Cuba - booking a clasic car tour - through Azamara or direct?

[e&mcruise]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

 

My husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise with Azamara to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary. As this is technically our first holiday since our honeymoon we are pulling out all the stops and spoiling ourselves by staying in a top suite.

 

 

 

We are on the 10 day Cuba intensive on Nov 24 and are really keen to do one of the classic American car tours when in Havana. We have checked out some of the private operators vs booking thru Azamara and like the fact that we can select a specific car and itinerary if we go direct (plus it is significantly cheaper) but the protection of Azamara is also appealing.

 

 

 

We know you get what you pay for but in this circumstance are we better to cut out the middle man (being Azamara) so the Cuban operators get the most for the service they are offering or are we taking an unnecessary risk. We have plenty of OBC so money is not really the issue.

 

 

Thanks in advance to any experienced Cuban Azamara Cruisers.

 

 

Cheers,

Emma

[aussie travel bird]

We went through a private licenced company and had 3 covertibles one day and then 3 classics the next day. Same guide and we covered heaps of places of interest including a lot of Hemingway. We had no issues at all. There’s lots of other experiences on past Cuba roll calls, you might want to check them out. We absolutely loved Cuba, it was a very rewarding experience all round.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Hi,

 

We are going to Cuba as a stop on our transatlantic this October 2018. We have been in contact with Nelson at Old Cars Havana. The emails have been answered in a timely manner keeping the time zone change in mind. He could not be any more attentive, professional and helpful. We are overnight in Havana and our ship arrives in the afternoon so we booked a few hours that night and again a few hours the next morning before our ship leaves. They have a driver and translator. https://www.oldcarshavana.com/

[agathasmum]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

 

My husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise with Azamara to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary. As this is technically our first holiday since our honeymoon we are pulling out all the stops and spoiling ourselves by staying in a top suite.

 

 

 

We are on the 10 day Cuba intensive on Nov 24 and are really keen to do one of the classic American car tours when in Havana. We have checked out some of the private operators vs booking thru Azamara and like the fact that we can select a specific car and itinerary if we go direct (plus it is significantly cheaper) but the protection of Azamara is also appealing.

 

 

 

We know you get what you pay for but in this circumstance are we better to cut out the middle man (being Azamara) so the Cuban operators get the most for the service they are offering or are we taking an unnecessary risk. We have plenty of OBC so money is not really the issue.

 

 

Thanks in advance to any experienced Cuban Azamara Cruisers.

 

 

Cheers,

Emma

 

We are on the same cruise as you :)

 

We booked a 2 day private tour with a local guide and he says that we will have an enclosed car available both days, and one of the classic open topped cars for an hour. You might look into something like this if you are also interested in sightseeing.

 

Susan

[bxny]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

My husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise with Azamara to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary. As this is technically our first holiday since our honeymoon we are pulling out all the stops and spoiling ourselves by staying in a top suite.

We are on the 10 day Cuba intensive on Nov 24 and are really keen to do one of the classic American car tours when in Havana. We have checked out some of the private operators vs booking thru Azamara and like the fact that we can select a specific car and itinerary if we go direct (plus it is significantly cheaper) but the protection of Azamara is also appealing.

We know you get what you pay for but in this circumstance are we better to cut out the middle man (being Azamara) so the Cuban operators get the most for the service they are offering or are we taking an unnecessary risk. We have plenty of OBC so money is not really the issue.

Thanks in advance to any experienced Cuban Azamara Cruisers.

 

 

Cheers,

Emma

 

Check out the Cuba, Ports of Call

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1009

[e&mcruise]

Thanks all for the advice everyone. Doesn't sound like anyone has any horror stories about booking direct which is great.