Cuba - Recommendations for Excursions

[MarilynR26]

Hi everyone, 

 

Have been on a number of cruises (most on Carnival) but am new to this forum. Going on the Paradise (which I have been on before) in August to Havana and trying to figure out what my best bet for shore excursions are. This is my first time going to Cuba so any helpful tips etc are welcome including any suggestions on other excursion options that are private etc. (I'm not sure how those work being the visa requirements - I assume that you have to purchase something in order to get off the ship, right? Sorry if that's a dumb question LOL)

 

Thank you in advance for any helpful tips anyone may have! 🙂

[mdsgu]

You do NOT have to purchase a Carnival excursion to get off the ship.  You do have to purchase a Cuban visa ($75); the ship will arrange that for you and give you the visa at embarkation.

 

We went last year (and we're going on the Paradise just before you in July).  We used Blexie -- you can Google him or find him on Trip Advisor.  We had an English speaking guide that he arranged for us.  She met us in the plaza just across the street from the ship terminal.  We had about 2 hours of walking and sight-seeing while she narrated.  Then we picked up a 1955 Chevy BelAir and toured some more.  She arranged for us to have lunch at a private restaurant, which was very good, and then back to the car for more sight-seeing.  We were even able to cruise down the Malecon, see the memorial to the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, and the statue of Christ overlooking Havana.  Search my Majesty of the Seas review here on Cruise Critic for even more information.

 

Keep in mind there are 2 currencies in Cuba -- citizen money (CUP) and tourist money (CUC).  CUC bills have monuments, CUP bills have people.  Be sure any change you get is CUC and not CUP because CUC1 is worth 25x what CUP1 is worth.  In dollars, CUC1 = US$1 and CUP1 = US$0.04.  You cannot use US dollars or American credit/debit cards in Cuba.  Everything is cash.  You will change your money at one end of the cruise terminal.  There is a 3% fee for changing, and, if you change US currency, there is a 10% tax.  If you get Euros or British pounds at your local bank before going, you can avoid the 10% tax.

[MarilynR26]

12 minutes ago, mdsgu said:

We went last year (and we're going on the Paradise just before you in July).  We used Blexie -- you can Google him or find him on Trip Advisor.  We had an English speaking guide that he arranged for us.  She met us in the plaza just across the street from the ship terminal.  We had about 2 hours of walking and sight-seeing while she narrated.  Then we picked up a 1955 Chevy BelAir and toured some more.  She arranged for us to have lunch at a private restaurant, which was very good, and then back to the car for more sight-seeing.  We were even able to cruise down the Malecon, see the memorial to the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, and the statue of Christ overlooking Havana.  Search my Majesty of the Seas review here on Cruise Critic for even more information.

 

Oh awesome, thank you! I will definitely check Blexie out. I speak fluent Spanish (my parents are Cuban born) so I should be good there. My goal is to see as much as possible given that you are only there really for the one day...and there are so few reviews on the Carnival site about any of the excursions so it's good to know I have options. 

 

Thanks again for the tip! 

[mdsgu]

Spanish comes in handy -- my wife is fluent.  I think our guide gave us a pretty comprehensive tour between 9 and 4:30.  It was a little obvious they only want to show you certain things and areas -- the more derelict and poorer areas are not seen or mentioned, but there is so much history (both ancient and recent) that it is worth a visit or two.

[Timetraveler89]

We just did a cruise on Paradise to Cuba in Feb. We chose to go with the walking tour/Spanish Fort visit thru Carnival.

It was our first time there and we were uncomfortable with all the rules/regs that were posted on CC. We had a great time. Carnivals excursion is pricey but we felt well worth the money. We had the walking tour of Old Havana, then on an air conditioned bus to the fort across the bay. We came back to La Bodega de Medio (Hemingway's hangout) for some fabulous food. We even enjoyed the cultural exchange that is required on the tour. We also got to go to the Handmade Market (all things Cuban) for some shopping time. We would absolutely do it again. We hope to go back in the future and pick one of the tours not with the cruise line and make our own schedule of where we would like to go.

[MarilynR26]

18 minutes ago, Timetraveler89 said:

We just did a cruise on Paradise to Cuba in Feb. We chose to go with the walking tour/Spanish Fort visit thru Carnival.

It was our first time there and we were uncomfortable with all the rules/regs that were posted on CC. We had a great time. Carnivals excursion is pricey but we felt well worth the money. We had the walking tour of Old Havana, then on an air conditioned bus to the fort across the bay. We came back to La Bodega de Medio (Hemingway's hangout) for some fabulous food. We even enjoyed the cultural exchange that is required on the tour. We also got to go to the Handmade Market (all things Cuban) for some shopping time. We would absolutely do it again. We hope to go back in the future and pick one of the tours not with the cruise line and make our own schedule of where we would like to go.

 

Of the excursions offered through Carnival, this was the one that I thought looked the best and most interesting. La Bodeguita is a must see on my list so that's pretty cool that you guys went. What was the cultural exchange? 

[Timetraveler89]

They have some elderly ladies that explain some of the history of the island (with a translator). I think they were ages 75-92 about 6 or 7 of them. At the end of their speech they broke out in a Spanish rap that was amazing. yes.....I said RAP!!!! I think the lead singer or rapper lol was 85. It was one of the highlights . Then they have a small museum that is set up next door. We were not there for long but was fun and interesting. That was the cultural exchange that is required per the govt on the Carnival excursions. I don't know if that was the only one or if they have several set up through out Havana.

[MarilynR26]

2 minutes ago, Timetraveler89 said:

They have some elderly ladies that explain some of the history of the island (with a translator). I think they were ages 75-92 about 6 or 7 of them. At the end of their speech they broke out in a Spanish rap that was amazing. yes.....I said RAP!!!! I think the lead singer or rapper lol was 85. It was one of the highlights . Then they have a small museum that is set up next door. We were not there for long but was fun and interesting. That was the cultural exchange that is required per the govt on the Carnival excursions. I don't know if that was the only one or if they have several set up through out Havana.

 

LOL wow. Ok then! That sounds great, actually ha ha. Thanks so much for the info! 🙂

[1025cruise]

Check out the Cuba ports of call forum.

[riffatsea]

Here's a link to the Cuba forum!

There is a forum for every port with info about them.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/765-cuba/

[lgarely]

Three woman going on Royal Carib Empress of the Seas in Dec. '19.  Looking for music, culture and great photo ops.  Has anyone been on this tour of the three cities.  

[ricew001]

On 4/10/2019 at 3:59 PM, Timetraveler89 said:

We just did a cruise on Paradise to Cuba in Feb. We chose to go with the walking tour/Spanish Fort visit thru Carnival.

It was our first time there and we were uncomfortable with all the rules/regs that were posted on CC. We had a great time. Carnivals excursion is pricey but we felt well worth the money. We had the walking tour of Old Havana, then on an air conditioned bus to the fort across the bay. We came back to La Bodega de Medio (Hemingway's hangout) for some fabulous food. We even enjoyed the cultural exchange that is required on the tour. We also got to go to the Handmade Market (all things Cuban) for some shopping time. We would absolutely do it again. We hope to go back in the future and pick one of the tours not with the cruise line and make our own schedule of where we would like to go.

We decided last night to do this tour as it is also our first time in Cuba and we feel more comfortable being on the ship excursion.

Question - how much money did you need? I assume we will still need to exchange our money so we can purchase other things during the excursion even though we pay for the excursion  itself through Carnival.

Thanks for your help!