This cruise was originally scheduled to go to Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba with a stop the following week overnight in Havana. Santiago was supposed to be changed from a port where they could dock to a tender port, due to damage at the pier. Shortly before departure I received an email stating that Santiago would be canceled and an overnight in Havana substituted. While it is true that the contract of carriage gives the cruise line great latitude to do this, it was unfortunate that no consideration was offered to the passengers for whom this represented an unwelcome change. Often cruise lines will do so voluntarily in the interests of customer satisfaction. Royal Caribbean chose not to do so. Disappointing.

Havana was a great place to visit. The ship tour "Easy Panoramic Havana" was a bit expensive, but we had a very good guide and the tour took about six hours including visits to Revolution Square, the fortress and a shop with an introduction to the fine points of Cuban cigars and rum. This was very helpful if you wanted to buy such souvenirs, but did not have experiences with these products. A stop at Fusterlandia, filled with Gaudi-like mosaics was truly a big surprise and a highlight. Our guide said that we were free to ask any questions and she would answer them. I was not expecting such candor. Her English was excellent, so much so that I asked her if she had lived in an English speaking country. She replied no, she had only ever lived in Cuba. A couple on the tour inquired about tickets for the show at La Taberna and she walked there with them after the tour and assisted with booking. This tour gave an excellent introduction to Cuba and the city of Havana.

I was not sure what to expect in Havana and I was pleasantly surprised to find the city in considerably better shape than might have been expected from some comments on this site. While there are undeniably some rough edges, there are many beautiful buildings and the history was very interesting as well. Our tour guide had mentioned that it was perfectly safe to walk around at night and this proved to be the case. Many elegant European style buildings were fully lighted as well as the pedestrian only streets in the city center, the plazas and the Malecon. There were many lively restaurants and it seemed every block had a band playing Cuban music. Some of the areas had rough spots on the sidewalks so you had to watch where you were going! Some people may not be used to areas that are not designed just for tourists, but I found Havana to be very similar to many cities in Italy, Spain and other parts of Europe. Keep an open mind and give it a try! Read more