Cuba on January 1?

[jorgecoelho]

We are looking at a holiday cruise on RCI that is in Cuba on January 1, 2020 from 8 AM to 8 PM. Has anyone been in Havana on January 1? Is this going to be a ghost town given the holiday with most places closed?

Edited January 21, 2019 by jorgecoelho
Fixed grammar

[CruiseFanatic223]

We just booked the Empress of the Seas that'll be in Havana 1/1/20 and I am wondering the same thing. 

[jorgecoelho]

That’s the same exact cruise we have booked now. We had a cruise a few years ago that stopped in Puerto Rico during a holiday and most places were closed. There’s always the option of the RCI excursions, although we’ve found that you can get similar or better experiences for a fraction of the price. 

[WangXiu81]

Ytt

[CruiseFanatic223]

Just found this online. I know the RC website is showing Havana as 1/1/20, but I guess there's a chance we'll be there on the 2nd. 
http://crew-center.com/sites/default/files/empress_of_the_seas_cruise_itineraries_2019.pdf

[bdever]

Isn’t January 1st Cuba’s Independence Day? I would imagine it would be very festive.

[CruiseFanatic223]

On 2/7/2019 at 11:21 PM, bdever said:

Isn’t January 1st Cuba’s Independence Day? I would imagine it would be very festive.

I wasn't sure, but I'm looking it up now. It seems that it is a holiday, just not Independence Day. 
January 1 is listed as Triumph of the Revolution and Victory Day, or Liberation Day while October 10 is listed as Independence Day. 

[bdever]

16 hours ago, CruiseFanatic223 said:

I wasn't sure, but I'm looking it up now. It seems that it is a holiday, just not Independence Day. 
January 1 is listed as Triumph of the Revolution and Victory Day, or Liberation Day while October 10 is listed as Independence Day. 

Thank you. That is really good to know.