Unused CUC in Cuba

[Jembeccatoo]

25 minutes ago, Animalgirl27 said:

When are you going to Cuba?

Leaving April 15

[tallyho8]

2 hours ago, stormynow said:

Going to Cuba on the Sky next week.  We were there for 2 days in 2017.  Don't plan on getting off ship but still had to pay for visa. Doesn't seem right,  when some attorney going to test this.  Was there several years ago on my private boat and never paid for a visa.

It doesn't matter if you get off the ship or not. The ship is still in Cuba and you need a visa to go to Cuba. If you are in Cuban waters, you are still in Cuba.

[bostongal965]

We were on the Sun last June, and had about 10 CUC left - we asked the Guest Service staff if it would be ok to leave it for our steward, and would he be able to use it. She said it was fine, and he would probably like it because he wouldn't lose money exchanging dollars for CUCs - she made it sound like they were able to go ashore without issue if they had time off. Does Cuba require visas of all visitors or just visitors from certain countries? Maybe the employees' home countries are not assessed a visa fee - or if they are, it's less than what we pay (I know this was true of visiting Brazil about 10 years ago - I had to pay $140 for a visa, and friends with Canadian and Argentinian passports had to pay less or nothing at all).

[Jembeccatoo]

8 hours ago, bostongal965 said:

We were on the Sun last June, and had about 10 CUC left - we asked the Guest Service staff if it would be ok to leave it for our steward, and would he be able to use it. She said it was fine,

Thank you for suggesting I check with Guest Services.

My concern with the CUC is the exchange won’t be open when I return in the evening and I have no way of knowing how much I will spend during the day.

[bostongal965]

Ours was what was left after the day ashore - the exchange was closed. We kept one bill and couple coins as mementos, and the rest we left for our room steward.  We tried to spend it all, haha!

[stormynow]

On 4/3/2019 at 10:46 PM, tallyho8 said:

It doesn't matter if you get off the ship or not. The ship is still in Cuba and you need a visa to go to Cuba. If you are in Cuban waters, you are still in Cuba.

Then Cuban customs should have come on the ship and taken my visa.  Not sure u are correct about this.

[tallyho8]

3 minutes ago, stormynow said:

Then Cuban customs should have come on the ship and taken my visa.  Not sure u are correct about this.

They just want your money and everyone else on the ship who has to get a visa. They only take it if you come ashore to keep track of anyone staying in Cuba past their visa expiration date.

[marti2282]

On 4/3/2019 at 11:38 PM, bostongal965 said:

We were on the Sun last June, and had about 10 CUC left - we asked the Guest Service staff if it would be ok to leave it for our steward, and would he be able to use it. She said it was fine, and he would probably like it because he wouldn't lose money exchanging dollars for CUCs - she made it sound like they were able to go ashore without issue if they had time off. Does Cuba require visas of all visitors or just visitors from certain countries? Maybe the employees' home countries are not assessed a visa fee - or if they are, it's less than what we pay (I know this was true of visiting Brazil about 10 years ago - I had to pay $140 for a visa, and friends with Canadian and Argentinian passports had to pay less or nothing at all).

We’re just off the Sun and asked our room steward if they had to purchase a visa for each trip. He told us that crew is given a “permit” that allows them to go ashore. He didn’t indicate that there was a cost to them.

[vpearlkc]

I am curious. Why would anyone go on a cuban cruise if not to see Cuba? I have considered one but have decided to wait until all restrictions are gone and I can fly in, use my credit cards etc. and spend a week there. Being almost 70 I may never get there.

[pbenjamin]

8 hours ago, vpearlkc said:

I am curious. Why would anyone go on a cuban cruise if not to see Cuba? I have considered one but have decided to wait until all restrictions are gone and I can fly in, use my credit cards etc. and spend a week there. Being almost 70 I may never get there.

 

I can imagine someone being on a cruise that made a stop in Havana in addition to other non-Cuban ports, having some sort of philosophical problem with Cuba and not wanting to get off there.  I wouldn't do it that way, nor would I let my inability to use a credit card keep me from going, but that's me I guess.

 

 

[McDebbie]

We gave ours to a bar waiter on the Sun and he was happy to have it. 

[paulekrause]

When we went to Cuba on Fathom a couple of years ago we were told that it is fine to tip the crew in CUCs because they were going every other week and this would allow them not to worry about exchange rates.