Cuba & Key West

I have mentioned several times on this blog that as a flight attendant, I’m lucky enough to have access to some great travel discount sites available to flight crews. One of my favorites is Perx.com. You need an airline ID to access the deals, but damn do they have some amazing deals. I had just moved into my new apartment and my money available for travel was a bit less this particular month, so I decided to see what kind of opportunities I could find on the site. Well, about 20 minutes into my search I came across an incredible 4 day cruise, leaving from Tampa, going to Key West and Cuba, for just $199 per person. Incredible! The only downside is that it was leaving the following afternoon and the only rooms they had left were interior ones. Whatever. To hit Key West and Cuba for $199 including transportation and food? Hell yeah! Sign us up!

We packed quickly and headed to the gulf coast early the next morning. Singh was excited as he loves “big boats” and I was incredibly thrilled to have the opportunity to finally see Havana. I am a huge Ernest Hemingway fan, even though he was known for being a bit of a jerk, and I was excited to be able to visit his favorite haunts in Key West and Cuba.

We boarded the “Enchantment of the Seas,” one of Royal Caribbean’s smaller ships, but still exciting. We found our room, a tad on the small side, but for the price we were paying, neither of us cared. We hit the buffet for a quick lunch before double fisting ice cream cones (Singh) and playing on the water slides as we headed out to sea under the grand Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

We opted not to attend any of the sit down dinners, as booking so last minute they couldn’t guarantee vegan food for me. That actually ended up working the best as eating at the buffet afforded us the ability to play as long as we wanted in the pool area, attend the shows, and walk around the ship laughing and giggling our heads off as Singh was blown everywhere by the strong winds on deck.

We arrived in Key West early the next morning and we were one of the first ones off the ship. The Florida Keys is my absolute favorite place to be in the world so I don’t pass on any opportunity to visit. Singh had never been to the capitol of the Conch Republic, Key West, so I made sure we hit every landmark. We visited the southernmost point, hit up mile 0, walked on Duval Street, and sampled the best vegan dessert south of Orlando. The small restaurant just off Duval (near the CVS), called the Café, is home to THE BEST vegan pudding in the world. They make it fresh from scratch and add a bit of chilled coconut cream. DEVINE. Singh fell asleep and I maybe ordered a second pudding for myself. I’ll be honest, I would pay good money to fill a pool with that pudding and eat myself to death. Wouldn’t be a bad way to go. Just sayin’.

We took our time walking back to the ship. The keys are such a relaxing place and it was hard to leave. But the water slide was calling Singh’s name and he was squirming to get back into his bathing suit, so much so that he started to strip while we were still on the grand staircase. Sorry, folks! We ended the night much like the first, playing in the pool with quick breaks to eat some salad from the buffet and multiple trips up to the ice cream machine. You know, Royal, can you imagine how much better my night would have been had there been a vegan ice cream machine? I would have gained some weight at the very least during our cruise. But I enjoyed it vicariously through Singh and my smiled stayed plastered on my face as I watched him splash and swim well into our nighttime sail to Cuba.

We slept in a bit the following morning as we weren’t set to dock in Havana until closer to noon. We ate a leisurely breakfast on the top deck, followed by some time playing in the kid’s area with blocks and toys. It was neat to watch the ship dock in the historic port city, a destination that I have always wanted to visit since learning about Ernest Hemingway my sophomore year of high school.

We waited for the rush getting of the ship to subside as we still had to purchase our people to people visa and I knew we would get some questions going through customs with a Thai passport and US green card. We ended up being one of the last ones off the ship and we walked through customs easily. We had no tours planned, although if I do go back I would absolutely love to go on a Hemmingway tour because traveling with a 4-year old didn’t allow me to truly enjoy the details I wanted to see in Havana. But that’s not to say we didn’t have a fantastic time exploring the city ourselves on foot. We walked down the grand boulevards by the water, explored some enchanting alleyways, watched street performers, and tried some of the local cuisine. I was tempted to bring back some Cuban cigars for some of my friends, but after a few hours of walking the Singh-man was ready to head back.

Another evening of pool splashing was in store for us and we really enjoyed the musical show before heading to bed. The following day was one at sea and we were able to catch a few movies and some daytime performances before spending another night laughing on the top deck in the kiddie pool.

I honestly wish I had counted how many ice cream cones that kid ate during our cruise. And a few times he went up just to eat the cone, sans ice cream. This trip was one to celebrate my life with my little guy and I enjoyed every minute of it. As we arrived early on our final morning back to Tampa he said that the big boat was awesome and that he loved me. And in that moment my heart swelled so much I felt it would break my ribs. I know this trip only cost $199, but I gladly would have paid a million dollars for the feeling of happiness I shared with Singh on our travels.