My Cuba Cruise

redrum42 · February 9, 2014

for those of you flying down, this might help pass the time.

The next time you find yourself on a plane, sitting next to someone who cannot resist chattering to you endlessly,quietly pull your laptop out of your bag, carefully open the screen (ensuring the irritating person next to you can see it), and hit this link.

http://www.thecleverest.com/countdown.swf

retiring soon · February 10, 2014

Hi all!

Rollerblader ~ welcome to Cruise Critic!:D Glad to hear you enjoyed the cruise too. We just disembarked Friday at Montego Bay.

cookingcountrygirl ~ Ive several questions - which tours did you do - how were they - did you book thru ship or privately & if privately what was the price & which company /person did you book with?

I did all ship's tours. Cienfuegos & Botanical Garden, Cuba Life in Holguin,

Havana City Tour & Tropicana. I enjoyed them all but especially the Cuba Life one. Beware at Tropicana that the snack served is peanuts.

What time were meals served - open til close times. Was there more than 1 restaurant open at a time (other than optional Alberta Steakhouse). Any other information re tea time, happy hour etc etc greatly appreciated.

On our cruise only the one restaurant was open. We were directed to seats at breakfast & lunch & sat at our assigned table for dinner.

Dinner changed but usually started at 7 or 7:30 & ending 2 hours later. Tea time was 4 - 5 . Sometimes there was 2 happy hour 2 for 1 drinks, sometimes 3. Check the Daily News. Each day there was a Cocktail of the Day $$4.95 non alcoholic $3.95 & coffee of the day $3.75 not included as 2 4 1. Lunch was around 11:30 or 12:30 altho there was a pay choice at Time Out Sports bar each lunch time.

Were there shows every evening & again what time?

Yes at least 1 show every night the big one at 9:45 or 10:00 but other folk lore shows earlier as well as Karaoke & lots of music shows.

How much was the internet or WiFi service onboard?

I already answered this.

redrum42 ~ the beautiful beach is the the Punta Frances stop & only the snorkelling excursion is offered there. I don't know if people had the opportunity to rebook when the Vinales one was cancelled, sorry.

Here's the link to Adam's blog:http://blog.cruisecritic.co.uk/index.php/2014/02/07/cubacruise-first-impressions/blog

Danny, the CD said the week following mine would be the biggest so far so I wonder if ONT-CA or others on the cruise will have a different experience.

There was a group of 37 Swedes on our cruise, a large group of Japanese

& 20 US "Roads Scholars" who apparently had to pay big bucks to do their trip. I met 2 couples from the US who embarked in Jamaica.

BTW the cab fare from the port to Montego Bay airport was $30 US for 4 people. The wifi at the airport was spotty in the check in area, better down past the Burger King & close to the oversize luggage area but really good

around check in area near gate 17. DH was impressed with the speed there. We had a long wait for our flight so were happy for the diversion.;)

That's it for now. I started a review but didn't get far.

~ Jo ~ :)

jinky · February 11, 2014

Hi - just a couple of days now until I head off to Havana and so excited. Got a Havana and Vinales tour booked, Holkguin / Biran with boat and and a Cienfuegos / Trinidad and Santiago tour in an American car booked through Pototo mentioned on here at much lower than boat prices with guides. The one port I am wondering abut is Montego Bay. What to do / where to go and whether it is easy to exchange some money there as I`ll only have pounds and CUCs at that time. Anyone been already that can advise?

retiring soon · February 11, 2014

HI all.

Just wanted to mention I submitted my review of the cruise moments ago so will post the link when it's available.

jinky ~ we flew into Mo Bay so I exchanged Euros to Jamaican dollars at the airport. Their money makes you feel rich as 1000 JD = $10 US, 100 = $1. I changed more at my hotel.

I didn't have enough $$ left to pay my taxi driver so paid him in Euros after showing him my exchange rate sheet.

Both Kim, (previous poster) & us did the Rockford Bird Sanctuary which we really enjoyed. Admission is $20 p/p plus the taxi ride there is about $80 or so US dollars.

You can probably get money exchanged & see about a tour right there at the port as well as take a HOHO bus. There seems to be a rate sheet for how much a taxi should charge to take you places.

Have a great trip!

~ Jo ~ :)

elpapa · February 11, 2014

Hi folks,

On Sunday January 27th, there was an article in the travel section of the Vancouver Province about a newly inaugurated cruise that circumnavigated Cuba. The writer, a Vancouver local and an experienced cruiser, simply gushed about the wonderfulness of this 7 day experience. He went so far as to say it was perhaps the best cruise he had ever been on. And they were having a seat sale. So I looked at the web site. http://www.yourcubacruise.com I think. And indeed they were having a sale. In fact, it was 2 for the price of 1. That’s a sale! So we looked up the cost per cabin. Pretty good! Even cheaper than some of the regular Caribbean cruises for the lowest category inside cabin. But at 2 for 1, why not go for broke? So on Monday, January 28, we found space in our busy February between my mothers 96th birthday celebration and the tickets we held to see Paul Simon and Sting. And we booked a deluxe type outside cabin. For a grand total of $1203, all taxes and port charges included. In Canadian dollars. And you had 7 days to get your airfare in place before you had to pay. We were in!

Ah the airfare. A story in itself. Turns out that many of the search web sites we use (Cheapoair, Expedia) seemed to be US based. Why do I say that? Because they did not know that Havana or Cuba existed. You could not find a flight that went there! We finally did find a site that actually let us pick flights (Flighthub.com) . But from Vancouver? Possible if you went via Paris. Don’t believe me? Try it, that was one of the routings they gave me. Anyway, we did eventually get flights for the dates we wanted (Feb 9 to 19th, extra days in Havana at the end) that went to Havana via Toronto using Westjet and Cubana Air. Return was via Cancun using the same 2 airlines. Cost? $2500 for 2. Yes, Canadian dollars. Toronto. It had just been shut down with a big snow storm so what if we got trapped there? At any rate, we had our flights with us arriving in Havana late on February 9. The ship left Havana very late on February 10. So we needed a hotel for the night. Guess what? Same problem booking a hotel in Cuba as in booking a flight. Havana does not exist in the USA! Well, it does, but it is Havana, Florida, or Havana, Tennessee. We got a room finally, using Otel.com. at the Copacabana hotel, an alleged 3 star job on the waterfront of Havana. As well, we proceeded to book a B&B for our 2 nites in Havana. B&Bs are called Casa Particulars here in Cuba. Ours is going to cost us $30 US per night. Should be interesting.

A bit about the cruise line: The ship is called Louis Crystal and it is usually based in the Mediterranean and owned out of Cypress. It has been leased by a Canadian company out of Calgary and the very first cruise was Dec 16, 2013 under the flag of YourCubaCruise.. Ever heard of these guys? Neither had we. It’s a small ship, apparently holds a maximum of 1200 but I’m not sure this number is correct. As well, it is supposed to have some 450 cabins. Again, I cannot be certain of the number. You can board this ship in both Havana and Montego Bay, Jamaica. If you go on CruiseCritic.com, you will find some of the early experiences of passengers and more information.

Our flights. We were nervous about our stop in Toronto because of the weather. The Westjet flight was typical Westjet, the econo Canadian airline. Toronto was like landing in a refrigerator, very cold and blowing snow everywhere. God, I don’t want to get stuck here! But we were there and waiting at the gate for our Cubana Air flight. Which now might be my most least favorite airline. And I thought Westjet was econo!!!! Our seats were grey vinyl, and there was no in-flight entertainment. Not even magazines in the seat back. No barf bags either I noticed. We had been given seats in row 5. (you can’t book seats in advance) so we were near the front of the aircraft, just behind the other class. (Classes in a Communist country? Go figure) When we got to our seats, we found that the luggage space above us, for the first 6 or 7 rows was already jammed with luggage. Big luggage. Luggage that would not have passed the carryon test that they told us about upon checking in. And there were hardly any people yet seated in these rows. I shifted some and was lucky enough to get our 1 bag and small backpack up above. Others following after us were not so lucky. Places for their luggage had to be found further back in the airplane. Way further back! And guess who all of the luggage belonged to? The crew! Not only our cabin crew but a whole bunch of other crew deadheading back to Cuba. And they all had seats for themselves at the front of the airplane. With nobody in the middle seat so they had room to expand. The rest of us sat 3 to a row. The seatbelt sign stayed on for over 30 min after take off so the crew did not have to deal with anyone. You’ve heard about the friendliness of Cubans? Well, not this crew. A surlier bunch I’ve never seen. Well, they chatted a lot to those deadheading back. But they totally ignored us when the drink cart finally went by. All drinks cost by the way, even water and juice. A meal was served about 2 hours into the flight at about 8:30pm. Turns out our plane stopped at Cienfuego in Cuba for 40 minutes and most of the passengers got off. We were ordered, Ordered!, to remain in our seats with our seatbelts fastened and the restrooms were out of bounds! But we made Havana. Immigration was fine, go one at a time, not as a couple. But the baggage. It was taking forever! And then the first bag appeared. Then the second. Then the third. There was about 2 minutes between bags. What the hell? I peaked in to where the bags were emerging to see if I could see what was happening. Well, each bag went through a scanner, stopped, and I guy wrote a bunch of stuff on the baggage tag and then released the bag. So don’t be in a hurry at the airport. Of course our bag eventually arrived and we found a taxi guy on the departures level who told us where to change money. ATM was closed???? Exchange rate for CDN $ was 1.16. $200 Cad got me $172 CUC. The taxi guy said he represented the taxi agency and called a cab for us saying that the fare to our hotel would be 25CUC which was what I expected. But a cab did not show up. A conference between our guy and a guy in what seemed to be a private car got us a ride to our hotel. Not sure what happened here but it worked out fine. Our hotel was fine, typical of the tiredness of a country overlong the pariah of the western world. If you expect perfection and no deteriorating concrete in need of a paint job, try another country. At least another hotel. For us it was friendly and just fine.

The next morning, we walked a bit in the neighbourhood which was quite residential. At noon we caught a taxi to our ship. Boarding was easy and quick, our luggage arrived at the room before we did.

Our room was larger than we are used to, being the el cheapo travelers that we are. The window was big and unobstructed, the amenities were great but the mini bar was not stocked. It’s not a great fridge so we may be relying on our room steward for ice should we want in room drinks. We did not smuggle any booze on board having believed the propaganda in the ship information brochure about liquor being confiscated. The truth? Put some in your luggage. The only people checking and scanning your luggage are Cuban security people and they could not care less that you have a bottle of rum in your bag. Just no guns, grenades, or bazookas. You can bet that your cabin steward will not inform on you. Other room details are that there is a safe but you have to get the key from reception and it’s $24. An odd charge but we have learned that there are charges for other things that we have come to accept as free. For example, there is a charge for room service. Also an extra charge for food in the sports bar but we have not been there yet so don’t know what you get for that. There is a steakhouse on board featuring Alberta beef and Canadian beer. $39 extra a head. I can get Canadian beer at home. The Cuban beer is just fine.

Anyway, we settled into our cabin and then disembarked to wander a bit in Havana. Take your passport to get on and off of the ship. Havana is really great. Lots of interesting buildings, most in disrepair, but , better than what we found 12 years ago. We stopped in a bar for our first mohitos, $3CUC each, and then wandered back to the ship to be in time for a brief nap before our 6:30 “welcome” lecture and dinner at 7pm in the dining room. On the way to come on board, we stopped at a little shop in the terminal building to buy some soda water and a beer to take on board. They were put in a thin plastic bag through which you could clearly see that a beer was inside. This was to test my theory about bringing booze onboard. Nobody batted an eye. Next time I may get a bottle of rum. We are such alcoholics.

Dinner was at 7 and it your table seems to be decided at the door of the restaurant. And then I think that is where you sit for the whole cruise. We’ll see. The Show as at 10 pm and featured a circus troupe based in Havana. Very good. The sail away pary (we sailed at 1:30am) was held at the pool deck but most of the dancing was done by the entertainment crew. Hey, we are seniors. Most of us onboard anyway. Partying at 11:30 at night is a thing of memories. We slept well and had breakfast in the dining room as today is a sea day and we had the time. Rather than a menu and waiter service, it was a buffet breakfast. Unfortunately, not all that hot.

So that’s it for now. Today, I’ll check out the shipboard internet and if you are reading this on the 11th, it means I’m using it. I have heard it is slow and I know that it is expensive.

All for now,

More aout the ship later as I know thAT is what you are interested. Things are very slow and I'll keep sending until my hour runs out.

redrum42 · February 11, 2014

Thanks to all who have taken the time to get some feedback to those of us still waiting.

Retiringsoon, thanks for answering some of the questions coming your way.

Elpapa, nice review of your trip down and first day aboard. I too am going from Vancouver through Toronto, but we are going to Montego Bay, WestJet both flights, glad we are not using Cuban air....

Jinky - would like to meet up with your party when we get on at MB on 21st. We are cabin 7219. Where are your cabins? (If you don't mind letting us know)

Frank and Brenda

retiring soon · February 12, 2014

HI all!

elpapa ~ wow that was very last minute you booked! That's quite the airfare you had to pay.:eek: Sorry Cubana didn't work for you, we really liked it on a flight to Santiago de Cuba.

The window was nice & big. One day while sitting on the sofa I just happened to look out & there were 3 flying fish like large pickerel arching though the water. That was a thrill for me.

The contents of the fridge were on our desk so we could put our water & pop inside. It kept things really cold.

We were assigned to the same table each night for dinner.

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. Enjoy!

redrum42 ~ you're welcome.:D Was there a question I left unanswered? If so please let me know.

Wish I was still on the lovely Lois Cristal.

~ Jo ~ :)

jinky · February 12, 2014

Thanks for that info retiring soon.

We`ll look out for you Frank and Brenda. We`re in cabin 6131 - don`t know our friends` cabin number.

We`re Sue , Paul + Christine and Peter. I`ll most often be seen as "the big bloke with the camera / camera bag on his back all the time".

Been so useful reading the reviews and hoping that the link up with Pototoworks well for our Santiago and Cienfuegos trips.

Cubaholic · February 13, 2014

Greetings Everybody!

This is my first post on Cruise Critic, but I have been travelling to Cuba since winning my first trip there (along with my ex), on a CGHCH TV game show back in the '70s. (The host, named Allan Thicke, was unknown at the time.) I'm a retired travel agent and thrilled that the Cuba Cruise program is finally underway and, from what I have read, very successfully too.

My friend and I booked the 12 day Hola Sun package out of Toronto to Havana, via Cienfuegos. I was attracted by the 2 for 1 offer by Cuba Cruise, until I checked the Air-Only flights form Toronto, to and from Havana. The package was hassle-free and much more affordable. It also included hotel accommodation at the Occidental Miramar(Miramar is in the more upscale, area of Havana), with breakfast and dinners at the hotel. Although we arrive in Havana late on March 23rd. and leave after breakfast for the ship, we'll have time to look around the city on our return. My well travelled, frequent cruiser friend has not seen Havana.

Most people are unaware that this is NOT the first cruise-ship to enter Cuban

ports since the Revolution! My ex and I went on the maiden voyage of the history-making MV Sanriago to Cuba, in 1994. The difference being that the cruise was split into 2 separate weeks. The first sailed from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, with stops between and a stop to re-stock and re-fuel in Jamaica. We went before Christmas. Smaller ship. Funny glitches but we loved it!.

The return from Santiago de Cuba to Havana to0k a different route and re-stocked and re-fuelled in Cozumel. We went in the New Year. Italy was the joint investor with Cuba but pulled out after approx. 3 months. The new, Canadian company, Cuba Cruise, is working along with Cuba's Ministry of Tourism. I can't wait!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the feedback and thank all of you who have shared your stories and opinions.

I almost forgot to say that I too, love cruising!

Dee :)

Edited February 13, 2014 by Cubaholic

retiring soon · February 13, 2014

HI all!

Cubaholic ~ welcome to Cruise Critic!:D That's funny about Allan Thicke, I'm getting sick & tired of seeing the commercial for his new show! He's looking pretty old for 66!:eek:

There was a ship called "Island Sky" in a couple of ports with us, was it just last week?:o It sounds like a boutique type ship with just over 100 pax.

I loved our ship & DH was really impressed with it's condition.

I see one company on FB has a contest to win a cruise on Louis Cristal.

Bon Voyage to those of you on the Valentine's Day cruise!

~ Jo ~ :)

Cubaholic · February 14, 2014

Many thanks for the welcome. Jo - and the forum administrators too.

Dee :)

retiring soon · February 14, 2014

HI again!

Cubaholic ~ you're welcome.

If this works it's the link to my Flickr pictures of the cruise

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jo_cruiser/with/12511456533/

Cubaholic · February 14, 2014

GREAT~! Thanks a bunch Jon!

Without scrolling back yet again, please tell me which deck and where your cabin (sorry, stateroom) was. We're booked for a premium outside, but have been informed that we will have an upgrade. No idea where. Yours looks more roomy than I expected. Could that promenade be on this ship? I must find time to return to your previous posts - with grateful thanks.

Dee :)

retiring soon · February 14, 2014

Dee- our cabin was 6212, just a couple of doors away from the elevator/stairs.

We were happy with the size & location .I don't remember posting a picture

of the promenade deck but there was one.

Jo

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

redrum42 · February 14, 2014

Nice pics, retiring soon. Thanks for posting the link!

BLaliberte · February 14, 2014

Hi All: Back in snowy Ontario. My experience on the Louis Cristal was both good and bad. We had a huge stateroom w balcony on deck 7 the cabin was divided in three, bathroom had 3 seperate areas also, toilet, shower and general wash up area, bedroom divided by glass enclosure, living room was huge. Since on the 7th deck we had a few rocky days and nights which we felt vs the lower decks. No big problem as long as you aren't motion sensitive. I won't tell about the excursions since everyone before me has done a great job but I will say make sure you pack some small packages of kleenex, hand sanitizer and keep them with you. We found out the hard way that cuban hygiene isn't our standard and may facilities didn't have toilet seats, running water, soap or paper. I also advise to bring some benedryl even if you don't have any allergies. I had a reaction to the sun which I haven't had before and sure could of used some. I also recommend antibiotic cream and bandages. Lost's of walking in strange places and small bug spray. Mosquito's were biting.

Food on the ship was mostly excellent but some days they presented a menu that I couldn't eat. One day lamb and salmon. I had to eat in the bar (hamburgers ) deli sh. I found out after that if there was something on the menu for a meal (they posted lunch and dinner)you can request something else. Breakfast was excellent. Lots of fresh fruit and other things. I ordered an omelet since I like hot eggs not luke warm. Lots of passengers ordered the eggs Benedict and said they were yummy. Cuba is going through many changes and there will be a new president next year and rumour has it he is more than willing to invite a peace of sorts with the americans. I would visit cuba again in a few years to see what changes.

Edited February 14, 2014 by BLaliberte
Add photos

BLaliberte · February 14, 2014

I meant to upload these. This is the 7th deck balcony cabins

retiring soon · February 14, 2014

Hi all!

BLaliberte ~ thanks for your report & pictures. Having been to Cuba before I was aware of the hygiene issue but good you mentionned it for others.

Talking about bugs, the day after the island (which I only walked along the water's edge) I noticed several black things that looked like moles/skin tags on my abdomen with little bruises under them. I don't know what these were but didn't do anything about them other than pick them off. I wish I had taken a picture of them, I take them of almost everything!:rolleyes: DH walked through the forest there & didn't get a thing.

I see you had the same cute bathroom tiles we had! Another large outside cabin I saw on 6 didn't have those but had large beige ones. That cabin was very spacious with a wall divider too.

redrum42 ~ you're welcome! I hadn't posted on Flickr for years so didn't know how to put the Cuba pictures separate from the others or label them.

I can hardly wait 'til the others come back to hear what they thought of the cruise/Cuba.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day & nice weekend.

~ Jo ~ :)

retiring soon · February 14, 2014

HI all!

My review of the cruise is now published. Here's the link:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=249972

Some lucky people are sailing away from Mo Bay tonight. Hard to believe it was us 2 weeks ago.

~ Jo ~ :)

elpapa · February 14, 2014

Hi folks,

The morning of day 3. Bringing things up to date, our day at sea was calm and uneventful. The evening show was put on by the crew and was again worth watching. The show was after diner at 10pm. Show times and dinner times vary from day to day, at least so far. This is dependant upon time in port. Yesterday worked out well with our pre-arranged private tour with another couple. The ship was scheduled to dock at 7:30 am at Antilles, the port for Holguin. With the tendering ashore, we did not get our feet back on land again until 9:30. The town of Holguin itself is some 70 km from the port. To meet your privately arranged tour or find a taxi, you have to walk about 100 meters to where they have a gate (a rope) to keep locals out. Note: we found several taxi drivers who seemed to speak English. Try a few questions to test this out. Any way, we made the walk and met our guide Daniel and driver Edouardo . We had this big old green ford from the 50s, refitted with a diesel engine, to drive around in. It is about a 70km drive to the city of Holguin so you need to allow a good hour. While we drove like a bat out of hell most of the time, there was often truck and horse traffic to slow down for. To say nothing of the potholes. In any case, we made the town and toured the sights. I found the town to have a very good feel to it, clean, busy, friendly, and lots of the older colonial style buildings. We were taken to a very nice restaurant for lunch. Tip: order 1 meal between 2 people, the amount of food we got was massive. The quality was excellent, with perhaps the best mohito so far. We probably spent too much time here but it was a nice and friendly atmosphere. From Holguin we drove to Guadalavaca beach for a brief look. And it looked very nice. Apparently it is the second most beautiful beach in Cuba. No, I don’t know. And then back across country to the port arriving a good 10 minutes before the last tender for the ship was scheduled to leave at 5:30pm. It turned out to be the second last as some of the tour buses were late. We sailed at 7 pm. Cost for the trip was 40 CUC per person. All of those we have talked to were very pleased with their tours organized by the ship. You can arrange to meet Daniel your self through this email address:xxxxxxxxxxxxx. We had arranged the tour through Pototo.

Interesting Cuba fact: If you kill a cow in Cuba, you can get 8 years in jail! If your cow dies of natural causes, you have to call in the vet and government officials to certify the death. Our driver slowed down dramatically any time there were cows on the road. I asked our guide why this situation existed because, as far as I know, cows are not an endangered species. He said he really did not know and that it was a very old law that still is on the books.

The evening show was again put on by the on board crew and again worth attending. It is not your usually Broadway show most often seen on cruises.

The ship so far: Is noticeable smaller than any other we have been on. Not at all a bad thing. We are on deck 7 and only 2 floors away from everything. Very convenient. The crew is very approachable and friendly although they are somewhat unhappy with the low number of passengers. I think we have 300. One Brazilian bar waiter said that there had originally been 30 Brazilians on board but that the cruise line had chopped that in half. This is true, I think, in all departments that deal with passengers and maybe in other departments as well. While it is great for us, it is a hardship for the entertainment and shore excursion department and certainly for the Cuban shore people who have had great expectations about the revenue this cruise will bring to their towns. The food is certainly adequate, not better or worse than any other cruise we have been on. With the low passenger count, they only opened the buffet for lunch and there was a significant line up. Tip: On the sea day, go to the sports bar where you can order pub food for a price. ($9 for a burger, $8 for a pizza and beer). The 2 for 1 drinks are a boon to those of us who like to have more than 1. There are happy hours at various times and places throughout the ship. For a drink with significant booze in it. Go ashore. Again with the low passenger count, breakfast is a buffet in both the dining room and the cafeteria. The Caruso restaurant has not been opened. An unfortunate and minor item is that, given the age of the ship, the seals on many of the double paned windows are broken, rendering some of the windows almost opaque and certainly foggy. One couple we met who had looked forward to their deck 7 outside cabin with a view, were disappointed in being able to only see things through a heavy grey mist. Other than that, the paint is spiffy throughout the ship and certainly clean. At the captains Gala (not so very), the captain explained that this cruise would be like no other in that it was the first ever cruise to circumnavigate Cuba. Therefore, the first that the Cubans had ever dealt with. So, he said, at any given port on any given day, the port procedures might be different. Rules are evolving, people are learning. Some days, port clearance takes an hour, another day the same clearance will take 10 minutes. The shore infrastructure is often minimal but trying very hard. A wonderful situation that seems to exist on shore (at least our first port) was a total lack of the typical cruise port jewelry, knickknack, tee shirt, and other shlock shops which, to me, are a plague on the Alaska cruises.

The afternoon of day 4. In Santiago de Cuba, we had made no other plans other than to walk off of the ship and begin looking around. Which we did, clearing the ship about 9:45. Arriving at this port is something worth watching as you are very close to both shores as you enter the channel to the town. Anyway, we walked thru the Cuban security where they exchanged your visa for a day pass. Then out of the port into the town. Nobody bothered us about buying something or going somewhere. Note: the little white money exchange was closed due to lack of money. I asked a policeman the way to the town center and he pointed off down one road. As we began to walk down that way, a fellow approached us from behind and said if you really want to get to the central historical part of the city, you should take this other road. He was quite good with his English and seemed to know what he was talking about. So we took his advice. Un surprisingly, he began to follow along with us asking questions about us and pointing out things in the neighborhood. So I stopped him and asked him why he was doing this for us. He admitted he was looking to guide somebody around the city. How much? Well, it was about 10 am and he said he would stay with us all day, go anywhere we wanted and explain to us the history, the culture and Cuban life in general and for this all day service his total cost to us was $10 CUC. So I easily made what turned out to be a really good decision and took him up on it. We walked all over the city for about 3 hours before stopping for mojitos in the tavern under the rum museum. There, we arranged for a taxi, 54 chev, to drive us to the sites that were too far to walk to. This included Moro castle and the cemetery and the police barracks that Castro had unsuccessfully attacked and had ended up in jail. Taxi was not such a good deal, costing us $60 CUC for 3 hours but we really had no choice. The cemetery is worth a visit and the guides there very informative. Our guide, Cesar, waited with the taxi driver. Here, you will find out how much and why they care about Jose Marti. At about 4 pm we rode our taxi to a restaurant in a private home recommended by our guide (he is still with us) and had some excellent food. As our guide was taking us back to our ship, he stopped in the middle of a block of old houses and asked me if I wanted to buy any rum. He said that workers in one of the 2 rum factories in town brought wine out of the factory (legally or not I don’t know) and resold it. For me to buy this rum at a shop would cost $50 CUC. They were selling this aged rum for $20. So I thought, what the hell? Ok so we entered this doorway beside us and climbed through this jungle of dilapidated apartments, old pipes, hanging wires, kids, broken cement, and puddles of water to the second floor where our guide talked to a guy in an apartment. Then he waved us in through his door and into his kitchen. On his counter was some 20 bottles of this black label rum. In his sink, rested this 5 liter plastic jug with about 2 cups of rum in it. Our guide explained that this was how they got the rum out of the factory. Obviously they got bottles and caps out as well and that’s what they filled at home to sell to me for $20. We got a sample from the jug to see if we would like it. I did. So we bought a bottle. IS it real or will I go blind? We’ll find out. Any way, after 7 ½ hours, we said goodbye to our guide. Of course we gave him more than $10 CUC. He was excellent had gave us a great day answering all of our questions and giving us a great insite into Cuban life. Oh yes, did I get the bottle of rum on board OK? Of course. Nobody gave a damn.

Today was Montego Bay. Bring $US. There is a $5 shuttle into the “Hip Strip” where you can buy all of the tee shirts and carved stuff that you want. Also, you can find lots to eat. Public beaches are scarce, we found 2 on our long hot walk along the road all the way to the end of the airport runway. Resting there, we also found a bus driver waiting for a flight from Russia with a bunch of guests on it. He just waited in the shade on the beach and watched his plane come in before heading to the airport to pick up the people. A very articulate Jamaican, he had a great life story and viewpoint of Jamaica. Did you know that Colin Powel was born in Jamaica? Me either. We stopped for lunch in Biggs, you got free beach access and wifi and a great barbequed lunch. Beach was sandy and apparently the water was warm. Doctors Cave, recommended by somebody, wanted $6 for beach access, $6 for an umbrella and $6 for each chair. I’m sure it was a lovely beach.

The ship continues to be very homey, the staff, as always, is friendly and cheerful. Being so small, clearly lends itself to this. Of course, so does the low passenger count. The Cuban dance show last night was interesting and very energetic if a bit short. Well, they had to get off of the boat. Our weather has been great with temperatures about 27 degrees. The internet is slow, so if you are reading this on the 14th, it was fast enough. But to send 2 of these notes used up my 1 hour internet card. ($26)

Tomorrow is our last port of call, not counting the beach stop or Havana. Again, we will be searching for a local driver to show us the sights. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Gord and Carol