We went to Cuba 3/2018

[scuba0_1]

Originally Posted by Ndavies

Great post!
Very consistent with what we found on our last 3 visits to Cuba (2015, 2016, and 2017).

One key question for you - did the USCG ask you to check in with them on your return or did you do this voluntarily? We were told to call USCG upon return in 2015, but not in 2016 or 2017.

Thanks
Neil

Yes we were asked to call within 24 hours of reentering the country and then we had 24 hours to get check back in once they gave us our Coast Guard clearance number

[fallingeggs]

Great write up. Thanks. Cuba is on the list after hurricane season.

What “reason” did you give on the 3300? I guess nothing much has change from Trump’s actions versus Obama’s opening of travel?

[Scrimshaw4]

Since you entered Cuba at Hemingways, and Cuban CUC currency is only exchanged in Cuba, where did you do your currency exchange when you arrived? Are the prices/charges you quoted in CUC's? Glad you had a great time there!

[BernBruce]

We were assigned to a worker and he took us to prepay and sign a contract for marina fees. He exchanged some. The following Sunday we went to mass at the Catholic church in Santa Fe, 30 minute walk. An English speaking parishoner took us to her house for lunch, showed us how to use their national money, took us around town and showed us where to spend it, which buses we could use.. and we were set for one of the least expensive trips of our lives!! I converted the bus money years ago.. 4 cents and 8 cents Canadian!!

[laika]

We were there end of January 2018. Similar experience with clear-in/out. We were asked by one of the officials for a tip while clearing in, but it was done in such a way where it was easy to say no and keep smiling.

Cuba is the kind of place you really have to see for yourself and make your own mind up about. It's so unique. We left the country more bewildered about the goings-on there than before we arrived. We did Hemingway for 2 weeks and then cruised the NW coast enroute to Mx. Unfortunately, the guarda frontera turned us away from almost all the little fishing villages. As was said, they are worried about smuggling Cubans out of the country. Can't say much about the NE coast, though the south coast is still very much on our bucket list.

It's worth getting the most up to date cruising guide you can before you go, as rules on the ground seem to change fast.

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

Great write up. Thanks. Cuba is on the list after hurricane season.

What “reason” did you give on the 3300? I guess nothing much has change from Trump’s actions versus Obama’s opening of travel?

Practically, things are pretty much the same. You can no longer use the "people to people" exemption and there is a list of military-controlled establishments you are to avoid. We used the "support for the cuban people". The coast guard did not hassle us at all in obtaining the permit, though I was mildly grilled by CPB when clearing out in Key West (we obtained a US exit 'zarpe' just to cover our bases).

You can exchange currency at the hotel in the Marina Hemingway complex. Better rates can be found if you ask around in the nearby towns of Santa Fe or Jaimanitas.

Whether your impression of the cuban govt is second only to that of North Korea, or Che is your personal hero, go check it out for yourself.

[MarathonJohn]

Good, informative write-up. The Hemingway mooring fee dropped 25% since last year I believe, now 75cents foot instead of a dollar. Power and water are metered and extra I think, but reasonable. Good advice on transportation. Learn Spanish and it can be really inexpensive. Tourist's stand out and some taxi drivers will take full advantage. Cruising around the island means checking in and out at every stop and no mooring in many nice empty places- they will ask you to move on. I heard this complaint twice this year. Cayo Levisa, near half-way from Hemingway to San Antonio heading west, is free anchoring, quiet, and a beautiful resort accessible from mainland only by ferry. An average days or bit more sail from S.A. across the gulf gets you to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Prices for mooring short or long term are rising, law of supply and demand, but free if you've got good anchor(s) and dinghy ashore. An annual regatta from St. Pete. went to Hemingway/Havana again this year but politics or whatever kept entry's down to 20 from near 60 last year.

[Island Time O25]

The hotel at the marina was out of CUCs so we asked the bartender at the bar. He was more than happy to exchange our Euros at much better rate than hotel would.

[leboyd]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

You have to turn in a float plan to the charter company so they were aware of where we were going and they had the correct insurance. Also had to get permission from the owners which they were fine with.

So who was the charter company?

[scuba0_1]

Originally Posted by MarathonJohn

Good, informative write-up. The Hemingway mooring fee dropped 25% since last year I believe, now 75cents foot instead of a dollar. Power and water are metered and extra I think, but reasonable. Good advice on transportation. Learn Spanish and it can be really inexpensive. Tourist's stand out and some taxi drivers will take full advantage. Cruising around the island means checking in and out at every stop and no mooring in many nice empty places- they will ask you to move on. I heard this complaint twice this year. Cayo Levisa, near half-way from Hemingway to San Antonio heading west, is free anchoring, quiet, and a beautiful resort accessible from mainland only by ferry. An average days or bit more sail from S.A. across the gulf gets you to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Prices for mooring short or long term are rising, law of supply and demand, but free if you've got good anchor(s) and dinghy ashore. An annual regatta from St. Pete. went to Hemingway/Havana again this year but politics or whatever kept entry's down to 20 from near 60 last year.

As I stated in the original post water electric and trash are included in the fee we didn't find any of the issues you're stating.

[scuba0_1]

Originally Posted by leboyd

So who was the charter company?

Florida yacht Charters but if you type in Charters Key West Florida multiple ones will pop up and from what we found most of them have the ability to go to Cuba.

[David B]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

We sailed to Cuba at the end of March and I wanted to write about our experience. We found that much of the information we were given was incorrect.

Please understand the Cuban*people are very poor. *It was* amazing* to meet all the*people. It was very frustrating that we were told and anticipated tipping, scams and bribes. *None of this is true! The Cuban people were kind and in no way expecting hand outs. *If you go there, *help them. *They need basic personal items. *For example, toilet paper is rationed in Cuba. *Small items like pens, soda, travel shampoo/conditioner can go a long way

Thank you for the effort in writing up your experience - appreciated by many, I am sure.

We have similar experiences with Tunisia and Albania (both countries we were warned of by some people / encouraged by others).

We take 'on board' what we hear, and then form our own conclusions from our own experience, and would return to both countries without hesitation.

Cuba is on the wish list - if we ever get out of the Med that is!. Seems a fascinating country, full of genuine people ready to help. I am sure there are real horror stories, but you get those virtually anywhere if you go looking for them.

Thanks again!

David

[philiosophy]

All this comes much appreciated and not at all surprised the charter company was ok with their boat going to Cuba. It is high time we normalized our relationship with that country. Really great post. Thank you so much.

[rognvald]

I have been a sailor/cruiser for the last 50 years. We have sailed extensively throughout the coastal US, Bahamas, and Caribbean and have logged over 18,000 sea miles--not counting the thousands of miles spent on daysailers in rivers and small lakes as a youth. We are currently preparing for a 4,000-mile sail this June from the Great Lakes to the West coast of Florida and then beyond. And, to this day, it amazes me at the selfish attitude of "cruisers" and their goal to sail to Cuba. I will not recount the numerous stories told to me by my Cuban friends in Miami of the atrocities of the Cuban government against the Cuban people. You don't have to look far to find them in South Florida. But let's forget about the past . . . just recently, in 2016, American diplomats in the American consulate in Havana began to become ill and suffered headaches, nausea and hearing loss. Here's what the "Liberal" Atlantic magazine had to say in a recent article: "The Case of the Sick Americans in Cuba Get Stranger:" but the findings suggest this was not an episode of mass hysteria.” Physicians who were allowed to study the medical records of 21 of the affected people argued against the psychosomatic hypothesis in a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “If you took any one of these patients and put them into a brain-injury clinic, and you didn’t know their background, you would think that they had a traumatic brain injury from being in a car accident or a blast in the military,” said Randel Swanson, a coauthor on the study. “It’s like a concussion without a concussion.” So, the cruisers who want to sail to Cuba say . . . "The people are great and we had a great time!" Sometimes I reflect . . . Karl Marx WAS correct . . . most people ARE motivated by self-interest . . . and as long as your self -interest is satiated . . . the rest of the world be damned. Sixty years of Communism under the Castro brothers . . . millions of peoples' lives destroyed by Communism . . . and someone's singing "Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya, kumbaya my lord, kumbaya . . . did you get your merit badge for sailing to Cuba?? Sad, very sad. Good luck and safe sailing . . . Rognvald

[john61ct]

The only solution to change the situation there is to increase the interactions between the people and the outside world.

Same with Iran, N. Korea, Burma etc

Going there among the grassroots people trying to spend as high a proportion on them and as little as possible to the government, is a positive act that will eventually bring them greater freedom and happiness.

Many many people in the world see the US government as much greater source of evil in the world, but they mostly don't take their feelings out on us citizens.

National borders and governments are increasingly impotent, and whatever we can do to eliminate this hateful "us vs them" mentality the sooner we can live in peace.

[MarathonJohn]

How can one judge Cuba who's never been there? On just the 'stories' of those who were once there, and that during and just after a revolution? People, you find, are similar around the world on what they want in life. Governments, power, and propaganda seem to be what is different. There is plenty of propaganda in, and coming out of the U.S. at the moment, especially between the two major parties. Is Havana more or less dangerous than Miami? or Chicago? Friendly relations between countries and their people seems better than unforgiving attitudes and unwavering positions.