Cuba

[Stevanb]

Did you enjoy the Tropicana show? Did you have regular or premium seating and would you recommend the upgrade if we go? Thanks.

 

We paid for the premium seating and our seats where also on the stage. There was three buses form Holland and if they paid for premium they where sitting behind us If you are going on your own spend the 20.00 upgrade when the girls come off the stage they will be next to you. The cab fare is 25.00 each way We only have to come back as out travel guide took us their

[ithaca gal]

We also went to Havana on Monday. LOVED IT.

 

We went by the book and signed up for the HAL tour, reluctantly. So glad we did! We did the Culinary Traditions tour and it was an amazing experience. MUCH more than we expected. The cooking demonstration was a little weak, but that's okay. We had a blast smoking a Romeo and Juliet cigar, followed by sipping Cuban rum, followed by a cup of Cuban espresso.

 

From there we went to lunch and had a leisurely Cuban meal, along with a mojito, Cuba Libre, Pina Colada or other beverage of our choice. We were serenaded by an amazing singer, backed up by a quartet.

 

From there we went to another restaurant for a cocktail lesson! Cubalitos, Mojitos and Sangria ...............

 

We did a walking tour of the Cathedral and then went to a state shop to buy cigars and rum.

 

We ended up at the flea market to buy however many souvenirs we could carry!

 

The guide supplied a lot of information and we thought the tour was excellent.

 

We went back to the ship at 6 p.m. and cleaned up and came out for dinner. 10 CUCs to take us to the restaurant and 15 back (fancier car, didn't feel like negotiating that hard after a long day).

 

NOTE: As mentioned, it is cheaper to exchange Canadian dollars or Euros. If you change TOO MUCH money (in other words, if you don't spend it all), the exchange closes at 8 p.m.!!! You can change it back by then. As you might know, U.S. credit cards are not accepted.

 

You can come and go from the ship as often as you like.

[Hawaiian]

Thank you everyone for this great information! I just booked the Veendam for an August Cuba sailing and am just getting started with my research. This thread was a gold mine of information!

[Arzeena]

After many hours (days) of research, emails, & phone calls the above is the single most best piece of advice (and simplest) for those that have booked after June 16,2017 that wish to have a private guide experience.

 

 

HAL will issue the VISA for all of the clauses (reasons for visiting) that you may tick off on the affidavit with three exceptions - if you are ticking off visiting family & Cuban born you must get your own visa, or if you are ticking off any of the clauses as a business person only, then you must get a business visa yourself, not a tourist visa. And of course if you are ticking off 'not disembarking' they will not issue you a visa.

 

 

To clarify - anyone who has booked after June 16th, 2017 still has the right to tick off any of the reasons for visiting on that affidavit. If you choose 'Support The Cuban People Section 515-574' as an individual (subsection 4 - an individual) HAL will issue you a VISA and you are free to hire a private Cuban tour guide that you can find on your own. Two things to note about this - you must keep your documentation (affidavit & documentation for what you did & how you followed the rules for Support the Cuban People) for 5 years in case the State dept in the US asks for it, and you will also have to ensure for yourself that the tour guide you hired is willing to follow the rules and keeps to them. The rules are simple for this clause, you must ensure that you are 'supporting' the Cuban people - private tour guides - private restaurants - private transport - etc., not the government or other than the people themselves. All of the Cuban private guides I contacted were willing to issue an itinerary to me with a full day of supporting the Cuban people, and a statement from their company, or themselves that they are aware of, and would follow all of the rules that the US State dept has imposed.

 

 

The only change to the rules after booking June 16th was that IF you ticked off the People to People Clause, you MUST be in a third party guided group program arranged and sponsored by a third party US sponsoring organization, or Holland America. But they do not say you have to tick off People to People. You are free to tick off Support the People.

 

The other note of note is that it does not matter if you are US, CDN, Brazilian, or whatever - you must follow the US State dept rules as the ship is coming directly from a US port to a Cuban port. Will they ever ask us as Canadians? I doubt it, but it is up to HAL to tell us that we must follow those rules as well. And they could, you never know. I will keep the documentation for 5 years as required & it will include a journal & pictures as well as the itineraries & guide statements.

 

I would not feel comfortable looking for a guide on the day we visit that will follow all of the rules, as that could waste lots of time, but it is very easy to arrange this before you go.

 

Very well explained. Thanks.

[Arzeena]

We also went to Havana on Monday. LOVED IT.

 

We went by the book and signed up for the HAL tour, reluctantly. So glad we did! We did the Culinary Traditions tour and it was an amazing experience. MUCH more than we expected. The cooking demonstration was a little weak, but that's okay. We had a blast smoking a Romeo and Juliet cigar, followed by sipping Cuban rum, followed by a cup of Cuban espresso.

 

From there we went to lunch and had a leisurely Cuban meal, along with a mojito, Cuba Libre, Pina Colada or other beverage of our choice. We were serenaded by an amazing singer, backed up by a quartet.

 

From there we went to another restaurant for a cocktail lesson! Cubalitos, Mojitos and Sangria ...............

 

We did a walking tour of the Cathedral and then went to a state shop to buy cigars and rum.

 

We ended up at the flea market to buy however many souvenirs we could carry!

 

The guide supplied a lot of information and we thought the tour was excellent.

 

We went back to the ship at 6 p.m. and cleaned up and came out for dinner. 10 CUCs to take us to the restaurant and 15 back (fancier car, didn't feel like negotiating that hard after a long day).

 

NOTE: As mentioned, it is cheaper to exchange Canadian dollars or Euros. If you change TOO MUCH money (in other words, if you don't spend it all), the exchange closes at 8 p.m.!!! You can change it back by then. As you might know, U.S. credit cards are not accepted.

 

You can come and go from the ship as often as you like.

 

Sounds like a great day!

We have booked the "Best of Havana" excursion with HAL.

What did you think of the buses that are used in HAL's excursions? Also is it true that we have to carry toilet paper since majority of rest rooms in Cuba do not have any?

Any special kind of souvenirs would one get from there?

We would like to have dinner near the port and ship: any suggestions for "approved" restaurants or cafes near there?

[Wehwalt]

I was in Havana for a week last February. It is a great experience. Old Havana needs a billion dollars or so for renovations and I imagine it will sometime or other, but we may not live to see it.

 

During that time, I twice hired old cars to show me various sights (for example, the Hemingway house). They will be waiting on the street in front of the cruise terminal. I know because there was a cruise ship in port almost every day when I was there. It is worth doing. Find a car you like and make your best deal.

 

If you want some CUP, buy from a street vendor who is there for the tourists (outside Old Havana is a good place) and make a small purchase that requires change. Or take the small ferry that runs across the harbor, it is very cheap, five or 10 CUP, but if you pay with 1 CUC they may give you change in CUP. That's a good way of getting your Che 3-peso coin.

[SLOTheta]

We are looking at the 14 Day Authentic Cuba and Eastern Caribbean tour. From the itinerary, it looks like only 1 day (8-5) in Cuba. But, it sounds like people are on cruises that have many more days/hours in Cuba. Am I missing something?

 

For those who have taken a cruise to Cuba and chose a private tour, were they all day?

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/C8A14I/E885A.html

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Stevanb]

Yours is not going to Havana . It seems like you are only there till 5.00 we where in Havana till 2 am the next day . If you look most went to Havana, I guess Holland switched

[Nieuwuser]

For some reason they stopped doing Havana.We were there in April and had a very long day on a HAL excursion. Cienfuegos has a sharp bend getting in to the Port.If the wind is not right that Port may be cancelled as it has in the past.Have a great Cruise.:):)

[cabinluvn]

We are doing Cuba in January. Originally it was only Cienfuegos and then they added Havana and omitted HMC...which was totally fine with us. 8-5 in Cienfuegos and 8-2 AM in Havana

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sail7seas]

Yes! So spend all you get!

 

 

 

Change your U.S. $$ to Canadian before you go. then to CC U. I think it will work out to our advantage that way.

[Stevanb]

If you are thinking about buying Canadian before you go you have to price EU out as out bank gave us a better deal on EU then Canadian.

 

100 Canadian = 77.28 CUC

 

100 EU = 116.69 CUC

 

You really have to figure out what it will cost you to exchange from US to either Canadian or EU

 

When we exchange it was 1.00 us = .92 EU

 

 

Plus 3% from EU or Canadian to CUC

[ithaca gal]

Sounds like a great day!

We have booked the "Best of Havana" excursion with HAL.

What did you think of the buses that are used in HAL's excursions? Also is it true that we have to carry toilet paper since majority of rest rooms in Cuba do not have any?

Any special kind of souvenirs would one get from there?

We would like to have dinner near the port and ship: any suggestions for "approved" restaurants or cafes near there?

 

Sorry I missed your questions. The buses were in excellent condition. I didn’t remember it but yes, I did not have toilet paper one place. It would not hurt to have a packet of tissues in your purse.

 

We asked our tour guide to recommend a restaurant and she made reservations for us. She gave us the name and address of the restaurant and told us it would be 10 CUCs for that distance from the port to the restaurant. As soon as we walked out of the terminal, a classic car pulled up and we went to the restaurant in that, after confirming it would be 10 CUCs. We found a classic car to take back to the port but they wanted 15 and we got tired of negotiating so we paid the 15.

[mstea]

If you are thinking about buying Canadian before you go you have to price EU out as out bank gave us a better deal on EU then Canadian.

 

100 Canadian = 77.28 CUC

 

100 EU = 116.69 CUC

 

You really have to figure out what it will cost you to exchange from US to either Canadian or EU

 

When we exchange it was 1.00 us = .92 EU

 

 

Plus 3% from EU or Canadian to CUC

 

ok,, I'm so confused...lol

going on the Oct. 17th Sailing thru Holland...

thinking of exchanging US to either Canadian or EU..

 

 

what is the best deal??? and How much would you recommend ??

I know that's hard to to say... but on average??

we have one excursion booked thru Holland,

it's the 1950"s car, which meets the People to People rule...;p :)

would you suggest $ 100.00 ?? too much, too little ????

thx

[SLOTheta]

Yours is not going to Havana . It seems like you are only there till 5.00 we where in Havana till 2 am the next day . If you look most went to Havana, I guess Holland switched

 

 

 

It’s misleading that HAL calls the cruise, “Authentic Cuba” when there’s only one 8 hour stop in a 14 day cruise. Sheesh.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Stevanb]

It’s misleading that HAL calls the cruise, “Authentic Cuba” when there’s only one 8 hour stop in a 14 day cruise. Sheesh.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

This is a BXB cruise Eastern and Western that is why only one stop

[AlaskaNewbie68]

It’s misleading that HAL calls the cruise, “Authentic Cuba” when there’s only one 8 hour stop in a 14 day cruise. Sheesh.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Finding that issue with them all...we want as much time in Cuba as possible and don't care about other ports. The itineraries that work for us are happening when we can't go...frustrating. We may end up on Oceania in 2020.

[Stevanb]

what is the best deal??? and How much would you recommend ??

I know that's hard to to say... but on average??

we have one excursion booked thru Holland,

it's the 1950"s car, which meets the People to People rule...;p :)

would you suggest $ 100.00 ?? too much, too little ????

thx

 

 

On a 100.00 it would be not that much difference . We did 700.00 so that made a difference. You can always exchange it back if you come back to ship with CUC left over . In Havana the exchange was open till 8 pm . Lunch is like 10.00 or so, some drinks and what ever else you are buying .

[Stevanb]

Finding that issue with them all...we want as much time in Cuba as possible and don't care about other ports. The itineraries that work for us are happening when we can't go...frustrating. We may end up on Oceania in 2020.

 

 

Be careful that is a long way out and the rules could change again by then good or bad

 

 

If you want to stay just go to Melia Habana really nice there

[sail7seas]

Very good point. By 2020, who knows what will be the circumstances between U.S. and Cuba.

[ithaca gal]

what is the best deal??? and How much would you recommend ??

I know that's hard to to say... but on average??

we have one excursion booked thru Holland,

it's the 1950"s car, which meets the People to People rule...;p :)

would you suggest $ 100.00 ?? too much, too little ????

thx

 

 

Don't forget to figure in tips ..... lunch, guides, etc.

[sppunk]

Finding that issue with them all...we want as much time in Cuba as possible and don't care about other ports. The itineraries that work for us are happening when we can't go...frustrating. We may end up on Oceania in 2020.

We too are eyeing that Oceania cruise. All the rest to Cuba are frankly a joke.

[iancal]

Canadian dollars are easily exchanged-the paper variety though No surcharge. Cuba remains one of the top winter vacation trips for Canadians. Has been for as long as I can remember.

[SLOTheta]

Finding that issue with them all...we want as much time in Cuba as possible and don't care about other ports. The itineraries that work for us are happening when we can't go...frustrating. We may end up on Oceania in 2020.

 

 

Yes. We really wanted at least 2 stops. Having an 8 hour stop out of 14 days, and calling it a Cuba tour seems to be a stretch! To qualify for the people to people requirement, you’d have to book a non-stop tour from 8-5. Boo on that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruisemom42]

Azamara also has some more intensive Cuba itineraries. I'm booked on one this fall.