Cuba - Long Weekend - February 2018

I went to Cuba for the Family Day weekend in 2018. I try to go to at least one new place every year, along with visiting old favourites, and I thought Cuba might be an inexpensive new experience.

I went through Sunwing Vacations. To be fair, this is a good discount vacation company, but if I had to do it over again, I'd have been less concerned with expense, and more concerned with comfort. For one thing: that flute of champagne they show you in the commercials is an exaggeration: it's a plastic glass of sparkling wine, and you get one. Also, I had a dickens of a time getting them to sell me a second drink. For me, it's not a very relaxing way to start a vacation, although I have talked to several people who have had positive experiences. I suspect I'm just not used to charter flights anymore. I bought the "Premium Package", but the priority boarding was not honoured in Cuba.

I did also opt for the private transfers to and from the resort. This was definitely worth it. Since I arrived at night, I didn't get to see much of the resort then, but I did see that I beat the other passengers there by about an exhausting hour.

The next day, I got to start looking at the resort.

I'm always happy to see resort cats

There was  lots of seating

The Beach was lovely

The resort itself, I have to give mixed reviews to. The beach was lovely, and the service was impeccable. But, the pool was not heated, and neither was any of the water in my room, ever. The ocean was also too cold to swim in, for me, so that was a disappointment as well. But, the food was good, especially after I learned that you could have lobster every night, and the drinks were delicious and plentiful. In fact, it was the usual vacation situation where I had to request weaker drinks than the bartenders wanted to provide because I like to remember my vacations so I can make these reports.

The pool was freezing

Interesting Layout for the room

The room had two beds laid head to head with a concrete half wall between them. It was kind of odd. Also, the plumbing was extremely problematic. Under the circumstances, I'm not sure I was paying the price for there not being a single supplement, or if this is just the correct expectation for this resort.

Broken bidet, no heated water

Pina Colada!

The birds seemed to enjoy the beach

Sun on the water

For the most part, I enjoyed this trip. The resort was beautiful, and everyone was extremely friendly. And I try to always be mindful that standards vary, throughout the world. And it was educational.

Lots of shady seating

Parts of the resort seemed historic

Sunset

Illuminated Path to Main Building

Cuba by Starlight

The Pool

I had mixed feelings about this trip, to be honest. Every Cuban national I spoke to seemed to be in need of something. That doesn't say much for the way things are. I have gone to places where the people don't have much, and I try to do my bit by putting money back into the local economy, but it is awkward in Cuba because the tourists have a different currency from the citizens. And, while certain things are provided for locals, there are a lot of things that seem to be largely unavailable to them. It's depressing.

Dinner by the Pool

Dining Al Fresco

Morning Cafe con Leche

The Coffee Terrace

Path to the Beach at Night

When it was time to go, I spent the time waiting for my flight in the VIP lounge. It seems these days, even if your flight and/or credit card doesn't include lounge access, you can pay for a lounge just about anywhere. The lounge was nice. It had wifi, and nice drinks, and comfy seating, and what else do you need?

The Airport Lounge

Bottom line, it was good to go, and, as advertised, I saw many classic cars. The people are wonderful, and it was very beautiful. And the food was much better than I had heard.

Next - A Quick Trip To England

Celebrity Cruise New Year's 2018 - Part VI - Life at Sea

I really like Celebrity cruise ships, especially Solstice class. To be perfectly honest, that's about as large a ship as I want to be on. The mega-liners hold no interest for me. I like to know I'm at sea, and I am not a fan of huge crowds. If I had my choice, I would always travel on ships that hold under 3000 passengers. Unfortunately, frequently that's not an option based on desired itinerary, line,  and/or price point.

I prefer a balcony, at minimum, and like Celebrity's Concierge Class for the little extras. It has been argued that Concierge is a waste of money, but I believe that people should opt (or not) for whatever little luxuries they like. Concierge has balcony rooms with footstools on the balcony, and little perks like a sailaway bottle of wine, and afternoon canapés.  I like it.

The View from our Balcony

Seldom do I go to the dining room for breakfast on Celebrity, or order it in-room. I rarely know when I'm going to get up on vacation, and I'm not a huge breakfast eater anyway. My big thing is coffee: gotta have it, need it now. I like to go to the Spa Cafe. My normal cabin is near it, and I can have coffee, and a peanut butter, banana, blueberry, and apple julienne bagel.

My Favourite Breakfast

For me, days at sea are times to relax, soak in the hot tub, have some cocktails, and read many good books. I've mentioned before that I spend a lot of time in the adults only pool area on cruise ships. It's not that I disapprove of children, it's just less frenetic there, and it leaves more space in the family friendly areas for those that need it.

The Solarium

View from the Martini Bar

The World Bar

The Sunset Bar

A Proper Lime Daiquiri

Another View of the Martini Bar

Semi-Private Seating in the Martini Bar

We don't always go to the theatre to see the shows, although they can be quite good. Sometimes they don't appeal. Sometimes, there's karaoke. Sometimes, we just want to walk around on deck, or have a few nice cocktails.

The Theatre

Thanks for coming along on the cruise. Debarkation is a pretty dull and unhappy subject, so I'll leave you while you're still on the ship.

Next Post/Topic: a long weekend in Cuba.

Celebrity Cruise New Year's 2018 - Part V - Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas and St Kitts and Nevis

I'm going to do both of these ports of call in this post, because we did the same thing in both: a snorkel/beach tour.

The US Virgin Islands are a common stop on an Eastern Caribbean cruise itinerary. When we arrived they still had their Christmas decorations up (as did the ship, but they gradually undecorated during the cruise).

They were Still Decorated for Christmas

A Windmill

View While Travelling to the Boat

Another View while travelling to the boat

I've probably mentioned it before elsewhere, but my favourite thing in the world is to be face down in the water, looking at the fish. I especially love this in the Caribbean, because the water is so warm.

This was different than the normal catamaran for these things

Just to Prove I was on the Tour

After the snorkelling, a beach stop was next. This was a nice tour, although I confess my favourite snorkelling tour continues to have been the Lord Sheffield in St Maarten (great tour that was: they handed us a beer before we ever got on the boat, and didn't care how we climbed all over it). That was on a sailing ship, and felt a bit more historical. And the crew were great. Don't get me wrong; I've never met a crew that wasn't absolutely fantastic.

The next day, we did it all over again in St Kitts. 

Arrival in Basseterre

Walking to the Catamaran

Such Blue Water!

We Snorkelled in this Cove

One thing that disappointed me about this day was the lack of fish. But the beach part in Nevis was nice, and there was a dog (I always miss pets when on vacation).

Next - Life at Sea

Celebrity Cruise New Year's 2018 - Part IV - San Juan

Sailing into San Juan, we had a lot of escorts. Birds flew beside us the whole way.

The old fort is worth touring, but we've already done that more than once so we didn't do that this time.

I've actually been to San Juan a lot, so we didn't do an excursion this time. We just got off the ship, and basically did a pub crawl.

San Juan is very walkable, so this is an easy thing to do. It also has many lovely bars, some with nice patios. I would not recommend sitting outside in the evening, though, as the bugs are very bitey.

And of course, no visit to San Juan is complete without an order of mofongo, which is a delicious Puerto Rican dish, made with plantains, and usually served with some kind of meat.

Returning to the ship at night is pretty though, seeing everything all lit up.