havana cruise terminal

I can find very little information on the locality and transport from the cruise terminal in Havana and would be very grateful if anyone who has been there recentley could give advice for visiting independantly.

U.S.-flagged ships don't call in Cuba so that's probably why you won't get much feedbak on here but I believe some ships flagged elsewhere that don't sail from US ports may.. all that should change IMHO only

what I know is old and stale information, but as I recall, the Havana cruise terminal was the old ferry terminal for the ferries that once ran to the US. The terminal was within walking distance of the oldest part of Havana.

I was in Havana on a land-lubber's tour back in 2003, so I can't help you with useful info concerning taxis to the airport, local bus service, or other useful information.

Enjoy your trip! I hope that US--Cuba policy goes through a massive outbreak of sanity, but I've been hoping that for over a decade and the only change has been that SOME of the onerous travel restrictions for US citizens wishing to travel to Cuba imposed in 2003 have been rescinded.

Hi

i was wondering if you had received anymore information about Havana? We visit there on 26th until 28th January, so any information would be gratefully received.

Thank you

Arlene Forman

we visited Havana 2 weeks ago, the terminal is just over the road from the Old town. Outside the terminal there are taxis, horse driven buggies, 2 seater yellow mini taxis. Looking right on exiting the terminal we saw red Hop On Hop Off buses which cost were 5 CUC for a tour of a few hours. The town is very walkable, but take care on the cobble streets. The only hassle was the time it took to exit th terminal. Your cruise ship will issue you with a Tourist card, this is checked to your passport at immigration and you are then issued with a plastic pass. Everyone then has to have themselves and their hand luggage scanned ( same as an airport) and there are sniffer dogs around. Next you queue for CUC (the currency used by tourists), although our cruise company advised that US dollars were not accepted anymore (the official line) , they seemed to be accepted by many taxi drivers, cafes etc. If you already have US, you perhaps could take a chance and skip the currency exchange q. Any unused CUC could be changed back to US, sterling or euros at the terminal. We only had 800 passengers on our ship and it took us 1 1/4 hours to actually get processed out of the terminal, it would take ages for the large cruise ships to be processed. The next day was easier as everyone was going ashore at different times, had their currency sorted, and had their card. However, you still had to do the same security checks.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to us about Havana. We are looking forward to this section of our trip, and it is the reason why we booked this cruise.

Thank you and I hope you have many more enjoyable cruises.

Arlene

Dnbnor - Thanks for that information too! We are going in February, and it has really helped with knowing what to expect. Excellent!

Cheers - Fiona x

I know its a month or so on, but again thank you dnbnor:) I'm going on a cruise which includes Havana, on 2nd May 2011, maybe even on the same ship as you, I am going on the MV Gemini. It's good to know how the cruise terminal works! Do you mean that you have to carry your passport with you in Havana, or is the check made before you leave the ship?