smithop

We went last May, I booked directly for a car tour with this company.

https://www.oldcarshavana.com/

The rate at the time was 120CUC with english speaking guide. We met the manager in the plaza de san francisco across from the terminal, he has quite a few drivers/cars. He called the driver by cell and we were picked up within minutes, parking is very limited in the area. The guide was not available so we were offered a discount of 20CUC. My wife speaks spanish so she was able to communicate with the driver, he gave us an excellent tour. We went ahead and tipped him 20CUC plus the 20CUC guide cost since he was so nice. 140 CUC total. It looks like the prices have come down a little since then. We were on the very first NCL Havana cruise, we enjoyed it so much we are going again in October.

I highly recommend you get a covered car, not a convertible. It was HOT there and the sun was fierce. We were so glad to have the hard top with AC between stops. It was an old pink chevy.

There is a money exchange right there in the terminal, I exchanged $400 and we had money left over after buying souvenirs and paying for the tour. There are lots of souvenir shops in the plaza area. After the tour, we took the pedestrian walk Obispo up to Plaza de Armas and the War Museum then return along the Malecon.

There was also a flea market style souvenir shop to the left of the terminal about 1/2 mile along the waterfront, it was in a large building with lots of booths set up. It was mostly the same thing in every booth, clothing, leather goods, wooden trinkets. I was offered black market cigars there too. The goods were all made in Venezuala, like our made in China flea markets.

Enjoy.

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I can certainly see why ships opt out from stopping on either port on the Big Island. I remember a few years back a ship I was on tendered off Kona and people went ashore. But during the day the high tide came, and very high winds, and the waves pounding the tender dock did not allow the tenders to dock and pick us up. We waited for hours in the vicinity. Finally many buses were hired and they bused us to Hilo where they picked us up next day. Try doing that if an active volcano is going off. And if they docked in Hilo and told the passengers to stay in the Hilo area for fast departure ... well you know darn well that some will want to go off and get as close as they could to the volcano eruption area. The ship is responsible for the passengers well-being. If they scattered all over the island it would be hard to gather them up and get them on board safely. On a lava field tour a few years ago a woman somehow was left behind and searchers found her dead on the lava field the next day. So I feel the POA and other ships are playing it safe. The island is a very active and volatile place now. Respect it and the power it holds.

Picked up the next day? Did you sleep on the bus?

We were in Kona for two weeks prior to this latest eruption. Visited the park and it was obvious a big one was coming, the caldera at Jagger overlook was overflowing with lava, something was bound to give down below.

I feel bad for the small businesses that offer activity tours but not the trinket shops selling cheap made in china souvenirs.

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wow, really enjoyed your travel diary and pictures. We are on the Sep 2nd sailing, getting super excited, I just booked the dining package reservations and excursions.

We booked:

Juneau - Bush plane 5 glacier flight because its on the bucket list.

Skagway - Dyea Dave tour to Emerald lake then back on the train because I hate to drive and try to take in all the sites.

Ketchikan - Rainforest nature walk.

Victoria - Butchart Gardens.

Thank You for taking the time to blog this!

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I used it to book Alaska for Sep 2nd, 2018. Happy with the deal because I’ve been pricing it for the last few months and it only came with 2 free offers, now we have all 5, don’t have to choose which one is best. :)

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Uber is great to go to the POM. Not so great returning. They cannot pick you up in front of the terminal. You have to walk to the eastern small parking lot , call, and they can pick you up there. It took forever last year. Maybe it has changed.

Took Uber from the NCL terminal after disembarking from Cuba in May, picked us up right outside in the taxi/shuttle lanes. About $35 to FLL to pick up a rental car for a week in Key West. Glad we did both of those places before hurricane season.

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I have had many video poker hand pays, but have had more losses than wins::shocking:: I have seen many slot jackpots but, of course, there are more losses. Cruise ships have really, really, poor pay outs on slots. Doesn't mean you can't put a 20 in here and there to see if it's "hot". The key is recognizing when it's cold!

 

 

 

IMO, you should stick to what you normally play; table games. If you want to start dabbling in slot play, I would definitely choose a land based casino:D

The other key is never play unless you can afford MAX bet. I put $10 in a penny machine on a recent cruise, the second MAX bet it went crazy, when it was done I had $1000 on the credits. I cashed out right away and went to the bar. The people sitting next were doing minimum bets, even when they had winners it was a piddling amount.

I put the $1000 down on my next cruise and scored the $400 OBC deal.

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Thank you! I know where all the smoking areas are... just not about where DH can smoke his cigars. I guess we'll find out in 2 days! :)

I smoked a cigar at that location, as BirdTravel said, any of the outdoor designated spots.

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2Cruise4Ever, My husband is looking forward to buying some good cigars when we sail the Sky to Cuba, so we will also be looking on the Sky for great spots to enjoy them!

 

 

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There is a smoking area on deck 12 mid-forward, right above the pool deck stage. There is a bar there with tables and smoking posts, they circle the top of the atrium.

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We took Uber, about $35.

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Can you tell me if the T-Shirts were at the port shopping area that has been mention somewhere on this tread that you can use US dollars for. As well just wondering if the ship had a T-Shirt sale one day and if so did they have T-Shirts with Cuba Port on them or just the NCL Logo. Thanks

You can't use USD at the port shop.

No Cuba shirts on board gift shop this trip, maybe they will add them. The clearance rack had the Happy Place NCL shirts.

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You remember the shop you got that box? Sounds about right for what I need.

 

 

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It was a vendor in the mercado, he sold shirts and hats. I just asked around and was directed to him. He had the cigars in a backpack, only a few boxes. Black market for sure, he told me his mother worked at the factory, lol. I didn't mind, came in this nice box with official seals, very fresh, they smoke nice.

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Anything special to Cuba to bring back besides cigars? rum? Any other handmade goods?

We purchased a few trinkets but nothing special. We purchased rum in the shop at the port terminal. DW purchased some t-shirts, an apron, and some jewelry at the mercado. I purchased a couple of carved wooden pandora boxes with the cuban flag inlaid on top, pull it just right and it opens to reveal a secret compartment. 2 for 5 CUC.

Most of the goods we saw were made in Venezuela - wooden figures, hats, leather goods, etc all the vendors had the same stuff. Turn left when you exit the terminal, walk about 5 blocks along the embarcadero and you will find a large warehouse full of storage lockers that the vendors sell out of.

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Is it $200 USD in cigars that you can bring back or 200 cigars?

200 cigars, no tax on them, nothing to declare. I paid 100 CUC for a box of 25 Cohibas.

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We were on this cruise also, thanks for the great review commentary and pictures. We also booked a private car tour for the first day, then did our own walking tour on the second day. We booked with old cars havana dot com. We paid 110 CUC and tipped 15 CUC, you are a big tipper :)

The only excursions booked onboard was the waverunner, not bad at $139 for both of us on one.

We rated it 5 stars, wonderful experience, no problems with the ship, cabin, entertainment and dining, or time onshore.

We liked the freestyle NCL so much I took advantage of the deposit for a future cruise to get the onboard credit bonus. Now I just need to figure out how to get the best value out of the credit, we are looking at the Pearl out of Seattle for Alaska cruise.

I bought a box of 25 cigars and had no problem with US Customs, they didn't inspect bags or xray them. You can bring in 200 cigars. If you bring cigarettes there is a form to fill out to pay some kind of tax.

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