Live on Majesty of the Seas first cruise to Cuba

[Scotty G]

Hi, I have seen this question asked several times on different threads and I am curious, what difference does it make. again just curious

thanks

This request is from the person who keeps the Current Captain's list current. Some of us appreciate knowing who the Master of the Ship will be on a future cruise!

[Clarea]

Hi, I have seen this question asked several times on different threads and I am curious, what difference does it make. again just curious

thanks

Some Captains are more entertaining than others.

[nws2002]

I’m on the same sailing. I’ll try and post some pictures of the cruise compasses.

 

Captain just left Empress. I don’t know his name. I think he might be Norwegian?

 

Formal night was day 3. Same day we departed Cuba.

 

Only real hiccup so far has been the super long check in times at the port in Tampa. Took us almost 4 hours and heard many others complaining along with apologies from the crew once onboard.

 

Process in Havana seemed smooth. I think security got backed up around all aboard time because I heard a few grumbles about it from others. We were back on about an hour before that though and had zero issues.

 

I wish we booked a tour outside of RCL in Havana. Others did and apparently had a better experience for a better price. Our tour guide was ok, and he tried, but his English wasn’t great and you could often tell he was struggling to find the words. We also ended up bouncing around quite a bit on the walking tour because places were full or closed he was trying to show us.

 

Crew has been excellent. They all seem really excited about Cuba.

[nws2002]

Deleted

Edited May 13, 2018 by nws2002

[ArubaGal]

Following. We travel in Oct. curious About obtaining the visa on board if you do not take one of RCL shore excursions. Reservation agent told me that you can only get a visa if you take one of the ships excursions only

 

 

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[nws2002]

The visa was given by the port agent in Tampa. She warned us to wait for instructions to be delivered to our cabin before filling it in. If you mess up there is no crossing out or fixing it. You have to pay $75 to get another one.

 

I can’t see how they would know if you booked a shore excursion. Technically, the US State Department requires you to have at least on so you can check that box on the affidavit but no one in Cuba will check as you exit the ship. We booked one with RCL, another on our own, and also just spent time walking around.

 

Cuban officials don’t seem to care about much as long as you have the visa. They process the visa form the first time you disembark and stamp your passport. After that, you can disembark and embark at anytime you are in port.

 

 

The only real difference I noticed from other ports is that you will actually have to speak with someone at passport control and both Cuba and the ship have security when you return so you have two layers of metal detectors and X-rays to get through.

[JamesEM]

Following along, looking forward to photos and more reports.

[retired067]

This request is from the person who keeps the Current Captain's list current. Some of us appreciate knowing who the Master of the Ship will be on a future cruise!

Thanks for the info

[dorinel]

Hi

 

Question for the OP. So you planned a two day itinerary on your own and not through RC?

 

I have been hesitant to book a cruise to Cuba because the excursions are so expensive through RC and all that I want to do is not offered through RC.

 

But I am worried about the legal requirements of booking on my own.

 

Any insight would be appreciated

 

Thank you!

 

I did day's of research to make sure that I could book outside of the cruise ship, as there was conflicting information. The answer was yes. Your visa is ready for you when you get on board and after going through customs there is a meeting point with clear directions.

 

 

What I spent on a 2 day tour would have been the same for one excursion purchased through the ship. I booked: 1st Day: Old Havana Walking Tour, Classic Convertible Car tour (includes stops that I requested: Colon Cemetery and Lenin Park), return to ship for dinner, pick-up and accompany guide to Vixen and Crow Jazz Club. 2nd Day: Hemingway's former residence and Farm to Table Experience with a return ride to cruise ship for $260 USD p/p not including tip. We will also have the same tour guide for the 2 days and it is a private tour!

 

This is what I was interested in. There is a excursion guide and website that you are able to pick out your own interests like: cigar factory, Tropicana, etc. Here's the website again: http://havanatourcompany.com/

 

I also found out that converting USD to Cuban $'s there will be a 13% conversation rate. Only 3% for Euro's. I reached out to one of my friends who I knew had Euro's and purchased what they had (I am going to Europe in the summer too).

[mco_rich]

Looking forward to your update as we’re on a very similar itinerary on Majesty in June.

 

 

 

Can you let us know if there’s a formal night scheduled? For some reason I was thinking Majesty and Empress didn’t do formal nights, but I may be making that up.

 

 

 

Formal night is the night of the 2nd day in Havana, there were massive delays boarding and the weather was terrible so wasn’t well attended. I’ve had WiFi issues so will do review when get back

 

 

 

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[mco_rich]

I’m on the same sailing. I’ll try and post some pictures of the cruise compasses.

 

 

 

Captain just left Empress. I don’t know his name. I think he might be Norwegian?

 

 

 

Formal night was day 3. Same day we departed Cuba.

 

 

 

Only real hiccup so far has been the super long check in times at the port in Tampa. Took us almost 4 hours and heard many others complaining along with apologies from the crew once onboard.

 

 

 

Process in Havana seemed smooth. I think security got backed up around all aboard time because I heard a few grumbles about it from others. We were back on about an hour before that though and had zero issues.

 

 

 

I wish we booked a tour outside of RCL in Havana. Others did and apparently had a better experience for a better price. Our tour guide was ok, and he tried, but his English wasn’t great and you could often tell he was struggling to find the words. We also ended up bouncing around quite a bit on the walking tour because places were full or closed he was trying to show us.

 

 

 

Crew has been excellent. They all seem really excited about Cuba.

 

 

 

Agreed, for some reason I couldn’t get on WiFi but I really think RCI went over the top with saying you had to use their tours, we booked the Hemingway walking tour which ended up being a bus tour because of the rain then did our own thing in Havana at night and the next day, no issues and no hassles

 

 

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[Oakman]

Just off the Empress last week, and regarding making mistakes on the Visa: They told us you COULD just cross out the mistake and correct it. Many US citizens input their date of birth incorrectly. It follows the Euripean format DD/MM/YYYY.

[Mermaid-ooxx]

We head out in July... thank you to all who have posted their experiences.

[cjnalley]

Thanks for the information on the tours. We are cruising in September.

[mco_rich]

Wepulled into Havana around 12.30 on day 2. Spectacular views of the city. We hadbooked Hemmingway's walking tour so had to be in Dining room by 2pm where allour documents were inspected by RC staff and were escorted off around 2.15pm.Passport control was a breeze, they take Visa and stamp passports which servesas the visa for the rest of the trip. Security was easy and certainly the best dressed!We had been told not to change out money until after the trip but as there wereno lines we dashed in and changed money, after going down the stairs(very steep but elevator to the right) we were directed to the bus waitingarea. As the rain was heavy our walking to be changed to a bus tour for thefirst 2 hours which was great as we saw sites we wouldn’t have by just walking.One thing I remember is the square where Castro made his 7hr speeches –Amazing.

We stopped when the rain ended and walked roundthe town, stopping at a Cuban food distribution store (still have rationcards), Floradita bar and another for drinks. All in all a great tour worth themoney. We went back to the ship to change into dry clothes and returned to townfor Dinner, you will get hassled by restaurants, beggars, everybody needsmoney. Food was good and pretty cheap but menus limited to mainly seafood.

Day 2 we walked around town and just headedinland from cruise terminal very interesting to see where the locals shop andeat.

Waiting to get on the ship around 2 hours beforedeparture the weather got really bad and the ship was blown away from ********** which slipped down. We were delayed about 45 minutes whilst they fixedthe gangway and moved ship. This lead to a wait of around 2hrs for some to geton board.

Overall Cuba was interesting, next time I won’tbook and RCI tours and just book a cab from the Port.

 

Biggest takeaway is that you don’t have to bookan RCI tour you are just pushed to the back of the line to get off, Cubans arevery friendly and date in Visa needs to be in DD/MM/YYYY

[dorinel]

Thanks for the information, very informative. Do you remember the name of the square where Castro made his speeches or where it was (how close to the ship). :cool::D

[RickinStl]

Thanks for the information, very informative. Do you remember the name of the square where Castro made his speeches or where it was (how close to the ship). :cool::D

 

 

 

Plaza De Revelucion IIRC (pardon the spelling) lol

 

 

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[Wateron]

I did day's of research to make sure that I could book outside of the cruise ship, as there was conflicting information. The answer was yes. Your visa is ready for you when you get on board and after going through customs there is a meeting point with clear directions.

 

 

 

 

 

What I spent on a 2 day tour would have been the same for one excursion purchased through the ship. I booked: 1st Day: Old Havana Walking Tour, Classic Convertible Car tour (includes stops that I requested: Colon Cemetery and Lenin Park), return to ship for dinner, pick-up and accompany guide to Vixen and Crow Jazz Club. 2nd Day: Hemingway's former residence and Farm to Table Experience with a return ride to cruise ship for $260 USD p/p not including tip. We will also have the same tour guide for the 2 days and it is a private tour!

 

 

 

This is what I was interested in. There is a excursion guide and website that you are able to pick out your own interests like: cigar factory, Tropicana, etc. Here's the website again: http://havanatourcompany.com/

 

 

 

I also found out that converting USD to Cuban $'s there will be a 13% conversation rate. Only 3% for Euro's. I reached out to one of my friends who I knew had Euro's and purchased what they had (I am going to Europe in the summer too).

 

 

 

What’s the tipping situation in Cuba, same as elsewhere?

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks for all the great info.

 

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[Wateron]

I did day's of research to make sure that I could book outside of the cruise ship, as there was conflicting information. The answer was yes. Your visa is ready for you when you get on board and after going through customs there is a meeting point with clear directions.

 

 

 

 

 

What I spent on a 2 day tour would have been the same for one excursion purchased through the ship. I booked: 1st Day: Old Havana Walking Tour, Classic Convertible Car tour (includes stops that I requested: Colon Cemetery and Lenin Park), return to ship for dinner, pick-up and accompany guide to Vixen and Crow Jazz Club. 2nd Day: Hemingway's former residence and Farm to Table Experience with a return ride to cruise ship for $260 USD p/p not including tip. We will also have the same tour guide for the 2 days and it is a private tour!

 

 

 

This is what I was interested in. There is a excursion guide and website that you are able to pick out your own interests like: cigar factory, Tropicana, etc. Here's the website again: http://havanatourcompany.com/

 

 

 

I also found out that converting USD to Cuban $'s there will be a 13% conversation rate. Only 3% for Euro's. I reached out to one of my friends who I knew had Euro's and purchased what they had (I am going to Europe in the summer too).

 

 

 

When you filled out the “Guest Certification For Authorized US Travel To Cuba” did you select Category 4 & select box “Support for the Cuban people”

 

Thanks for your help!

[dorinel]

What’s the tipping situation in Cuba, same as elsewhere?

 

I leave in 17 days for my Cuba cruise and promise to post what I learn.

 

According to the FYI Booklet (Extremely helpful) from my booked tour (http://havanatourcompany.com) the tipping is entirely up to you. Suggestions: Cuban Tour Guide: 5 to 8 CUC per traveler per day, Bartenders: 1 CUC per drink, Waiters/Taxi Drivers: 15%, Musicians: 1 CUC, and Bathroom Attendants: small coins.

[dorinel]

When you filled out the “Guest Certification For Authorized US Travel To Cuba” did you select Category 4 & select box “Support for the Cuban people”

 

Thanks for your help!

Thanks for posting this! I did not realize that we were required to complete the Guest Certification before arrival (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/content/faq/cuba-guest-travel-certification.pdf) because it is so well hidden within Royal's FAQ's! And it is 2 copies per guest (children also).

 

I don't think the # 4 category applies to fellow cruisers, but to assorted in-coming licensed vendors. I am picking # 2 for my cruise.

Edited May 19, 2018 by dorinel
additional info.

[Wateron]

Thanks for posting this! I did not realize that we were required to complete the Guest Certification before arrival (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/content/faq/cuba-guest-travel-certification.pdf) because it is so well hidden within Royal's FAQ's! And it is 2 copies per guest (children also).

 

I don't think the # 4 category applies to fellow cruisers, but to assorted in-coming licensed vendors. I am picking # 2 for my cruise.

 

See this Tripadvisor thread

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147270-i91-k11260185-Cruise_to_Cuba_shore_excursions_required-Cuba.html

[wolfcathorse]

I’m on the same sailing. I’ll try and post some pictures of the cruise compasses.

 

Captain just left Empress. I don’t know his name. I think he might be Norwegian?

 

 

Does the name Carl Graucob or Diego Lombardic ring a bell?

[mco_rich]

What’s the tipping situation in Cuba, same as elsewhere?

 

 

 

Every body wants a tip, even the staff in the Fort

 

 

 

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