HAVANA, CUBA Port Reviews

This is a MUST SEE destination for history buffs!

Visited: Sep 08, 2018

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cruise overnight to Havana arriving around 7 am. We were fortunate to be berthed next to a visiting Ecuadorian Navy cadet training tall ship the Guayas which was one of the best surprises of the trip. The Havana cruise terminal is located directly across the street of downtown and the view upon entering Havana harbor is very picturesque. We disembarked, went through Cuban customs (an easy process) and after a short walk to the street were in a different world. What impressed us the most was the architecture and artistry of the Cuban people. Although a poor country, the area we visited (clearly intended to impress tourists) was clean, well maintained and yet the buildings were amazing, some built in the early 1500's. We walked around for about 2 and a half hours whereupon the heat got to us and we decided to return back to ship. One does need to convert US dollars to Cuban pesos and that is easily done in the cruise terminal where they have a currency exchange. Expect your US $ to be worth about .83 cents in pesos with the conversion and fees. As it turns out we did not spend much on shore since food and drink was free onboard, so why pay to savor Cuban cuisine (expensive) on shore? As Florida residents we are used to heat but not Cuban heat and humidity, thus our exploration was short but memorable. We did go on the Tropicana nightclub/cabaret excursion which was offered by NCL and was worthwhile. The fee for that is $200 pp, albeit we got a discount through our Starwood Preferred booking and status allowing us to save some $65 pp. We were transported by a modern, clean and luxurious air conditioned bus from the terminal to the club. The Tropicana we learned has been in continuous business since 1939 and it looked wonderful, similar to being in any swank place to be in Miami Beach. The show was amazing, albeit all singing was in Spanish (which we don't speak) but the vocals were still amazing as was the dancing. The show runs two hours with no break, performance after performance. Upon arrival the women are greeted with a Carnation, the men are given a Cuban cigar. Each table in our group had two bottles of Cuban Rum and colas which was included in the charge as well as some nut snacks on each table. Our seats were close to the main stage and that is all part of the NCL package. The show ended close to midnight whereupon we returned back to the ship and had wonderful memories to take back with us. You can take photos in the show by paying a $5 fee for pictures or $10 for video based on the honor system. We did not bring any cameras or smartphones with us since we presumed pictures were forbidden, but surprise if you pay they are not.

Visited: Sep 03, 2018

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Loved Havana! Just got back! Was supposed to only have 1 day in Cuba but the captain got us in a day early! Had a tour booked for the next day so just got our money exchanged and walked around for a bit! We booked Oldcartours.com and it was wonderful! Got to meeting place 30 minutes early and our guide was there waiting for us allowing us to start early! Was asked if there was anywhere we wanted to go and was very accommodating! Saw all the highlights with personalized information! Once tour was over we asked about a good place for lunch and he walked us there! Food was fabulous! Getting on/off ship in Cuba was not difficult! No one ever asked what tour we had and no proof required! Cuba was a great destination

Cuba was very cool. Getting through security and immigration was a breeze! So quick and easy. I booked a 4 hour car tour through a 3rd party, Oldcartours.com and they were amazing! (And cost way less ham booking through RCCL) Highly recommend them! Seeing the city this way was amazing. Hemingway’s house is a must see. It’s gorgeous and scenic and has the most gorgeous views of Havana. It was probably my favorite part of Cuba. All that taxis have negotiable flat rates. No meters. The people all very friendly. Tropicana and Buena Vita were great experiences too. Really enjoyed the authentic entertainment and food. Some of the shops do even take American money. And the people did want some of the things we had like our baseball hats and water bottles. (If you have these to take with you, do it and give them to them. They offered to buy ours and when we said no and just gave them to them, they almost cried.) I will go to Cuba again. What a great port and experience! Don’t forget your cigars and rum! 😁

This was my second cruise to Cuba so I didn’t go to the usual places. I booked one tour with Urban Adventures, it was the Afro Cuban Religion tour. Great tour and my guide was very knowledgeable about the religion and the history of Afro Cubans. The hub of the Afro Cuban religions in Havana is Callejón de Hámel Alley in the central Havana neighborhood. We sat in the home of the artist Salvador, who lives on the Alley and practices Santeria. We drank great mojitos and just talked about the history of Africans in America.

First cruise to Havana was Oct 2017. Totally unbelievable with the people being so friendly. First day took a 6 hour tour into old Havana seeing revolution square, plazas, ancient forts and that night tropicana nightclub under the stars. Second day an 8 hour tour of the city with a 2 hour lunch. Food and entertainment was spectacular. Left Havana at midnight on the second day. Second cruise to Havana was May 2018. Different excursions to many different places and again wasn't dissappointed with anything. Planning our third cruise now. Cabaret Parisian was so much better than Tropicana. Inside the Hotel Nacional with the entertainment dancing and singing between the aisles. So personal with everyone. Smaller group and awesome tour of the hotel included.

I cant stress enough the beauty of this city and it's people, I have never seen so many people with so little, so happy, they are truly wonderful. We did a Hemingway tour it was a great experience, we did a classic car tour as well in a pink 50's Bel Air which was fantastic on both these tours our guides were outstanding. The older architecture is astounding, the Soviet era not so much but although very interesting non the less. This city is in my top 5 places in the world to visit, we will be back and soon if we can. I urge people to go and see for yourselves Havana and it's people will not disappoint.

Visited: May 13, 2019

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Loved Havana! The people, the art, the architecture were all wonderful to see and we enjoyed learning more about their history from the people themselves. We chose to spend a little more and book a tour through the ship and it was fantastic! We did the classic car tour and had so much fun. Our tour guides even added an extra stop for us to buy rum, cigars and coffee (although I think they do this for every tour, they just told us it was an extra stop because it's not on the official itinerary). Here is some info that I wondered about before the cruise, hope it helps someone else: 1. As Americans we are not supposed to just walk around Havana. The US government has placed restrictions on what we can do. You are supposed to be part of a tour group, volunteering, etc, the OFAC website spells this out in detail. Once the tour is over you are free to walk around the rest of the day but you need activities scheduled each day you are there. With that said no one in Cuba or on the cruise ship will ask why you are leaving the ship. You can go into the city and do what you want, just keep in mind the US government could ask you at any time for 5 years to supply proof of what you did in Cuba. We choose to follow the US rules and did not leave the ship the day we did not have a tour booked, but a lot of people did. 2. We had read they charge an extra 10% on top of the usual 3% to exchange US dollars into CUCs. We brought euros to change, our bank only charged $7.50 to ship the euros so it was cheaper to bring euros to exchange. When leaving we did exchange to US $ and there was only the 3% fee. We had an early tour, they let us off the ship about 7:30am, the money exchange at the port was open and there was no line, but our ship had come in the day before so I am not sure how busy it was the first day. And some people did not exchange money at all, and they had no trouble using US $.

From start to finish, Carnival Paradise afforded its guests the most delightful experience ever. Havana (La Habana) is a hidden gem. Cuba was my 83rd country visited and its capital did not disappoint. From the cleanliness of the city to the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the architecture, this is truly a worthwhile destination. In fact, I've just booked another cruise with more time spent in Havana. The excursions are well conducted and narrated by, in many cases, former educators and the coaches (buses) are ultra modern with air conditioning, lavatories, and comfortable seats. Everywhere you turn there is a beautiful monument. The colonial, Spanish-style architecture is truly stunning. The locals are most eager to converse with visitors. If you like rum, it may be less expensive than water in some instances. Let's celebrate and accentuate the positive, putting politics aside. People to people is the key!

Planning a 3rd trip to Cuba, I love it here

Visited: May 03, 2018

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