HAVANA, CUBA Port Reviews

We had an amazing experience in Havana! We booked a 6 hour tour through oldcartours.com. Our guide Louis knew so much history and so many people. By the end of the 6 hours I felt like he was family. We spent the rest of the day just walking around old Havana. We spent way more than we expected....about $140 cuc on 2 bags of coffee, 2 bottles of rum and 10 cigars. All the other souvenirs were pretty cheap. The infrastructure is run down as expected and the toilets were something else but do your research so your know what you are getting into. The city is beautiful and so are the Cuban people. It not your typical tourist trap destination. Go with your mind and eyes wide open and enjoy.

Loved seeingg Cuba, the main focus of the trip. We did a walking tour of Old Havana that was really interesting. The guides were very knowledgeable and the Rum and Cigar tasting was a lot of fun. We felt very safe walking around Havana, even alone and at night.

Visited: Dec 24, 2017

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Plan for a full day in Havana and make the most of your time here. If you have a plan, you will create a memorable experience. On the cruise on Day 2 there was a morning information and question session on what to expect in Havana. It was well worth attending this session, because I gained some valuable information on what to expect when we arrived in Havana. We purchased two tour excursions to make sure that we were OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) compliant: The Ultimate Highlights of Havana - Old & New city tour for the morning and the Legendary Tropicana Cabaret for the evening. There were 1400 people taking tours in the morning. The cruise ship was well organized and sent people out in groups of about 4 bus loads at a time. When we got to Cuba immigration, the officer took our visa and stamped our passport. The visa was only for the first entry. All we had to do was show our passport when we reentered later in the day. We enjoyed the Old and New Havana City tour. We gathered in the theater on the cruise ship at 8:30 AM, were assigned a bus, and were escorted to immigration. We had the opportunity to exchange money in the cruise terminal. We found Cuban Convertible pesos (CUCs) useful when touring on our own in the Old City. The stops made on the cruise tours took both American dollars and CUCs. The Cuban government charges a 13% commission to purchase CUCs. They also charge another 13% commission to convert unused CUCs back to American dollars. If you pay with American dollars on the tours, government run locations will charge the 13% commission. Independent retailers usually did not charge the commission. Each bus had a tour guide. Our guide was very knowledgeable about Havana and very open about her life in Cuba. She was willing to answer any question that was asked of her and she encouraged us to ask anything we wanted to. Along the way, we were given constant narration about the areas we saw outside the windows of our bus. The tour bus drove through Old Havana; made a stop at Revolution Square; drove slowly through the Christopher Columbus Cemetery; drove through the Miramar section of newer Havana; drove along the Malecon; stopped at the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña for sightseeing and shopping; and stopped at the statue, El Cristo de La Habana, for an overview of the city of Havana. It was a hot day, so the combination of seeing sites from the bus was well balanced with the three stops. The tour began around 9:30 AM and ended at 1 PM at the cruise ship terminal. We purchased most of our souvenirs at the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña at an independent stand. The selection seemed small, but we did not see many different choices in the streets and vendors of Old Havana. We also found that the prices were similar regardless of where we shopped. The merchants at the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña were willing to bargain, especially if you were buying multiple items. We used American dollars and were not charged any exchange fees. After this, my daughter and I did our own walking tour of the plazas and architecture of Old Havana. We were hungry, so we had a good Cuban meal at the La Bodeguita de Media while enjoying their famous Mojitis. By around 3:30 PM, I felt I had too much sun, so I headed back to the cruise ship. My daughter toured for another hour. At night, our visit to the Tropicana began at 8:30 in the theater. Again we were assigned a bus and escorted through immigration. The bus arrived at the Tropicana around 9 PM. The show began at 10 PM. The hour in between was appropriate for getting settled and meeting the other people attending the show from the bus. We enjoyed our group. It’s important to note that the show is performed outside. It was warm when we viewed the show during the summer. There was a dress code for men and women. Men were required to wear slacks and a collared shirt. If you wished to take photographs during the show, there was an additional charge of $5 for a photo pass. We bought the pass and were glad that we chose to take photographs. On the way in, each person received a cigar in a glass tube. We were told that sometimes the women receive flowers, but for this performance, the women also received a cigar. Smoking was permitted during the show. Fortunately, no on in our group smoked. We were assigned to sit at long tables very close to the right, front side of the stage. They were good seats. The price of admission included a glass of champagne, a bottle of Coca Cola, a bottle of rum to be shared by four people, and a snack bowl of nuts and a piece of chocolate. The waiters did not serve these items until the show began, most likely because they wanted us to buy drinks while we were waiting. We did buy frozen strawberry daiquiris and some bottled water. Each strawberry daiquiri cost $7 and the water cost $3 US. The daiquiris were very good and price was reasonable. The show lasted for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was performed non-stop and there was constant singing, dancing, and even some acrobatics. It was very entertaining and lively. Even though all the singing was in Spanish, we enjoyed the experience. We got back to our bus at midnight and were back at the ship by 12:30 AM. Overall, we enjoyed the experience, and were glad that we booked this trip. Our guide also spoke highly of the Cabaret Parisien show at the Hotel Nacional.

Visited: Aug 06, 2018

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I had an amazing time in Havana, Cuba. I went with Royal Caribbean on the Empress of the Seas. I had a Panoramic Tour excursion and it was very insightful. You have to be very patient when visiting Cuba because everything is not run as smoothly as it is in the United States. That said, we stopped in cigar/rum shop and it took about an hour to get about 36 people cashed out. The rum started at 6 CUC or $7 USD. Depending on how many cigars you bought and how big, on average, they were about $65. All of Havana is beautiful but old Havana is especially picturesque. San Francisco Plaza was absolutely breathtaking. I can't wait to go back! If you're thinking about going and wondering if the price is worth it, it is.

Havana is truly an AMAZING place! All the people were very friendly and welcoming. The architecture of their buildings and monuments is beyond what I could have ever imagined. We did a tour with a company called oldcartours (check them out!) 3 hours in an old car of our choice with a driver and an English speaking guide. He asked if there were any particular places we would like to go. We went to every one of them plus some! My boyfriend, now fiance, also made prior arrangements with our guide via email to take photos during his proposal! At the end of the tour they dropped us off at a little restuarant near the port. We had some awesome drinks and food and found some cute souvenirs nearby. I really hope to go back here one day!

We fell in LOVE with Cuba .... did the car ride excursion and loved it

Visited: Jul 26, 2018

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Can I add another star....Cuba was fantastic !!

Visited: May 21, 2018

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Very interesting stop. Felt safe. Handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste to people we passed. Acted like it was gold! Visited Hemingway’s house again and his watering holes. Had local beer and drinks. Would go back again.

Visited: Mar 12, 2018

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1-bring euros or British pound sterling to the exchange. The rate for the Cuban currency is much better with euros which were exchanging one euro for $1.28 of the Cuban money where the US was $2 for 0.80 Cuban cents. 2-they will tell you that they will not except American dollars anywhere on the island, they will however except American dollars at the cigar store at the port. 3-if you’re coming from the US note that you are not able to use US based bank credit cards anywhere in Cuba. Therefore if you plan on buying anything you must bring all of the cash with you off of the ship. 4-You are allowed to go back-and-forth on the ship but the currency exchange section closes at 5 PM and doesn’t open again until 9 AM We took the Hemingway house tour excursion. It was amazing. We had been in Key West two months earlier and had seen Hemingway‘s house in Key West and it was great to compare the two houses.

This was our first trip to Cuba. My wife and I were very excited to go somewhere new and the port didn’t disappoint. We used a private tour company called FerTours. We had a private tour with just the 2 of us and our guide Zulia. The day started at 10am where we started a walking tour. We saw all of the sites between the four main squares. After the walking tour we stopped for lunch in a quaint cafe which was excellent and only 35 CUC for both of us. After we ate Zulia met us back at the restaurant where we went to meet our driver for the tour in a classic Chevy. We went to a fort, the Christ of Havana statue and revolution square. The tour ended at about 4:30. This was a very special day for us and Zulia even arranged a surprise for my wife at lunch since it was her birthday. If your going to Cuba we highly recommend FerTours. The cost was only 140CUC which is paid after the tour is finishes.