Cuba ports docking/tendering questions

[seattle sojourner]

We will be on the Journey to Cuba January 5th.   I've seen posts, primarily from other cruiselines, indicating that getting off the ship was problematic in Havana.  People report that despite early morning arrival times in port they didn't get started on scheduled morning tours until afternoon.  Anyone with recent experiences to share?  Also that Santiago de Cuba had some dock damage and tendering was required but expectation of the dock repair being completed in November.  Again - recent experience??  Thanks

[ellbon]

No problems on the two trips to,Havana. Left after tours left. Went thru customs..git money abd just walked

[DiamondDiva]

Ship tours  mostly got off first on the first day of our 3 day stay in Havana  on the 11/24 Journey.  Then independent travelers. A bit of a wait to go thru Cuban immigration the first day, then the usual  electronic body and backpack/purse screening.  But lines moved well with lots of ship and local personnel helping move things along. About 15-20 min first day, just screenings on other days. Money changing booths in terminal were well staffed and moved quickly. Hardest part in Havana for some was the 42 stairs down to ground level and a very small sometimes not working elevator. The second one never worked and the first not consistently. We also shared our terminal with an MSC ship all three days. 

 

All in all, not bad and well staffed.  The other 2 ports of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba were less formal for immigration, but did check visas and passports and had screening. Santiago does have dock damage from a storm...we tendered last week .  This problem necessitated a change in the Azamazing Evening to Havana night 2 from the original plan for Santiago.   It was spectacular! 

[ellbon]

There was 42 stairs! I never counted them ..just went up and down both trips there. Never knew there was a lift either.

[BBMacLaird]

7 hours ago, DiamondDiva said:

This problem necessitated a change in the Azamazing Evening to Havana night 2 from the original plan for Santiago.   It was spectacular! 

 

Hi DiamondDiva,

Thanks for posting this. I'd love to hear more about the new AzAmazing Evening in Havana. I've been off these board for about a week due to travel so I haven't heard anything about how the new AEE went. Any pictures to share?

[doubled]

We were on the November 24 Journey to Cuba.  Got off the ship at 9:30am as was meeting guide across street at 10am.  Was a line for immigration but moved fairly quickly and split into 4 lines one in terminal than scan.  Took about 15 minutes first day then next 2 days was a breeze.  Money exchange lot of booths open, 2 people in front of me, took less than 5 minutes before we were on our way.

 

Went pretty much as DiamondDiva noted.  Elevator left of stairs not working never saw a problem with one on right and used all 3 days.

 

As noted Azamazing Evening is not to be missed.  Azamara did an awesome job with logistics and although was a technical problem with backdrops that didn't get fixed would have never known if hadn't seen pictures from previous cruise.  No fault of Azamara.  Logistics were handled very well for so many people.

 

I'm ready to go back to Cuba.

 

Art

[DiamondDiva]

Sorry, BB, but pictures were not allowed. It was a terrific performance and as Doubled says, very well organized. This is especially noteworthy, as this performance and a few others prior, were arranged rather quickly after the Santiago pier was damaged a few weeks ago. The AzAmazing evening was scheduled originally for Santiago.  It says a lot for the Havana people that the buses, dance performance group and the Theater in Havana that they and Azamara could get that done. 

No one seems to know the status of the Santiago repairs to the dock.  No one has any idea how long this will continue in Havana and the tender in Santiago is a bit long. Impossible at night for a full ship, I imagine.

 

Made use of the right hand elevator 2 of the three days. Was not functioning when we went out on day 3 and had barriers up. But was fixed later in the day. Left side one had more substancial barrier and never saw it working. Friends there 2 months ago said it was out of commission for their Havana visit as well.

 

Loved our visit and had some private tours and one ship tour and on our own as well.  2 ship tours were cancelled by the ship; one of those when we embarked. Some people thought they had to do ship only, some did a combo like us, and some all alone or just private. A lot of misinformation and some lack of research by passengers.  But it is a less explored area still and if people are not aware of the info here on CC or do not research, they were surprised at what was available that they may have missed. 

The Cuban people were happy to see us and share their culture and life with us, in our experience. Many of them live a difficult life in many ways, but we found them open and wanting to talk and interact in almost every case.  

[thatbloominplace]

hi bonnie: i am concerned about the change of plans for the azamazing night in santiago. i, too, am on the jan. 5 sailing and our itinerary was changed from the original one to make a night in santiago for the azamazing night possible. however, that resulted in a loss of one of the nights in havana. if they are moving the azamazing night to havana we will lose our only free night there and have a hole in the schedule in santiago. bonnie, do you know if they are planning to put the azamazing night in havana, and if so will they go back to the original schedule. 

[BBMacLaird]

The AzAmazing Evening will take place in Havana. I’ve heard it is excellent.

We will not be able to change the itinerary to add back a night in Havana at this point. 

[thatbloominplace]

pretty disappointing. i heard so much about the azamazing night but had already been informed it would be in santiago. we already scaled back our plans from 2 nights in havana to only 1. now our choice is to take the azamazing night or cancel the nighttime plans we arranged on our own. and now we have a night in santiago that i doubt anyone would use.

 

is this new night available on the shore excursions and do you know what time it begins. we would love to have dinner ashore in havana.

 

thanks,

steve

[thatbloominplace]

diamond diva, as far as the new havana azamazing night is concerned, could you provide a little more info on the show itself. we currently have reservations for one of the shows that focus on the music of the buena vista social club and wouldn't want to miss that. also do you recall what time it begins?

[DiamondDiva]

We left the ship in the dark for the Azamazing evening, after a buffet dinner offered in either the buffet or the dining room, so I would say 7 ish.  Getting 600+ people to the theater was very organized, but does take time. I would estimate the 90 minute show began at about 8, but  

I could be off on that.  Plenty of Cuban music,dance and singing at a top notch level. A drink on arrival and snacks available after returning to the ship. You could choose to stay in town and return to the ship on your own, they did say. 

 

The performance was excellent, with many styles of latin dance from a group of about 25 dancers, 10 or so musicians and some singers.  They also included dances from the many other cultures prevalent in the Cuban people, such as African, Asian, and Indigenous peoples. 

The troupe has performed all over the world and the Theater is beatifully restored. 

 

We also had purchased tickets through the ship for an evening excursion to the Buena Vista style evening. It was scheduled for the second night of Havana, but was cancelled by Azamara by email about 10 days before the cruise began.  Seems a bit of a coincidence that it was the same night they ended up with Azamazing evening...do not think they could have done both.  But we did completely enjoy the Lizt Alfonso group at the restored theater and got a good feel for local Havana style music.  

We have also read on Trip Advisor that that Club sometimes does not have the advertized original BVSC person, ( who is quite elderly)  but that it is still a totally great evening.  So you may have to make a choice.  But be sure to check that the excursion to your purchase is still going, if you bought it thru the ship. 

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy!  

[thatbloominplace]

diamond diva thank you so much for this valuable info. since we have a full night planned with dinner, then drinks at a rooftop bar, and then a show we booked on our own, i think we will stay with our original plan.

too bad though that we don't also get to see this type of show elsewhere, but if the dock is unavailable in santiago then the show cannot go on. unfortunately we are left with a cruise very different from the one we booked and we are out the free night that is offered by the cruise line in the price. unfortunately all of these changes happened long after the final payment. i am sure we will enjoy this cruise, but the one we ended up with is a day and a night short in havana and has an extra night in santiago that can't even be used. azamara is not earning a good reputation with these kinds of late changes and also on other threads with confusion about pricing. as i said, i am sure we will enjoy this cruise, why not it's 10 days in paradise, but i am leery if i will be seeking out azamara again. this is our first with them and have done several with windstar and oceania with none of these logistical problems.

[Bimmer09]

On 12/11/2018 at 3:46 PM, thatbloominplace said:

diamond diva thank you so much for this valuable info. since we have a full night planned with dinner, then drinks at a rooftop bar, and then a show we booked on our own, i think we will stay with our original plan.

too bad though that we don't also get to see this type of show elsewhere, but if the dock is unavailable in santiago then the show cannot go on. unfortunately we are left with a cruise very different from the one we booked and we are out the free night that is offered by the cruise line in the price. unfortunately all of these changes happened long after the final payment. i am sure we will enjoy this cruise, but the one we ended up with is a day and a night short in havana and has an extra night in santiago that can't even be used. azamara is not earning a good reputation with these kinds of late changes and also on other threads with confusion about pricing. as i said, i am sure we will enjoy this cruise, why not it's 10 days in paradise, but i am leery if i will be seeking out azamara again. this is our first with them and have done several with windstar and oceania with none of these logistical problems.

Thatbloominplace- as I mentioned in another thread the dock in Santiago de Cuba has been fixed and accepting cruise ships as of December 10, so there is no reason for the planned Azamazing evening there not to take place.

I understand your leery comment re Azamara.

Norris

[jelayne]

We are currently on the 12/11 Cuba sailing.  Arrival was a breeze.  We left our cabin and were on the street in less than 30 minutes having gone through immigration and the  currency is exchange.  

 

The AzAmazing evening with tge performance by the Litz Alfonso dance company was excellent.  I was impressed with  the organization and efficiency in getting 600+ to and from the venue.

 

We did a private tour on the first day in Havana and were glad we did.  It was excellent.   For anyone wondering if they can/should go on their own I would recommend hiring a private guide, the cost is significantly less we had an excellent guide (Blexie) and others we spoke to also had guides that were excellent.

 

Our experience thus far with the ships shore excursions has been poor.  We booked a excursion for Havana day 2 and were notified by email about 6 weeks pre cruise that the excursion was cancelled.  We selected another excursion and when we arrived in our stateroom found a notice that our 2nd choice had been cancelled.

Selected a 3rd choice & headed down to the Shore Excursion desk to book- it also had been cancelled.  Selected another one and booked it.  

Showed up in Caberet 10 mins before our meeting time & shortly thereafter they began calling tour #s however they didn’t call ours.  It’s now just past departure time and when we asked about our tour we were informed that they did in fact call our tour and apparently we “weren’t paying attention.”   A couple sitting behind us & also booked on the same tour told the shore excursion person that they too had been there for over 30 mins and our tour wasn’t called.  The Shore Excursion person told us to “rush to the bus-the rest of the tour is waiting for you”. Rushed to the bus to find the Guide can’t get any info on where her passengers are.  Board the bus to find 2 people on the bus!  So now we are 6 of what the Guide said was to be a group of 12.

Another 15  pass and 4 more show up.  They had been waiting in Caberet also and finally at 9:25 ask about why their tour wasn’t being called.  We left with 10 people.

 

Tour was was scheduled for 8 hours, we left 40 minutes late and returned 45 minutes early, part of the tour was just omitted with the only explanation being “we need to get you back to the ship early”.  So we got about 6.5 hrs of our 8 hr tour for full price.  Hope the tour in the next port is better.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by jelayne
Typo

[BBMacLaird]

13 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Thatbloominplace- as I mentioned in another thread the dock in Santiago de Cuba has been fixed and accepting cruise ships as of December 10, so there is no reason for the planned Azamazing evening there not to take place.

I understand your leery comment re Azamara.

Norris

 

The cruise ship dock in Santiago has not been fixed. There is a cargo dock that cruise ships *may* use but only if no cargo ships have scheduled it. Unfortunately they have priority. We cannot count on using the cargo dock. I wish we could!

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

The cruise ship dock in Santiago has not been fixed. There is a cargo dock that cruise ships *may* use but only if no cargo ships have scheduled it. Unfortunately they have priority. We cannot count on using the cargo dock. I wish we could!

Bonnie I have reservations for the  Azamazing Evening in Santiago de Cuba during my 9 day Journey sailing 1/15/19. My Havana and Cienfuegos stops were both cut short to make this possible. Did Azamara plan the Santiago Azamazing Evening knowing that the cruise pier was damaged and does Azamara plan to email me and the other excited passengers to tell me that plans have been changed yet again? 

Will we still arrive in Santiago de Cuba a day early at 5 pm? If so maybe we will be lucky like Oceania Sirena. If not will passengers denied an Az Evening be able to tender ashore to fend for themselves?

Norris

[tgg]

Currently on the Dec.11 Journey Cuba cruise. Lizt Alonzo Dance Company performance was spectacular. No problems getting on and off the ship in Havana. Did private tour with no questions asked. You can now pay for visa using OBC. The ship is full. Interestingly there are 500 passengers aboard who have never cruised with Azamara. We missed Grand Cayman today due to sea conditions. Tenders couldn't dock safely. MSC Opera also turned away. So it's another sea day as we head to Cienfuegos to enjoy more of Cuba.

 

 

[Phxazzcruisers]

Also currently on he 12/11 Cuba cruise.  I will echo comments above.  Getting off the ship in Havana was very easy and quick.  No problems at all.  Once you clear immigration and turn on your Visa you can come and go as you please.  Just always carry your passport with you.  The Amazing Evening was just that.  The List Alonzo Dance company performed at the Art Museum and the show was spectacular, not to be missed.  After the performance we walked back to the ship, rather than take the bus and got to see a lot of Havana at night.  We absolutely loved this City and will return !!!

As mentioned, we had to skip Grand Cayman due to rough seas and the tenders not being able to dock.  Not a big loss as far as we re concerned, as we had been there before and another sea day during beautiful weather is always great for us.  

Internet aboard is not great, but if there are any questions, we will gladly respond as we are able.

[DiamondDiva]

I am sorry to see with Jelayn's post that some of the same problems with ship tours continue since our 11/24 10 Day Intensive. We too used Blexie in Havana and had a wonderful day with Rogelio and saw so very much of all of the city for more than 6 hours.  In Santiago de Cuba we used Out of the Box and had the same positive experiences. Both for half the ship cost.  I have put posts on Trip Advisor for both of them and can highly recommend them.  We could easily tailor what we wanted to see and do any length of time we chose, even changing things on the day of arrival. 

 

We had very similar issues with ship's tours, with only 1 of 3 booked  in advance actually occurring.  The tour to Trinidad was ok, but walking conditions were very difficult (not at all moderate as described), time was shortened where we should have had more, and some unneeded stops were made.  Lunch was quite good, as were the buses, and seeing the countryside was certainly interesting. 

 

As to the Azamazing evening and the concern of docking/tendering in Santiago de Cuba, we were the only cruise ship in S de C that we knew of and tendered quite a ways in.  The area the tender docked was relatively small and much less suitable for nighttime use by hundreds of people at a time than Havana.  I do not know where the ship itself would dock if it were possible, nor did we see signs of damage work on an area for that.  But it may have been in a completely different spot.  It is a huge industrial port. We were allowed to tender in the first arrival evening (at 5pm), and some people did in search of nightlife, but most people waited till morning to disembark.  It was also our White Night evening soon after arrival, in S de C , which was excellent as always.

 

This is a new endeavor for cruise lines, and Azamara has certainly had a lot of new territory and circumstances to deal with in opening up a new country to tour.  They are also planning more intensive visits than most lines and things do keep changing, in many instances beyond their control (ie weather causing dock damage).  And as we heard several times, even from many Cubans, "This IS Cuba".  We had a great trip, despite all not flowing well. 

 

Some of our concerns were Azamara issues (and we spoke with appropriate staff), some were the Cuban experience, and some were traveling in a setting where much has not moved into the 21st century (terrible WIFI, little to no cell phone service, outdated equipment, a lack of public restrooms, etc).  But we met fantastic people, many of whom spoke excellent English (tho I had lots of opportunity to return to my Spanish), and would return again.

[thatbloominplace]

On 12/16/2018 at 1:20 PM, tgg said:

Currently on the Dec.11 Journey Cuba cruise. Lizt Alonzo Dance Company performance was spectacular. No problems getting on and off the ship in Havana. Did private tour with no questions asked. You can now pay for visa using OBC. The ship is full. Interestingly there are 500 passengers aboard who have never cruised with Azamara. We missed Grand Cayman today due to sea conditions. Tenders couldn't dock safely. MSC Opera also turned away. So it's another sea day as we head to Cienfuegos to enjoy more of Cuba.

 

 

bonnie can you verify this policy on the use of onboard credit to pay for visas. i keep hearing different policies regarding this. we leave on jan. 5 so would like to know this before we board.

[Phxazzcruisers]

2 hours ago, thatbloominplace said:

bonnie can you verify this policy on the use of onboard credit to pay for visas. i keep hearing different policies regarding this. we leave on jan. 5 so would like to know this before we board.

we are on board now and the US$75.00 pp charge for Visas were charge to out ob board account, paid for by our OBC's.  This is definitely true.

[NJ Gal]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 7:37 PM, DiamondDiva said:

Sorry, BB, but pictures were not allowed. It was a terrific performance and as Doubled says, very well organized. This is especially noteworthy, as this performance and a few others prior, were arranged rather quickly after the Santiago pier was damaged a few weeks ago. The AzAmazing evening was scheduled originally for Santiago.  It says a lot for the Havana people that the buses, dance performance group and the Theater in Havana that they and Azamara could get that done. 

No one seems to know the status of the Santiago repairs to the dock.  No one has any idea how long this will continue in Havana and the tender in Santiago is a bit long. Impossible at night for a full ship, I imagine.

 

Made use of the right hand elevator 2 of the three days. Was not functioning when we went out on day 3 and had barriers up. But was fixed later in the day. Left side one had more substancial barrier and never saw it working. Friends there 2 months ago said it was out of commission for their Havana visit as well.

 

Loved our visit and had some private tours and one ship tour and on our own as well.  2 ship tours were cancelled by the ship; one of those when we embarked. Some people thought they had to do ship only, some did a combo like us, and some all alone or just private. A lot of misinformation and some lack of research by passengers.  But it is a less explored area still and if people are not aware of the info here on CC or do not research, they were surprised at what was available that they may have missed. 

The Cuban people were happy to see us and share their culture and life with us, in our experience. Many of them live a difficult life in many ways, but we found them open and wanting to talk and interact in almost every case.  

We will be there on the Journey in March.  What private tours did you take?  What ship tours?

 

Thanks,

Evelyn

[DiamondDiva]

Evelyn, We used Blexie in Havana and Out of the Box in Santiago de Cuba.  Great trips with both. Guides spoke excellent English and terrific written communications with tour owners beforehand, especially given the poor WiFi access in Cuba for them to use. 6  hours or so with Blexie, with 2+ of that in an AC 1955 Chevy, the rest as walking tour in Old Havana and lunch. 5+ hours in Santiago in AC taxi with guide and private driver, including lovely paladar lunch. I wrote up both on Trip Advisor.

 

Ship tour was to Trinidad. Others planned were cancelled by ship.  Bus to Trinidad was comfortable, with tiny but useful bathroom. Included lunch  very good at lovely air conditioned hotel.  Lots of walking in historic district that was harder than the “moderate” on ship description for many, as sidewalks and streets in very poor condition. 90 minute drive between hills and farm areas was interesting and gave us insight into everyday country life, with few cars, lots of horsecarts and bikes and tiny villages. 

[thatbloominplace]

i have a private tour scheduled for santiago de cuba on the full day we are in port. will we be tendering in to the original location or to the cargo terminal. i would need to let the tour guide know of this ahead of time. when can we expect azamara let us know in writing of these changes. i am only now 2 weeks from sailing.