Who really wants to go to Cuba?

[Cruisin4beaches]

The cruise lines seem to think we really want to go to Cuba. I live in South Florida and have many Cuban people( that I love) and many Cuban restaurants to eat at but do you really want pay extra and jump through hoops just to go here?

[luvscruising2007]

No!

[Coralc]

I think the interest in going to Cuba is that we weren't "allowed" to visit Cuba for so many years.

 

People from other countries that we have chatted with, that have visited, seem to have mixed feelings about the country.

 

We would like to visit as a cruise stop, sometime. But we're not in any real hurry. I don't think that we will book a cruise anytime in the near future specifically to visit Cuba, and pay for a Visa, and fill out forms, etc. etc.

 

We're just not that excited about it.

 

St. Petersburg, Russia might be kind of interesting and different; and worth all the paperwork :D

[sfaaa]

Zero interest.

[ndabunka]

I have Canadian friends who went there recently. It is Caribbean and very inexpensive as you might guess. I heard the food in Costa Rica was better but Cuba has it's fans as well.

[ONECRUISER]

Me, no....though my kids are going on Royal this Dec

[Missusdubbya]

I am very interested

[ReneeFLL]

I'm interested in seeing what it's like, but I won't sail on a ship with small rooms and balconies for the prices they are asking. I plan on looking into other cruise lines to see what they have going their.

[JamesEM]

I would go if RCL lowers the price and uses a newer ship.

[yuvraj]

It's on my bucket list.

[TexCruise371]

We’re going in September and looking forward to it.

 

 

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[nbhwarrior]

Hell yeah

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Went twice with fathom (the second time was a bonus) and fell in love with the country and its people (who have no beef with us - it is the governments who have issues with each other) and would LOVE to go back. It's a beautiful country and people!!

[Laurin612]

My family wants to go. We've been to most of the other ports in the Caribbean many times.

 

That said, I don't want to go bad enough to sail on the smallest/oldest ships in the fleet.

 

 

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[3monkeys4me]

It is pretty high on my list.

[villager70]

We are going in Aug. Go to Cuba section on Cruise critic ports and several post with hundreds of pictures from last few weeks. Bob & Nancy

[bouhunter]

I would go if RCL lowers the price and uses a newer ship.

 

Same for us.

[Dcoy]

Not everyone lives 90 miles from Cuba like you. I could ask the same question about paying to see dolphins. I live next to the ocean and a block away from the intercoastal waterway and can see dolphins almost every day.

 

It’s an experience and adventure of doing something that is not a normal daily activity. I actually would not mind going once.

 

Don

[NBBaker]

The cruise lines seem to think we really want to go to Cuba. I live in South Florida and have many Cuban people( that I love) and many Cuban restaurants to eat at but do you really want pay extra and jump through hoops just to go here?

We just returned from an overnight in Havana last month, and absolutely loved it. We enjoyed it so much that we are returning early next year. Of all the ports I've visited, Havana is now my favorite.

[alfaeric]

The cruise lines seem to think we really want to go to Cuba. I live in South Florida and have many Cuban people( that I love) and many Cuban restaurants to eat at but do you really want pay extra and jump through hoops just to go here?

 

do you really think your experience is just like being in Cuba?

 

Wow.

 

I guess instead of going to Rome, I should just eat at the local Italian Village area, and be done with it.

 

For people not interested in Cuba, that's fine, don't go. But I don't see anyone dissing other's wants to go to Aruba or Cancun or any other location. Why do that for people who want to go to Cuba? The "hoops" are pretty minor, really, and the experience is pretty amazing. And if the cruise price is that off putting, fly there and stay at an AirBnB- we did that after cruising there, and got to spend 3 nights in Havana for a lot less than cruising.

 

But I will say, cruising there once made you feel a LOT more comfortable. As for the cruise line's thinking, yes, people do want to go there, otherwise, they would not be able to get such a huge premium AND they would not be sailing with mostly full ships. Just because you don't want to go doesn't mean others don't.

[1025cruise]

If people didn't want to go, the ships wouldn't be going there.

[cruisegirl1]

We have interest and will be going back on our second Cuba cruise next month. This time we will have an overnight stay and can enjoy the nightlife of Havana.

 

The first cruise (last year) was on Empress the second one is on Majesty, but that had no bearing on our decision. The dock area is small and cannot accomodate one of the larger newer ships. We’ve had to take older ships for lots of sailings. I have read many comments on Cruise Critic that once folks take a large new ship they cannot go back to a smaller ship. Luckily, we don’t seem to have that problem. We will sail in a suite on Oasis, and then the next cruise have an ocean view cabin on Majesty. That is not a problem for us. Sometimes the ship becomes a destination, and sometimes the port becomes the destination. One will have to make the decision for what is important to them at the time. For us, for the Cuba trip, obviously the port wins out. If the only way to go (on RCCL) is on a smaller older ship, we have no other option.

 

The visa paperwork is no issue, and the price is small considering other travel expenses one incurs on cruises or land tours. We all decide how to spend our money. I read comments about folks grabbing up cabanas for hundreds of dollars for a few hours on Labadee. So why the balk at $75 (pp) for a visa. And we've had to purchase visas to visit other countries.

 

Personally, I am glad that Royal Caribbean offers options. Those who want to go to Cuba can book a cruise, and those who don’t can look at other offerings.

 

M

[cruzeluver]

We absolutely plan to go, but not necessarily with Royal. Whoever has the best itinerary and newer ship will get our business for that one.

 

The word "Cuba" in the thread title could easily be replaces with nay other port of call. All have their fans and their detractors.

[sjb317]

I want to go!:D

 

We booked a cruise on Empress for last September but Irma changed our plans. We just booked again this week for October and got a great price so hopefully, no hurricanes!

 

I’m looking forward to 2 ports in Cuba and sailing again on Empress. We are doing 2 weeks on Allure in September, it will be interesting to go from one of the biggest ships to the smallest.😁

 

Sherri:)

[Ozzie26]

We just booked a Cuba cruise for august. We have been all over the caribbean and hesitated at first but now we are very excited. Cuba may change as US$ are coming in so I want to see it sooner than later. As far as the ship, been on it many times and always had a great time. It's about the people I'm with and the people I meet not the size of the cabin. (We are also booked on Oasis in Feb )

 

 

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