mom2mybugs Posted April 28, 2019 Report Share Posted April 28, 2019 Ok...so I have decided to go with a ship tour because of the recent uncertainty of if we will even travel to Havana as well as the crackdowns I understand are happening with local guides. However, there are a million different tours. What I think I want is a generic half day tour and then to walk the famous 5 squares on their own. Before I do more research...and I know I need a guide book and a decent map...offhand can people tell me a few things...how doable is it to self guide through the plazas (San Francisco! Vieja, Armes, cathedral and revolution) and are they close enough we can walk between them and also how safe is it to walk on our own. Is Havana a typical tourist area like San Juan in be careful of petty crime but we won’t get raped or murdered? Not trying to be dramatic but I’m going in cold on research lol! In addition, how safe are these areas at night? Can we walk them after an early dinner for example? If these are walkable like old San Juan then we will take the 830-130pm bus tour of el Morro, Christ statue, and colon cemetery and then walk through the plazas on our own. If not, I can also do the 9 hr bus that does all the above. Ack...maybe do that anyway. None of them go out to fusterlandia which is frustrating...other tours do but then I miss the fort or the cemetery. Mostly trying to hit as much as I can lol...we are overnight so no worries with that. Would just love opinions on everything.... jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlynew Posted April 28, 2019 Report Share Posted April 28, 2019 Hi, I am in the same "boat" as you! My first hope is that the ship actually stops in Havana. I booked the Classic cars tours because it looks like a good combination. It says it takes 5 hours, but only 2 or so are in the car. I also thought it was fairly reasonable at $214 for 3 people. I am hopeful that since it is limited to 3 adults (and so will only be our party), we can customize what we want to do and see. Sadly, my trip is after yours, so I won't be able to give you a report. I hope that you will report on what you decide to do and how you like it. We also looked at the full tour, but 8 hours seemed like a really long time. Good luck deciding. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nasha Posted April 29, 2019 Report Share Posted April 29, 2019 Thanks for posting. I am traveling as well and thinking of doing the Car excursion, but a family of 4. Other family members are going as well, so hopefully it will work out. However I'm only seeing tour start time for 1pm. Are you seeing anything earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted April 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2019 6 hours ago, Fairlynew said: Hi, I am in the same "boat" as you! My first hope is that the ship actually stops in Havana. I booked the Classic cars tours because it looks like a good combination. It says it takes 5 hours, but only 2 or so are in the car. I also thought it was fairly reasonable at $214 for 3 people. I am hopeful that since it is limited to 3 adults (and so will only be our party), we can customize what we want to do and see. Sadly, my trip is after yours, so I won't be able to give you a report. I hope that you will report on what you decide to do and how you like it. We also looked at the full tour, but 8 hours seemed like a really long time. Good luck deciding. This was a last minute booking for my daughter's college graduation and the cars are all booked. We booked the 5 hour old Havana and will walk around on our own. If it works we can maybe grab a car that isn't in service and do a quick drive up and down... Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlynew Posted April 29, 2019 Report Share Posted April 29, 2019 Good luck. We also looked at the tour you booked. It looks wonderful. I can't wait to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted April 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2019 11 hours ago, Fairlynew said: Good luck. We also looked at the tour you booked. It looks wonderful. I can't wait to hear about it. When do you travel? We will be on majesty June 15! Hoping for good news or no announcement on May 2nd! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlynew Posted April 30, 2019 Report Share Posted April 30, 2019 We leave on Majesty August 14. A friend and I booked the cruise, then my 26 year son wanted to come and told his friends about it, so we now have a group of 6. We only booked to go to Cuba, so we are anxiously waiting. What is the May 2 announcement? Is that specific for your sailing? I haven't heard about it. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFL Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 We were on the Majesty for the Havana overnight cruise during Thanksgiving week in November 2018. We took the RCCL sponsored tour called "Old Havana City Sightseeing" at 8:50am. It was a bus tour that took us to Morro Castle, the Christ statue, Revolution plaza, Colon cemetery, and Almacenes San Jose marketplace. After the tour we went back to the ship for lunch in the dining room. After lunch, we relaxed for a bit on the ship and headed back out to Havana during the late afternoon/early evening. On our own we walked around on Calle Mercarderas and Calle Obispo streets. We explored Plaza San Francisco (which is directly across the street from the cruise terminal), Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, and Plaza de Armas. Right across the street from Plaza de Armas, was a fort called Castillo de la Real Fuerza. We walked back to the ship in the evening. During our whole time we felt completely safe! There were military and police all around the tourist areas and we didn't ever feel in danger or see any pickpockets. Hopefully this info helps you out a bit! Also, it was super easy to get on and off the ship and go through customs. The first time going through they took the visa, but after that we just had to show our passport page that they had previously stamped the first time we went through. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 The tour we took lasted for 8 or 9 hours. We were driven all over the city in a modern bus. A very nice traditional lunch was included. That evening we did the Tropicana excursion. We were packed in like sardines but the show was fantastic. It was about as much as we could pack in for one day. The architecture is phenomenal. I hope our government gets it act together. The cruising related income is helping a lot of people and needed reconstruction is going on. Customs going in is a bit antiquated and slow but once your passport is stamped its easy peasy to come and go. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted May 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 3 hours ago, CFL said: We were on the Majesty for the Havana overnight cruise during Thanksgiving week in November 2018. We took the RCCL sponsored tour called "Old Havana City Sightseeing" at 8:50am. It was a bus tour that took us to Morro Castle, the Christ statue, Revolution plaza, Colon cemetery, and Almacenes San Jose marketplace. After the tour we went back to the ship for lunch in the dining room. After lunch, we relaxed for a bit on the ship and headed back out to Havana during the late afternoon/early evening. On our own we walked around on Calle Mercarderas and Calle Obispo streets. We explored Plaza San Francisco (which is directly across the street from the cruise terminal), Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, and Plaza de Armas. Right across the street from Plaza de Armas, was a fort called Castillo de la Real Fuerza. We walked back to the ship in the evening. During our whole time we felt completely safe! There were military and police all around the tourist areas and we didn't ever feel in danger or see any pickpockets. Hopefully this info helps you out a bit! Also, it was super easy to get on and off the ship and go through customs. The first time going through they took the visa, but after that we just had to show our passport page that they had previously stamped the first time we went through. So good to hear...this is exactly what we were thinking so I’m glad we can walk around and see a lot in the afternoon/evening. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted May 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 On 4/30/2019 at 8:42 AM, Fairlynew said: We leave on Majesty August 14. A friend and I booked the cruise, then my 26 year son wanted to come and told his friends about it, so we now have a group of 6. We only booked to go to Cuba, so we are anxiously waiting. What is the May 2 announcement? Is that specific for your sailing? I haven't heard about it. This is not political commentary...just the facts as I know them. What I understand is that Obama signed legislation to allow travel and trump has threatened to revoke and not sign legislation to continue travel. The legislation I thought was expiring today may 2. Venezuela is also a hot spot with the administration backing the opposition leader there while Cuba supports the current Venezuela leadership. So overall hoping we get to travel. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlynew Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 If you are still interested in the old cars excursion, check your cruise planner again. I was checking pricing this morning and noticed that it reappeared in the options. It disappeared a couple of weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 we were on the first overnight in Havana, arrived around mid day , I think after lunch. we booked an RCI tour for the first day and an "I love Havana Photo Tour" for the second full day privately. the RCI tour was just ok, the second day private tour was much much better. We also went out in the evening of the first day and walked around on our own, I never really felt unsafe. A little strange at times, wish i spoke better Spanish. never really unsafe stopped at a few bars and had a drink and listens to music. I was surprised at how safe i felt, even in NY, Miami, LA , i probaly felt the same or worse at night. Was a fantastic experiance, love the guide we had with Yosef and his Photo tour company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneline Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 We are a group of 5 adults and 2 toddlers going on a cruise end of July to Havana. Can you do excursions on your own or do you need to book the excursions that they offer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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