HAVANA, CUBA Port Reviews

Again, this cruise was about making lemonade from lemons. We were scheduled to arrive at 2pm. DO NOT BOOK A CRUISE WITH ANY CRUISELINE THAT ARRIVES IN THE AFTERNOON TO HAVANA! Sorry for the caps, but it's important. We arrived late into Havana (at 3 pm). Due to Cuba not supplying enough customs agents, some people didn't get off the ship until 6:30 pm! This meant all the official cigar and rum stores were closed (to include the museums). It also meant that due to Daylight Savings Time, it was nighttime by the time some got off, and they were unable to see any monuments. DO NOT BUY CIGARS FROM NON-GOVERNMENT STORES. (unless you don't care about the authenticity and don't mind a nockoff cigar) The people will tell you anything under the sun to sell their cigars. No matter what they tell you, these are NOT the real deal. The tobacco is not of the same quality, the cigar seal is cheaply imitated and fading, and there is no guarantee that the money you spend is even getting you a Cuban cigar. If you know that and are fine with that, then at least negotiate a lower price. A box of 25 Romeo y Julietas was $130, Montecristo #2 was $150, and Cohiba Siglo IV was $150. The boxes I saw had the "official" seals in place, but the cigars were definately not authentic (and therefore NOT worth 1/2 - 2/3rds the cost of the real deal IMO). You've been warned! As of 2018, you can bring 100 cigars and 1 liter of rum duty free back into the US. (note that duty free does not mean limited. You can bring more than that, but pay a small tax when bringing them back in for personal consumption). We had NO problems with customs in Cuba or America. Speaking of which, there was a lot to do about nothing with regards to the Cuban visa and excursions. Some passengers on board were informed by RCI that they would be unable to get off the ship without booking a RCI excursion. THIS IS NOT TRUE. We booked a private tour with Fertours (check out their reviews on Tripadvisor) and had an amazing time! All you need to do is maintain a copy of the receipt that indicates your tour supports the Cuban people and is educational. Annotate it as such on your paperwork and you should be fine. I cannot recommend enough to book a private tour with one of the private tour companies in Havana. You will always be close to the port, the city is incredibly safe, and if you book a private tour, you won't have problems with the language.

Visited: Nov 04, 2018

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We took this cruise specifically to see Havana. It was supposed to be a day stay, on Thursday from 8am-8pm but the ship announced on Tuesday night that we would arrive Wednesday at 4pm so we had an overnight stay. That was a wonderful gift! Super excited because we were able to get tickets for Tropicana! As much as you can look up and read about customs in Cuba, it really doesn’t prepare you for this visit. Customs in Havana was not like I expected at all. I think I am so used to “customer service” on the ship and at home that this was a bit of a shock. It wasn’t unsafe. It just wasn’t our normal. The city itself was what you read. Very historic but definitely very poor. With all that said, I would go back in a heartbeat. I am lucky to say I saw the Tropicana show in Havana. Even with an overnight, it was not enough time.

Visited: May 07, 2018

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We walked around on our own, took a bus tour as well as a walking tour and had drinks at a cafe and then dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Havana was a total surprise in so many ways... very safe, beautiful and tragically neglected architecture, friendly but poor residents, lots of stray dogs and cats. This was a 'bucket list' destination and it didn't disappoint.

Visited: Apr 30, 2018

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Getting through immigration was a breeze, which was a surprise for us. We did a city tour from the ship, which was a good thing in ng because the weather had started to get rainy. We were in Havana overnight, although we chose to stay onboard after dark (we aren't much for experiencing the nightlife, even at home). We did attempt to venture out to go shopping, however we experienced the sudden downpours from the storm system blowing through. Shopping is very easy to do in Havana. There are several squares that have shops around. Do not purchase cigars from non-certified sources...they may contain true Cuban tobacco. The people in all of the ports in Cuba were very friendly and we felt safe there. There port of Havana is still being renovated and the other piers are still in ruins.

Visited: May 20, 2018

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The reason we picked this sailing and it did not disappoint. So much history in Havana. We were through immigration in about 20 minutes and had money exchanged in another 10. Go to the Havana Q&A session, or watch it on tv, on the ship before arriving in Havana - it is very helpful. The only thing I would say that is incorrect, they will tell you that it is 13% to convert your USD to CUC and then 13% to convert back to USD - this was not the case. It was 13% to covert from USD to CUC and then 3% to covert back from CUC to USD. Also if you take a RC excursion be prepared to be bombarded with locals trying to get you to buy things from them or take pictures with them for a fee. They will follow you around the first square and are very pushy, which was very disappointing. Friends who took a 3rd party excursion did not experience the samething, nor did we experience it when we went back out on our own - it was only when you were with the large RC group with the tour guide holding up the big RC group # sign. After our excursion we walked around on our own and did our own exploring; never felt unsafe and honestly everyone was very friendly. We ate lunch at a little cafe and had a wonderful meal and a couple of drinks...total cost for 2 people $20 CUC! I highly recommend doing a 3rd party excursion as everyone I talked to that did one had a much better experience than we did on our RC Walk with Hemmingway excursion. Bring toilet paper or tissue and hand sanitizer as most of the bathrooms don't have one or the other or both! The locals will accept USD in small denominations. Some bathrooms cost $1 to use and they accepted USD! Getting back on the ship at 6pm was a long wait and the terminal has no a/c so it was very hot. RC crew were on the gangway with water and cold towels which was very welcomed after standing in line for 20+ minutes in the hot, stuffy terminal building. I'm already looking to book an overnight to Havana in 2019!

Visited: Sep 22, 2018

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Cuba was amazing and the reason we took this cruise. Book a full day tour online with authentic cuban tours and make sure to visit old town, do the old convertible cars and visit all the main sites. includes a great lunch on a rooftop cafe, national hotel for a drink and all for half of the cruise ship rates.

Visited: Oct 21, 2018

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We did a couple of excursions- one offered by the cruise line and the other privately booked. Very interesting city and we learned a lot about Cuba and its history.

Visited: Mar 09, 2018

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Definitely worth the trip. Norwegian Sun is an excellent ship. NCL took care of the visas and all their tours are OFAC compliant. Havana Cemetery is worth visiting. Found people to be very friendly. Was a "bucket list" item.

My husband and I loved Cuba! It was super interesting to learn about their culture! We cruised there with Royal Carribean and took the "Day in Havana" tour I believe, it was 7 hours in an air conditioned bus, but we got off at all the interesting parts. The bus had a bathroom on it so we didn't have to worry about lack of toilet paper or having to pay a bathroom attendant. Our tour guide, Dani, was very nice. My biggest complaint about our excursion is that we only got 30 minutes at their San Jose Market, which is HUGE, you need atleast an hour to walk through, and I LOVE looking at handmade things. We only did the excursion then got back on the ship, cause like I said the excursion was 7 hours long and it was raining that day. However, we still saw alot and learned a lot. Definitely recommend.

As I said this trip was all about Cuba for us - any issues or experiences that were just ok was made up for in Havanna. We originally booked the classic car tour but was convinced by someone from shore excursions to get a refund - we chose 2 tours both RC - historic walking tour and old Havanna city sightseeing. Both were excellent but if I had to pick only one I would go with the walking tour. So informative and w rode by bus to do a cigar / rum and coffee tasting which I didn't realize was included. This was a full day of touring but got to see almost everything we came to see. Had plenty of time to spend at the market - walked there from terminal then took a classic car ride back to terminal. Be sure to ask price before going on. People of Havanna are very nice - Havanna is unlike any port in the carribean - more of a European feel - they are so proud of there history and amazing architecture - yes there is decay but there is so much preservation going on as well. Wish we would have had an overnight in Cuba to see what it is like at night. Loved Havanna!

Visited: Nov 20, 2017

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