When Cuba opens up for normal tourism...

[Pet Nit Noy]

By the time you finish reading you'll know why I recommend that when Cuba opens up for ordinary tourism, people used to cruising Oceania should visit by cruise ship and not take a land vacation for about a decade.

 

First, some background: Right now, the only way an American can visit Cuba as an ordinary tourist is to visit via Canada or Mexico. However, US citizens can legally come to the island right now, if they're part of a Licensed People-to-People Mission. Museums, church/synagogue groups, musical groups, and garden clubs are just some of the US institutions that sponsor legal trips to Cuba.

 

These licensed mission visits are structured to meet the following requirement: multiple visits meeting with people and places whose activities illustrate some religious, cultural, or vocational aspect of life in Cuba. For us, that meant we interacted with students at an elementary school, visited with the performers in the rehearsal studio of Afro-Cuban dance troupe, visited several Jewish congregations, and visited a reforested area that is a UNESCO Natural Heritage site. (The resort life on Cuba is not centered around Havana and, although we did visit outside the capital city, we spent no time at all on the beach. Doing so, even briefly, isn't valid on a people to people mission.)

 

Now, the word "mission" may suggest a style of accommodations more spartan than luxurious, but that is not part of the requirement. Our group spend five of seven nights in Havana, staying at the best the city has to offer. The issue is that the best in Havana does not stack up well against the best internationally or on Oceania.

 

We began our visit with two nights in the Hotel Nacional, the historic flagship hotel of Cuba. The main level is exquisite -- definitely worth a visit for a mojito, but staying there is another matter. If you stay in a room above the second floor, you have to push the flusher on the commode three or four times to prime the system and bring enough water into the tank to get a flush. Even then, be prepared to flush about five or six times. (Paper seems to be the hardest to flush completely.) The food in the breakfast buffet is marginal and the dinner buffet is downright terrible. (We ate our arrival dinner there and, of course, two breakfasts.)

 

The only hotel the NY Times travel section recommends is the Hotel Capri. This is a 15-year old hotel completely renovated by a Spanish hotel chain. However, this hotel had its own flaw that Oceania would never tolerate. Our group stayed there three nights. Taking a shower was an adventure, and not in a good way. The shower is the typical half screen of glass like those found in Europe. This style invariably allows as much water to splash onto the floor as into the shower pan. Also the Capri's shower pan was a mere two inches deep. Couple that with a slow drain and a person taking a shower has to turn off the water at least once in mid-shower to let the water drain out or risk an overflow. Nice quality towels, but too few especially to deal with mop up operations after showers each day. A commode with acceptable water pressure including the upper floors, but the plumbing was installed backwards. The commode is a two stage flush type. Typically, that means the larger section of the flusher brings the most water. In our room, the hook up was such that the smaller section produced the most water. (Happily, no priming the commode was necessary)

 

Other challenges in Cuba are typical of many of Oceania's more exotic ports of call: need to use bottled water, need to be avoid raw vegetables and peeled fruit, need to use hand sanitizer often and liberally, and challenging walking conditions on cobblestone streets, especially on day trips outside the capital. The big difference is that after a day of challenging touring, coming back to Oceania means coming back to a safe water supply and creature comforts.

 

When we ate meals at restaurants of our own choosing, the food was excellent, although we never forgot the guidelines for safe eating. (Even the group meals at restaurants were good. However, there was a certain sameness to the menu at all those restaurants.)

 

I am very glad I visited Cuba before the country began to chance too dramatically after normalization. In the past week, I made great memories. The people were warm, although encounters had to be through a translator for the most part despite the fact that everyone students English from third grade on.

 

I'm someone who often posts here about my strong preference for independent land trips VS cruising. I cruise with some regularity, but I'm always aware of its limitations. I hope this post sends readers of this forum flocking to Oceania the first time Cuba shows up on the itinerary. Unless you have the energy and appetite for a very challenging experience, don't visit Cuba by land for at least five years (and more likely ten) until the hotels are up to Oceania standards.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[LHT28]

too bad you did not get to a nice hotel in Varadaro with the beach at your door step

;)

[Paulchili]

We had a very satisfactory stay in Melia Cohiba in Havana.

Otherwise Cuba is as you described it - full of potential but facing many challenges. We too are happy to have visited it now and perhaps we will again in the future to see all the changes.

It reminds me how glad I am that we had a chance to see China in the early 80's when it was still "China". Visiting Shanghai today you could be almost anywhere in the world - skyscrapers to match Tokyo & Hong Kong, designer stores to rival Paris and traffic like that of LA freeways. This is likely to happen to Havana as well in the future.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Paulchili

[RJB]

We had a very satisfactory stay in Melia Cohiba in Havana.

Otherwise Cuba is as you described it - full of potential but facing many challenges. We too are happy to have visited it now and perhaps we will again in the future to see all the changes.

It reminds me how glad I am that we had a chance to see China in the early 80's when it was still "China". Visiting Shanghai today you could be almost anywhere in the world - skyscrapers to match Tokyo & Hong Kong, designer stores to rival Paris and traffic like that of LA freeways. This is likely to happen to Havana as well in the future.

When the Castro's are gone I would think about it. Not before.

[JPR]

Ditto. Google the Ladies in White.

[hypercafe]

In October and November of next year the Europa2, a true luxury German/English cruise ship, will be doing several trips stopping at various Cuban ports. Said part they will not book to Americans for this trip due to the current laws. However for our Non US citizen friends this would be a great trip. I was there for a year while in the USN in the 60's, would live to go back.

[Pet Nit Noy]

In October and November of next year the Europa2, a true luxury German/English cruise ship, will be doing several trips stopping at various Cuban ports. Said part they will not book to Americans for this trip due to the current laws. However for our Non US citizen friends this would be a great trip. I was there for a year while in the USN in the 60's, would live to go back.

 

Interesting news. During our visit, I asked whether non-US ships called at the port of Havana. I learned that the US laws prevent any ship of any nationality from stopping at a US port for (I believe) a six month period after having visited Cuba. Until now, cruise ships worldwide have responded by avoiding Cuba entirely even if they could dock there. Sounds like the Europa2 has planned a year-long itinerary that allows them to avoid US ports.

[hypercafe]

Interesting news. During our visit, I asked whether non-US ships called at the port of Havana. I learned that the US laws prevent any ship of any nationality from stopping at a US port for (I believe) a six month period after having visited Cuba. Until now, cruise ships worldwide have responded by avoiding Cuba entirely even if they could dock there. Sounds like the Europa2 has planned a year-long itinerary that allows them to avoid US ports.

 

Yes, as a German ship if it is doing home port trips they come out of Hamburg, it also goes to many foreign ports including the US. The three trips before Cuba will stop in US ports, then Cuba and on to South America.

[Pet Nit Noy]

We had a very satisfactory stay in Melia Cohiba in Havana.

Otherwise Cuba is as you described it - full of potential but facing many challenges. We too are happy to have visited it now and perhaps we will again in the future to see all the changes.

It reminds me how glad I am that we had a chance to see China in the early 80's when it was still "China". Visiting Shanghai today you could be almost anywhere in the world - skyscrapers to match Tokyo & Hong Kong, designer stores to rival Paris and traffic like that of LA freeways. This is likely to happen to Havana as well in the future.

 

I just went to Trip Advisor to read about your hotel. It is rated number three out of 76 hotels in Havana. The Capri is rated number 4, but there are far more negatives about the Capri in its traveler reviews than in traveler reviews about the Melia Cohiba.

 

We certainly don't regret our trip. We accomplished our goal of seeing the country before it changed too much. But we're also older travelers now and we were surprised that the capital city's supposedly top flight hotels really weren't. (There was a funny side to these drawbacks. We felt like we were young travelers again staying at the cheap and quirky hotels that characterized our very early years of travel a long time ago.)

 

Perhaps all the investment and development money has gone out to the beach hotels. But even if I could have gone to the beach legally, I wouldn't have been interested in doing so. This trip was about seeing the architecture, the historical sights, the culture, eating the food, and interacting with the people. This trip was about seeing a country that has loomed so large in the recent history of American foreign relations.

 

Definitely glad I went. Definitely glad I'm home!

[Pet Nit Noy]

Yes, as a German ship if it is doing home port trips they come out of Hamburg, it also goes to many foreign ports including the US. The three trips before Cuba will stop in US ports, then Cuba and on to South America.

 

Are you saying the same ship will do the itinerary you've just described? If so, then I'm going to assume our guide was wrong when he said that a ship can't call at a US port within six months of having visited Cuba. I specifically asked about non-US ships and he said what I've just shared. (I just double checked my recollection with my husband and he agrees.) Alternatively, if the cruises are scheduled slightly more than six months apart, then the itinerary planner for that cruise line must still be operating under the rule I described. (Note: the US port calls precede the Cuban port calls.)

 

Travel rules involving the US and Cuba appear to be in a state of flux. We saw that within our own one-week time in Cuba.

 

When we left the US, we all expected to need to pay 25 CUC (special tourist Cuban pesos) to leave the country. In the week we were there, this requirement was abolished. Two days before our departure, we learned there would be no exit fees. And there weren't.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[hypercafe]

The ship goes to the US ports first, then Cuba, then on to non US ports. Does not return to the US for at least six months.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[LHT28]

There is a long thread in the Cuba forum about a ship going to Cuba I think this is the 3 rd year they circumnavigate Cuba ....Celestyal Cruises

You can board in Havana or Montego bay

US citizens must sign up with the People to People tours on the ship

 

Regular people can do as they like

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850565

[computerworks]

Cuba has "zero" appeal.

...Until they get a few years of tourist $'s to clean it up.

[orchestrapal]

Cuba has "zero" appeal.

...Until they get a few years of tourist $'s to clean it up.

 

So true. There are so many places to visit we have no interest to be among the first.

[Paulchili]

Definitely glad I went. Definitely glad I'm home!

 

Did you have a chance to visit Buena Vista Social Club? The evening there was definitely the cultural highlight of our visit to Cuba.

The architecture of Havana's old town is amazing - just needs some "polishing". It looks like Prague did during the communist era (conceptually) and look at Prague now - same old buildings, just cleaned up a bit :D

People can't get enough of Prague now but for many it would have been an interesting contrast to see the "before and after".

Obviously, not for everyone :)

Edited December 13, 2015 by Paulchili

[Christine Frances]

So true. There are so many places to visit we have no interest to be among the first.

 

You actually will be the last, not the first! Millions of Canadians and Americans have been vacationing there for years. Unlike US citizens, we are under no restrictions re travel while we are there ie when in Veradero you can take day trips into Havana on your own. The beaches are incredible with fabulous snorkeling and diving areas. People are lovely and friendly.

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/unseen-cuba-first-aerial-photographs-reveal-islands-spectacular-beauty-1501542

 

Starting this month, the MSC Opera will be homeporting in Havana/Montego Bay (sample below), Cuba Cruise http://yourcubacruise.com/ plus some Europa2 and MS Amadea & Albatros include Cuba as a port stop. Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and multitudes of companies in Europe offer Vacation Pkgs to Cuba.

 

Tue 26/01/16 Havana / Cuba

Wed 27/01/16 Havana / Cuba

Thu 28/01/16 Havana / Cuba 18:00

Fri 29/01/16 At Sea

Sat 30/01/16 Montego Bay / Jamaica 09:00 20:00

Sun 31/01/16 George Town (Grand Cayman) / Cayman Islands 09:00 15:00

Mon 01/02/16 Cozumel / Mexico 10:00 18:00

Tue 02/02/16 Havana / Cuba 15:00

 

Just wanted to give another perspective:)

[LHT28]

...Until they get a few years of tourist $'s to clean it up.

Do you mean when the US lifts the trade embargo so they can get much needed supplies to fix up the buildings & other things

 

They get millions of tourists every year

Edited December 13, 2015 by LHT28

[Barrheadlass]

A friend of mine just returned from Cuba, she traveled with Road Scholar. I didn't get details, but she described her trip as fabulous. Can't say I have much interest in going, though...

[marylizcat]

British cruise lines such as Fred Olsen and Thomson have included calls in Cuba for several years now, as part of their winter Caribbean cruises.

[Christine Frances]

Oops. In post 16 above I meant " millions of Canadian's and European's" not Americans :(. Sorry

[harryw]

I wonder if eventually, if the trade embargo is lifted and relations are normalized, An influx of foreign corporate investment will turn Havana into a sanitized cruise oort with malls, chain stores, trolley tours, etc.

 

Harry

[bitob]

My wife just returned from Cuba. Abercrombie & Kent. She is still raving about it

[Pet Nit Noy]

My wife just returned from Cuba. Abercrombie & Kent. She is still raving about it

 

Just curious. What hotels does a high-end company like Abercrombie and Kent use for its clients in Cuba?

[bitob]

Not the nacional. They used to use it but it is in disrepair and rooms said to have mold

 

In Havana the Melia habana

In Cayo Santa Maria the Melia Buenavista

 

Google them. They are gorgeous properties

[Paulchili]

Not the nacional. They used to use it but it is in disrepair and rooms said to have mold

 

In Havana the Melia habana

In Cayo Santa Maria the Melia Buenavista

 

Google them. They are gorgeous properties

 

Melia Habana sure looks nice! Nicer than its poor sister Melia Cohiba :D

Edited December 15, 2015 by Paulchili