RCCL Cuba shore excursions.

[PH8]

I would post this in Ports of call,but need some info for RCCL excursions.

 

I just booked a cruise to Cuba ,leaving in 12 days. Not much time to research and get something booked.

 

Normally I do not book shore excursions,but for this trip I am.

 

Anyone have personal experience on any RCCL tours?

 

Which one did you do and what are your thoughts on it?

 

I really appreciate any and all input..........thank you

[PaulS]

We were on the Empress in August and were in Havana overnight.

 

The afternoon the ship docked we took the 4 hour city tour. The tour visited the Christ statue, the fort for its tobacco shop, the cemetery, Revolution Square, and the craft market. The tour guide was pretty good and it gave us a good introduction to the city.

 

The next morning, we took the 4 hour walking tour of Old Havana. It was very hot and the guide we had was somewhat boring even though he was giving out a lot of information. I guess your impression of the tour is determined by the quality of the guide. Old Havana is somewhat compact and after the tour we walked around on our own. I think you could do the same without the tour

 

The night we were in Havana, we stayed on the ship, however many people took the Tropicana nightclub excursion and said the show was great.

 

Hope this helps.

[PH8]

Thank you........I am not overnighting.....we will be there 8am till 8pm......

 

I'm thinking about the 4 hour city tour(bus,not walking)........OR the 7 hour one......but that does not go to Old Havana..

 

Is Old Havana within walking distance of the ship.?

[PaulS]

Old Havana is right outside the terminal. If you want to see it I would recommend that you take the 4 hour tour in the morning and then walk around old Havana in the afternoon.

 

If you have been to San Juan, old Havana is very similar

[PH8]

Old Havana is right outside the terminal. If you want to see it I would recommend that you take the 4 hour tour in the morning and then walk around old Havana in the afternoon.

 

If you have been to San Juan, old Havana is very similar

That is exactly what I was thinking by looking at the pics.........even the fort names are similar..

 

Any other thing you think of,please let me know......

 

I know it's cash only.........US or do I need to get Cuban $$$ ?

[Clarea]

... I know it's cash only.........US or do I need to get Cuban $$$ ?

From what I've read, it's more complicated. I think there are two kinds of Cuban money and only certain places to make the exchange.

[PH8]

From what I've read, it's more complicated. I think there are two kinds of Cuban money and only certain places to make the exchange.

First the beverage package,now the money.........this is turning into a complicated trip ,all in all...;p;p;p

[Sailor_Sally]

That is exactly what I was thinking by looking at the pics.........even the fort names are similar..

 

Any other thing you think of,please let me know......

 

I know it's cash only.........US or do I need to get Cuban $$$ ?

You need Cuba CUC's . You can do the exchange in the terminal .

[UKWLDCruise]

There is an exchange right in the terminal but you need to get to the front of your group to use it as there can be a wait. There are two versions of currency but they make sure you have the visitors. When we there in May many people said they had managed to spend dollars in shops.

[PaulS]

When we were there in August, there were 7 or 8 windows where you could exchange money and the process was very quick. If you have any Cuban money left over when you get back to the terminal, they will exchange it back to dollars.

 

If you take the 4 hour tour, there are not too many opportunities to spend money anyway. The stop at the tobacco and rum shop in the fort is one place and the other is the craft market. The craft market is quite large and has many individual stalls selling the usual souvenirs. If you are going to buy cigars or rum, the guide did not recommend doing it at the craft market.

 

On our walk in old Havana, we actually did not see any stores. Maybe it was the streets we took, but we did not buy anything that day. Our guide for the walking tour suggested two restaurants for lunch, but neither looked good to us, so we just walked back to the ship for lunch.

[PH8]

When we were there in August, there were 7 or 8 windows where you could exchange money and the process was very quick. If you have any Cuban money left over when you get back to the terminal, they will exchange it back to dollars.

 

If you take the 4 hour tour, there are not too many opportunities to spend money anyway. The stop at the tobacco and rum shop in the fort is one place and the other is the craft market. The craft market is quite large and has many individual stalls selling the usual souvenirs. If you are going to buy cigars or rum, the guide did not recommend doing it at the craft market.

 

On our walk in old Havana, we actually did not see any stores. Maybe it was the streets we took, but we did not buy anything that day. Our guide for the walking tour suggested two restaurants for lunch, but neither looked good to us, so we just walked back to the ship for lunch.

 

Thanks........with some of the comments above yours,I am getting nervous about this whole trip and wished I didn't book it........

 

Just not sure how much money to exchange..

[PH8]

Paul--did you do the 4 hr walking tour or the motorcoach?

 

I need to figure this out today.........

 

Not sure about the 7 hour tour..

[FLACRUISER99]

I did the all day tour and it was wonderful. Money was not a problem as it was easy to find somewhere to change it. The Cuban folks were great and I highly recommend visiting Cuba.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[PH8]

I did the all day tour and it was wonderful. Money was not a problem as it was easy to find somewhere to change it. The Cuban folks were great and I highly recommend visiting Cuba.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

thanks.

I am booked for Oct 7th so really can't cancel,if I wanted to.

[Havingfun2010]

Thanks........with some of the comments above yours,I am getting nervous about this whole trip and wished I didn't book it........

 

Just not sure how much money to exchange..

 

What's to be nervous? I'm going in a couple of weeks. The money is easy. Get off the ship, exchange it in the port area. You will be there for two days, and pass by the windows multiple times. Exchange $200.00, enjoy a tour, eat some lunch, which is part of claiming you are doing people to people, have a drink, people watch, check out some museums, eat dinner in the street, go to El Floridita for drinks and music in the evening or some of the other places. Drink too much, next morning, get more money for the day. Have lunch again, and visit more sites.

 

Nothing to be nervous about.

[PH8]

What's to be nervous? I'm going in a couple of weeks. The money is easy. Get off the ship, exchange it in the port area. You will be there for two days, and pass by the windows multiple times. Exchange $200.00, enjoy a tour, eat some lunch, which is part of claiming you are doing people to people, have a drink, people watch, check out some museums, eat dinner in the street, go to El Floridita for drinks and music in the evening or some of the other places. Drink too much, next morning, get more money for the day. Have lunch again, and visit more sites.

 

Nothing to be nervous about.

I am cruising solo( not something I normally do).

 

Going to some place very unfamiliar to me.

 

Will be there just one day.

 

So I think a ship excursion ( again,something I never do) would be my best bet.

 

$200? While I have no problem with that,I doubt I would spend that much in one day.

[PaulS]

We did the 4 hour bus tour and then did the walking tour the next day. If you do the ship tour in the morning and then walk around old Havana in the afternoon, you should be able to see a lot.

 

As for changing money, if you are not going to buy cigars or rum, you should not need a lot. Frankly, we did not see much to buy.

 

Don't be nervous. The immigration thing when you first get off the ship is a little intimidating, but once out on the street, everything was fine. The people are friendly and we never felt concerned while walking around. Remember, tourists from every country but the US have been going to Cuba for years, so Cubans are used to tourists.

[PH8]

Thanks Paul!!

[Pencruise]

I am cruising solo( not something I normally do).

 

Going to some place very unfamiliar to me.

 

Will be there just one day.

 

So I think a ship excursion ( again,something I never do) would be my best bet.

 

$200? While I have no problem with that,I doubt I would spend that much in one day.

 

We were there in July and did the 4 hour walking tour of Old Havana and I am glad we did as otherwise I don't think we would have known where to go. We changed $100 US to CUC's and I believe we received 87 CUC's - we did this at the terminal immediately after leaving the ship. After the tour our guide recommended a restaurant for lunch which was a Palidar (family owned) I forget the actual name but we had walked past it on the tour. The food and service were very good and we were able to use US dollars there too if wanted. We walked back to ship, took about 10-15 mins.

[molly361]

Good luck Kathy!!!! Have fun

[Mrs R Cruising]

Just got back I too was nervous But once on Ship Carlos Cruise Director will explain everything. They will also have excursion information explain everything before you get there. So you could decide what excursion to take after you get on ship. It actually went smooth no problems.

[PH8]

Good luck Kathy!!!! Have fun

Thanks.........wish you were coming along.

 

Just got back I too was nervous But once on Ship Carlos Cruise Director will explain everything. They will also have excursion information explain everything before you get there. So you could decide what excursion to take after you get on ship. It actually went smooth no problems.

What excursion did you do??

[Mrs R Cruising]

Best Of Havana included lunch

[PH8]

Best Of Havana included lunch

That's what I booked..did you enjoy it?

[Werling1]

great, We are booked on RCL Empress of the Seas, 7/30 / Havana 8/1 / any suggestions