swisstony99

Yes, don't overthink this. I was worried ahead of our trip, but it's no big deal. At least when we were there the naval operation seemed wholly inactive, with the only evidence being the security. 

Trams were abundant to get you into town, we then took a cab down to the beach and finally just walked back to the gate of the naval port where we were ID's and allowed to board the next tram back to the boat.

The bonus was we got a bit of a tour of KW on the way in with commentary from the driver, so we saw places we might have missed had we just been at Mallory.

Hi, just wanted to feedback on how this went.

Took Lyft from MCO to the Port, which worked well.

We used Hertz for the return. Shuttle took around 15 mins to arrive - they were busy as one driver down and I think 4 ships arrived that morning, but after one other stop, we were dropped at the office.

Took no more than 5 mins to get a vehicle. Friendly agents, no attempts to up sell. Car only had 7/8th of a tank of fuel and since I needed it for the week I paid upfront for the gas. Vehicle was clean, if a little high on mileage.

So on balance, all good - no horror stories here!

I believe it's 3%. But if you change US$, throw an extra 10% into it = 13%.

Yes, but it'll be 16% or 17% if you end up converting it back. The original question was about both the bid and the offer prices, presumably because the poster wanted to have more than enough CUC for their time in Cuba, then convert any surplus back before getting back on the boat.

.... the money exchange is at the end. They do exchange back.

Do you know the two exchange rates?

A quick search of google images suggests there's a spread of about 6% or 7% on the currency exchange rate. So if you change 100 Canadian Dollars into CUCs then back into Canadian dollars, you'll end up with about $93.

I think it's just as secure as checking them with a porter, you don't have to worry about them getting delivered to the wrong place, and it's a lot more convenient than dragging them around the ship for an hour until the cabins are ready. :)

 

A crew member stays with the bags at all times and they tag the bags and give you the stubs.

 

Enjoy your first cruise!

Super, thanks!

It's the Windjammer Bar on Deck 6, between Bliss Lounge and the photo gallery. I love that you can drop off your carry-on luggage instead of carting around until the cabins are ready.

Noob question - how secure is this stowage of carry on bags?

Thanks (20 days to my first cruise....)

Many thanks - just seems easier to have too many CUCs on me rather than needing to exchange more cash later.

Hi,

Can anyone tell me, when you change CUCs back before leaving Cuba, do you need to produce some kind of receipt for the original transaction/are you obliged to change them back to the currency you originally used?

Reason I ask is that I'm in the UK so can bring Pounds quite easily & avoid the 10% USD levy. However we're then off to the US afterwards, so I'd ideally like to switch any surplus CUCs into dollars.

Is that possible?

Thanks

I think there were quite a few folk who post on CC on this week's sailing. Might be something very soon!

No need to ask there.

 

If you’re departing from a US port you will need a US port issued visa.

 

No exception I’m afraid.

 

Don’t bother with the UK one unless you already have this. (Not that it will be of any use, the cruise line won’t let you off of the ship with it )

 

We just returned from Cuba in May.

Family are Brits. Flew into Tampa.

 

No other option but to purchase the visa offed by the cruise line at $75 pp

 

 

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Brilliant - many thanks. (I'd already handed over the $75 x 5 - just wanted to check I wasn't missing anything).

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has been in the same situation before.

As the title says, we are going to Cuba (NCL Sun) from Port Canaveral with UK passports.

I've gone through this several times, but obviously don't want to get it wrong! My understanding is that we need to buy the $75 visa from NCL, as opposed to getting a Cuban visa from the embassy in London. It's some kind of exception if you're travelling from the US regardless of passport.

Just want to make sure we don't need both - with 5 people travelling, this could be an expensive mistake!

Thanks

Thanks - but that contradicts both common sense and what I've heard from others.

If I'm at the back of the line getting off the ship, we're at the back of the line in immigration and we'll be last to the car rental office. From what i've read, they are reliant on folk bringing cars up to the port on changeover day to meet demand, so that means I'll be waiting until early afternoon for a vehicle that will potentially be un-fuelled and not cleaned. Better to be front of that line to get something that has been there for a day or two waiting.

Oh, and if we all leave the ship at the same time but I leave the rest of the family at the dock, they've got nothing to do for the approx/min 1hr it'll take me to get to the rental office, queue up and get a car.

But if anyone ca say Hertz is better than Alamo or whatever, then please let me know.

I'm in a similar position - half a day with kids 13 11 & 8. Any thoughts on the beach in Fort Zachary Taylor park? Am hearing what people say about the beaches not being great but sadly a bar crawl is out of the question!

I’m not sure how it is decided who docks where other than that they only allow a couple of port calls a year to stay at Mallory Square past sunset. This keeps that celebration from being ruined to the many who are there each day.

I suspect that sunset line is the deal breaker. The NCL ships leave at 8pm which is past sunset, so presumably that's why they don't use Mallory. http://www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov/egov/documents/1524163051_84538.htm

I will be on the Sun to Cuba in July. Was curious about where the Sun docks in Key West...Mallory or Navy?

It varies I believe. http://www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov/department/calendar.php has a calendar showing where each ship is due to dock.

I was on the cruise to Cuba last week on the Sun. I loved the ship as it has all new carpet and lots of new furniture in public areas. The bad thing about the Sun is the buffet is super tiny and the choices not so great. My comparison was Getaway which has an awesome buffet. The Spinnaker lounge is awesome. The pool area is nice and wasn't too crowded. The "open bar" feature is great and runs very smoothly. They had to dock at the navy pier in Key West and this was a hassle getting off the ship as they have to bring trolleys and busses for everyone.

Hi Lori,

We're on this cruise in August and scheduled to dock at the navy pier. Can you tell me how long it took from the ship arriving to getting downtown?

Also, is there an option to jump off the trolley at the exit from the navy base, or do you have to stay on right into town? And I guess for the return, too - can you walk to the gate of the navy base and take the trolley back to the ship? I've read that's possible but would like confirmation. :-)

Many thanks

Thanks all. There are 5 of us - 2 adults & 3 kids. Any value in me and one of the kids leaving the boat first to sort the car then drive back to the terminal, or am I overthinking this, especially given immigration clearance will likely take longer for us as non-US citizens?

We don't have a flight - have just over a week in Florida after the cruise, so need a car for the duration. Only paying £200, it's just some of the horror stories sound ridiculous. 2hr waits for the shuttle pick up, then queues out the door at the rental office, all in 90F heat!

Unfortunately there are three arrivals the day we get in - one at 5.30am then two more at 7am. Total capacity is almost 9,000 passengers.

Going to tack my question on here... We're on an NCL cruise that will dock at Outer Mole in August. The boat is only in Key West from 1pm to 8pm and clearly this tram has limited capacity. How long will it take for us from docking (we come down from Port Canaveral) to getting into the middle of Key West? And what time do we need to start making our way back to the boat?

Given the cruise line say 2hrs at either end, factoring the tram and inevitable queuing, I'm thinking we're not going to have much time to explore.

Hi,

First post so hope I'm in the right place!

We're taking our first cruise this summer and we're sailing from Port Canaveral. Plan is to drive over from Orlando that morning in a rental car, drop it at the office then repeat the process on our return.

Currently we're booked with Hertz for both legs but I'm reading some horrific reviews, especially for the return journey with significant wait times being reported, basically as they are left waiting for departing passengers to drop cars off.

Alamo seem to come out rather better - is there any consensus on the best provider to use?

Thanks in advance.