Cuba on Majesty

Going to Cuba in July aboard the Majesty of the Seas. Who's been to Cuba on a cruise? Do you have to exchange dollars for the tourist currency, or would be better off buying euros at our bank and taking those? How hard is it to go through Cuban customs when we get off the ship? Reboarding? Thanks!

Took us 5 mins to go through Cuban customs getting on and off, no big deal at all. Very fast and efficient.

If you already have Euros you get a better exchange rate. US dollars exchange at approx 87 cents; giving $100 USD gets you 87 CUC. I wouldn’t put a ton of effort to order and get Euros unless it is convenient for you.

If you get too many CUC's, is the exchange rate the same to get dollars back?

have conflicting answers from royal,going to tropicana through royal,but booked a private tour next day.1 royal customer service guy said that was fine,hate big group tours .will this be a problem? Help

If you get too many CUC's, is the exchange rate the same to get dollars back?

The exchange rate is 1-1, the only thing that varies is the fees (most of the time 13%).

.will this be a problem? Help

According to most reports, no.

have conflicting answers from royal,going to tropicana through royal,but booked a private tour next day.1 royal customer service guy said that was fine,hate big group tours .will this be a problem? Help

No Problem

Going to Cuba in July aboard the Majesty of the Seas. Who's been to Cuba on a cruise? Do you have to exchange dollars for the tourist currency, or would be better off buying euros at our bank and taking those? How hard is it to go through Cuban customs when we get off the ship? Reboarding? Thanks!

Going through customs was very quick and easy. We brought euros to avoid the extra 10% fee they charge for exchanging US dollars. We had lots of CUCs left over and exchanged them for US dollars, and we were only charged the standard 3% fee, not the extra 10%.

We are heading back to Tampa on Majesty now. [emoji31] Customs in Cuba went quickly upon arrival. Follow the directions carefully for filling out your visa as they will not accept any scratch outs, etc. RCL provides detailed instructions. If you make a mistake you must purchase another visa. When you go thru they will take your picture & stamp your passport. Getting back on for a quick refresh before dinner they did look at our passports. All the other times we got off they just looked at the stamp getting off & waved us thru without looking at passports each time we returned.

The currency exchange is right at the end of the terminal. The exchange fee is 3% for all currencies and there is a 10% penalty for exchanging US $s so this is where the 13% comes from. There is no other penalty for converting other currencies, so if you can obtain euros from your bank at no cost then you avoid the 10% penalty. US $s are 1:1 to the CUC. The euro is pegged to the market rates & their fees. We exchanged euros at 1.13 & the buy back amount was different but I don’t recall as we had nothing left to exchange back.

RCL strongly pushes their tours but you can do independent without any trouble. We did both days independently. Once you turn in the form at check in, no one asks where you are going or with whom.

Enjoy exploring Cuba & the Majesty. Happy to answer any other questions.

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TYVM for the info.Was the casino closed while in Cuba.?

We are heading back to Tampa on Majesty now. [emoji31] Customs in Cuba went quickly upon arrival. Follow the directions carefully for filling out your visa as they will not accept any scratch outs, etc. RCL provides detailed instructions. If you make a mistake you must purchase another visa. When you go thru they will take your picture & stamp your passport. Getting back on for a quick refresh before dinner they did look at our passports. All the other times we got off they just looked at the stamp getting off & waved us thru without looking at passports each time we returned.

 

 

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How long is the Visa good for? I am going on two Cuba cruises. One in February and another in March. Can I use the same Visa or do I have to buy two?

I didn't bother to exchange currency while there. Everyone took dollars or credit cards.

I'm booked on Majesty to Cuba on September 26th. I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks!

Yes. The casino was closed while docked in Cuba, including our extra overnight due to the cancelation of our port of Call in Cozumel due to weather. Also, all of the retail shops were closed as well. Hope this helps.

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Did anyone ride in the Tuk Tuk? Any info greatly appreciated.

Took us 5 mins to go through Cuban customs getting on and off, no big deal at all. Very fast and efficient.

 

If you already have Euros you get a better exchange rate. US dollars exchange at approx 87 cents; giving $100 USD gets you 87 CUC. I wouldn’t put a ton of effort to order and get Euros unless it is convenient for you.

Hi...I notice on all of the Majestys shore excursions in Cuba, they cautioned about the 42 stairs that you have to climb between dock and street level; However, I havent read any comments on the stairs on Cruise Critic. Im just wondering how difficult it is to climb the stairs..did anyone hae problems?? Thank You!

, I havent read any comments on the stairs on Cruise Critic. Thank You!

There is an elevator in the terminal the just to the right before you go down the stairs. No problem. Reports indicated that it was slow, but I never experienced that. They probably don't advertise it because it is small, and if everybody took it, it would slow down the start of the tours.

Believe me, the 42 stairs were discussed here extensively last year when RCCL first started going there. It's old news now, I guess.

There is an elevator in the terminal the just to the right before you go down the stairs. No problem. Reports indicated that it was slow, but I never experienced that. They probably don't advertise it because it is small, and if everybody took it, it would slow down the start of the tours.

 

Believe me, the 42 stairs were discussed here extensively last year when RCCL first started going there. It's old news now, I guess.

Thanks Eaton..thats Good News!

I'm booked on Majesty to Cuba on September 26th. I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks!

They talked about this in the pre Cuba gathering. This is the cost. They did say that if flying to Cuba it may different but my advice let RCC handle it and pay the 75.

How long is the Visa good for? I am going on two Cuba cruises. One in February and another in March. Can I use the same Visa or do I have to buy two?

I believe it's a one and done for the date you are there. In the Q&A someone is gone again (flying I think) and they said no It will not be good.

I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks!

We tried, really tried.

Only other source we found was the airline check in desks that would sell the visas to passengers flying to Cuba.

The cost was, $75.

We just begrudgingly let the ship handle it.

Here is the latest from RCI's web site on Cuba travel requirements/restrictions:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-destinations/a-quick-guide-to-cruising-to-cuba

Hi; What was the color of your visa/tourist card? Red or Green

Thanks

Dave

When I went last year, they shut down the ship ATM while in port. I didn’t think you could use a credit card in Cuba, but I may be wrong. We bought our rum at the dock before reboarding the ship. We checked the price, went and exchanged our US$, for CUC’s, and didn’thave any left over.

I didn't bother to exchange currency while there. Everyone took dollars or credit cards.

So, you had no CUC's at all? We're leaving in a little over a week and all that I've read is that U.S. dollars and credit cards aren't good in Havana - that's not the case?