Cruises to Cuba

[newport dave]

For all those wanting to see photos of Cuba and especially Havana, please click on link below. These are photos from our 2 week all inclusive holiday at the Blau Varadero Hotel in Varadero back in 2010.

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjHkuWmS

[IDKaren]

I would expect it will not be legal for Americans to bring Cuban products into this country from anywhere. If you buy Cuban cigars in Canada, you should be able to bring them home.

 

Verify Customs Rules as to how much/how often and how long you have to be out of the country to get the duty free deduction.

 

Don't do it!!! even if you BUY the Cuban Cigars or Rum IN CANADA..you cannot take them back Into the USA...they WILL be confiscated.....found this out the hard way three weeks ago when we came back to USA from a Canada based tour to Cuba! Guess we should not have been honest ay border control! :(

[Aquahound]

I just did a little research into this tobacco/rum topic and found this:

 

"Authorizing American citizens to import additional goods from Cuba-

 

· Licensed U.S. travelers to Cuba will be authorized to import $400 worth of goods from Cuba, of which no more than $100 can consist of tobacco products and alcohol combined."

 

At first, I thought this to mean $100 worth of tobacco and alcohol could now be brought into the U.S., but looking at this closer, I'm recognizing the significance of the words "Licensed U.S. travelers to Cuba." This indicates to me that no, cruise passengers cannot bring Cuban tobacco and alcohol back to the U.S.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Aquahound

[geoherb]

I'm looking forward to taking a cruise to Cuba eventually, whenever the law changes to allow U.S. citizens to do so.

[donaldsc]

I'm looking forward to taking a cruise to Cuba eventually, whenever the law changes to allow U.S. citizens to do so.

 

You can do it now. Google "Cruises to Cuba" or check this tour out -

 

http://www.roadscholar.org/n/program/dailySchedule.aspx?dID=1-7CZQ0V

 

The only thing that we cannot do now is cruise from the US to Cuba and that absence is no big deal as there are lots of other options.

 

DON

[Underwatr]

Don't do it!!! even if you BUY the Cuban Cigars or Rum IN CANADA..you cannot take them back Into the USA...they WILL be confiscated.....found this out the hard way three weeks ago when we came back to USA from a Canada based tour to Cuba! Guess we should not have been honest ay border control! :(

1. even though you went via Canada it was still technically illegal for you, as a US citizen to visit Cuba.

2. It's possible that things have changed in the past 3 weeks but it will take a few weeks yet for changed regulations to be published in the Federal Register.

3. Based on #2 I'm willing to push the envelope a bit (but if I'm directly asked I will be truthful).

[sail7seas]

Correct me if I am mistaken, but I don't think it is illegal for Americans to go to Cuba. It is illegal to spend any money. There is no way to go without spending money for accommodations and food etc We've speculated the package deal that you pay in advance but the would violate the law. Pay in advance to a third party, you are still paying. Same would apply for cruise ship. The only legal way for Americans to go is to be one of the 'allowed exemptions/exceptions'.

 

I wish we had gone with our Congregations study group but the dates didn't work for us.

[Underwatr]

In practice you can't even leave the airport without spending money since you pay an airport tax upon arrival.

[dolittle]

I don't think either of us is going to be persuaded by the other, and we're heading way off the topic of cruising, so I'll answer as briefly as I can:

 

In all countries, incl. US & UK, some posts are un-elected appointments, so gerrymandering is widespread. In the UK it's called "the old boys network" & it affects both the public & private sectors.

Where elections are involved, voters choose a party rather than the individual so candidates need the backing of one of the major parties to have any chance. If my cousin the UK Prime Minister or your buddy the UK President wanted us in the Govt., they'd make us their party's candidate in "safe" seats. Easy.

 

Three people headed the Cuban revolution, the Castro brothers & Che Guevara. So with or without an election, it was probable that Raul or Che would replace Fidel. Che was disqualified partly because he was Argentinian but mainly because he was dead.

 

It's easy enough to spend a much bigger proportion on education & healthcare, instead of other sectors such as fighting foreign wars.

Agreed throwing money at something is no guarantee, but you do need to accept what the whole world is telling you about Cuban education & healthcare - no matter how contrary that is to your political beliefs.

 

I have always accepted that all countries are NOT equal, something which is surely obvious to all. But I've stressed that neither are they at one end of the spectrum, black or white.They are 50 shades of grey.

And I'd certainly agree that Poland pre- Lech Walesa, & East Germany pre-demolition of the wall, were way down at the dark grey end of the spectrum, hence the exoduses. Politically both are westernised now, but migration has continued for economic reasons - as will always be the case. Ergo that same one-way exodus from Mexico to the US, and from Algeria & Morocco to France & Spain. And since the enlargement of the EU the massive influx of post-communism eastern European migrants into particularly Germany & the UK, currently a political hot-potato with the potential to see the UK leave the EU. There's far more migration in the world for self-advancement than to avoid oppression.

 

Perhaps the tolerably cordial nature of our exchanges means the mods have over-looked how you & I in particular have strayed from "cruising". Each time I open the forum I wonder whether I'll have found this thread deleted for that reason, so lets not push our luck by continuing to shift each other from entrenched views. ;)

 

Many thanx to all those who've wished us well on our up-coming cruise, when I get back I'll do my best to give you the lowdown on the locals, the sights, the classic cars, Hemingway's bars, etc, and how the place has changed in the past 30 years.

 

JB :)

Ialso thank you for your civility there is never any reason to call names or challenge some one credentials to have an opinion when you have the facts and knowledge ,the problem is we both have both.Enjoy your cruise ,hope to meet you on the water some day for a ''tolerably cordial ''chat.

[sail7seas]

In practice you can't even leave the airport without spending money since you pay an airport tax upon arrival.

 

Exactly.

I hope someone can confirm I have it right that is the travel restriction. The law does not ban us from going but it makes it illegal to spend any money which, of course, makes it impossible to legally go but for the stated exemptions.

 

[luddite]

Exactly.

I hope someone can confirm I have it right that is the travel restriction. The law does not ban us from going but it makes it illegal to spend any money which, of course, makes it impossible to legally go but for the stated exemptions.

 

 

It's an economic embargo.

[newport dave]

In practice you can't even leave the airport without spending money since you pay an airport tax upon arrival.

Is this new, I only paid a departure tax when I was there in 2010.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[csmjfmbe]

Yes, no worries, Mike,

 

We already have a similar arrangement with someone whose cruise starts the week before ours.

That will only cost me a pint. :)

 

If similar contractual terms are acceptable, the price is the same :)

Unless you also want the previous week's quiz answers, in which case the price goes up to a Pina Colada :D

 

Bell us, or nail a note to our cabin door.

Cabin 5120

 

See you on-board

 

JB :)

JB

A pint sounds like a bargain to me, cabin number noted.

Mike

[Underwatr]

Is this new, I only paid a departure tax when I was there in 2010.

I confess to relying on an internet article - no personal experience. But your visit did require you to spend money.

[newport dave]

I confess to relying on an internet article - no personal experience. But your visit did require you to spend money.

 

Yes I did, but being from the UK it's all irrelevant.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It would be fun ..

[IDKaren]

1. even though you went via Canada it was still technically illegal for you, as a US citizen to visit Cuba.

2. It's possible that things have changed in the past 3 weeks but it will take a few weeks yet for changed regulations to be published in the Federal Register.

3. Based on #2 I'm willing to push the envelope a bit (but if I'm directly asked I will be truthful).

 

Yes.....we did NOT have our passports stamped in Cuba OR coming back to Canada and told fib fib we had bought them in Canada...NO go...STILL not even allowed to possess them OR Kinder eggs..a choc egg for children. And as said on the thread.. The TECHNICAL embargo is USA cannot SPEND money in Cuba so a no win situation! yeah..we were going to try to push the envelope too but figured when asked directly better to tell when outright asked:mad:..... I think the NEW import amounts are only for licensed tours for "cultural and education all" tours, not individual which will prob be awhile in coming

[wassup4565]

John Bull, have a great time during your holiday in Cuba. Went there two years ago for a week, and had a grand time, but it was a little like looking through the looking glass.

 

They know what resorts are supposed to be like generally, and did try to provide us with that experience. The buffet was all laid out elegantly, but the choices were not what you would see on another island. I usually want a breakfast (bacon and eggs) toast and jam. What I got was cold sliced ham, cold boiled eggs and pastries, Cuban jams and yoghurt. Was it bad? No. Did it have all the usual food groups? Yes. Were they exactly as I expect them? No. Could I make a good breakfast from them? Yes.

 

My one best tip for you is bring your own pillows. The pillows in our hotel were stuffed with foam chips the size of peanuts in the shells. Maybe Cubans don't have pillows and this is what they think they look like, for people who want pillows? We brought the cheapie pillows from IKEA (tip from a previous traveller), put the pillowcases on them in the room, and slept easy. We left the pillows behind - hey the maid could take them, or turn them into the hotel for their pillow research program, whatever.

 

This is actually a synopsis of my Cuba visit three years ago. They will try to give you what they understand you will expect. It just won't be quite the same as you expect. Can't fault them for trying.

 

Lovely country, physically. Lovely people, always trying to understand what you want (if sometimes not understanding it entirely correctly). The artworks you can buy there are amazing, if you go for that. Paintings, sculptures - very original and accomplished. I bought a limited edition print, very accomplished for less than $20. Art ceramic tiles for about the same. Beautifully wrought.

 

I think the Cuban people will continue doing what they've done for the last fifty-plus years. They have a very decent country. I don't think they need advice about their government, and their relationship to it.

 

One of my favourite tours in Varedero was to the DuPont mansion (since nationalized). This was a "cottage" the DuPont family built for their ingenue daughters, hardly more than teenagers. You know, just a little place for the girls and their chums to enjoy a beach getaway. Imagine the wealth of that, while Cuban kids were dying of tuberculosis and not having any schools to go to. The Bacardi building in Havana is still intact - a glittering palace with stained glass windows on every floor, very beautiful. And the profits, yeah nothing much going back to the people who worked for the company.

 

This is a country that still has the remnants of the capitalist excesses that can be seen. I don't think anyone should suggest that will disappear overnight.

[John Bull]

Hi Waasup, thanks for the update.

 

We'll be overniting on the ship, no worries about the pillows. But I might steal some from the ship to sell in Havana :D

 

Yes, the communism was watered-down when I was in Havana about 15 years ago, unlike East Berlin & Leningrad years earlier, though I put that down to increasing freedoms rather than left-overs from pre-Castro. And I'm expecting to see more of that transition this time round - but purely from a tourist's point-of-view I hope it's not changed too much, it was part of what made Cuba so different from other Caribbean islands.

 

That was a two-day visit, flying from Jamaica.

A few things I remember from that visit......

- this was about 2nd January 2000, two airlines flew the route, Air Jamaica & very much cheaper Air Cubana. We booked late December. Air Cubana weren't accepting bookings for post-31st December because they were waiting to see the effects of the millennium bug (remember that?), so we had to pay more to fly Air Jamaica. Perhaps not a bad thing, Air Cubana's safety record wasn't special ;).

- there were a few Americans on that flight, though apparently most Americans fly from Mexico. They certainly spent money (though probably not by card ;)) and were talking about how they could smuggle Cuban cigars - changing the cigar bands & such.

- I vividly remember the big pink "camels" - 18-wheeler trucks converted to buses & jam-packed with passengers, I believe they're no longer around.

http://www.winnipegacc.org/cuba/7_111_havanacamel.jpg

- our t/a had a modern car, because her job required it. There were plenty of modern cars, though not as many as elsewhere in the Caribbean - Castro's no-cars edict was responsible to a major degree, but of course for economic reasons car ownership elsewhere in the Caribbean is also low.

- I remember there was a lot of low-level private enterprise - bars, stalls, taxis & such. Difficult to tell whether bigger concerns were private or state-owned, though certainly the all-inclusive resorts have a huge amount of private multi-national input.

- clearly an impoverished nation, but folk were cheerful & friendly. Never felt unsafe.

 

JB :)

[wassup4565]

I was there three years ago for a week. Cars and other vehicles are much better - we had a modern air-conditioned bus for our tour of Havana. The pre-revolutionary American cars are now showpieces. Their owners keep them on the road somehow, and charge big bux if you want a ride in a gorgeous old behemoth car, or even a photo.

 

There is much small-scale private enterprise - souvenirs, restos, food carts, and the like. I believe the gov't began allowing this several years ago, and entrepreneurs took to it immediately.

 

It's still very safe. It didn't look impoverished to me, just shabby in some places. I was amused to see the shop girls all had fabulous manicures, the equal of what young ladies have here at home - gels, extensions, sparkles, and designs on their nails. What that told me is they have disposable income to spend on manicures.

 

Havana was designated a UNESCO site a few years ago. The Cubans are very proud of this and the city is being refurbished, renovated, painted and fixed up. It has always been lovely, but they are going to make it a showpiece.

 

The pillows would probably only be a commodity in resorts where tourists stay, and you could probably find tourists who would buy them. I'm not sure the Cubans care a lot about pillows. They knew they needed to put them in the hotel rooms for the tourists, and they knew what pillows look like, so they replicated them. Badly.

 

Look for the artworks. This a country that has celebrated and supported its artists, and they are producing beautiful works. In ten years, those artworks will cost ten times as much. You heard it here first.

Edited December 24, 2014 by wassup4565
Forgot stuff

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It will happen soon ...

[iancal]

Given the choice between somewhere like Jamaica or Cuba we will take Cuba any time.

[burm]

My one best tip for you is bring your own pillows. The pillows in our hotel were stuffed with foam chips the size of peanuts in the shells. Maybe Cubans don't have pillows and this is what they think they look like, for people who want pillows? We brought the cheapie pillows from IKEA (tip from a previous traveller), put the pillowcases on them in the room, and slept easy. We left the pillows behind - hey the maid could take them, or turn them into the hotel for their pillow research program, whatever.

 

 

OMG, one more thing to pack (and a large one at that). We will be staying one week in Havana pre-cruise and three nights after, in Casas Particulares in two different parts of the city. I was just wondering how many rolls of toilet paper I should pack. Also packing towels and face cloths, shampoo, wet wipes, etc. Both my doctor and my dentist have given me anti-biotics to take, "just in case". Where will I ever find room for my clothes?

 

When I think of all the things that I have been warned to take, I get the feeling that I am going camping instead of taking a cruise holiday.

 

My philosophy is to prepare for the worst and then be totally surprised and thrilled at how unnecessary my concerns were.

[Underwatr]

Out of curiosity I looked up the price for a package trip to Cuba for Canadians vs. the price of a licensed trip for Americans. Canadians can do an all-inclusive week for as little as $300-500 including airfare from Canada and the American packages are around $3000 with airfare only from Miami.

 

Probably the standard of accommodation is higher for the Americans but clearly someone's making some money...

[boscobeans]

Out of curiosity I looked up the price for a package trip to Cuba for Canadians vs. the price of a licensed trip for Americans. Canadians can do an all-inclusive week for as little as $300-500 including airfare from Canada and the American packages are around $3000 with airfare only from Miami.

 

Probably the standard of accommodation is higher for the Americans but clearly someone's making some money...

 

To fulfill the requirements that the Office of Foreign Assets Control a division of the U.S. Treasury places on legal visitation to Cuba there must be a set program of daily events that U.S. citizens **** MUST**** participate in to satisfy the needed license to visit.

 

Basically they are small group (about 30-40 participants) educational type excursions usually via busses, unless they deal with the city of Havana in some way, and occupy a good deal of ****EACH ****day.

 

Imagine the cost of let's say 2 excursions a day for a week added onto the price that a Canadian has to pay.

 

Only U.S. visitors have to do this hoop jumping which makes the prices for legal travel so high.

 

I don't know how the new policy is specifically worded but EVEN if there is no license needed to visit there still may be some required programs or such. As most laws in the U.S. they are vague enough to be interpreted in different ways depending on which side of the fence they are viewed.

 

bosco

 

 

bosco

Edited January 16, 2015 by boscobeans