Our cruise was originally scheduled to dock in Havana, but something happened along the way and we were anchored at Cienfuegos instead. This was known far in advance so at least Viking pacified the passengers by staying over two nights in Cuba and making all shore excursions included. They also gave each passenger $500 in onboard credits so, while we would have preferred to be in Havana, we did get some perks to soften the blow.
Cienfuegos is several hours by bus from Havana, so we were happy to book the “Havana Sojourn” which included a night in a “5 star” hotel, meals, sightseeing and a visit to the famous Tropicana nightclub.
We are not bus tour people by any means but there was no way around this one if we wanted to see Havana. Cuba was one of the selling points of this long cruise, so we packed a small hanging bag and my backpack and got into the bus. The prospectus indicated that the trip would be 4.5 hours but, mercifully, it was only a bit more than three. The bus is not a real luxury coach, so we were weary in body and mind after the ride and the constant barrage of information that our guide, Miryles, threw at us. I realize that they have to inform us about history, geography, politics and daily life, all in a short period of time but the number of dates and people that we heard about was staggering.
The check in process at the Hotel Melia Habana was surprisingly smooth as was the money changing at the front desk. Since CUC’s (convertible pesos) are only good in Cuba, I decided not to exchange too much as most things were already covered. We did spend 5.25 CUCs for a Cristal beer and glass of Argentine chardonnay before our ride in a vintage American car to dinner.
Havana is full of American cars from the ‘40’s and 50’s and their owners use them as a source of income by ferrying tourists around the city. Carol and I got to ride in a 1952 Chevy along with young “Nancy” a Chinese crew member who was along on the excursion. Although the restaurant where we were to dine was close by, the caravan drove around for about 20 minutes to give us a chance to appreciate the feel of riding in a convertible through the streets of the Cuban capital.
The restaurant was spacious enough for all the Viking cruisers and we enjoyed a family style meal of assorted appetizers, chicken, rice and black beans, washed down with Cuban beer to the accompaniment of a band that strolled around the restaurant.
After the meal, we were driven to the Tropicana, a nightclub that has been in business since 1939 and which was once run by Meyer Lansky and his mob cronies. They give a huge show, with dancers in elaborate costumes, a live orchestra, singers and even some amazing acrobats.
We were at a table with others from our Viking cruise. When we begin chatting, it is always obvious to us that nearly all of them are much closer to the 1% than we are, yet the conversations make it seem as though we are in their financial league! We travel often, stay at some nice hotels and eat at the same or better restaurants than they do. I guess it’s a matter of what they have left over after spending on travel.
Included with your ticket to the Tropicana show, every gets a Coke and there are bottles of Havana Club Rum placed strategically around the table together with ice buckets and tongs. I seemed to be the divisor between the “wets” and the “drys” as nobody to my left had any rum and the bottles to my right were all empty. I did indulge a bit but wasn’t going to make myself ill. Our tablemates grabbed the bottles that were left, which our guide had told us was OK, but neither Carol nor I are fond of rum plus there is unlimited drinking on the ship so why stockpile it?
Our hotel, the Melia, was not luxurious but the rooms were large and comfortable enough. Our group was scheduled to depart at 8:00 so breakfast began at 7. The elevators ran very slowly, and some didn’t move at all, but we finally got down to the basement, where the breakfast restaurant was located. There were lines to get seated and the staff were very slow cleaning tables so we had very little time to eat. When we left, the lines were so long that I can’t imagine those people got to their buses on time. We had to go up to the room to retrieve our luggage with five minutes to spare. The phone was ringing but I didn’t answer as I knew it was our guide trying to find us. The elevators were so slow that we walked down eight flights of stairs and were able to board the bus at 8:02!
Our first stop was at the studio of a famous female artist. Much of her work was large sculptures made from auto parts and the like, which reminded us of the work of our friend Zoila Perry, who fashioned bumpers, steering wheels and hubcaps into quirky statues.
From there we embarked on our walking tour of Old Havana. An MSC liner was docked at the pier, which made us wish that our ship had been able to do that as well. We stopped at Revolucion Square where we learned a bit of Cuban history and saw the statue of Jose Marti, the poet who wrote “Guantanamera” and was one of those who headed up the war for independence from Spain. There were buildings with likenesses of Che Guevera and Camilo Cienfuegos, a revolutionary in whom Castro trusted, though the famous quote “vas bien Fidel”(you’re doing fine!) seems to indicate that he didn’t exactly tell the unvarnished truth to his leader.
We then visited a cigar store where I bought a couple of Romeo and Juliets for my brother and me to smoke on our next family gathering. The prices were not so high, and the provenance was better than if I shopped in Europe or Asia. I once smoked the odd cigar but am not intending to get back into the habit so the purchase of two was just right. From there we went to a restaurant for a lunch that began with mojitos then progressed to assorted appetizers like plantain chips and small fried tidbits, followed by a plate of pork, beef and chicken in lightly spiced sauces with black beans and rice. The setting was a small room in what was once an elegant private home and we had an enjoyable time trying various Cuban-style dishes before we hit the road for the infamous Bay of Pigs.
While we were all old enough to have lived through this crisis, most were hazy on the details. I did know that this was probably the low point in JFK’s administration, as the US sponsored an attempt by Cuban expats to overthrow Castro. When it failed, the so-called missile crisis regained a bit of American mojo, but it was still not a great moment for our country.
We drove a couple of hours to the scene of the coup attempt and visited the museum that commemorates it, from the Cuban point of view. The museum exhibits are all captioned in Spanish, but we got the gist of what they were saying.
After our visit to the museum and a quick walk down to the nice hotel by the beach, we rode the bus over some tricky back roads to the pier where we boarded the tenders to return to our ship.
As the ship was anchored in Cienfuegos, the only option for our final day was to take a tour around that fair city. We opted for the walking tour which took us to the main square of the city. It has an attractive theatre and some buildings that are in pretty good repair.
We then visited a cigar factory and watched the (mostly) female employees sorting leaves, cutting and rolling the various cigars and putting them into curing racks. I wouldn’t enjoy groups of tourists watching me do my work, but I don’t believe the Cubans have a lot of choice.
When we had a bit of free time in the town center, Carol found a small wooden maraca player for only $3 USD so that we had something for our shelf to commemorate our visit to Cuba. I’m not really planning to return but I’m happy that we had the chance to visit this land of mystery that lies just 90 miles south of Florida.