Cuba by Cruise Ship

In January of 2019, we experienced what turned out to be a narrow window of opportunity to visit Cuba by cruise ship. It’s a good thing we booked our cruise 18 months in advance because it quickly sold out. A few days after we obtained our license for independent land travel in Cuba, OFAC revoked this permission, but luckily we were ‘grandfathered’ in. And, soon after our cruise, the USA banned cruise ships from entering Cuba altogether.

We enjoyed two days in Miami before our cruise. Our ten-day voyage was on Oceania Cruises’ MS Sirena, a small but luxurious ship:

Day 1: Depart Miami, Florida
Day 2: Arrive Havana, Cuba
Day 3: Depart Havana
Day 4: At sea
Day 5: Cienfuegos, Cuba
Day 6: Santiago de Cuba
Day 7: At sea
Day 8: Samana Bay, Dominican Republic
Day 9: At sea
Day 10: Nassau, Bahamas
Day 11: Arrive Miami, Florida

This video covers Days 1-6. Here is a link to our second video, “After Cuba,” which covers Days 7-11: https://youtu.be/FFzpD6uRp-M

We reserved our own private tour guide and driver for our two days/1 night in Havana through Fertours, a Cuban tour company. Their customized tours not only cost considerably less than the cruise line's overpriced shore excursions but are a much more interesting and immersive way to explore Cuba and learn about its people. We traveled in a restored ’56 Pontiac. Watch for a scene inspired by the film, “Back to the Future.”

Cienfuegos is on the southern coast of Cuba. By land, it's a 160-mile drive from Havana and the population is 150,000 compared to Havana's over 2 million inhabitants. Here and also at the next port, bus tours were included in our cruise package. We regretted not exploring these fascinating cities on our own. Back at sea, we encountered a brief cloudburst followed by a brilliant rainbow and a glorious sunset.

The next morning, a pilot boat escorted our ship through the bay towards Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city. The highlight of our tour here was Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, a fortress built in the 1600s. All too soon, it was time to depart Cuba and sail on to our next destination.

Видео Cuba by Cruise Ship канала Electropickle