My Cuba Cruise

[Pet Nit Noy]

Thanks to WorldJuggler and his posting of the programs, the captain's name is Captain Yiannis Fountoukas who is new to this itinerary. No nationality is given but I think we can safely say he is Greek.

I was hoping someone could have told us if the money exchange continues to charge the 10% premium on US currency. If not, it would be pointless converting to Canadian, especially with its current decent.

Anyone?

 

Yes, the 10% premium still applies US currency. Hand over a $100 bill and you'll receive 87 CUC. However, no one should speak in absolutes when making suggestions how to handle money.

 

The cost of converting USD to Canadian dollars or GBP or Euro will vary. It will depend on how large an amount you expect to convert, what is your relationship with your bank, how much money you keep on deposit at your local bank, and a dozen more factors. We were told that when most people figure out the cost of both transactions, the difference between bringing only USD to convert or paying for two conversions is much closer to 5%. Now, 5% isn't trivial, but its clearly less than the 10% hit that US currency takes. Avoiding the hassle factor may be worth the modest extra cost of bringing USD on an individual basis.

 

When people talk about converting USD to Canadian etc, there's one detail I don't see discussed: the condition of currency a bank can get. (Post #10 in the Havana on a Budget thread confirms that travelers from the UK are told to bring crisp, new GBP notes.) It has been years since we've converted money before traveling, so I really don't know if what a we'd get from a US bank would be acceptable to the Cubans.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[World Juggler]

World Juggler,

 

Would you happen to know name of ship's Captain and his/her Country?

 

On a subject that has been covered with many suggestions, I am curious how you handled "money" situation. Currently, our plans are to convert US dollars to Canadian (plus few Euros for casino) at our local bank (no transaction fee).

 

Thank you

 

The Captain was Greek.

 

For money, we exchanged US cash at each port. As others note, there is a 10% fee. I did talk to some people who made purchases with US dollars, including a German couple who rented a car with US cash. A couple times I paid tips in US dollars (over tipping in anticipation that they would need to pay the 10% too). We watched our spending more than normal become we couldn't use credit or atm cards, particularly for more pricey art. If you like buying art or jewelry, make sure you're bringing enought money.

 

On the ship, all transactions are in US dollars. Cuban money could not be exchanged on board.

[ONT-CA]

... A couple times I paid tips in US dollars (over tipping in anticipation that they would need to pay the 10% too)... On the ship, all transactions are in US dollars. Cuban money could not be exchanged on board.

 

We also wondered if staff too would get stiffed with the 10% conversion charge when exchanging any tip money they may have received in US currency. But like so many other countries in the world the opposite holds true and that a premium is usually paid for US denominations out there in the real world. The same applies to Canadian but to a lesser extent and that is why when we tip over and above that charged on account, we do so in Canadian currency.

 

A note to Pet Nit Noy: Because our Canadian single is a coin and foreign coins are of no value in Cuba for anything, we purchased US singles at our bank to use in drink tipping. It was interesting to note that they were so new you could still smell the ink and they were sequentially numbered. So I think banks could well have newly printed currency from other countries as ours did.

Edited January 1, 2016 by ONT-CA

[Pet Nit Noy]

A note to Pet Nit Noy: Because our Canadian single is a coin and foreign coins are of no value in Cuba for anything, we purchased US singles at our bank to use in drink tipping. It was interesting to note that they were so new you could still smell the ink and they were sequentially numbered. So I think banks could well have newly printed currency from other countries as ours did.

 

Interesting. Thanks.

[ONT-CA]

For those passengers boarding in Montego Bay and who will need to convert currency at the first port, Santiago De Cuba, I thought the attached would assist in directions.

 

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag158/ONT-CA/Santiago%20de%20Cuba_zpsw8anak40.jpg

[jmbklj]

For those passengers boarding in Montego Bay and who will need to convert currency at the first port, Santiago De Cuba, I thought the attached would assist in directions.

 

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag158/ONT-CA/Santiago%20de%20Cuba_zpsw8anak40.jpg

 

Very helpful - thanks!

[CruiseDirections]

For those passengers boarding in Montego Bay and who will need to convert currency at the first port, Santiago De Cuba, I thought the attached would assist in directions.

 

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag158/ONT-CA/Santiago%20de%20Cuba_zpsw8anak40.jpg

 

For US Citizens on the included Santiago de Cuba tour, the first stop our bus made was a bank/money exchange inside a large building. I exchanged some US dollars for CUC, it was quick and easy.

 

Nancy

Edited January 3, 2016 by CruiseDirections

[ONT-CA]

We noted this morning that when entering the Cuba Cruise site, apart from not being able to check details on our booking numbers, the cruise route outline has been changed. Where initially for the 2015-16 season the ship was to remain in the southern water of Cuba. i.e., Havana to Santiago De Cuba and return, the route now circumvents the whole island. This should not have any bearing on the itinerary for it affects only a day at sea. But perhaps it is thought that the sailing weather while travelling east to west is preferred on the north side of the island?

[kwbluvsun]

We are booked for March 25 departure. Does anyone know for sure when the ship will leave the port of Montego Bay? All of the info I have seen so far indicated 8:00 pm (20:00). Then I saw on the daylight savings info that it was 4:30 departure (Jamaica time). I will need to rebook flights if this is the case.

 

I've tried calling but have not had luck with an answer this morning. Thought I'd check here first. Thanks!!

[burm]

Would anyone know if old American car parts (55 Chevy specifically) would be welcome by Cuban car owners? We have one (a 55 Chevy) and lots of spare parts that we'd be happy to bring along. The parts, not the car! Anything specific that someone may know would be helpful.

 

 

I believe that Jo (Retiring Soon) mentioned the television series Cuban Chrome. We just watched the first episode and found it extremely interesting. As the owner of a 55 Chevy, you would especially enjoy it. You would certainly come to understand what your car parts could mean to a Cuban.

 

If at all possible, do watch this show.

[CruiseDirections]

We are booked for March 25 departure. Does anyone know for sure when the ship will leave the port of Montego Bay? All of the info I have seen so far indicated 8:00 pm (20:00). Then I saw on the daylight savings info that it was 4:30 departure (Jamaica time). I will need to rebook flights if this is the case.

 

I've tried calling but have not had luck with an answer this morning. Thought I'd check here first. Thanks!!

 

Our December 18th departure from Montego Bay was at 8pm, the orientation meeting was a 4:30 and Muster Drill ad 5:30. We missed the orientation meeting as we boarded late. I have attached page 1 of the daily schedule for embarkation.

 

Nancy

[ONT-CA]

... Where initially for the 2015-16 season the ship was to remain in the southern water of Cuba. i.e., Havana to Santiago De Cuba and return, the route now circumvents the whole island. This should not have any bearing on the itinerary for it affects only a day at sea. But perhaps it is thought that the sailing weather while travelling east to west is preferred on the north side of the island?

 

Just adding this:

 

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag158/ONT-CA/map-new_route-2016_web_zpsamsejucn.jpg

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

burm ~ that was a great show. Amazing the lengths the Cubans have to go to to keep the old cars running. I liked that the show also showed some of their daily lives & scenery too.

 

Ron ~ wow that's an interesting map. I see they're going in the opposite direction than last year. I remember the sail between Montego Bay & Cienfuegos was quite rough on our voyage so maybe they think the northerly route better.:confused:

 

Bet you're thinking warm thoughts of Cuba today with our temps at -18C or 0F!;)

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[moscowmark]

Here are some notes based on our experience on the Dec. 25th Cuba Cruise. The purpose of the post is not to go into all the great things you will experience, and you definitely will experience great things! Rather it is to give you a heads-up of a few things that you may not be expecting, just so you can be prepared.

 

Arrival: We flew Delta into Montego Bay. The flight attendants told us we needed only one landing card per family. When we got to the customs gate, we were told we needed one landing card PER PERSON, so a lot of angry Americans gathered in a narrow hallway and tried to quickly fill out a bunch of landing cards before we could pass.

 

Embarkation: There was just a little confusion on my part as to *which* Montego Bay port the ship would dock, (it's the older downtown port, also known as Freeport, not the new one east of the airport, also known as Falmouth), but the cab drivers seemed to know exactly which one. The boarding process itself was really smooth and quick.

 

Balconies: We upgraded to one of the new balcony rooms (well worth the extra cost). It also appears that the whole room (closets, wallpaper, carpet, but not furniture) was upgraded during the balcony addition. Very nice! The balcony size was comfortable, not crowded at all (see photo 1 and photo 2). While most balconies have a separator-wall on each side of the balcony, the farthest aft cabin in each balcony-group have only one wall on the forward side of the balcony. The aft side of the balcony is open with just a railing. For cabins 6014, 6214, 7009, and 7208 this gives a nice open view down the side of the ship, but for cabins 6039, 6239, 7030, and 7229 the private balcony basically connects to the larger public deck on the back of the ship, and there is no separator (only a railing), therefore absolutely no privacy on those balconies.

 

Staying Cool: Being from Pennsylvania we are not used to excessive heat plus humidity. The air conditioning in our room was simply unable to keep up with the heat and humidity. Part of the problem was that the back-side of the curtains were very dark and absorbed heat from the sun, especially if the room was facing south. As a result the curtains simply radiated heat into the room. White-backed curtains would have reflected the sunlight back outside instead of absorbing the heat. Another part may have been that because of the new balcony doors (which operated very nicely) added a large amount of glass area compared to the smaller window that was there originally. But I suspect that even if there was no window, the air conditioner would not have been able to keep up with the humidity of the Caribbean. Everything in our room felt slightly damp (furniture, sheets, pillows, paper, etc.). So when returning from a tour (despite air conditioned buses) we were usually extremely overheated and wanted to cool down. This was very difficult in our cabin. Often we just removed our clothes and sat for 1-2 hours before we felt comfortable again. I tried taking a cool shower but 'cold' water was running about 85 - 90 deg F (30 - 32 deg C), so that didn't help. After a day or two I discovered that the first little bit of water out of the shower had been sitting in the pipes and had cooled to room temperature (about 77 deg F or 25 deg C). I would turn the shower on just a little bit and savor that first bit of cool water before the much warmer water arrived.

 

Toilet Paper: Yes, the note left on the toilet the first day did ask that we not place toilet paper in the toilet (see photo). However the toilet was the same size and suction as toilets we experienced on other cruise ships, and on the occasions that we forgot, the toilet handled it just fine.

 

Food: We are not fancy dinner eaters, so we mostly ate at the buffet. The buffet didn't open for dinner until 7PM. While not bad, we have had better food on other cruises. What was notable about the buffet was that there were only slight variations in the offerings each night. It got boring eating the same things night after night.

 

Ship Staff: I have to say that the staff on this cruise was definitely the best staff we have ever seen. They were very friendly and eager to help. As soon as we sat down in a bar, someone was there to take our order. Part of this may have been because the ship was apparently only about half-full (600 passengers out of a capacity of 1300-or-so), but for whatever reason, the staff was great.

 

Lectures: I agree with other posters that the P2P lectures weren't all that great. They presented relatively basic information, and didn't get into much depth. I attribute part of the problem to the professors having to speak in their non-native language, which I can imagine would be extremely difficult. The best lecture was from the former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs who came on board just as we arrived in Havana.

 

Tours: We enjoyed all our tours (except Cabo San Antonio noted below). Yes, there were long waits for the buses to fill up, but that is the nature of large tours. The tour guides were not impressive, especially in Cienfuegos, where a number of people on different buses commented that they didn't like their tour guides. The tour buses throughout the trip were modern imports from China. They were comfortable with good air conditioning systems. We did enjoy the stops along the tours.

 

Santiago de Cuba: The afro-music performance was enjoyable but it was outside and therefore hot and humid. At least it was in the shade. After the tour we had about 2 hours to walk the streets on our own. About 2 blocks north of the cruise terminal entrance (at the pink building) is Jose Saco Street, which is pedestrian-only and the main shopping strip. There are not many shops right at the end of the road near the cruise terminal, and this section was under construction as they added new pavers (see photo), but a few blocks up the hill starts to become very crowded with shoppers (see photo). Definitely worth the walk.

 

Havana Day 1: The first P2P tour (the morning tour) is a walking tour of the area within a few blocks of the ship which provides a nice introduction to the area and helps you catch your bearings. The afternoon P2P tour was a bus tour of the sites just outside of typical walking distance. Our tour included a stop at an official cigar and rum shop, and later a stop at the crafts market which is housed in a giant warehouse on the waterfront about 6 blocks south of the ship. We particularly enjoyed the crafts market, but most people chose to be dropped off at the ship before this stop. Optional evening tours to the Tropicana, Buena Vista Social Club, and Opera de la Calle were offered but we were too tired.

 

Havana Day 2: Because we didn't stay out late the night before, we had time in the early morning to explore Havana on our own before it got too hot. Obispo Street is the main pedestrian-only shopping strip, and worth a visit (see photo). Back onboard for a musical performance and then a bus drove us about 5 blocks to the Art and the Revolution museums. From the time we met in the lounge, through loading the buses, driving Havana traffic, and finally being dropped off, took almost a full hour. Because the museums are free, I recommend simply walking the 5 blocks, and having much more time to see both of them.

 

Maria la Gorda: Many people agreed that the trip to Cabo San Antonio was not worth the long drive. For those who stayed at the beach, they found a really nice beach (see photo) with only a few drawbacks. 1) There were millions of little flies everywhere. Spraying deet (Deep-Woods Off) helped a little, but didn't last long. Fortunately the flies didn't bite at all, they were just unsettling and got everywhere (see photo). I think we brought 30 of them back to the ship with us. 2) While the beach was very nice and comfortable, accessing the water was quite difficult due to a layer of very sharp rocks right at the waterline (see photo). I strongly recommend water-footwear if you plan on going in the water. Also of note: the beach is part of a hotel that caters to Europeans, so don't be shocked by occasional brief nudity (no photo available).

 

Cienfuegos: This was probably my favorite stop because the town itself is really nice. Unlike the other downtown pedestrian-only shopping strips, San Fernando Street was tree-lined and had benches to sit at (see photo). Unfortunately the tour guides here seem to be poorly trained and after the tour there is little if any time to explore on your own before the ship leaves at 3PM.

 

Although all of the above sounds like a lot of complaining, it really is not meant to be. The purpose of this post is to simply give you a heads-up as to what to expect when you get there. Overall we really enjoyed our trip and think you will also.

[moscowmark]

Here's the plotted route that was posted onboard (see photo).

[ONT-CA]

...Ron ~ wow that's an interesting map. I see they're going in the opposite direction than last year. I remember the sail between Montego Bay & Cienfuegos was quite rough on our voyage so maybe they think the northerly route better.:confused:

Bet you're thinking warm thoughts of Cuba today with our temps at -18C or 0F!;)

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Jo, yes, with the timbers in the house creaking and cracking in this cold snap, Cuba cannot come soon enough. I was asked about my abundant input here on this site. But I remember our first 7 day cruise and how it was almost awash trying to find out the what, where, when and how's. If we can eliminate just one question for other passengers, their 7 days will be better spent.

 

moscowmark, great review, lots of good information and thanks for the photos, especially of the new balconies. They did an amazing job in those 20 days. They even installed outdoor lighting for each balcony which is no small feat considering the bulkhead.

 

So far it looks like the score for a beach stop is;

PUNTA FRANCES (2013-4-5) 1

MARIA LA GORDA (2015-6) 0

A mandatory beach stop on this cruise is pointless. Beaches are a stone's throw away from any of the Cuban ports for those who seek them. There is just so much more to see in Cuba than sand at the water's edge, which is universal. The fact that the ship now sails right past Antilla without even a short stop is such a loss.

[Bryna123]

How I enjoyed reading that and the pictures! Really nice, thank you.

I do have a couple questions, and there seems to be no end to those :)

 

At Maria la Gorda, is the snorkeling good? Will hubby be able to arrange a scuba dive on the beach if we do not go on the included tour? What time did the ship leave? It seems this will be the best chance for us to swim and not sure if bringng masks etc. will be worthwhile.

We were automatically upgraded to a new balcony from out previous cabin category and couldn't be more pleased with that. Good to hear the weather is warm!

[kwbluvsun]

Thank you moscowmark and CruiseDirections for your replies! Very helpful. I talked with rep today and hopefully have it straightened out. Gave them our flight information (and will call later to book transfer from airport to ship in Montego) so hopefully they won't depart without us!

 

Starting to get excited...can't wait to read more reviews! Thanks for sharing everyone!!

[moscowmark]

Spoiler Alert - I've posted all the photos with descriptions from our cruise at marksowers.com/cuba . However I will warn you that viewing these photos before your trip will likely spoil it, just like being told the plot of a movie before watching it can spoil it. If you haven't been yet, I recommend not viewing these photos until you get back. I'm sharing these more for folks who either won't go on the cruise, or who have returned and want to see photos from someone else's perspective.

 

Bryna123, I saw several people snorkeling right off the beach. Even without a mask we did see some fish, especially around some of the piers. I'm not sure where they got their equipment. The last tender back to the ship was at 2:30.

[burm]

Spoiler Alert - I've posted all the photos with descriptions from our cruise at marksowers.com/cuba . However I will warn you that viewing these photos before your trip will likely spoil it, just like being told the plot of a movie before watching it can spoil it. If you haven't been yet, I recommend not viewing these photos until you get back. I'm sharing these more for folks who either won't go on the cruise, or who have returned and want to see photos from someone else's perspective.

 

 

Thanks for sharking your pictures. I wish there were a way that I could easily download them all. :)

[Bryna123]

Great pictures! You have a talent to frame the shot I don't possess.

The P 2 P tours, I assume, are the same included tours in my package. I wouldn't think they separate the US citizens? Was it always one big tour group?

[moscowmark]

Actually now that you mention it, I think they did separate the US citizens. P2P passengers would meet in the Muses Lounge (the big theater) and would be put on the first 7 buses. Non-P2P passengers would meet in the Eros Lounge (still on Deck 8) and would get buses 8-10. I think the P2P buses followed a similar, but slightly different itinerary. For example, the P2P City Tour in Santiago de Cuba included a stop at the African Cultural Center for a special performance. I'm honestly not sure if non-P2P passengers got to see that.

 

I do know that P2P passengers received a different Daily Newsletter than non P2P passengers received.

 

The P2P groups were about 30 people each (the size of one bus). So even though there may have been 210 P2P passengers, each 'group' was about 30 people, and each bus would visit the sites in a different order. We never went anywhere as a group of 210.

Edited January 6, 2016 by moscowmark

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

moscowmark ~ thanks so much for your review & beautiful pictures which brought back some memories for me. I was so interested in photographing that little old elevator at Ambos Mundos I didn't notice the step, taking a tumble & landing hard on that marble floor. My leg was bruised from the top of my foot right up to the knee. I was so lucky I didn't break it!

 

I get the feeling you really enjoyed your trip to Cuba!:D

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[ONT-CA]

LA HAVANA - What's On

 

January does "Food and Drink"

 

http://www.lahabana.com/content/?page_id=569/

[burm]

Regarding taking old Chevy 55 car parts to Cuba, DH mentioned how they used paper engine caskets because rubber is hard to come by in Cuba. A little rubber gasket would be so easy to take and it would be worth gold to them.

 

In part 2 of the Cuban Chrome series, it was scary to watch them doing various dangerous things that a mechanic here would never have to do. For example, they have to come up with a homemade device to lift the car. I certainly wouldn't want to be lying under a car on a makeshift lift!