Cuba Cruise Adventure

Day 1: Arrive in Montego Bay (Jamaica)

Meals: Dinner

After an independently booked flight, arrive in Montego Bay and transfer to your all-inclusive, beach front resort (voucher provided). This afternoon, enjoy a briefing with your tour guide.

Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay

Day 2: Montego Bay (Jamaica)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning is at your leisure to enjoy your resort’s amenities. This afternoon, enjoy an included Mountain Valley Rafting and shopping.

Day 3: Montego Bay / Cuba Cruise

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

This morning, transfer to the pier where you’ll embark on your exciting Cuba cruise. This afternoon enjoy a Welcome Briefing where you will learn about Cuba’s culture and history. You may also enjoy an in-depth discussion on what makes the Cuban language different from its Latin American neighbors.

Celestyal Crystal Cruise Ship

Day 4: Cuba Cruise: Santiago de Cuba

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Welcome to Santiago de Cuba, capital of the island’s “Wild East” and its glittering cultural nerve center. Enjoy a panoramic tour of this city which is core to the evolution of Cuban architecture, literature, and music. Begin at the African Cultural Center, Fernando Ortiz, and meet with director Dr. Martha Cordié Jackson. Enjoy a traditional dance performance and afterwards meet with the dancers. Stroll through the Patio of the Artisans and to Conga Gallery and its collection of contemporary Cuban art. The next stop is the Loma de san Juan and its manicured grounds. The tour continues through this fascinating city along its most famous avenues. Pass the University of Oriente and visit the former Moncada Barracks, Revolution Square, and El Morro Castle, which was built at the end of the 17th century and occupies a promontory high above the sea.

This afternoon, enjoy a “Rum Tasting” briefing and get a deeper look into Cuba’s fascinating national drink with a taste of some of the country’s finest rums. Afterwards, learn how to salsa with experts to take you through all the salsa steps. This evening, learn how to Rumba. Spend the first 15 minutes of the class learning the steps and then turn loose on the dance floor!

Day 5: Cuba Cruise: Day at Sea

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, enjoy an introduction to the unique instruments that make Cuban music so distinctive and infectious. Cuban musicians will demonstrate a number of traditional Cuban instruments, including bongos, the claves and the tres, and Cuba’s famed three-string guitar. Also enjoy a Cuban cooking lesson and learn about some of the unique gems endemic to Cuban cuisine. You’ll learn how to take fresh ingredients and create incomparable tastes that burst with the flavors of Cuba. The chef will show you how Creole and Spanish cuisine blend to create the authentic, singular Cuban gastronomic experience loved all over the world.

This afternoon, find out how the country’s beloved “Habanos” are produced! Learn the story behind Cuban Cigars through a briefing with an expert. Afterwards watch an informative documentary about Cuba. This evening, it’s time to Cha Cha Cha!

Day 6: Cuba Cruise: Havana

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, enjoy a lecture discussing topics on which Cuba excels such as social security, family code, and agricultural coops. Afterwards, disembark and enjoy a “Real Taste of Havana” tour. Visit the old city center which comprises a breathtaking mix of Baroque and neoclassical monuments and a homogeneous ensemble of private houses with arcades, balconies, wrought-iron games, and internal courtyards. Meander along the narrow streets of this fascinating city with an expert guide who shares tales of this magical city’s storied history. Begin with a walking tour of the historical center of Old Havana, “Habana Vieja” and see the Royal Forces Castle, Saint Fransis of Assisi Square, the Cathedral square, the Old Square, and the Arms Square. There will be an opportunity to see and buy old books in all languages, and interact with the local book sellers.

This afternoon enjoy a panoramic tour which includes a photo stop at the famed Old Capital Building, a drive past Revolution Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the Parque Central (Central Park), and the Gran Teatro de Havana. Stop at Revolution Square, which features the Jose Marti Memorial, the National Library, and the Revolution Palace, for some free time and photos. Continue with a drive past some of Old Havana’s most important buildings, the University of Havana and its escalinata (stairway) and the Alma Mater statue, La Rampa. Pass the Coppelia ice cream parlor, the Yara movie theater, and the Habana Libre Hotel. End the tour at San Jose Market for more free time to explore the market’s unique shops and hospitable vendors.

Day 7: Cuba Cruise: Havana

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, continue exploring Havana. Old Havana and its fortifications are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded in 1519 by the Spanish, and by the 17th century, it had becoe one of the Caribbean’s main centers for ship-building. Visit the Fine Arts Museum and the famed “Museo de la Revolución” (The Museum of the Revolution). Housed in the former Presidential Palace, the museum is devoted to the revolutionary war of the 1950s and to the country’s pst-1959 history. Following the Museo de la Revolución, make a stop to marvel at some of the outdoor installations of legendary Cuban ceramist and graphic artist, Jose Fuster, a pioneer of Cuban visual art.

Return to the Celestyal Crystal for a brief discussion of the vibrant visual art scene in Cuba including Havana’s incredible museums and outdoor installations. Influenced by both Latin America and Europe, Cuba’s vibrant culture and the arts are the core to the country’s authenticity and to the lifestyle of its people. This evening, enjoy a selection of Cuban dances and live Cuban music by the “Latin Souls” band. Learn the steps for the first hour, then dance the rest of the night away!

Day 8: Cuba Cruise: Punta Frances

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, enjoy a “El Ajiaco” Cultural Briefing. This hearty Cuban stew has been eaten on the island since the 1500s! It’s a mix of chicken, pork spare ribs, corn, malanga (yellow taro), plantains, yucca, Cuban boniato and pumpkin! Afterwards, enjoy a cooking demonstration and discover some of the many gems of Cuban cuisine. Learn how to take fresh ingredients and create incomparable tastes that burst with the flavors of Cuba. The chef will show you how some of the most popular Cuban festive dishes are prepared! This afternoon is at leisure in Punta Frances. Use this time to explore this beautiful city independently. This evening, return to the ship and enjoy the mambo! The mambo is a fast ballroom dance of Cuban origin. It’s rhythmically similar to the rumba and cha-cha-cha, but its pattern of steps is more complex. Don’t worry, though–expert guides are ready to assist!

Day 9: Cuba Cruise: Cienfuegos

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, enjoy a city tour of Cienfuegos, a 19th century planned city and a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The Pearl of the South”, this colonial gem was founded in 1819. Situated on the Caribbean coast of southern-central Cuba, Cienfuegos is at the heart of the country’s sugar cane, mango, tobacco, and coffee production area. The town first developed in the neoclassical style and while it became more eclectic as it grew, Cienfuegos still retained a harmonious overall townscape. Stop at the Graphic Society of Cienfuegos and meet with local artists and view their prints – the society is beloved by the people of Cienfuegos for its programs for children with special needs. Continue to Project Trazos Libres where artist Santiago Hermes Martinez converted his family home into an art collective in 2009 to support local artists and collaborate with them. Get ready to view unique handicrafts, murals, photographs, and traditional costumes. Enjoy a panoramic view of Cienfuegos before visiting the magnificent Teatro Thomas Terry. Built between 1887 and 1889 to honor Venezuelan industrialist Thomás Terry, this 950-seat opera house and theater is decorated with Carrara marble and hand-carved Cuban hardwoods.

Return to the Celestyal Crystal for an informative documentary about Cuba. This evening, learn how to make a real mojito and learn the history of his fabulous and refreshing cocktail. Cuban mixologists will share the rituals, stories, and urban myths behind the best Cuban cocktails. Enjoy a farewell drink and an opportunity to dance during the last fiesta!

Day 10: Cuba Cruise: Montego Bay/Depart Montego Bay

Meals: Breakfast

This morning, arrive in Montego Bay and disembark. The day is at your leisure. Please make your own way to the airport in time for your independently booked departure flight.