Cuba money exchange - can I get info from those who sailed April 19?

[Alter Ego]

I would guess you can spend euros in more places than dollars?

 

 

 

I asked on TripAdvisor's forums and was told it's more likely they will take USD versus Canadian or Euros. Haven't been there, so only repeating what I was told.

 

 

 

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[Noomi]

Is the casino open while in port.?

 

It was not open while we were in port.

[Sea_Legs38]

Noomi,

 

Does the ship dock? Or do you have to take a tender from an anchored location?

 

 

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[Noomi]

Noomi,

 

Does the ship dock? Or do you have to take a tender from an anchored location?

 

The ship docks at the pier. The gangway empties onto the second floor of the terminal and you take a flight of about 20 stairs the get to the ground floor. There is an elevator but it's tiny and very slow so RCI asks that only people with limited mobility use it.

[happythoughts]

Does anyone know at which pier the Empress docks?

[TERTOG]

There is only one cruise ship pier currently in operation, Terminal Sierra Maestro. The MSC Opera was docked on the other side of the building. For the record there are 42 steps to exit the terminal.

[hannibal54]

Thanks for the info, we will be sailing to Havana 5-1 on the NCL Sky. My worries were with a 9:30 excursion & the money exchange. Keep posting about your trip to Cuba.

[cruisegirl1]

Thanks to those who offered info. I will check the times and hope that we will be first off we do not want to hold up the bus. (Ugh - I really hate large ship excursions but I thought it was the best option for this port stop).

 

We booked the full day 8 hour excursion. It includes a stop for lunch, and does not say it is included, so I know we need money. BTW for those booked a Cuba cruise, book your excursion as soon as possible. We booked the cruise in early December and booked the RCCL excursion in early January. We booked the excursion at $124 pp (I heard it was a bit lower prior to our booking it) and went to up to $199 and is now $229pp. I had not recalled the excursion prices changing like that.

 

I will report back after the cruise.

M

[FLACRUISER99]

Thanks to those who offered info. I will check the times and hope that we will be first off we do not want to hold up the bus. (Ugh - I really hate large ship excursions but I thought it was the best option for this port stop).

 

We booked the full day 8 hour excursion. It includes a stop for lunch, and does not say it is included, so I know we need money. BTW for those booked a Cuba cruise, book your excursion as soon as possible. We booked the cruise in early December and booked the RCCL excursion in early January. We booked the excursion at $124 pp (I heard it was a bit lower prior to our booking it) and went to up to $199 and is now $229pp. I had not recalled the excursion prices changing like that.

 

I will report back after the cruise.

M

Lunch with a mojito and wine was included. A poor photo of the terminal currency exchange was at the end.

[cbusbigred]

BTW for those booked a Cuba cruise, book your excursion as soon as possible. We booked the cruise in early December and booked the RCCL excursion in early January. We booked the excursion at $124 pp (I heard it was a bit lower prior to our booking it) and went to up to $199 and is now $229pp. I had not recalled the excursion prices changing like that.

 

I just checked my cruise planner. It looks like the half-day (Old Havana City Sightseeing) has had the "price updated" to $69 a person. I don't remember what it was before.

 

EDIT: It was $59 a person before ... so it increased $10 a person. BOOOOOO.

Edited April 25, 2017 by cbusbigred
Pricing, yo.

[voyager70]

Can anyone confirm that Royal takes care of the Visa and adds to your SeaPass account. TIA.

[zgrandma]

Can anyone confirm that Royal takes care of the Visa and adds to your SeaPass account. TIA.

When I booked my cruise I was informed by the cruise consultant that on the day we board at that time RCCL will apply for the visa which cost $75 and would be charged to our sea pass account.

[voyager70]

When I booked my cruise I was informed by the cruise consultant that on the day we board at that time RCCL will apply for the visa which cost $75 and would be charged to our sea pass account.

 

Thank you.

[LBB]

I signed us for the 8-hour tour, but now I'm rethinking it. Is it nicer to have half a day to do thinks on my own?

 

 

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[TERTOG]

When you check in at the terminal for the cruise, you get your visa from the person who gives you your sea pass. It is automatically charged to your onboard account. We did the half day tour which was more than enough for us to get our bearings and explore on our own after.

[voyager70]

Thanks for the info Tertog. Sounds like a good plan.

[stickyshocker]

OP though I haven't sailed, i did just returned from a 2 weeks land vacation on Cuba. I exchanged money everywhere and my observation was Bank>Airport>Hotel. The gap between Bank rate vs Hotel is at least 7CUC. There wasn't much of a lineup when i was trading at Havana, the most i saw were three tourists in front of me. Carry a coin purse for the CUC's, they usually ran out of paper bills. Hope this helps.

 

 

PS: You need your passport at the bank

[ConnecticutFlamingo]

Just returned home today from this cruise. We bought Canadian dollars and exchanged in Havana for CUC's. Not everyone or every place will accept US dollars because of a 13%surcharge to exchange. The best advice I can give someone is exchange your money in the terminal before your excursions. We were told "any hotel will exchange money". Not true, we were turned down in 2 hotels. we returned to the terminal and exchanged there.

[zgrandma]

I contacted by email RCCL regarding the exchange of US$ to $CUC and informed them that I was informed by their customer service that they can convert the $ at guess services, yet a cruiser who just returned from the trip to Cuba was not able to do so on board. I received a reply today as follows:

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Please be advised, guests on a sailing traveling to Cuba can exchange USD for CUC at the Guest Services desk onboard. In addition, guests can also exchange CUC for USD onboard if they do not spend all of the money while in Cuba

........

Either way I will go prepared knowing this might not be so.

Edited April 26, 2017 by zgrandma
Typo

[Ocean Dancer]

Thinking of booking, so how much in USD would a beer and a tee shirt cost?

[Biker19]

Thinking of booking, so how much in USD would a beer and a tee shirt cost?

Depends on the venue, the beer can vary, like anywhere else. The local joint can be as little as 1-2 CUC/USD. You should certainly not book for that.

[Ocean Dancer]

Depends on the venue, the beer can vary, like anywhere else. The local joint can be as little as 1-2 CUC/USD. You should certainly not book for that.

 

Trying to figure out how much money to exchange if any.

 

After a half day tour, about $60 should be OK for the two of us. Just want a beer and a tee shirt and some cigars. We still have 2 liters of Havana Club rum from South America. We paid about $4.00 for it. Wonder what they sell it for in Cuba?

[stickyshocker]

Thinking of booking, so how much in USD would a beer and a tee shirt cost?

 

 

2-2.75 CUC Bucanero Fuerte Beer.

18-20 CUC Guevara shirts

10-13 CUC any other shirts

.. they're good quality

 

 

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[Biker19]

We paid about $4.00 for it. Wonder what they sell it for in Cuba?

It is fairly well regulated. About $6 for the three year stuff, and around $12+ for the 7 year stuff.

 

Biker, who opted for Santiago de Cuba rum during his trip.

[cruisegirl1]

I contacted by email RCCL regarding the exchange of US$ to $CUC and informed them that I was informed by their customer service that they can convert the $ at guess services, yet a cruiser who just returned from the trip to Cuba was not able to do so on board. I received a reply today as follows:

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Please be advised, guests on a sailing traveling to Cuba can exchange USD for CUC at the Guest Services desk onboard. In addition, guests can also exchange CUC for USD onboard if they do not spend all of the money while in Cuba

........

Either way I will go prepared knowing this might not be so.

 

Thanks for posting Hope this is the case as it will be good for those on early tours. I too will be prepared for the info to be incorrect.

 

M