RCCL Empress of the Seas - port of call Cuba

[buzzy72]

I will be on The Empress of the Seas 8-26-17 and want to know anything about the shore excursions offered by RCCL in Cuba.

 

Are there enough restroom stops and will the bus be air conditioned?

[sailsalot]

just got back from the Cuba itinerary of 5/29. On our cruise excursion (4-hour city tour) there were no restroom stops but the very comfortable air conditioned motor coach did have a bathroom in the back. My mother-in-law said it was "functional". Also, in the port terminal there is a bathroom, but you'll need to pay 20 cents (or whatever it was in Cuban pesos) and bring your own toilet paper as there aren't any in the bathrooms there. Hope that helps!

[UKWLDCruise]

I did the six hour tour and again had a modern Chinese built bus with a toilet, though we also had two stops with bathrooms as well.

[buzzy72]

Thanks for the quick response and info. If I could, do you know what the difference between the 4 hour and 7 hour tour besides the lunch? Also, will the ship be docked where I may be able to do some sight seeing on my own after the bus tour? Thanks again and we are looking forward to our cruise on the Empress. It will be our first time sailing on her>

[sailsalot]

Our intinerary for the 4-hour tour was driving through Old Havana and other parts of the city, a 15-20 min. stop at the Christ statue, a 15-20 min. stop at the Colon cemetery, another stop at a shop to buy cigars and rum, a 15-20 min. stop at El Morro fort, a 15-20 min. stop at Revolution Square, and a drop off at a large covered market if you wanted to (but you'd have to find your own way back to the ship by walking or taking a taxi) or drop off at the cruise terminal. Because we had a 76 year old and a 5 year old with us, we bypassed the market and went back to the terminal. We found all of our souvenir needs in the shops at the terminal. All we bought was coffee and a fabulous Cuban music CD.

 

A little bit across the street from the cruise terminal is the Cathedral Plaza, which is a beautiful little square with a gorgeous old cathedral. You could wander around there. Lots of side streets to explore, but it just depends on your level of adventure. Given the makeup of our little party, we didn't feel inclined to wander too far off by ourselves, but we heard and read about the safety of the city, so you could certainly do so if you wanted. The ship gives you a very good map of the city with landmarks.

 

Hope that helps!

[buzzy72]

Thanks, it does help a lot

[TrustMeIMaGator]

I did the 3 hour Panoramic tour offered by Royal and thought it was fantastic and left enough time for us to explore on our own (we were in port 8 AM - 8 PM). You don't have to do a tour through Royal and can opt to use a private company or even negotiate with a private taxi (classic car) to take you around as well. We opted for the official tour because the price was not that bad (I think it has gone up $5-$10 since our sailing) and again it left us plenty of time to walk around Old Havana on our own. I have a lengthy trip review of our day in Cuba on my website which I would be happy to share with anyone who messages me.

[buzzy72]

Thanks for the information. I would love to read your review of the trip. I'm new to Cruise Critic, how do I read your review?

[UKWLDCruise]

If you do the six hour you won't really have any time to do anything other than shopping in the terminal/go back to the ship. I was on the first bus of many and we got back less than an hour before all aboard.

[UKWLDCruise]

The longer tour visits either Hemingway's home or the cemetery (you choose) and as well as driving around we also stopped at revolution square, Jose Fuster's studio, the covered market and lunch. We had lunch at DK Mino and it was pretty good but other buses went elsewhere.

[starrcards]

Buzzy, feel free to join our roll call for the August 26th Empress cruise.

 

boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2478307

[buzzy72]

Thanks to all who gave me a lot of information. I probably have so many questions to ask as they pop into my head. I think being prepared makes the cruise so much more easier. I know that you cannot use American dollars and I always wonder how much money will I need to convert into local currency.

[mikats]

Buzzy, feel free to join our roll call for the August 26th Empress cruise.

 

boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2478307

on this cruise also but cannot access your link.---sorry, I found it!!

Edited June 6, 2017 by mikats
found link

[EatonDoolittle]

I probably have so many questions to ask as they pop into my head. I think being prepared makes the cruise so much more easier.

 

If you go to the Cuba page in the Caribbean Ports of Call section here on Cruise Critic, you'll find a answers to many of your questions there.

Returning cruisers have been very generous with reviews and information as this is a new port for so many.

 

I also found a very informative and thorough review of Havana on the NCL board from a couple who went on the inaugural cruise to Cuba on that line in May. It's long, but lots of info and pix.

[UKWLDCruise]

I know that you cannot use American dollars and I always wonder how much money will I need to convert into local currency.

 

Actually a lot of people found they will take US dollars if you have nothing else but they may ask for more to cover the surcharge. I bought t shirts, magnets, coffee, rum and 3 cigars and spent about 100 CUC.

[Ronni G]

We will be on Empress of the Sea in July. Booked a private tour for both days. Day 1 in Cuba we will be touring from 2 -6 and the following day from 10 - 4. Our friends used this same tour guide on their visit to Havana last week and said he was outstanding. You can also visit places of interest that may not be on the tour(s) provided by the ship. Cars were air-conditioned and no language issues.

[mikats]

Just booked my flight from Atlanta to Tampa on Southwest. Sale priced til midnight tonight--$172. Delta had gone up to $265 so I jumped on this not wanting to play the rate game any longer. Cruise paid for and now flight paid for!!!!!!

[TrustMeIMaGator]

Thanks for the information. I would love to read your review of the trip. I'm new to Cruise Critic, how do I read your review?

 

Sorry took me some time to get the trip report over to Cruise Critic. I created a separate thread for it, because it is long a report with some photos.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2508900

[starrcards]

Buzzy

 

You might want to join the Facebook group "Royal Caribbean Cuba Sailings." Lots of good info from folks who have already sailed to Cuba.

[Snit13]

I just read on Caribbean/Cuba thread that there may be significant changes to Cuba travel policy next Friday. If you have a cruise booked you may want to go to Cruise Critic Caribbean/Cuba thread.

 

Does not make me a happy camper if true. Hopefully the changes will not be drastic.

[Morningstar Cruiser]

just got back from the Cuba itinerary of 5/29. On our cruise excursion (4-hour city tour) there were no restroom stops but the very comfortable air conditioned motor coach did have a bathroom in the back. My mother-in-law said it was "functional". Also, in the port terminal there is a bathroom, but you'll need to pay 20 cents (or whatever it was in Cuban pesos) and bring your own toilet paper as there aren't any in the bathrooms there. Hope that helps!

Good advise about the toliet paper!

[Morningstar Cruiser]

If you do the six hour you won't really have any time to do anything other than shopping in the terminal/go back to the ship. I was on the first bus of many and we got back less than an hour before all aboard.

The good news is the RCL we have in December it gets ot cuba on the 25th at 2pm and leaves cuba the 26th at Noon. Tour around in a classic, night lift and cathedral the next morning. Getting excited.

[Surfguyxxx]

We were only in Havana for one day so we did the 8 hour tour. The guides were very flexible as some didn't want to go out walking in the graveyard but we spent extra time somewhere else. As it was our first time there, we wanted to try and see as much as possible. I hope you're going to get to go due to some of the talks with our current presidency!!!

[jaster]

We are going on Oct. 30th on the overnight cruise. We booked a private half day and then a full day tour instead of doing excursions with Royal. The only thing we are doing with Royal is going to the Tropicana at night. We have checked with many agencies etc. and there really should not be any issues with all these changes......maybe just longer lines at customs when we come back to the US. Our only fear is that we booked an early flight home from Tampa and hope we are able to get off the ship in Florida early enough.