My Cuba photos

[DAllenTCY]

I had a great time on the NCL Sky. I would not yet recommend the port to anyone with disabilities, as you can see that the sidewalks are not in great shape. The exchange for $200 US came to $174.35. I purchased some cigars, but it took an hour or so to find a small store 5 blocks from the ship which had a nice selection. I felt very safe walking the neighborhood. Outside of the port are, the roadways and buildings are much better as you can see in the photos.

There is a Mosque nearby the terminal where you can hear the call to prayer. A cannon salute from the fort wakened me in the morning, as the Simon Bolivar sailed in. It appeared to be a crew change day complete with band.

 

I'll happily answer any questions you may have.

 

David

[jagsfan]

Thank you so much for sharing. What a treat for those of us curious about Cuba. You did a lot of walking, so you saw a lot.

Did you eat on shore, or check out the stores?

It will take a while to get the infrastructure up to speed and I hope Cuba is more and more available to the US.

 

 

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[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Thanks for posting.

 

Just wondering, are the pictures really small size to everyone else?

I couldn't see them very well.

[Ocalapat]

Thanks for posting.

 

Just wondering, are the pictures really small size to everyone else?

I couldn't see them very well.

 

I had the same problem. Is there any way to enlarge them?

[DAllenTCY]

Sorry to say I'm not computer savvy. I tried yesterday to post them, but it kept saying that the pictures were too large.

 

David

[philip_eunice1]

Yep just as I remember it from 10 years ago

Deff in no rush to go back

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

Very cool. Lots of us have thought about the cruises to Cuba, but have not committed.

[travelqueen555]

Thanks for posting the pics. Quick question. Were you able to just get off the Sky and walk around on your own. Did you need to be part of an escorted tour arranged by NCL?

[DAllenTCY]

There were no restrictions. I just took a casual stroll as soon as the pier side NCL Welcome Ceremony was over. I watched it from Deck 6. I never saw any police other than traffic officers.....two assisting pedestrians across the boulevard in front of the terminal and then two motorcycle officers assisting the crew from the Simon Bolivar as they marched through Havana singing their anthem around noon.

 

The people were very friendly, but on occasion pretended that they didn't understand my Spanish. I only used words that I know are correct, but they seemed to prefer to not answer. One has to watch out for such narrow streets as big trucks take up the whole space. I saw one trash truck and one (I think was a water truck) of which I had to get out of the way.

I guess bars open early, since at 10 am or so I ran across a few. Most people were just buying bottled water or beer, but it was clear that you could get rum.

 

Not many were smoking, and I never saw a cigarette butt on the streets. There was no trash evident either, but not many options for a toilet if you needed one.

 

The many locals across the street were offering taxis, tours, etc. They were not a problem, and were not persistent if you just said "No".

 

The only distraction was the floating debris in the harbor. I hope that with the influx of more tourism at the pier that they might try to pick that up.

 

David

[Gershep]

Thanks for sharing!

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

 

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[psotka]

I had a great time on the NCL Sky. I would not yet recommend the port to anyone with disabilities, as you can see that the sidewalks are not in great shape. The exchange for $200 US came to $174.35. I purchased some cigars, but it took an hour or so to find a small store 5 blocks from the ship which had a nice selection. I felt very safe walking the neighborhood. Outside of the port are, the roadways and buildings are much better as you can see in the photos.

There is a Mosque nearby the terminal where you can hear the call to prayer. A cannon salute from the fort wakened me in the morning, as the Simon Bolivar sailed in. It appeared to be a crew change day complete with band.

 

I'll happily answer any questions you may have.

 

David

Hi,

I was just wondering how far is the port from the center. Can you walk. Also did you change the money in the US or there was a Exchange place near by. Thank you for any info and your pics. Looked you had a great time

[DAllenTCY]

You exchange money in the cruise terminal. There were 10 or 12 cashier windows and the line moved quickly.

 

Alternatively, there was a bank about 2 blocks away, with a long line of folks waiting to get in. I think the sign outside said "CAMBIO".

 

David

P.S. Which center do you mean? Nice maps were available in the terminal for $2 CUC. One of the stalls had a sign that they take USD for some gifts. Another stall sold CDs of Cuban music and there was a large walk-in gift shop inside that sold a variety of items.

[Mike&Ori]

We just booked our cruise for June! I was wondering about the visa and I wondered if you have some insight? I have read that you give one half of the visa upon arrival, and the other half upon departure. Since the ship arrives at 8 a.m.on Tuesday and leaves at 5 p.m. on Wed. do you have to choose one day or the other? If you wanted to see Havana on both days do you have to stay in town overnight? Thanks, Mike

[KatEnz]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Definitely on our bucket list.

[DAllenTCY]

I recall in the past when I've visited S. Korea or Japan, that you give up part of your Immigration form upon arrival and the other part upon departure.

 

Maybe because of advances in computer technology, that it is no longer necessary to save a part of it. Now you have your photo taken and/or fingerprints scanned so it might not be as important.

 

I believe that the past few years when I've gone to Asia, that they take the whole thing when you arrive.

 

I was surprised not to find any evidence in my passport that I've been to Cuba. I heard the agent stamp something, but it must have been the visa.

 

David

[CRUIS4ME]

I read in another Cuba review that once they stamp your passport and take the visa form, the passport stamp is all you need to come and go as you please both days in port.

[DAllenTCY]

I've looked multiple times and there is no stamp in my PP.

I did not have any problem getting on and off the ship many times.

 

Maybe they have another way of checking, as they did take a photo when we disembarked.....who knows?

 

Of course prior to that, you have to show your cruise card to get in the door.

 

David

[NW Pacific]

Trying so hard to determine how long it took to disembark in Miami, for flight schedule reasons??

[DAllenTCY]

There were only 4 ships in port last Friday. I rolled off my luggage about 30 minutes after easy self assist was called. If I recall it was about 8:05 am. I was through the terminal at 8:25 and took Super Shuttle to MIA.

I sailed through the airport and was at my gate at 9:15 am for an 11:50 departure.

 

David

P.S. I would not suggest any flight before 11:30 am whether MIA, FLL, or SAN. I've worked at all of these ports, and I could write a book about the strange things that popped up that have caused delays between ship and airport.

[NW Pacific]

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about coming back from Cuba as is a new Port, and NCL sates 6 hour flight after disembark. Just did not know if they did extra long checking .