Cuba cruisers .............did you enjoy the visit?

We are thinking about taking one of the 5 Day cruises to Cuba. What was it like?

I also would love to hear this answer but I know a couple of people who know others that went and simply loved it, in fact, they said they would go back again! Your not only docking in Cuba but other ports so if somebody doesn't want to get off the ship in Cuba there are other ports. I will be going in a week and half to Cuba on the Majesty, looking forward to it because I never dreamt I be able to see Cuba in my lifetime and I am going to do it while I am able to get there, one never knows what happens in the future, at least I can say I went there, plus I want to see it with my own eyes not what the media says about it. I say go!

I'm sailing the Paradise to Cuba on a 5 day next year. Check out the Cuba port of call forum. That's where all the info you seek is being discussed at.

The entire world has been going to Cuba for vacations for years!! We are the only country whose citizens have not been allowed to go there until recently.

Tons of info about this on the Cuba Board on this web site.

We are going there with Oceania because we want to really see Cuba and visit lots of different cities there and Carnival barely stops there for a day.

Carnival barely stops there for a day.

The Majesty only stops for the day which is fine with me because I hired a private guide to take me around for 6 hours, if I feel I need to see more then I just book another cruise. At least I will get a taste of Cuba which is what I am looking for in this upcoming trip. We love the casino so being at sea every night enables us to be there.

OK -Good to know that some cruises have an overnight.

Agree that for a 5 day cruise that is nice.

Thanks for the information. Do you need a visa? We have current passports.

Yes you can print out the papers and you pay RC upon check in $75 each.

As I understand it the cruise line gets the Visa for you. It costs $75

That is what other lines do. IF Carnival is asking you to do it yourself then that is quite different.

yes, really enjoyed our 4 day on paradise. took a private tour with Bilixe. A little more hassle with immigration than other ports, but worth the experience. a lot of posts in the Cuba - ports of call.

I’m a history buff so I found it amazing and very worthwhile. It’s not “fun” like other cruise ports but fascinating.

Carnival handles the paperwork and visas.

I’m a history buff so I found it amazing and very worthwhile. It’s not “fun” like other cruise ports but fascinating.

Carnival handles the paperwork and visas.

Interested too in what others say about whether they enjoyed it or not.

yes, really enjoyed our 4 day on paradise. took a private tour with Bilixe. A little more hassle with immigration than other ports, but worth the experience. a lot of posts in the Cuba - ports of call.

since our return, we learned that Jorge our tour guide is a professor of history in Cuba. I agree with the comment of this being geared to history and intrigue and not a port of ziplines and ATVrides. my older daughters also found the history and city very interesting.

Booked...and waiting.

since our return, we learned that Jorge our tour guide is a professor of history in Cuba. I agree with the comment of this being geared to history and intrigue and not a port of ziplines and ATVrides. my older daughters also found the history and city very interesting.

Perfect!

We has an amazing time...the food, the people, the rum....lol. We went with RC in early June of this year. Our ship was in port for 36 hours and I would recommend booking an itinerary with as much time as possible in port. We booked private tours both days with Isbel who works with Blexie Havana Tours. Amazing days with 2 Cuban citizens. You can see my pics in my smugmug account.

I went in May 2017 on NCL. NCL charged $75 for the Visa and handed it to us at check in, with our room key, etc.

I used OldCarTours.com. They were amazing. I was a solo female cruiser, so also solo in the car tours. The guides treated me like a princess. Yaser, my guide on day 2, still email and send pics to each other. I would love to go back for a land vacation and have more time exploring.

We had almost 2 days in Havana when we sailed there. Arrived early, 7am, in Cuba on Tuesday and left 5pm on Weds.

Those pics are anazama

Heading out tomorrow on Paradise! I'll drop a reply after our Cuba stop!

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In my 30+ cruises, going to Cuba was, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating. We did a short 4 night cruise that had an overnight in Havana.

We wandered on our own the first day and had dinner at a restaurant that we had looked up in advance. The following day, we arranged a tour in a classic car, followed by lunch at a paladar. We finished our day by walking the streets of Havana on our own and checking out local stores before returning to the ship. There’s so much history, culture, in addition to the delicious food that we tried, unlike any other place in the region. Our tour guide was a young lady who was a university student. Not only did she tell us about what we were seeing and the history behind it, but she wasn’t shy about answering more personal questions about what life in Cuba is really like.

This is one destination that I’d highly recommend to travelers who thrive on getting out of their comfort zone and truly learning about new places. But it’s not for the cruiser who likes to get off the ship and see familiar sights that cater to Americans, like on so many ports of call in the Caribbean. There are literally none. You may only be a few miles from the US, but it’s truly a different world and completely worth it.

In a way, I’m grateful that I got to experience Cuba while strict regulations are still in place because it gave me an opportunity to get an unspoiled view of this amazing destination without the hordes of cruise passengers that normally plague more popular cruise destinations. And I hope that it remains this way. While part of me thinks that it would’ve been nice to sail on a larger, newer ship, another part of me was very grateful that I didn’t.

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This is our experience. I don't want it to sound like we are complainers. We're not. It's just what we did and saw. Overall, we're glad we got the change to see how others live and glad we are Americans.

We went on the Paradise in October, 2017. We did the old car tour through Carnival. After going through customs, we went downstairs and had a hard time finding where to go. Finally ask a lady in front of a bus and she said that that was the bus. No signage at all telling what it was.

We boarded the bus and the lady spoke perfect English and described the buildings as we went along. The bus took us to a parking lot where all of the old cars were parked. We got to walk among them and pick out the one we wanted. The lady that was on the bus got in the car we were in and pointed out things as we went along.

We stopped at a huge parking lot and got to walk around a little. She pointed out the different multi story buildings that were in that area. Then we all boarded the cars again. This time, she got in another car. We stopped at a cemetery where we all got out and as a group was led through it with an English speaking guide that told us all about the different monuments in there. All graves are above the ground with white marble entombment covering them. White marble as far as you can see. Some of them were families which were huge.

From there, the cars took us for a ride through the town. Our driver didn't speak English so he was pointing out what the buildings were but we couldn't understand what he was saying.

You will see a lot of crumbling buildings. There were many multi story buildings with the roof missing, no windows on the top floor yet people living in the lower floors. We actually saw a woman empty a pan of garbage out of her second story window. We have friends that went on a different cruise line that stayed there for several days. They got to go further into the island and said it was much different once you got away from Havana.

After that, we got out of the cars and got back into the bus. It started to rain a little but wasn't bad. The bus stopped and we all got off and were led to a little theater where some college kids did an interpretive dance. We all left saying "OOOOOkay". Got back on the bus and it started pouring. Bus dropped us off at a flea market that was in an old train station. That was where they were selling the cigars. There was a very long line up for them. Some guy came up to us and ask if we wanted to buy some from him that he makes himself. We told him how many we wanted and he disappeared. Maybe fifteen minutes later he showed up with them. I think they were $7 of their money each.

The place was closing so we all boarded the bus and got back on the ship. Be aware. Because of the way the pier is set up, you have to get off the ship on the Main Deck. We had booked cabin M62. They had to remove the two cabins between M62 and M65 for the gangway. The ship stayed overnight but you had to be back onboard by 5AM the following morning. Revelers were coming back in all night making all kinds of noise. Didn't get much sleep that night.

All in all, it was a learning experience. I guess the best way of putting it is that it was a culture shock. One young cuban in the flea market tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to his shorts that were red, white and blue stripes and said "We love America".

We went on the Paradise in October, 2017. We did the old car tour through Carnival...

Sorry to hear that your cruise line sponsored excursion wasn’t better, and that your cabin location hindered your enjoyment. If there’s one decision that I’m grateful for is that I steered clear of the ship excursions in Havana.

It was a fraction of the cruise line excursion (we paid $30pp, and that included our own dedicated guide). I think that having a personalized experience and not having to be part of a large group allowed us to enjoy our time in Havana much more.

I must admit that I was a bit leery at the beginning about booking a private excursion. I’d gone online and found this car operator which met requirements for US travelers. It allowed me to pre-select the specific car that I wanted before arriving in Havana. All the arrangements were done via email. I was then given an email confirmation and instructions (including a YouTube video) on how to get to a little bar on a side street across from the cruise terminal.

Until I arrived at the meeting point and I was greeted by a smiling lady who welcomed me by my first name, I wasn’t 100% sure if this was legitimate. But then I saw the exact car that I had pre-selected parked a few feet away and I started feeling easier. The warm welcome set the tone for the rest of the day, and it was truly a fantastic and memorable experience. As the tour was coming to an end and we asked about recommendations for lunch, she even called ahead and made reservations at a wonderful paladar. We had a rooftop table with great views of the city waiting for us. Perfect way to finish our excursion.

Even though we had a wonderful time in Cuba and considered it fascinating, everybody in our group agreed that it’s not a place which we would frequently visit. It was more of a bucket list item. We are extremely glad though that we made the choice to take this cruise!

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Heading out tomorrow on Paradise! I'll drop a reply after our Cuba stop!

 

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Please do! I will be waiting to read every word of the review. And Thank you!