Carnvial ship sponsered excursion help needed

[sbcatcher1]

My husband will only take a Carnival ship excursion in Cuba so I must choose between:

Best of Havana and Local flavors and Traditions of Havana. I can't find anyone who has taken either of these.

Please help me choose. We are on the Carnival Paradise Oct 22, 2018.

 

 

Yes this is a duplicate but the other thread has turned into private tour excursion discussion which my husband absolutely refuses to take.

[LuckyZ]

Any reason for his reservation ?

 

I think the Cruise Critic testimonials should put to rest that they are unsafe or unreliable

 

 

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[BIG_Steve]

I'm on the same cruise. Hoping to see some answers, but it doesn't look promising. There are almost no reviews on the Carnival main site, so it's hard to tell.

[ricew001]

I'm interested in this too - we don't go until Nov 2019 but I feel my husband will also prefer a ship-sponsored tour.

[RiverBlues]

Any reason for his reservation ? I think the Cruise Critic testimonials should put to rest that they are unsafe or unreliable

 

Maybe he's one of those Americans who think they have to toe the OFAC line in case they are ever audited?

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You can "see" a lot of these places from both tours in videos on YouTube, and read about them in a guidebook, to decide which you prefer.

 

Local Flavors: (4.5 hrs, $130)

Cuban food tasting w/music

coffee, rum,cigars, 'class' on how to enjoy

Plaza de la Revolucion and some history

Muraleando local arts project & dance

 

Best of Havana: (5.5 hrs, $120)

some undefined "Cuban community project"

Christ statue and Fort (other side of harbor)

bus along Malecon, along harbor

Plaza de la Revolucion and some history

Colon Cemetery

Parque Central (outdoor life of locals & architecture)

 

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IMO anyone could do either of these itineraries easily on their own for a couple of 5-10 CUC taxi rides. Many of the classic car tours for an hour or so also cover most of them. These sites in Havana are in a pretty compact area.

my impressions: Muraleando and the cemetery were pretty interesting. It's fun to hang out on Parque Central with locals who frequent it. The Malecon is fun to ride along, but more fun to walk along at night when locals are using it as a living room.

Might as well enjoy the ferry to get to the places on the other side of the harbor.