We booked this cruise because it goes out of Tampa (our home town) and visits Havana, Cuba. The ship is the smallest in the RC fleet, but that is one of the nice perks. Everything is a short walk from anyplace else. Going from dinner to the theater is less than a 3 minute walk. The ship holds 1600 passengers, but I never experienced a crowd or long line (except when US customs held everyone up disembarking from the ship upon returning to Tampa). Boarding the ship, they had a Cuban band playing in the lobby. The Windjammer smaller, but the food was good for buffet. Interestingly, the Windjammer is on the 10th floor, but in the front of the ship. Most of the ship is in excellent condition. I did experience a broken bar stool in one of the lounges. We chose the "My Time Dining" and it worked very well for us. Most evenings, we didn't even make reservations and didn't have a wait. The menu selection seemed smaller, perhaps 7-8 entrees, but I figure this may be due to the size of the ship and the number of passengers. Our wait staff service was excellent. Ports of call were Key West, Havana Cuba, & Cozumel Mexico.

KEY WEST: We docked right at Mallory Square. You get off the ship and walk right into the heart of Key West. Since we've been to Key West before, we rented bicycles from Island Safari Rentals, a short walk from the ship. Key West is flat, so it is very easy to ride bikes here. We rode to Mile Marker 0, up to the Lighthouse and Hemingway's house, the the Lazy Gecko for a drink and light snack. (They had a happy hour Margarita for $4.00). Then we returned our bikes and boarded the ship.

HAVANA CUBA: We did the RC "Old Havana City Sightseeing" 4 hour tour. It visited the El Morro Fort for views of the outside and into the gift shop for rum and cigars. It didn't go into the fort for a full tour. Then we drove along the waterfront and out to Colon Cemetery. This is an amazing cemetery full of beautiful statues, etc... The guide took us to about 5 grave sites and told us stories about those buried there. Then it was off for a ride through the city and to the craft market. (tip, sit on the driver's side of the bus to get better photos of most of the sites). The market is large, but filled with many vendors selling the same things. It is enjoyable though and we bought a few items to support the businesses. Many of the vendors here took US dollars. We then returned to the dock. If you didn't get to exchange your $$ earlier, go into the terminal now and exchange for Cuban CUCS at this time. Exit the dock and go straight across the street to San Francisco Plaza. This is the heart of the historic district. Explore!!! If you head north from here, you'll be going towards Plaza de Armes. This whole area is pretty well restored and is very nice for tourists. If you go south-south west 4 or 5 blocks from San Francisco Plaza, you'll enter into a more residential area and see lots of deteriorating old buildings that were beautiful many years ago. It is a very safe are to walk around in, but is definitely the Havana of the people and not the Havana for tourists. I found a little kitchen (not really a restaurant) that sold personal size pizzas, $2 CUC each. Served on 2 pieces of copy paper folded, it showed me how the locals live. I definitely will be back. Read more