Culver City P.O.: Cruising Cuba

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The Sirena

My paternal grandparents married in Havana, in 1921, after moving to Cuba from Spain the year before. They came to the U.S. a year later, when my grandmother got pregnant, and eventually moved the family to L.A. during WWII. My sister and I grew-up listening to our Gramma tell stories about Cuba, where she worked as a maid.

I always wanted to visit the island, but travel, of course, between here and there was restricted starting in the 1960s. When Cuban relations became friendlier under Obama, I watched and hoped as U.S. cruise lines began planning excursions to the island. Then one day, in early 2017, we received a brochure from UCLA, promoting a 7-day cruise to Cuba through the alumni association and Go Next. We signed-up immediately, even though the current White House closed many of the doors Obama had opened. Nonetheless, U.S. citizens can now travel in Cuba as long as they have a travel visa, go as part of a group and do not spend the night in a government-owned hotel. Go Next checked all those boxes.

Our ship was the Sirena, part of Oceania’s mid-sized fleet accommodating some 660 passengers. We traveled in and out of Miami, sailing around Cuba in a week and making three stops along the way: Havana on the north side of the island, Cienfuegos to the south, and Santiago de Cuba on the southeasterly tip. As a country, Cuba is a land of great contrasts: a fascinating history, but time has literally stood still since the Castro-led revolution of 1959. Many of the cars there are American-made Chevys and Fords from the 1950s, but horse-draw wagons were also evident in Cienfuegos. Motorized scooters (e.g. Vespas) are the vehicles of choice in Santiago.

Old cars in Havana

More old cars

The architecture was beautiful but eclectic: a 16^th-century church situated right next to a streamline-moderne hotel. No zoning laws apparently in Cuba. Many of the large, once majestic government buildings are now public housing. It was Saturday, so lots of laundry hanging from once-proud balconies. I became obsessed with interior courtyards that must have originally had some official purpose, but are now part of people’s living space. Many of them were painted in bright colors and filled with plants. Public art and gardens were everywhere, especially in Havana—really quite lovely.

Hanging laundry on Saturday

Tile mural in a garden

Contemporary sculpture in a 16th-century plaza

Colorful courtyard

We carried our own toilet paper and water into town and were warned not to eat street food, so didn’t. Though we were allowed to go ashore by ourselves, we pretty much took formal tours arranged through the ship. Lots of vendors tried to sell us handmade products on the street, but were far less obnoxious than, say, the hawkers on Hollywood Blvd. or the Venice beach boardwalk. “No gracias” quickly became my mantra.

Cuban streets were clean, but most of the buildings were decrepit and over-crowded. Occasionally we’d see an ancient air conditioner sticking out of the window of what appeared to be someone’s home. Though blue skies dominated the entire week, the weather was extremely hot and humid. At times, I was sweating so much I felt like a human fountain!

Magnificent sunrises at sea

The cruise itself was wonderful. Excellent food and enough on-board activity to keep us entertained. Most passengers were our age or older, so evening shows included a rat-pack musical review, a stand-up comedian, and music from the ‘60s. The 4PM teatime featured a string quartet. A 4-person band played a variety of musical genres in the upstairs lounge after 10:30PM. We quickly became known as “the dancers.” We took a zumba class, learned how to salsa dance, played “name that tune” (and won a pair of Oceania socks!), attended lectures about Cuba, and walked at least one mile every morning around the ship’s outdoor track. Except for the heat, a most perfect vacation . . .