Review of Dec. 1 Cuba cruise

This was our fourth voyage with Oceania. The stops in Cuba were 10 out of 10. Oceania gets an 8 out of 10. This was our first experience with a sold-out ship. The wait staff seemed overwhelmed at times. It was especially hard to find places to sit at breakfast and lunch. It would have been great to have someone greet you as you walked in and help you find a place to sit. The four of us were really annoyed with our dinner at Toscana. Because of the packed room and people waiting, we were rushed through our meal. You barely put down your fork and the waiter whisks away your plate and puts another in front of you. On past Oceania cruises, it was never this way. Sad. Also, the bathrooms on the R ships are especially tiny. We've never gotten used to that. On the plus side, we loved afternoon trivia (and bathrobe trivia when it moved to 11 a.m.), and the food was excellent all week.

Now on to the off-the-ship stuff. We did a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. private tour of Havana through Cuban Trips Compass. It was fabulous!!!! 45 CUCs apiece (roughly $45 each) for the four of us, riding in a 1957 Chevy and walking through various sites. Heidi was our very knowledgeable guide (helping us buy cigars, rum and chocolate!). She spoke great English, along with Spanish and German. Havana really came alive with this tour. A beautiful city.

We did Cienfuegos and Santiago on our own. And it worked out just fine. Cienfuegos has a beautiful old theater and Santiago boasts the oldest home in Cuba. Both worth seeing. Note: reaching downtown Santiago requires a very steep climb for a few blocks. Coming back to the ship we moved over a couple of streets and the slope was much easier to negotiate. Cuba was just amazing. We so glad we took this cruise.

We used Oceania's air because we needed this to be a quick trip and we didn't want to pay the $175 deviation fee each. The trip home was through Newark to Portland, Oregon, and made for a very long day. Luckily we just managed to avoid a winter storm.

Thanks for taking the time to do a review! You have peaked my interest in Cuba.

I hope you get a chance to see it some day. So fascinating.

A bit confused by your post.

Were you typically back aboard for lunch on port days?

Was the GDR open for lunch on port days?

Did you consider the GDR for lunch, or were you only interested in the Terrace despite the crowds?

Did you consider the GDR for breakfast? A 09:00 land tour start provides plenty of time for a GDR breakfast.

The Terrace cafes, on both the O or R ships, were not designed for a max ship capacity of cruisers to eat between 07:00 and 0:815. Flexibility and the consideration of options are important. Waves can be a good breakfast option also.

I am currently on the December 8th Cuba cruise, and I concur with many of Shorton's comments. This is our fifth cruise on Oceania so I know how good it can be. It is still very good, but the dining staff often seem overwhelmed. Each person is very nice and personable, but it seems like either they are short staffed or that many people are new so things are not as efficient. I do know our state room attendant joined the cruise the same day we got on, so maybe that is the issue.

Once again this still a very good cruise and service is still very good. However, Oceania has set a very high bar and in this case they have not met it.

This was our fourth voyage with Oceania. The stops in Cuba were 10 out of 10. Oceania gets an 8 out of 10. This was our first experience with a sold-out ship. The wait staff seemed overwhelmed at times. It was especially hard to find places to sit at breakfast and lunch. It would have been great to have someone greet you as you walked in and help you find a place to sit. The four of us were really annoyed with our dinner at Toscana. Because of the packed room and people waiting, we were rushed through our meal. You barely put down your fork and the waiter whisks away your plate and puts another in front of you. On past Oceania cruises, it was never this way. Sad. Also, the bathrooms on the R ships are especially tiny. We've never gotten used to that. On the plus side, we loved afternoon trivia (and bathrobe trivia when it moved to 11 a.m.), and the food was excellent all week.

Now on to the off-the-ship stuff. We did a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. private tour of Havana through Cuban Trips Compass. It was fabulous!!!! 45 CUCs apiece (roughly $45 each) for the four of us, riding in a 1957 Chevy and walking through various sites. Heidi was our very knowledgeable guide (helping us buy cigars, rum and chocolate!). She spoke great English, along with Spanish and German. Havana really came alive with this tour. A beautiful city.

We did Cienfuegos and Santiago on our own. And it worked out just fine. Cienfuegos has a beautiful old theater and Santiago boasts the oldest home in Cuba. Both worth seeing. Note: reaching downtown Santiago requires a very steep climb for a few blocks. Coming back to the ship we moved over a couple of streets and the slope was much easier to negotiate. Cuba was just amazing. We so glad we took this cruise.

We used Oceania's air because we needed this to be a quick trip and we didn't want to pay the $175 deviation fee each. The trip home was through Newark to Portland, Oregon, and made for a very long day. Luckily we just managed to avoid a winter storm.

What airline did Oceania use from PDX and what time did you leave? We are in Vancouver Wa and trying to figure out air.

What airline did Oceania use from PDX and what time did you leave? We are in Vancouver Wa and trying to figure out air.

Imaloff;

It appears the OP is no longer posting. The OP was confusing and he didn’t address any of my questions about his OP. Bread is probably dead.

What airline did Oceania use from PDX and what time did you leave? We are in Vancouver Wa and trying to figure out air.

What one person gets and what they use later will not always be the same.