mdsgu Posted April 24, 2018 #1 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Going to Cuba in July aboard the Majesty of the Seas. Who's been to Cuba on a cruise? Do you have to exchange dollars for the tourist currency, or would be better off buying euros at our bank and taking those? How hard is it to go through Cuban customs when we get off the ship? Reboarding? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LMaxwell Posted April 24, 2018 #2 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Took us 5 mins to go through Cuban customs getting on and off, no big deal at all. Very fast and efficient. If you already have Euros you get a better exchange rate. US dollars exchange at approx 87 cents; giving $100 USD gets you 87 CUC. I wouldn’t put a ton of effort to order and get Euros unless it is convenient for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricka47 Posted April 24, 2018 #3 Share Posted April 24, 2018 If you get too many CUC's, is the exchange rate the same to get dollars back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annhawthorne Posted May 26, 2018 #4 Share Posted May 26, 2018 have conflicting answers from royal,going to tropicana through royal,but booked a private tour next day.1 royal customer service guy said that was fine,hate big group tours .will this be a problem? Help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 27, 2018 #5 Share Posted May 27, 2018 If you get too many CUC's, is the exchange rate the same to get dollars back? The exchange rate is 1-1, the only thing that varies is the fees (most of the time 13%). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 27, 2018 #6 Share Posted May 27, 2018 .will this be a problem? Help According to most reports, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LMaxwell Posted May 27, 2018 #7 Share Posted May 27, 2018 have conflicting answers from royal,going to tropicana through royal,but booked a private tour next day.1 royal customer service guy said that was fine,hate big group tours .will this be a problem? Help No Problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzinfromFL Posted May 27, 2018 #8 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Going to Cuba in July aboard the Majesty of the Seas. Who's been to Cuba on a cruise? Do you have to exchange dollars for the tourist currency, or would be better off buying euros at our bank and taking those? How hard is it to go through Cuban customs when we get off the ship? Reboarding? Thanks! Going through customs was very quick and easy. We brought euros to avoid the extra 10% fee they charge for exchanging US dollars. We had lots of CUCs left over and exchanged them for US dollars, and we were only charged the standard 3% fee, not the extra 10%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaile Posted May 27, 2018 #9 Share Posted May 27, 2018 We are heading back to Tampa on Majesty now. [emoji31] Customs in Cuba went quickly upon arrival. Follow the directions carefully for filling out your visa as they will not accept any scratch outs, etc. RCL provides detailed instructions. If you make a mistake you must purchase another visa. When you go thru they will take your picture & stamp your passport. Getting back on for a quick refresh before dinner they did look at our passports. All the other times we got off they just looked at the stamp getting off & waved us thru without looking at passports each time we returned. The currency exchange is right at the end of the terminal. The exchange fee is 3% for all currencies and there is a 10% penalty for exchanging US $s so this is where the 13% comes from. There is no other penalty for converting other currencies, so if you can obtain euros from your bank at no cost then you avoid the 10% penalty. US $s are 1:1 to the CUC. The euro is pegged to the market rates & their fees. We exchanged euros at 1.13 & the buy back amount was different but I don’t recall as we had nothing left to exchange back. RCL strongly pushes their tours but you can do independent without any trouble. We did both days independently. Once you turn in the form at check in, no one asks where you are going or with whom. Enjoy exploring Cuba & the Majesty. Happy to answer any other questions. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suz1729 Posted May 27, 2018 #10 Share Posted May 27, 2018 TYVM for the info.Was the casino closed while in Cuba.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChinaShrek Posted May 27, 2018 #11 Share Posted May 27, 2018 We are heading back to Tampa on Majesty now. [emoji31] Customs in Cuba went quickly upon arrival. Follow the directions carefully for filling out your visa as they will not accept any scratch outs, etc. RCL provides detailed instructions. If you make a mistake you must purchase another visa. When you go thru they will take your picture & stamp your passport. Getting back on for a quick refresh before dinner they did look at our passports. All the other times we got off they just looked at the stamp getting off & waved us thru without looking at passports each time we returned. Sent from my iPhone using Forums How long is the Visa good for? I am going on two Cuba cruises. One in February and another in March. Can I use the same Visa or do I have to buy two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polymedia Posted May 27, 2018 #12 Share Posted May 27, 2018 I didn't bother to exchange currency while there. Everyone took dollars or credit cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annawanX2 Posted May 28, 2018 #13 Share Posted May 28, 2018 I'm booked on Majesty to Cuba on September 26th. I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaile Posted May 28, 2018 #14 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Yes. The casino was closed while docked in Cuba, including our extra overnight due to the cancelation of our port of Call in Cozumel due to weather. Also, all of the retail shops were closed as well. Hope this helps. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecoolchic Posted May 28, 2018 #15 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Did anyone ride in the Tuk Tuk? Any info greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barefoot Gypsy Posted June 10, 2018 #16 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Took us 5 mins to go through Cuban customs getting on and off, no big deal at all. Very fast and efficient. If you already have Euros you get a better exchange rate. US dollars exchange at approx 87 cents; giving $100 USD gets you 87 CUC. I wouldn’t put a ton of effort to order and get Euros unless it is convenient for you. Hi...I notice on all of the Majestys shore excursions in Cuba, they cautioned about the 42 stairs that you have to climb between dock and street level; However, I havent read any comments on the stairs on Cruise Critic. Im just wondering how difficult it is to climb the stairs..did anyone hae problems?? Thank You! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatonDoolittle Posted June 10, 2018 #17 Share Posted June 10, 2018 , I havent read any comments on the stairs on Cruise Critic. Thank You! There is an elevator in the terminal the just to the right before you go down the stairs. No problem. Reports indicated that it was slow, but I never experienced that. They probably don't advertise it because it is small, and if everybody took it, it would slow down the start of the tours. Believe me, the 42 stairs were discussed here extensively last year when RCCL first started going there. It's old news now, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barefoot Gypsy Posted June 10, 2018 #18 Share Posted June 10, 2018 There is an elevator in the terminal the just to the right before you go down the stairs. No problem. Reports indicated that it was slow, but I never experienced that. They probably don't advertise it because it is small, and if everybody took it, it would slow down the start of the tours. Believe me, the 42 stairs were discussed here extensively last year when RCCL first started going there. It's old news now, I guess. Thanks Eaton..thats Good News! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floater4life Posted June 21, 2018 #19 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I'm booked on Majesty to Cuba on September 26th. I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks! They talked about this in the pre Cuba gathering. This is the cost. They did say that if flying to Cuba it may different but my advice let RCC handle it and pay the 75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floater4life Posted June 21, 2018 #20 Share Posted June 21, 2018 How long is the Visa good for? I am going on two Cuba cruises. One in February and another in March. Can I use the same Visa or do I have to buy two? I believe it's a one and done for the date you are there. In the Q&A someone is gone again (flying I think) and they said no It will not be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnetchief Posted June 21, 2018 #21 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I read that you don't have to buy your "visa" on the ship but have to buy it before boarding (even RCI says on their website that you can get it elsewhere). Article said it could be cheaper to have it before sailing. Has anyone done this and where did you get your card? Thanks! We tried, really tried. Only other source we found was the airline check in desks that would sell the visas to passengers flying to Cuba. The cost was, $75. We just begrudgingly let the ship handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilkySal Posted June 21, 2018 #22 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Here is the latest from RCI's web site on Cuba travel requirements/restrictions: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-destinations/a-quick-guide-to-cruising-to-cuba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westwind6371 Posted June 23, 2018 #23 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Hi; What was the color of your visa/tourist card? Red or Green Thanks Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastern flygirl Posted June 23, 2018 #24 Share Posted June 23, 2018 When I went last year, they shut down the ship ATM while in port. I didn’t think you could use a credit card in Cuba, but I may be wrong. We bought our rum at the dock before reboarding the ship. We checked the price, went and exchanged our US$, for CUC’s, and didn’thave any left over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricka47 Posted June 23, 2018 #25 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I didn't bother to exchange currency while there. Everyone took dollars or credit cards. So, you had no CUC's at all? We're leaving in a little over a week and all that I've read is that U.S. dollars and credit cards aren't good in Havana - that's not the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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