Can cruise line passengers book their own tours

[Sachmo]

I am confused as I keep getting different answers. If you arrive by cruise ship can you book your own tours? I have been researching this and have heard from 1 tour co Havana Tours that said they could not take cruise passengers. Does anyone have any info on this? also looked into Urban adventures and am waiting to hear back from them and also Havana Journey. Comments about either company would be appreciated.

Judy

Edited April 7, 2017 by Sachmo

[lhanson38]

I am confused as I keep getting different answers. If you arrive by cruise ship can you book your own tours? I have been researching this and have heard from 1 tour co Havana Tours that said they could not take cruise passengers. Does anyone have any info on this? also looked into Urban adventures and am waiting to hear back from them and also Havana Journey. Comments about either company would be appreciated.

Judy

We are using Havana Journey's on May 5th they were able to pick us up at the port. What I was told by Havana Tours was that they couldn't pick us up from the port. And we would have to make our way to a hotel for pick up

[corley05]

We are using Havana Tour Co in May. They said something similar about not being allowed to pick up in port. I asked if we could make private arrangements. We are meeting up with them at another location closer to port and taking a private tour. We found a few other people from our roll call to join us and it made the price much lower than what we would get through the cruise line. I suggest you just ask them to make arrangements to meet you somewhere near the port. They have been very responsive to all questions/requests.

[VidaNaPraia]

we would have to make our way to a hotel for pick up

 

The Hotel Amadores De Santander is right across from the pier, a bit to the left, across the street on the corner of Calle Luz. There is a shaded outdoor terrace where you could get a cold drink while you meet your guide.

 

Otherwise, there is a kind of pull-out for vehicles directly across from the pier, but it is in full sun.

[Jahdiva]

Since I'm a crusing newbie would you suggest taking a tour like this on the day the boat arrive in port or the next day? I'm doing an overnight Havana cruise in July and since it's my 1st time and I'm solo I'm not sure which might be better. Both companies get great reviews on tripadvisor and come in cheaper than the cruise tour.

[VidaNaPraia]

I would not suggest a tour at all. Havana is quite easy to explore on your own. Get a guidebook to read beforehand if forgettable historic details are important to you or buy Real Havana to get more of an insider's feel for the city. The cruise pier is on the fringe of the (IMO) most interesting neighborhood in the city, Havana Vieja. It is quite safe, even solo, even female.

You could not pay me to be one of those bored tourists in the large tour groups I see, either trying to keep up with the crowd so as not to miss any pearls of wisdom from the guide or lagging behind to try to take a minute to really experience something.

 

Cuba is about experiencing, taking time to talk to people you pass, looking at life, people watching with a cool drink, not checking off boxes on a list of sights.

[Snit13]

The Hotel Amadores De Santander is right across from the pier, a bit to the left, across the street on the corner of Calle Luz. There is a shaded outdoor terrace where you could get a cold drink while you meet your guide.

 

.

 

Would you happen to know if the pier for the cruise ships is "Terminal Sierra Maestra?"

If so, it is a conciderable walk from Hotel Amadores De Santander. On the Google may it appears to be across from the ferry terminal.

 

We were hoping to visit a hotel during the evening to enjoy food and music and have been looking at private tour. Any suggestions?

[VidaNaPraia]

There are 3 piers that seem to be being used. (Pull up a map of Havana and follow along.) The MSC Opera was tied up at the pier closest to the Hotel Amadores de Santander, at the end of Calle Sol, last week and the week before for several days. Another is at the end of Amargura. The middle pier is at the end of Teniente Rey. They are within a few very short blocks of each other. iirc all 3 have a sign 'Terminal Sierra Maestra'.

You could also use the Basilica San Francisco de Assis as a meeting place, but it does not have a prominent sign with its name as the hotel does.

Feel free to choose another meeting place that suits you and your extensive knowledge of Havana Vieja.

[VidaNaPraia]

We were hoping to visit a hotel during the evening to enjoy food and music and have been looking at private tour. Any suggestions?

 

Many options for food. Many options for music.

See my post on the thread here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2482811

[Snit13]

There are 3 piers that seem to be being used. (Pull up a map of Havana and follow along.) The MSC Opera was tied up at the pier closest to the Hotel Amadores de Santander, at the end of Calle Sol, last week and the week before for several days. Another is at the end of Amargura. The middle pier is at the end of Teniente Rey. They are within a few very short blocks of each other. iirc all 3 have a sign 'Terminal Sierra Maestra'.

 

 

 

.

 

Thank you for your prompt reply. Royal Caribbean does not have a clue at this time as to where we will be docking on the Empress. Both my husband and I have walking issues and we are merely trying to figure out the closet areas to where we will be docked. There are others on our booked cruise using walkers and wheelchairs so they too are searching for information. None of us has ever visited Cuba and we want to make the most of this opportunity. We appreciate your help. Thanks again.

[Snit13]

Many options for food. Many options for music.

See my post on the thread here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2482811

 

Thank you. Will check out your suggestions.

[VidaNaPraia]

Thank you for your prompt reply. Royal Caribbean does not have a clue at this time as to where we will be docking on the Empress. Both my husband and I have walking issues and we are merely trying to figure out the closet areas to where we will be docked. There are others on our booked cruise using walkers and wheelchairs so they too are searching for information. None of us has ever visited Cuba and we want to make the most of this opportunity. We appreciate your help. Thanks again.

 

Walkers and wheelchairs are unsuitable for the terrain of the old city, Havana Vieja, the picturesque and gently crumbling Colonial era neighborhood closest to the cruise piers.

Rather than sit isolated from the ambience of the locale in some air conditioned tour bus, which cannot access many streets anyway (and you will have almost the same problem with one of the classic cars that give tours, and which are better for seeing other, more open, areas of the city), I suggest trying to hire a bici-taxi or two on arrival. These are a bicycle with the rear part replaced by a seat that holds 2 people (or perhaps one person with a light folded wheelchair beside him/her). The person on the front seat pedals like a regular bicycle. They do give inexpensive "tours" around the old city, but are unlikely to speak English.

Perhaps an English speaking guide could accompany you and organize several bici-taxis for your group. Then, when you want to see more of the city, get one of the huge classic cars to take you around, past the iconic Malecon wall for example, and through some of the other, less congested neighborhoods, like Vedado with all its mansions.

Also, I would say that Cuba, and specifically Havana, is not a place to chase sights to see and check off, but particularly to encounter the local people and find out about their lives by engaging in lots of conversations.

[Jaalice]

VidaNaParia, Do a lot of the people we have the opportunity to meet speak English?

Also, can you please tell me where I can find a map of the port area and where is the best place to convert money? I had read that at the port there are long lines waiting to convert money.

hanks, Jaalice

[VidaNaPraia]

VidaNaParia, Do a lot of the people we have the opportunity to meet speak English?

Also, can you please tell me where I can find a map of the port area and where is the best place to convert money? I had read that at the port there are long lines waiting to convert money.

hanks, Jaalice

 

It's PRAIA (PRAH-yah), btw, as in beach. Life on the beach.

 

 

As far as English speakers, it's pretty much luck. A lot of young people speak pretty good English. On this last week spent in Cuba, I met an 18 year old who was fluent and without a Spanish accent, and a 35 year old who is nearly fluent. Most owners of casas particulares (not that you'd be meeting them if staying on the ship) speak some English. Bici-taxi drivers won't. Regular taxi drivers don't either in my experience. Souvenir shop clerks, if young as many are, may speak a bit. Everybody wants to speak to you though.

Just be careful of the jiniteros, the men who ask you where you are from, are immediately very friendly, and want to get a commission by taking you to a certain restaurant, sight, taxi, shop, etc

Get a Spanish-English pocket dictionary or some sort of smart phone translation program if you are feeling unsure. (Safe to carry a smart phone almost anywhere at any time of day. Lots of Cubans have them too.)

 

The cruise piers are on the edge of the Havana Vieja neighborhood.

There are several places to convert money in the Havana Vieja area. There are several banks (the word is the same in Spanish, banco, if you ask a passer-by); you'll have to find out the open hours for each. The Hotel Florida on the main tourist street in Havana Vieja, Obispo, also changes money at the front desk, also for those not guests of the hotel . Bring your passport.

Remember that there is a 3% fee for all money exchanges in Cuba. US dollars have an additional 10% penalty applied, so you end up with only 87 CUC for every U$100. This is a Cuban government fixed rate. If you exchange some dollars for Euros at your home bank, and then exchange the Euros in Cuba for CUC, you may end up with about 92 CUC per U$100 (U$100=88 Euros=92 CUC, at current rates). However, this may be too much trouble, depending on how much/little you plan to spend.

 

You can get a printed map at the bookstore at the very end of Obispo (opposite end from the pier) near the La Floridita bar with the statue of Hemingway. Most Cuba guidebooks (Lonely Planet, for example) have one included. Online there's Google, and the maps.me app that works even offline.

[mlbcruiser]

Just chiming in, though I've only visited Cuba once and that was just over a month ago.

 

First off, VidaNaPraia always has good information.

 

In my experience, it wasn't hard to find someone who spoke English around the heavily touristed Havana Vieja. (the old, colonial section of Havana). I found the bicycle taxis a bit elusive in that area and never once saw one I could have hired. Although we did see one here and there, it wasn't frequent in this area and while I'd have liked to hire one, the couple that I did see during a 2 day period had riders in them already and seemed to be headed to someplace in particular. (Once I saw a couple being dropped off at a hotel in what I perceived to be a less trafficked edge of Havana Vieja.) Additionally, for those requiring an English speaking guide when taking a tour in one of the old convertibles or other old cars, I'd suggest that you actually speak with the driver yourself and try to have at least a short conversation with him BEFORE you get into his car and begin the tour. A guy overheard us discussing where to catch the hop on/hop off bus when were were standing just outside the cruise terminal that is located nearest to Basillica San Francisco (the big, yellow church). There was a line of old cars just across the busy road from us. We were also thinking of hiring one of the cars when the guy approached us and wanted to set us up with one. He was acting like he was some sort of a broker for them, and I was wary, but had checked on pricing on these boards and knew about what we would likely have to pay. I told the "broker" I didn't want to be taken to the Plaza de Revolucion during our ride as we'd seen it already on a bus tour included with our cruise, and said we would need an English speaking driver. Of course, that was doable. He took us across the street and set us up with one of the drivers about 3 cars back in line, telling us the driver could speak English. While the driver did speak a little English, he was far from fluent. Since I speak a fair amount of Spanish (but am not truly fluent myself), together we communicated decently. I was able to clue my husband in on most of what the driver said. However, the driver had to resort to Spanish many times and could not adequately convey what he wanted to much of the time. Unfortunately, the "broker' apparently had not communicated to the driver that we did NOT want to see the "same ol'/same ol' stuff - like Plaza de Revolucion. We were almost to it when I realized where we were heading. The driver was perplexed as to why we wouldn't want to get out and take pictures there. I was able to communicate enough to let him know I wanted to see a couple of other areas. Although we'd only contracted the driver for a 1 hr. tour, he offered to give us a longer tour at a great discount. My husband didn't feel like riding around any longer so we didn't take him up on it. (If it had been just my decision, I likely would have, though.)

 

One last thing - there is a very small tour vendor "office" sitting just inside the cruise terminal that is located near the port area across from the church where anyone can just stop in and arrange tours and excursions around the Havana area and other areas. They had to be dealing with cruise passengers and I'm sure they were able to advise tourists taking their tours of where to get picked up very near the terminal.

[Gintraveler]

We booked a snorkel tour through shore excursioneer for our June cruise, we have used them several times in other ports. So excited!

[VidaNaPraia]

VidaNaPraia always has good information.

 

Thanks MLB.

Nice to see you over here. (I have fond memories of interacting with you from the "other" Brazil forum long ago.)

Glad you enjoyed Cuba. I'm just back from a second visit to friends I made the first time, and have an invitation for a future trip.

 

btw The bici-taxis usually hang out on the side streets of the Havana Vieja neighborhood. Maybe you didn't walk in far enough (and I know this may be because of mobility for SO). Staying in the neighborhood, I never had to walk far to find one, although those nearer the more touristy streets try to jack up their prices (and some would stay without a fare rather than negotiate).

Edited April 19, 2017 by VidaNaPraia

[VidaNaPraia]

We booked a snorkel tour through shore excursioneer for our June cruise, we have used them several times in other ports. So excited!

 

Where are they planning to take you to snorkel? Is this while you are in port in Havana? OR another port?

[familycruzr]

I would not suggest a tour at all. Havana is quite easy to explore on your own. Get a guidebook to read beforehand if forgettable historic details are important to you or buy Real Havana to get more of an insider's feel for the city. The cruise pier is on the fringe of the (IMO) most interesting neighborhood in the city, Havana Vieja. It is quite safe, even solo, even female.

You could not pay me to be one of those bored tourists in the large tour groups I see, either trying to keep up with the crowd so as not to miss any pearls of wisdom from the guide or lagging behind to try to take a minute to really experience something.

 

Cuba is about experiencing, taking time to talk to people you pass, looking at life, people watching with a cool drink, not checking off boxes on a list of sights.

 

If we do our own thing, do you happen to know what we would need to do to meet the requirements for the people-to-people exchange? Thanks in advance.

[VidaNaPraia]

If we do our own thing, do you happen to know what we would need to do to meet the requirements for the people-to-people exchange? Thanks in advance.

 

IMO you couldn't do it on a first visit, a full time schedule of activities that are educational, nor probably would you want to keep that kind of intense schedule. And you probably don't have the contacts to set one up. Just talking to random people doesn't count btw, if you're keeping score. The tour "companies" people are talking about above likely wouldn't qualify either if anyone official bothered investigating.

 

What I know is that no one cares, nor apparently have they for maybe a decade in which OFAC hasn't checked. In fact, how would they check if they wanted to, if there actually was a budget to do so. Send the Feds in person to a foreign country with whom the US doesn't yet have normalized relations to track down some independent guide, a Cuban citizen who doesn't have reliable internet of a reasonable speed, who took you to a class they'd also have to verify, or a gallery?

 

If you are someone who never goes over the speed limit, read the official description of that OFAC category, and keep notes of your schedule.

Otherwise, just go and have fun exploring.

[VidaNaPraia]

Drone flight over Havana:

https://www.airvuz.com/video/Havana-Cuba-by-Air?id=58fb9ac691965d6edcbd84f3

[starrcards]

I would not suggest a tour at all. Havana is quite easy to explore on your own. Get a guidebook to read beforehand if forgettable historic details are important to you or buy Real Havana to get more of an insider's feel for the city. The cruise pier is on the fringe of the (IMO) most interesting neighborhood in the city, Havana Vieja. It is quite safe, even solo, even female.

You could not pay me to be one of those bored tourists in the large tour groups I see, either trying to keep up with the crowd so as not to miss any pearls of wisdom from the guide or lagging behind to try to take a minute to really experience something.

 

Cuba is about experiencing, taking time to talk to people you pass, looking at life, people watching with a cool drink, not checking off boxes on a list of sights.

 

 

Would a self guided tour of Havana, possibly including the HOHO bus, meet the requirements of the people to people visit?

[VidaNaPraia]

Would a self guided tour of Havana, possibly including the HOHO bus, meet the requirements of the people to people visit?

 

The requirements are a total farce. No one is checking, no one has been checking for decades, and no one will be checking, since there is no money and no manpower to do so. And how would a US government office check any info about Cuban citizens (guides, etc)?

Just do what interests you.

[hvsteve1]

I'm just back from Havana, so here are some observations.

 

The bicycle taxis are apparently not licensed to enter the tourist area around the piers. We grabbed one to return to the ship when my wife got tired and he dropped us a block or so from the plaza. When I asked if he wasn't taking us all the way, he said, "No. Policia." which I gathered to mean we would get hit on by the police if he turned up with passengers at the ship.

 

I don't believe independant tour busses can pick you up at the cruise terminal because tour busses que up INSIDE the building so, presumably, only the ones engaged by the cruise line are allowed in. The street is rather congested there so I don't think the traffic cops would allow a bus to pick up on the street.

 

A taxi driver told one of my fellow passengers that most of the cabs are owned by companies with multiple cabs and the drivers work for them. That's probably what you find outside the terminal. Same with the horse drawn carriages. If you get to some of the squares farther away you find much larger groups of cars and, probably, more independent owners. As their livelihood is driving those cars, they are more likely to have learned English than guys hired to drive a car.

 

There was a tourist desk in our terminal where you could buy a street map. I also saw maps in stores. My choice would be to buy a DK guide which always has great 3D maps. As a matter of fact, I don't buy one unless I'm unable to borrow it from the local library.

 

There don't appear to be a lot of independent business around Havana so prices didn't seem to vary a lot. A lot of places are selling the same junk souvenirs, though some will try to tell you the statues were made by his brother (in China?). Good Cuban rum is cheap with many being under $10 per liter. The really good stuff can run to $20 or more. I stopped at the stores in the terminal and was one of the last people back to the ship. I wanted to pick up a few goodies for the folks back home and haEE some CUC left and didn't want to have to use the money exchange. Rather than negotiate price I told them how much I had and went through the shelves seeing how much merchandise I could add to the order. I think I did OK. You're never quite sure, which is why I hate buying cars.

[VidaNaPraia]

" My choice would be to buy a DK guide which always has great 3D maps. "

 

The DK guide is from 2013 which means it was written in 2012. (Of course, the maps are unlikely to change, but info has radically changed for all guidebooks.) afaik the Lonely Planet guide is the most up to date for Cuba. And a good insider one is Real Havana for that city.