Cuba...Santiago de Cuba..January 2015

Hi everybody, we ar visiting Santiago de Cuba with Braemar next January.

We are there two days.

Anybody visited there before?

We plan to use the Ship Tours, but see that the 2012 tours were the same each day they were there. Two of the trips duplicate many of the sites. So if we don't go on the beach tour we will have one day with no tour.

How safe is it to walk about let's say the Historic Centre through the day?

Also are there any people offering tours harbour side, like they do in other Caribbean Islands ?

Appreciate any advice.

Cheers and happy cruising.

Hi everybody, we ar visiting Santiago de Cuba with Braemar next January.

We are there two days.

Anybody visited there before?

We plan to use the Ship Tours, but see that the 2012 tours were the same each day they were there. Two of the trips duplicate many of the sites. So if we don't go on the beach tour we will have one day with no tour.

How safe is it to walk about let's say the Historic Centre through the day?

Also are there any people offering tours harbour side, like they do in other Caribbean Islands ?

Appreciate any advice.

Cheers and happy cruising.

Having visited Cuba. You have to be careful of pick pockets and other scams that the locals will try on you if your not on an organized tour.

A popular scam is trying to sell you peso's for US Dollars . The only problem the peso they sell is local not the tourist peso also called "The EC Peso".

don't forget, this is Cuba. Having been there a dozen or more times I would recommend you get the DK book "Cuba".

Churches, Hemingway Home ,Museum, Hemmingway Marina, Cuban produce markets, theater. Malecon. REAL Cuban food in PRIVATE homes.

Most of all, enjoy the color and country before the Americans get there and ruin it!

Lynne

Hi 1160451, I think we are on that cruise, 'Your Pick of the Caribbean' too! :) x

You will probably get a better response to your questions if you put it in the Port of Calls section and on the Cuba Forum on Tripadvisor.

You need to go to a land based forum for really good advice as very few cruise ships visit Cuba. I would recomend a site which is well known for advising on trips. Books can be useful, but things are changing really quick now that Fidel Castro has stepped down so much will be out of date.

We have not been to Santiago but had a holiday in Havana and Varadero fairly recently. You must go ashore independently and see Cuba as it is, which you will find is faded grandure, although some places have been impressively renovated. Safety is not an issue, but obviously take the normal precautions you would in any large city and keep to the tourist areas - there are areas you will be advised to avoid. It will be much safer than other Caribbean Isands though and you will not be hasseled as in Africa. On a ship visit do not consider going on a private tour outside the town as the vehicle may well break down - indeed I would not be surprised if the ship's tours are not exactly smooth running!

Do not expect a bank to provide money from a card, as the systems can go down for hours at a time. Take sterling to change, (definately not US$ as there is an extra 10% tax on the exchange rate - I wonder why). You will need cash to pay for things, even in hotels. The tourist currency is known as the convertable peso, (CUC), and yes, it is reported that sometimes locals try to give you change in their pesos which are much lower value (??? x30). One set of notes have pictures of monuments and the other have national heros (I forget which, but I think it is the monuments on tourist notes - so find pics of notes online if you can, so you are prepared).

Go off and enjoy Cuba and do the same at some stage in Havana. There are museums, but the whole country is a museum, so a drink in a historic hotel or bar is an experience in itself. We were out late at times and were going to go to a jazz bar one night, until we realised just how smokey it was going to be and I am asthmatic - think 50's!

Pandora 1958 has mentioned, 'REAL Cuban food in PRIVATE homes'. That is a reference to the new 'restaurants' (I forget what they are called), that are being opened by local people, (post Fidel), as they can now run small businesses. We went to one in Havana that was excellent, but do your homework about where you may go. A good one will not necessarily be cheap and popular ones will be busy - think our prices for a good meal out. In fact it is not a particularly cheap country for tourists when you are there especially if you go to the well known tourist bars.

Canadians are big visitors to Cuba as they can pick up some very well priced packages, as parts of the med are for us - so regular visitors can give good advice.

A 'Paladar' is one of the 'Restaurants in Private homes' that I mentioned. Not sure if the plural adds an s or es.

Enjoy Cuba,

Barbara

The plural of Paladar is Paladares which means to taste.

Hi everybody, thanks for your replies...... London Tower, I did indeed post on the Ports of Call site within CC, asking about Santiago de Cuba.

I received around 10 replies that were very useful.

We are really looking forward to Santiago, from the replies on the POC forum it appears quite safe as long as you take usual care.

They say the show in the evening at the Tropicana is good, so we will be doing that.

Will not be long now will it flea b.

Thanks Tring for your usual comprehensive post. We are still boring people with our photos of a Greenland.....:)

Hi 1160451, I knew we weren't the only people booked! I'm super excited :) I will now check out the POC forum for Santaiago too. By the way my real name is Fi (Fiona) & hubby is Andy. Maybe bump into you onboard :) xx

Hi Fi, yes if you go to the Carribian ports of call, and look at others my posts are there.

I think the cruise is sold out, as I recall Fred Olsen adding further cruises after ours. We have cruised on the Breamar before and enjoy it.

We cruise with Friends and are keen dancers so we are not hard to find.....:-)

It's not a very big ship so after two weeks most people at least get to recognise each other.

Take it easy.

Paul and Colleen

On a ship visit do not consider going on a private tour outside the town as the vehicle may well break down - indeed I would not be surprised if the ship's tours are not exactly smooth running!

We were there a couple of years ago with Fred.

Actually the coaches used for the ship tours were quite a surprise. They were modern and in perfect condition, apparently they bring them over from Guantanamo for the tours.

We were advised to change money into the 'convertible Peso' as nobody would take USD (we didn't), but of course everyone we spoke to wanted USD in preference, even government employees :)

You will need them if you intend to buy from the official shops but everywhere else they were much happier with USD even though it is not 'legal'.

You will encounter people 'begging' for old clothes, but also things like soap, pens etc. as basic items like this are often difficult for them to obtain.

They are generally polite and non-confrontational about it though so don't let that worry you.

Hi 1160451, I knew we weren't the only people booked! I'm super excited :) I will now check out the POC forum for Santaiago too. By the way my real name is Fi (Fiona) & hubby is Andy. Maybe bump into you onboard :) xx

So sorry we can't make this one with you, we have tried and tried and despite that waiting list to swap, no success :( We will catch up some time x

Cheers Mark for that info. Maybe take a bag of pens with us.

Steve & Jan ... there's still time xx hope you can get on it xx love Fi & Andy xx