was for La Pergola. I never went into either restaurant, so I don't know how much of La Pergola was lost.

[LaCal]

Thanks for the review.  We’re booked on the Armonia in May

[Beamafar]

5 minutes ago, lmfinney said:

It's on Deck 6. The Deck Plans show La Pergola taking the entire aft section, but now the port entrance was for "Surf and Turf" and only the starboard entrance was for La Pergola. I never went into either restaurant, so I don't know how much of La Pergola was lost.

 

Well ... that explains why they're now offering Aurea guests the opportunity to dine al fresco - it's to free up space in the MyChoice dining room, now that it's been reduced in size to accommodate the speciality restaurant.  Wonder how that'll work out during bad weather!  🤔  We're in a Fantastica suite with MyChoice ... I wonder if we'll get to find out!  

[Cauzneffct]

Which Family Cabin were you in?  We’re booked in 9003 a ways out and the deck plans keep changing; it used to indicate that the 3/4 beds were a sofa bed and a pull down, but lately it’s shown “bunk beds.”   It may not matter either way, but I thought it was odd that they may have/will take out the sofa.

[lmfinney]

42 minutes ago, Cauzneffct said:

Which Family Cabin were you in?  We’re booked in 9003 a ways out and the deck plans keep changing; it used to indicate that the 3/4 beds were a sofa bed and a pull down, but lately it’s shown “bunk beds.”   It may not matter either way, but I thought it was odd that they may have/will take out the sofa.

 

We were in the 9006, which I assume is just a mirror image of the 9003.

 

The image on cruisemapper for Family Cabin should match 9003. The main room (the lower part of the image) has a sofa bed. The extra room (the upper part of the image) has two twin beds and a pull-down on the wall that connects to the main room. The image shows the twin beds connecting, which is how it was when we boarded. However, we had the kids be in the extra room, and they don't share a bed well, so we split the twin beds after the first night. We used the pull-down only the one time.

 

A non-obvious huge advantage of the Family Cabin is that both rooms have a full set of closets and drawers.

[Cauzneffct]

4 minutes ago, lmfinney said:

 

We were in the 9006, which I assume is just a mirror image of the 9003.

 

The image on cruisemapper for Family Cabin should match 9003. The main room (the lower part of the image) has a sofa bed. The extra room (the upper part of the image) has two twin beds and a pull-down on the wall that connects to the main room. The image shows the twin beds connecting, which is how it was when we boarded. However, we had the kids be in the extra room, and they don't share a bed well, so we split the twin beds after the first night. We used the pull-down only the one time.

 

A non-obvious huge advantage of the Family Cabin is that both rooms have a full set of closets and drawers.

Thanks.  It would make sense that 9003 and 9006 are the same bed/sofa setup, but for whatever reason, the deck plan suggests otherwise.  

[Reds4life]

Imfinney, thanks for a great review! There has been very little information out there on Armonia and this helps out future cruisers a lot. We are booked for May and I am curious to hear about your kids experience and what they thought of the ship. I have a 14 yr old and 8 yr old that will be traveling. My 14 yr old is not much for kids clubs at all. Any info from the kids perspective would be great!

[lmfinney]

9 hours ago, Reds4life said:

Imfinney, thanks for a great review! There has been very little information out there on Armonia and this helps out future cruisers a lot. We are booked for May and I am curious to hear about your kids experience and what they thought of the ship. I have a 14 yr old and 8 yr old that will be traveling. My 14 yr old is not much for kids clubs at all. Any info from the kids perspective would be great!

 

My boys are a bit anti-social, and they would have been happy to have stayed in the cabin reading their books for the whole week, so I don't know how representative they are. As I said, they didn't do anything with the kids clubs.

 

For food, they were happy with both the MDR and the buffet. They sometimes ate from the daily menu at the MDR, but sometimes they ate the standards that are always available (see a picture above for the list). They ate some food from the buffet, but there's also always a pizza station and a burger station (except at breakfast) that they used a lot, and they got made-to-order omlets from the egg station in the morning.

 

The free gelato/sorbet by the pool was a big hit.

To our surprise, they didn't play in the pool. There's a splash area that looks like it would have been a huge hit with them a few years ago - it might still be fun for your younger one.

 

In the cabin, most of the TV stations are not in English, so that was frustrating at first, but they got used to watching movies they know in other languages (Jurassic World, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.).

 

Hope that helps - let me know if you have other questions.

[Reds4life]

Thanks for the info. Yes, that helped a lot! The menu pics were appreciated as well. Did you have any pics of the daily planners or more menus? I hate to bother with asking but you're the only person that has posted much about Armonia lol

Edited January 3, 2019 by Reds4life

[lmfinney]

17 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

Thanks for the info. Yes, that helped a lot! The menu pics were appreciated as well. Did you have any pics of the daily planners or more menus? I hate to bother with asking but you're the only person that has posted much about Armonia lol

 

That's the only menu I have (besides the special Christmas dinner menu, but I don't think that helps you any).

 

We have some of the Daily Planners, and I could take pictures of them. Do you want to see a schedule page? Or all of it?

[Beamafar]

Are you using an app when uploading photos?  I'd planned to post photos of the daily planners and MDR/Speciality Restaurant menus if nobody else does before we cruise, but I'm having difficulties with both the Tapatalk and Cruise Critic apps.

[lmfinney]

4 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Are you using an app when uploading photos?  I'd planned to post photos of the daily planners and MDR/Speciality Restaurant menus if nobody else does before we cruise, but I'm having difficulties with both the Tapatalk and Cruise Critic apps.

 

I'm using the website on a laptop - no app.

[Reds4life]

Any info that you would care to share would be great. I don't want to ask you to do too much since you've already helped out a great deal, but the schedules and other daily information like the offers for the spa, casino, etc. Don't worry about the flyers for the jewelry sales pitch and all that lol. Just trying to get a good idea of what a day on the ship is like compared to other cruises. Thanks again!

Edited January 3, 2019 by Reds4life

[spamwhiches]

1 hour ago, lmfinney said:

We have some of the Daily Planners, and I could take pictures of them. Do you want to see a schedule page? Or all of it?

 

23 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

Any info that you would care to share would be great. I don't want to ask you to do too much since you've already helped out a great deal, but the schedules and other daily information like the offers for the spa, casino, etc. Don't worry about the flyers for the jewelry sales pitch and all that lol. Just trying to get a good idea of what a day on the ship is like compared to other cruises. Thanks again!

 

Imfinney,

I also thank you for posting your review, there is such a void of information on this itinerary. Like Reds4life I would love every scrap of information or dailies you would be kind enough to share with us, I'm sure there are many others who would also be appreciative. I realize this is a lot to ask and understand if it is too much to ask. We are excited to go, our sail date is January 28th.

 

Cheers,

 

[lmfinney]

I'll post the pictures of the Daily Program and schedule that we kept. There may have been other spa/casino/etc offers that we didn't keep.

 

I took the pictures quickly - I hope the quality is good enough. Let me know.

 

BTW, one thing this reminds me of that I forgot to include in the review - they need an English copy editor. The grammar and typos are embarrassing 😞

 

Monday Dec 24 (Embarkation)

 

[lmfinney]

Tuesday Dec 25 (Sea Day)

[lmfinney]

Wednesday Dec 26 (Ocho Rios - redirected from Montego Bay)

[lmfinney]

Thursday Dec 27 (Grand Cayman)