Majesty of the Seas 5 Night Key West & Cuba Cruise - May 14, 2018 - Mini Review

[AlaskaNewbie68]

Thank you! Looking into Cuba on the Majesty in Feb.

 

 

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[onecoolchic]

Anyone Rode in the Tuk Tuk?

[cthrn27]

thank you, kac0426. You answered questions I didn't yet know I had. I think I need to do more research.

 

thanks again ;)

[cleophus12]

Great review. I had a similar experience when I did the four night cruise following yours. I agree that the room was terribly small. We were on Deck 6 in 6546. We also heard a lot of banging noises during the night. Some of the noise was due to the fact that we were directly under the Promenade and early morning and late night runners were going right over our heads. I also think there was a sliding door above us that we may have been hearing. The noise wasn't awful, but it did wake us up sometimes. We took a private tour in Cuba and were among the first to get off of the ship. We just watched for the gangway to be opened and we left very quickly. We were through immigration and currency exchange by 8:25 I think. Easy peasy. I do think Majesty had most of the kinks worked out by our cruise which was the third one. We waited maybe 15 minutes to get back on the ship, but we were returning during a crowded time of day (about 4:30). We did miss out on one thing that really disappointed me. The captain said we would go under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa about 7:15, so we went to dinner at 6 instead of our 6:45 scheduled time. However, we actually went under the bridge about 6:40, so we missed the view. I guess if that was the smallest hiccup I experienced, I had a good cruise which I did. I would prefer not to sail the Majesty again because I really prefer the larger ships, but I would if it was my only option for going to Cuba.

[Gaile]

We disembarked Majesty today. Did want to clarify that they did have the Tutti salad bar in the main dining room for lunch. Enjoyed by many.

 

All suites have priority disembarkation in Cuba as well. We did not see any long lines however got off before the RCL tours I prefer to book private not to save money but to customize our experiences. Also private transport is preferable to large busses for me any time. As said Cuba is a true experience. Enjoy!

 

 

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[Magnetchief]

 

 

 

We were told in the Q and A session that people with non-RC sponsored tours would have to wait until the RC tours were off to get off the ship. If that's true, I could see it taking much longer for them to get off, as RC was calling tour after tour once the ship was cleared. Now, is it possible they were squeezing in a few non-RC tour people in between the RC tours? Sure. But what they *said* is that you'd have to wait until all RC tours were off.

 

 

 

I completely understand why people want to book non-RC tours. You save money and often see more. Cuba is one place, in my personal humble opinion, where I would book an RC tour. Too much unknown for my control freak brain to handle booking a non-RC tour. I saw people stressing all week about whether or not they'd be allowed off the ship with a non-RC tour. (They were allowed off, in the end, but was it worth a week of stress to save $50? I promise I'm not asking that to be snarky.

 

 

We heard the same details ref keeping the non RCI tour passengers back till the RCI tours had departed.

 

But it was completely wrong.

We had a private tour booked for 9.

 

Went to the gangway and spoke to a 4 ringed officer, Staff Captain I think.

 

We asked him about this and he seemed surprised, he said that was totally wrong and should not have been stated thus.

 

He took our details and asked where we had heard this.

 

Then said the gangway is open and has been open all night to all passengers. Please make your way ashore and have a great time.

 

 

 

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[Magnetchief]

Hi again: Can you give more insight on the disembarkation process in Cuba. I booked through an outside agency and I have a hour to meet up just outside the terminal. Of course, I am very nervous.

 

 

 

 

 

How long do you non-Royal tour passengers have to wait? Is it a feeding frenzy to get off the ship? Thanks. [emoji41]

 

 

 

We walked straight off at 8:30 am no issues.

 

 

 

 

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[Destaw71835]

We heard the same details ref keeping the non RCI tour passengers back till the RCI tours had departed.

 

But it was completely wrong.

We had a private tour booked for 9.

 

Went to the gangway and spoke to a 4 ringed officer, Staff Captain I think.

 

We asked him about this and he seemed surprised, he said that was totally wrong and should not have been stated thus.

 

He took our details and asked where we had heard this.

 

Then said the gangway is open and has been open all night to all passengers. Please make your way ashore and have a great time.

 

 

 

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Thank you for providing this. It seems that there’s of a lot of misinformation spread about the private versus cruise booked tours.

 

 

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[kac0426]

We disembarked Majesty today. Did want to clarify that they did have the Tutti salad bar in the main dining room for lunch. Enjoyed by many.

 

 

 

Interesting! The Tutti salad bar was not listed on the menu when I looked, nor did I see it when I peeked into the dining room. Unless it was set up in a really out of the way area, I don't think they had it the day I checked.

[kac0426]

thank you, kac0426. You answered questions I didn't yet know I had. I think I need to do more research.

 

thanks again ;)

 

Thanks for the nice compliment. If you have additional questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them. As you can tell, there is a lot of (mis)information floating around about non-RC sponsored excursions. I can only share what we were told, not what people were actually allowed to do. LOL

[depoteet]

Because Havana, Cuba is a new port of call for Majesty of the Seas, as I was planning my 5 night Key West and Cuba cruise, I didn't have much information to go on. My cruise on May 14, 2018 was only the 2nd time Majesty had cruised to Cuba, with the week before being the very first time. I hope the information in this "mini review" proves helpful for others planning a cruise to Cuba.

 

What a great review. Thanks!

[Cat8bird]

:) Thanks for the great review. We are debating Cruising to Cuba next April. Can you tell me if there's a cost for the Visa's and where do you convert your money?

 

Again, thanks for your review.:cool:

Stacie.

[Magnetchief]

:) Thanks for the great review. We are debating Cruising to Cuba next April. Can you tell me if there's a cost for the Visa's and where do you convert your money?

 

 

 

Again, thanks for your review.:cool:

 

Stacie.

 

 

 

Visas and money conversion?

 

 

 

 

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[katrina915]

Thanks for the review. Do you get the visa before the cruise? How far in advance?

 

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[Cat8bird]

Visas and money conversion?

 

 

 

 

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Yes....

[mco_rich]

Yes....

 

 

 

You get the visa at checkin, need to fill in before arrival (Month Day Year date) $75 charge to account

 

 

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[36kruzes]

Thanks for the great Majesty review. Cuba has been on my list since my first cruise in 1981. Of course, no one could cruise to Cuba then.

 

Just booked myself on 7 night cruise, Empress of Seas, an old favorite from the 1990’s. Deck 7 with a window, at stern of ship. Sailing from Miami early January 2019. Always wanted to see Key West and Havana plus this itinerary includes Grand Cayman and Coco Cay. Sounds good to me!

 

My only question is whether we must book SOME tour of Havana at all. Have heard conflicting reports about that and some say you can just get off the ship and walk around on your own. Does anyone know for certain.

Edited May 29, 2018 by 36kruzes
spelling error

[pizzalady1]

:) Thanks for the great review. We are debating Cruising to Cuba next April. Can you tell me if there's a cost for the Visa's and where do you convert your money?

 

Again, thanks for your review.:cool:

Stacie.

 

On RC the cost of $75 for the visa is put on your on-board account and is given to you when you check in. You also have to give the check in person your completed OFAC affidavit.

 

When you get off the ship you first go through customs. then you continue on to the money conversion lines.

Edited May 30, 2018 by pizzalady1

[kac0426]

Thanks for the great Majesty review. Cuba has been on my list since my first cruise in 1981. Of course, no one could cruise to Cuba then.

 

Just booked myself on 7 night cruise, Empress of Seas, an old favorite from the 1990’s. Deck 7 with a window, at stern of ship. Sailing from Miami early January 2019. Always wanted to see Key West and Havana plus this itinerary includes Grand Cayman and Coco Cay. Sounds good to me!

 

My only question is whether we must book SOME tour of Havana at all. Have heard conflicting reports about that and some say you can just get off the ship and walk around on your own. Does anyone know for certain.

 

We were told you have to book with RC but that's not true. Plenty of people had their own tours booked and were allowed off the ship with no problems.

[kac0426]

On RC the cost of $75 for the visa is put on your on-board account and is given to you when you check in. You also have to give the check in person your completed OFAC affidavit.

 

When you get off the ship you first go through customs. then you continue on to the money conversion lines.

 

I got an email about 2 days before my cruise telling me to fill out the affidavit before I arrived at the terminal. I almost missed seeing the email. When I arrived at the terminal there were affidavit forms and plenty of people hadn't filled theirs out ahead of time, so it didn't matter. But it was nice to have it filled out ahead of time, to save time.

 

We were told the Cuban officials would keep half of our visa and give half back, but they kept the whole thing. That threw a lot of people off! LOL

[kac0426]

You get the visa at checkin, need to fill in before arrival (Month Day Year date) $75 charge to account

 

 

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RC will give you instructions on how to fill out the Visa so don't jump the gun and fill it out too early before you know what you're doing. If you mess up they may charge you $75 for a new one...

[Barefoot Gypsy]

 

 

Because Havana, Cuba is a new port of call for Majesty of the Seas, as I was planning my 5 night Key West and Cuba cruise, I didn't have much information to go on. My cruise on May 14, 2018 was only the 2nd time Majesty had cruised to Cuba, with the week before being the very first time. I hope the information in this "mini review" proves helpful for others planning a cruise to Cuba.

 

Background about me and my cruise history: I've cruised a pretty good amount, for my age. I'm in my 30s and this was my 16th cruise. I've previously cruised with HAL, NCL, Princess, and RCCL with the majority being with RCCL. I cruised with my mom who is in her 60s.

 

Embarkation: I love cruising out of Tampa and wish more cruises sailed out of this port It's easy to navigate and the Tampa airport beats the Ft. Lauderdale airport in every category. Embarkation was super smooth. We were on the ship within 30 minutes. The only very slight hiccup was the additional forms you have to fill out for your Visa. It slowed things down a bit. But overall it went fine.

 

Ship: Majesty is small in comparison with the huge RCCL ships of today but it never felt small to me. In fact, its layout was probably my favorite of any RCCL ship. It's super easy to get anywhere on the ship and the layout makes a lot of sense. It never really felt crowded either. You could always get a seat at the show and in the Windjammer.

 

Cabin: We were in an outside cabin on deck 3. It's probably the smallest cabin I've ever stayed in. Just beds and a chair - no sofa or loveseat of any kind. The window is actually a porthole which you can see out if if you position yourself just right, but a large picture window it is NOT. I've been spoiled by balcony cabins in the past but Majesty's are expensive so this was fine for a 5 night cruise. I do not understand the built-in nightstand/cubby hole thing in the room. When you need the beds separated, as I do with my mom, it makes for an awkward staggered bed placement. Whoever thought a built in nightstand was the way to go needs to rethink that. It meant I didn't have a nightstand or anywhere to put my glasses, book, remote control, etc. which was sort of annoying. First world problems. One other thing that was annoying was the loud banging/thumping sounds I'd hear in the middle of the night. I don't know if it was the stabilizers or a loose lifeboat banging against the side of the ship or what, but it happened pretty much every night, except for the night we were docked in Cuba. It made sleeping difficult at times and was something I haven't experienced before. Not sure if was just a deck 3 issue or if others heard it as well.

 

Food: My mom and I agreed that we were disappointed with the dining room food on this cruise. With our previous 3 cruises being on HAL and Princess, I do feel that RCCL's dining room food is not up to theirs. I understand that you get what you pay for. The "theme nights" seemed pointless. On formal night there was nothing formal about the menu. On Latin night there were no Latin food options. Why have theme nights then? There were also a LOT of repeats. I don't mind some repeats but when the menu is 80% identical each night, it gets old. I have not experienced this on other RCCL cruises so I don't know if Majesty is different in this regard? There was also not the classics menu that I'm used ot seeing on other RCCL ships with the linguini pomodoro and salmon offered every night, and I missed that. I also missed the Tutti salad bar that I've experienced on other RCCL ships. Not sure why Majesty doesn't offer this unless it's just due to the smaller size. In contrast, however, we were VERY impressed with the Windjammer food and this is where we ate the majority of the time. The Compass Deli was a nice touch as well.

 

Entertainment: In 16 cruises this was the FIRST time I've had a female cruise director, and it was nice to see some female representation! Cruisin Susan was great. Loved her sense of humor and her Scottish accent. The shows were good as always. We had a Lionel Ritchie tribute singer and a juggler/comedian, in addition to the production shows.

 

Cuba enrichment: One of my favorite things about this cruise was how RCCL tried to incorporate Cuba into the entire cruise, From Cuban music being played in the terminal during check in to a Cuban band being on board to the enrichment lectures and Cuba Q&A session to instructions on how to complete a Visa, RCCL did a great job of preparing you for the Cuba experience. They explained the currency situation very well (CUCs versus CUPs) and told you how to exchange money. (You can do it in the cruise terminal. You'll get 87 CUCs for $100 US dollars.) They were also extremely organized. I could not have been more impressed with how well they did everything, especially considering this was only their 2nd time sailing to Cuba. You would not have known it by how smooth everything was. If you have been to Cuba before then you know that smooth and organized aren't really words used to describe this country. So, RCCL deserves a lot of praise for how well they prepared us. Whenever there was a small hiccup, I don't think it was RCCL's fault. I think they relayed information to us the best they could but sometimes Cuba would change things on them at the last minute. That's just Cuba for you.

 

Key West: A beautiful port, of course, but being that it's in the U.S. I doubt many people have too many curiosities about this one. We had beautiful weather. We did the Conch Train and Aquarium which I highly recommend. I loved how easy it is to walk around Key West after getting off the ship. You are right in the middle of everything. If you are a fit walker, no transportation is needed.

 

Cuba: I know there's been a lot of mixed information about whether or not you have to have a tour booked through RCCL to get off the ship. If memory serves me correctly, in the shore excursions talk on board they implied you do have to book through RCCL. That's not true, though. You can have a tour booked through an outside operator. I will say, though, that you may be at somewhat of a disadvantage if you do this because they let off all the RCCL tours first. If you had a non-RCCL sponsored tour booked at 9:00 am, I'm not sure what would have happened as I don't think they were letting off anyone who didn't have a RCCL tour at that time. You might save money booking outside of RCCL but my advice (which isn't worth much) would be to just do the RCCL tour. It's easier and more reliable. Our tour guides were great. We did the Havana Express with Hemingway house and the Tropicana Cabaret. I highly recommend both, especially Tropicana. That was the highlight of my entire trip. Before arriving in Cuba, the RCCL crew kept telling us to go in with an open heart and an open mind. This is perfect advice. Cuba is different, in every way. Things move at a different pace there. If you are the type of person who will get impatient if your lunch order doesn't arrive in 5 minutes, don't go. If you don't like to stand in line or wait for anything, this isn't the place for you. But if you can go in with an open heart and open mind and embrace the difference, you'll have a great time.

 

Passengers: For whatever reason, I found the passengers on this ship to be some of the kindest, best people to be around on any cruise I've been on. They were extremely well traveled, cultured, and intelligent and wanted to experience the Cuban culture. They also looked out for one another. The toilet paper situation in Cuba is a big topic of conversation, and fellow travelers on our tour were always kind to share TP with one another. You can often bond over bathroom humor.

 

Overall thoughts: Despite a few very minor nitpicky complaints (small cabin, lackluster dining room food), this was a wonderful cruise. RCCL did a great job of educating us about and preparing us for Cuba. After disembarking, I realized this was somewhat a cruise of contrasts. You see the best of the best (think wealthy) in Key West and the worst of the worst in Cuba. But there was true beauty in the "crumbliness" of Cuba. If you go, or have been, you'll know what I mean.

 

Questions? Just ask. I'm happy to answer anything I can!

 

Hi..Great Review. We're going next February. The one thing that no one seems to mention are the 42 stairs from the dock to the street level in Cuba. How difficult were they to navigate?

[georgiacat]

How was the Tropicana show? worth the money? What time start and get back to the ship?

Thanks for the review. Thinking of this cruise next year (if it is not too late).

[coloradocruiselover88]

Would you mind sharing who you booked your private tours with and did you enjoy them?

 

Thanks

 

Thanks for the information, very helpful.

 

I booked a 2 day private tour, so I will just let them know I can't guarantee the time and I am sure they will be flexible. The tour I booked, after much research (I am retired), was saving more than $50.00 p/p, that's for sure! I was able to pick everything I wanted to see and do. (walking tour, Classic Convertible Car tour, Jazz Club, Hemingway's former residence and farm to table experience). I have booked private tours all over the world, with much success. :cool:

 

Looking so forward to seeing Cuba and because the ship wasn't filling up enough I got a great price. I only booked this cruise a little more than a month ago. :D So all information is appreciated.

[viszlaowner]

Hi..Great Review. We're going next February. The one thing that no one seems to mention are the 42 stairs from the dock to the street level in Cuba. How difficult were they to navigate?

 

 

 

Not too difficult, there is also a small elevator. Didn’t see it until I went up the stairs.

 

 

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