Majesty of the Seas - Cuba - June 30 - Our Thoughts on Cuba

Over the next few days I plan to add to this review, this post will concentrate on the first 3 days of our vacation, starting before we boarded.

So to kick this thing off I guess you folks will want to know a little about us. Amber and I (Ron) are in our mid-twenties. I’m an engineer by day and a amateur smart ass by night. She is a dental assistant by day and a self-proclaimed dog mother just about any time of the day. On average we take about 4 cruises a year, mainly because my company has a pretty ridiculous PTO policy that requires I burn A LOT of time. Now that the introductions are out of the way let’s to the thing everyone cares about. Our recent trip to Havana, Cuba on Majesty of the Seas. Before we left I searched the internet high and low for information regarding the cruise and what Cuba is like. I wasn’t able to find very much, so my goal is to provide a lot of information for people planning to visit this very interesting country.

Day 1: Departing Indianapolis

On Thursday we planned to leave to start the trek down to Tampa to meet up with Majesty. Initially, we planned on flying, but due to my car being involved in an accident the insurance company gave us a week of a loaner car. Considering we both love road trips we nixed the flight ideas and decided to drive. We managed to leave Indy earlier then we initially thought, so I moved our hotel reservation from Nashville to just outside of Atlanta for the evening. We arrived at the hotel around 11:30 pm, and were put through the ringer on getting a room. I won’t go into details, because well this is about cruising, not my thoughts on if we did or didn’t get a room. (If you’re interested in this experience see my TripAdvisor).

Day 2: Arriving in Tampa

The next morning we set off from a different hotel then initially planned (again see trip advisor). At this point we had the “Tampa or bust’ mentality. A few hours later we hit our hotel for the evening, a lovely Marriott on the water. Upon checking in we were greeted with a room upgrade, from the ‘peasants’ level to a concierge suite. Walking towards the elevator with a pep in our step I was thinking ‘man gold status does mean something’….. Boy was I wrong. Upon entering the room we were overwhelmed by heat, the thermostat in the room was reading a balmy 87 degrees. Trying to be an optimist, I sauntered to the AC and drove down the temp. We left the room to explore. Acting on a tip from the bellman we ended up taking the Trolley to Yibor City…. Now I can’t say this is our type of scene, and it does look a little rough, but none the less we found a local cigar shop that was very friendly. After some cigars and Cuban Coffee we made our way back to the room. To find it hotter then the Sahara as before. A quick call to the front desk had an ‘engineer’ in the room. Now I’ll preface this next part by saying I LOVE bush fixes, or ingenious ways to ‘rig’ something. However, this version of bush fix was not was I expected…. The ‘engineer’ opened the AC unit, took a screw driver and literally shot about a gallon of water on the floor…. Weird, but suddenly the air started working. He gave me a thumps up and left the room…. Mic down and all…. Amber and I decided to sit down and watch the Departed, in the middle of Billy Costigan getting his broken arm slammed against the pool table we both suddenly realized we smelled the ominous odor of Marijuana…. And not just a small amount, but a full on smell that could not be denied, I opened the balcony door to see our neighbor puffing away like we were at a Snoop Dogg concert…. This coupled with the AC once again failing meant we had to change rooms. Now I will be the first to say not all of this was the hotels fault and they were very quick to remedy the problem and make it right. I would HIGHLY recommend staying at this Marriott if cruising out of Tampa.

Day 3: All Aboard

For cruise parking we decided on The Parktologists, now I will say the parking lot looks sketchy, but our driver was extremely nice. We arrived to the port around 10 am on Saturday. Now if anyone has ever seen the guy arguing with the security agents about what a ‘power strip’ is… Yeah, I’m that guy…. In February I ended up giving a 8 minute lecture to some poor security agent that wanted to tell me my outlets to go plug would trip a 30 amp breaker. In case anyone’s curious it didn’t make it on that cruise. For this cruise I snuck it aboard in my suit case (win). This time the security was very nice, Amber has a very long conversation with one about visiting Cuba, of course while my bag was being searched by hand for what turned out to be my laptop charger. Once through security and presenting our sign and sail pass we were breezed over to the suite area for check-in a nice gentlemen explained the visa process to us. Being as I couldn’t find a non-sketchy visa site we were forced to pay 75 dollars each for our Cuban Visa’s…. Now let’s break for a minute…. Royal Caribbean intimidates people about filling these things out, and honestly its not that difficult. Once you receive them sock them away until you get to your stateroom. There is instructions there on how to fill them out. Once getting checked-in we boarded the ship slightly after 11:30. We headed straight for the Windjammer to get some lunch, and a beverage since we had the drink package. At the Windjammer bar we say a familiar face from a previous sailing on Majesty. We were on Majesty last year right before Irma…. Daniel told us that after we got off the ship they rescued people from St. Thomas all while having 12 guests aboard…. He mentioned it got rather annoying when the guests wanted to drink because they had to go open the Scooner bar…

After dinner we waited until 1 when our stateroom to be ready, after sailing on Indy in Feb. we became hooked on Jr. Suites. We find that with the size and balcony we rarely hang out on deck, spending most of our time on the private balcony. We honestly just napped until the muster drill at 3. When we left our stateroom we met out steward Bibi. I honestly cannot say enough great thing about Bibi. We’ve been on half a dozen cruises and she is by way the best steward we’ve ever had. After the wonderful muster drill we decided to go donate 200 dollars in the casino, which surprisingly only took around 8 minutes… Guess Royal has to pay for those new ships somehow :D. We ended the night relatively early excited to see Key West the next day.

Looking forward for the rest of your review. Seriously considering this cruise to Cuba in Feb. 2019.

Do not understand why you had difficulty finding information on Cuba. We sailed on Empress to Cuba in October and I found reams of information on line. I also found a lot of valuable information on the Cuba thread of CC. You may need lessons on how to research for traveling. Hope to read that you enjoyed your cruise.

Following along, interested in your reports because I'm considering booking this cruise.

Thanks for taking the time!

Day 4: Key West

We awoke mid-morning on Sunday, sleeping in for the first time during this vacation. The itinerary had us arriving at Key West around 1:30 pm, but due to favorable conditions we arrived about an hour early and the captain make the decision to stay an hour late… So around 12:30 we packed a bag and decided to explore downtown Key West. Majesty ended up docking at the Navy Pier, which required we be bussed from the pier to downtown (for free). Upon arriving downtown we decided to explore, after having someone try to pick pocket Amber we decided to get our usual souvenirs from ports of call (Christmas ornament, and a bottle of rum) and head back to the bus stop. Honestly, Key West was a little disappointing for us, it reminded both of us of Nassau. Buildings are ratty and in some cases falling down. Although, I will say the amount of people wanting hand outs and to take you on taxi rides was less… So after 2 hours, we hopped a bus and headed back to the ship. We took advantage of the deserted buffet followed up with a much needed nap, Waking up just in time for a quick dinner before heading to karaoke. One thing we were disappointed in was the food at windjammer. It seemed to be mostly the same things and lacked decent flavors. Nonetheless we headed to bed after watching karaoke, Cuba would some early. We had an exclusion booked through Royal for the “Old Havana Heritage Walking Tour”.

Day 5: Havana – Money shot

Amber and I both woke up early elated to see what Havana looked like from our Jr. Suite balcony. Opening the door we were immediately hit with the smell of gas exhaust fumes and old architecture. The view from our balcony was awesome, almost like stepping back in time. We quickly got ready and headed to the theatre to meet our tour group.

TIME OUT – So there’s a lot of mystery surrounding using non-RCI Shore excursions. We got clarification during the on-board discussion they host. You CAN book your own tour privately, but RCI is not responsible if the US questions it. They will not ban you from entering Cuba if you do not pay for an RCI tour.

This being said we paid for the “Old Havana Heritage Walking Tour”. We met our group in the theatre where we were given a bottle of water and sent into a group. The group was pointless as we quickly walked to the gang way, then were put into separate lines to clear immigrations. This is the point where you present the Visa and Passport. After a very nervous 10 minutes we had cleared immigration and were in the port terminal. First thing was to change money, walking straight through security in the currency exchange. We thought ahead and brought CAD and Euro’s. This allowed us to bypass the 10% tax imposed by Cuban for doing from USD to CUC’s. They do charge a 3% fee both ways for changing to and from CUC’s. After loading up on CUC’s we headed downstairs to meet our guide Vladimir… Who interestingly enough was 100% Cuban, but born during the Cold War he was given a Russian name, which was quite common. After meeting the group we walked across the street and headed to the first square of 4 that we would be visiting. I’ll leave the details on this for you to experience on your own… The buildings in Cuba are incredible.

Despite a few people trying to sell us pictures, hand sketches, Cuban newspapers, fried dough, and peanuts. We were relatively left alone. After visiting 3 squares our guide told us that he would show us to a Tobacco and rum shop. It quickly became clear that he was getting commissions from what we bought… He headed behind the counter and tried to sell us this cigar, or that cigar…. The merchant didn’t want to sell my 25 cigar boxes, so we left without buying anything. After leaving someone asked the guide for directions for a restaurant…. He very quickly condemned this establishment calling it garbage, but he did volunteer to make reservations for us (cash grab)…. After yet another attempt to make more money from us we decided to refrain from lunch with everyone else.

Before lunch we had to finish the tour, which involved us taking a bus to downtown Havana for a visit to a local bar for; tobacco, rum, and a cigar…. Upon arrival we were packed into a small bar area where employees gave us samples of Cuban coffee, rum, and a cigar. A Cuban band played 2 songs before they sent a girl around to peddle CD’s. When I declined she gave us a bad look and said “well how about a donation for the band”…. Call me cheap, but I HATE cash grabs like this…. After being extorted for a few CUC’s the band took a break to allow the head waiter to explain how to smoke a cigar, and drunk rum… After this brief lecture we were greeted with another cash grab… This time for Mojitos, cigars, and Havana Club rum… I made the mistake of asking how much for a box of cigars… From that moment on he tried to talk me into buying…. I decided to wait…

After what felt like hours (only about an hour) we hopped back on the bus and were taken to the last square. The guide wrapped this one up quickly, mainly due to wanting to get everyone to his special spot for dinner…. Once leaving the group we set to finding cigars, rum, and souvenirs. Quickly we found a small local shop that sold cigars, I bought a box of Monte Cristo #3’s for 280, and some Choibas for around 9 dollars a stick. While I was wheeling and dealing Amber was fighting off a portly older woman who in broken English was trying to get money from her. After saying no 8 to 12 times the woman disappeared. From there we did some exploring, and although we never felt in danger, we did stick to places where we say police or large groups of tourists.

We explored for another hour then headed back to the terminal. Changing money back was painless and around 3 we boarded the ship. Tired, hot, and amazed. Overall, we loved Cuba and I highly recommend it to anyone on here. It’s a once in a life time experience and truly makes you feel like you stepped back in time. This cruise was perfect, so much that we are cruising to another part of Cuba in Jan. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to shoot em at me.

Do not understand why you had difficulty finding information on Cuba. We sailed on Empress to Cuba in October and I found reams of information on line. I also found a lot of valuable information on the Cuba thread of CC. You may need lessons on how to research for traveling. Hope to read that you enjoyed your cruise.

If I need lessons in researching, then you should look into lessons in manners and etiquette. I was referring to the lack of information surrounding specific excursions and shops in Cuba. I have visited the port of call thread and it is lacking in information.

Do not understand why you had difficulty finding information on Cuba. We sailed on Empress to Cuba in October and I found reams of information on line. I also found a lot of valuable information on the Cuba thread of CC. You may need lessons on how to research for traveling. Hope to read that you enjoyed your cruise.

Pretty RUDE.

I was on this sailing as well. I may chime in with a few comments of my own.

My impression of the Majesty was that she was in great shape for her age, but felt surprisingly crowded for a ship with fewer people on it than almost any other RCL ship. We didn’t have a balcony and found it kind of hard to find places to sit (that weren’t in the sun or in a smoking area). I know, first world problems.

Anyway, Cuba was great but RCL definitely over-worries you on the visa issue. Cuban authorities literally did not even glance at mine. It could have had errors, been blank, had a fake name, etc. and she’d never have known. YMMV, but I wouldn’t stress. Just fill it out and hand it in.

I find it hard to believe that you compared Key West to Nassau . You really need to explore Key West . It is a beautiful town .

Thanks for the report.

I’ll be cruising to Havana in a few weeks. I will be exchanging my American dollars for Cucs. We are not big spenders and have no plans to eat in Havana. Would you be able to give a ball park figure as to how much cash we should plan on exchanging for 4 adults? We will be doing a walking tour so we will make sure to include money for tipping.

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I’ll be cruising to Havana in a few weeks. I will be exchanging my American dollars for Cucs. We are not big spenders and have no plans to eat in Havana. Would you be able to give a ball park figure as to how much cash we should plan on exchanging for 4 adults? We will be doing a walking tour so we will make sure to include money for tipping.

Not much. Maybe get 25 CUC per person if you’re not planning to eat. There aren’t a whole lot of souvenirs to be had and they’re all pretty cheap unless you want expensive cigars, rum, or higher end artwork.

If you give your guide a 20 CUC tip he’ll be very excited as I think that’s nearly a month’s salary.

Not much. Maybe get 25 CUC per person if you’re not planning to eat. There aren’t a whole lot of souvenirs to be had and they’re all pretty cheap unless you want expensive cigars, rum, or higher end artwork.

 

If you give your guide a 20 CUC tip he’ll be very excited as I think that’s nearly a month’s salary.

So this made me wonder, is the art near the port or galleries all over town? And ballpark on aged rum? Cigars, I found a price list on CC.

So this made me wonder, is the art near the port or galleries all over town? And ballpark on aged rum? Cigars, I found a price list on CC.

We didn’t see many galleries in old downtown. For cigars the guide will likely try to take you into this wonderful shop that he knows... Do not do this. There are plenty of shops within walking distance of the terminal.

For prices here’s what I paid.

Monte Cristo: 7.50 to 9.25 CUC’s per stick

Choiba: 9.25 per stick (there was a bar on our shore excursion that was offering them cheaper)

Havana Club white/dark: around 12 to 16 CUC’s

Havana Club 7 (aged rum): 19-22 CUC’s

We exchanged around 900 dollars in euros and CAD’s and found it to be way overkill.

I find it hard to believe that you compared Key West to Nassau . You really need to explore Key West . It is a beautiful town .

We are going to give it another try in Jan. I want to like Key West, but downtown just seemed dirty. Amber being pick pocketed was just another nail in the coffin.

I’ll be cruising to Havana in a few weeks. I will be exchanging my American dollars for Cucs. We are not big spenders and have no plans to eat in Havana. Would you be able to give a ball park figure as to how much cash we should plan on exchanging for 4 adults? We will be doing a walking tour so we will make sure to include money for tipping.

 

 

I would echo the previous statement. We purchased a mug and a hand made fan for a whopping 5 CUC’s... It is honestly hard to find good souvenirs.

If I need lessons in researching, then you should look into lessons in manners and etiquette. I was referring to the lack of information surrounding specific excursions and shops in Cuba. I have visited the port of call thread and it is lacking in information.

Hey Ernest: Just look at the name SNIT13. Tells ya enough doesn't it. I thought it was rude reply to you.

We are going to give it another try in Jan. I want to like Key West, but downtown just seemed dirty. Amber being pick pocketed was just another nail in the coffin.

Try the conch train .It will take you past the streets with very pretty Key West houses .

Thanks for the replies. The 25 cub per person was just about what I was figuring.

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Do you remember the name of the shop you bought the cigars from? I will be traveling there in November and want to purchase some but since I don't know anything about cigars I don't want to buy some cheap knock offs that I keep reading about.

Do you remember the name of the shop you bought the cigars from? I will be traveling there in November and want to purchase some but since I don't know anything about cigars I don't want to buy some cheap knock offs that I keep reading about.

Unfortunately I don’t. I would stick to buying 3 packs of cigars. They will come in a paper package and will have (2) seals on them. I would also refrain from buying them on the streets, its illegal for one, and you will likely end up with banana leaves. We were approached by a guy, but after saying no he quickly beat feet.

We are going to give it another try in Jan. I want to like Key West, but downtown just seemed dirty. Amber being pick pocketed was just another nail in the coffin.

I was on this cruise 3 weeks ago. We had Vlad as our guide as well. Bus tour though. As far a Key West goes a conch train tour would have given you a flavor for the town. Since I had been there many times we did a "bar" tour of our old favs. like Sloppy Joes. Went to a great bar Mangos...highly recommend. As far as the pick pocket..that is everywhere tourists are. My Dad had a pick pocket try to get his wallet in London and I watched a guy work the crowd trying to pick pocket tourists at the Trevi fountain in Rome. Thieves go where the money is easy to grab. Anyway...cruise on!

Thanks again for your detailed review. We actually booked the Majesty for Feb 2019... such a big price difference on the suite so we opted for an OV....now that you have been to Havana, wold you consider taking an independent tour the next time? Thanks.

Thanks again for your detailed review. We actually booked the Majesty for Feb 2019... such a big price difference on the suite so we opted for an OV....now that you have been to Havana, wold you consider taking an independent tour the next time? Thanks.

We would book an independent tour. In face we are going back in Jan 2019 and plan on booking independently.