There’s a photo opportunity on every corner in Havana
The waves hit the sea wall with a thud and a sunny walk down the Malecon – Havana’s famed seafront promenade – had become a shower. But within minutes I was drying out and listening to salsa over a sundowner in a bar in the city’s central boulevard, the Paseo.
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That’s Cuba for you. It reminded me that this island of rum, music and exquisitely faded glamour is surrounded by glittering Caribbean sea. Cruise ships have had a patchy relationship with communist Cuba, and the US cruise industry struggles, due to the trade embargo against the country.
But the journey into Havana is one of the great sea journeys. To think that you’re following in the wake of Christopher Columbus, who arrived here in 1492, is a thrill.
Doubly so when you stay the night. While most ships leave town at sunset, my own boat party stayed over and I got the best of this astonishing city and its world-famous nightlife.
Although it’s undeniably frayed around the edges, Havana is impossibly grand. As the most important stop for the Spanish Colonial fleets, the old city is one of the most beautiful urban districts in the world, feted for its glorious and palatial architecture, and fittingly, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It’s almost impossible not to take a photograph of those old patched-up Buick and Cadillac cars, which look wonderful against ageing palaces. Indeed, you can even ride in one, as part of an excursion to the vivacious Tropicana Cabaret.
Vintage cars and buildings make Havana one of the world’s most striking cities
One of the world’s great party towns
Glorious as it is, Havana is no museum. It is one of the world’s great party towns and at the very least you’ll probably want to try Havana’s gift to the world – and favourite of Ernest Hemingway – the mojito.
Fifty years ago, pre-revolution, Havana was a playground of the Rat Pack and a thousand feathered dancers. At the Nacional, Havana’s top hotel, a 1930s-vintage edifice, you can still find that racy atmosphere.
Walk around the Old Town by night and you’ll feel a palpable sense of joie de vivre. I called in at the Floridita bar, a Havana landmark and the self-proclaimed ‘cradle of the daiquiri’. Here, in an opulent interior of red and white blinds and mirrors, a cocktail factory that, I’m told, was already in operation at 11.30am was clearly going to go on well into the night.
Meanwhile, at the Bodeguita del Medio bar – Hemingway’s favourite, famed for its mojitos – there was such a throng of tourists outside I could hardly squeeze through the narrow street.
And joy of joys, there’s music everywhere. Havana nights positively pulsate to bands of the calibre of the Buena Vista Social Club in hotels and bars of all sizes. 
Havana good time: salsa music and a sundowner on the promenade is a must-do. Photo from Corbis
Many an hour can be spent in this awesomely photogenic city. Indeed, take a tour to the fascinating Partagas cigar factory, where modern-day Carmens roll cigars on wooden desks as a chap at the front reads stories to them.
But Cuba is the largest Caribbean island and there’s plenty more to see. From Havana, venture to Soroa, in Pinar del Río – Cuba’s most westerly province – and you’ll find yourself in an Edenic landscape where butterflies and hummingbirds buzz around as you stroll.
On board, you’ll spy the Cape of San Antonio, Cuba’s furthest tip, and rich with wildlife. A real treat is María La Gorda, a popular dive and snorkel spot where the coral is as intense as the rainforest on land.
Look out for the Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud), said to have been the model for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.
If you’re lucky, you’ll see the Gardens of the Queen (Jardines de la Reina): 50 coral atolls. These are sights that’ll take the edge off any late night.
Back on shore, there’s Cienfuegos, founded by the French and with a hint of a tropical Monte Carlo in its extraordinary Palacio del Valle. Then there’s Trinidad, a gorgeous city built on the riches of sugar in the 16th century, which left it full of lovely mansions and plazas and is another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Again, the salsa here is lively at night – some say more so than Havana – and you’ll find plenty of the paladares, or private restaurants, that have opened in Cuba in the past few years.
This country is slowly thawing, and it’s a great time to visit – particularly from the sea.
• The seven-night Cuban Fusion cruise on board Thomson Dream departs Montego Bay, Jamaica between 30 December 2014 and 7 April 2015 with direct flights from London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Cardiff
Full board prices start at £1,079 per person for an inside cabin, with flights from either London Gatwick or Birmingham, including transfers to and from the ship, entertainment, tips and service charges and port taxes. To find out more, visit Thomson Cruise or call 0870 230 2800