Now that Cuba is open, Americans aren't going

[dvickery]

@Brandon ... Cuba ( Havana ) is the safest place I have visited ... I have been to about 35 different countries .

honestly ... I feel safer in downtown Havana at midnight than I do in LA or Honolulu or Toronto .

enjoyment ??? That's up to you to choose " enjoyment " options with your vacay choixes .... myself I enjoy Havana .

derrek

[madandana]

No disrespect meant but a lot of the comments here are from people who have never been. Cuba is magical for Dana and I. We love it. Never felt safer and we travel a lot. Kids no, bring them to Disney world. If I could like Bart and Corys post again I would. 

Yes, we are disappointed that prices have gone sky high but as Bart says you can still go on the cheap with a little research.

There's nothing like a great smoke with the guy who just rolled it and great rum from right where it came from.

Cory and Bart......See you in Havana smoking a fresh roll with great Rum and culture (wouldn't be the first time with these great BOTLS)

And no the US government couldn't care less if you go to Cuba.

[stogieluver]

5 hours ago, Philc2001 said:

I read a similar article last week. IMPO the challenges that keep tourists away are;

- As noted, the cost of everything went up in anticipation of the US surge, and not by just a bit, but by huge amounts. In effect Cuba is pricing itself out of tourism.

- The basic necessities most tourists expect in vacationland are still lacking, i.e. credit card acceptance, ATMs, banks, air conditioning, reliable uninterrupted power, WiFi/Broadband, posh beachfront hotels, and the many amenities that cater to fickle American tourists.

- There are a lot of other nice Caribbean destinations competing for tourists, many of which are more modern and much cheaper, such as Mexico, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, etc. Once the initial surge of cigar mavens subsides, tourists will naturally gravitate to better values elsewhere.

As discussed here and elsewhere, the high prices and government shenanigans are not only dismaying to US tourists, but traditional tourists from Canada and other parts that are faced with these recent unfriendly trends.   

100% correct. 

[charlesod]

I'd like to go. Never been. It would be nice to go with a group, perhaps cigar lovers!! 

[LLC]

@Brandon ... Cuba ( Havana ) is the safest place I have visited ... I have been to about 35 different countries .

honestly ... I feel safer in downtown Havana at midnight than I do in LA or Honolulu or Toronto .

enjoyment ??? That's up to you to choose " enjoyment " options with your vacay choixes .... myself I enjoy Havana .

derrek

Totally agree. Not sure there is any other city I'd be in the downtown core and flag down a private taxi at 3am and feel safe doing it. In Havana people do it all the time.


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[BellevilleMXZ]

7 hours ago, PigFish said:

Hello, McFly!!!

Unless you are a cigar junkie, or celeb pushing the boundary of your 'alt' lifestyle, a politician or Hollywood type wanting to exhibit your love of Marxism and the egalitarian paradise of Isla Castro, the benefit does not fit the bill for most US Americans. And frankly, with the costs rising, I am betting Canadians and even some Europeans are going to start questioning their vacation choices.

Folks... those not living the in US, these guys have to compete with cruise ships with all you can eat and drink buffets, dreams of swimming with dolphins and free (included) snorkeling, golfing, parasailing, spa treatment, tips... and yes, more free drinking!

People who want culture and history, go to Europe... not a broken down communist flunky state! Seeing cattle pull a plow might me 'quaint' but it only goes so far...

Most US Americans don't get a month off, not with pay anyway! They get a couple of weeks, maybe! Vacations are supposed to be turn-key to most Americans.

Furthermore most US Americans don't give a rats ass about Cuba (generally)! It is a place where the military keeps terrorists in prison. There is no shortage of Hispanic Culture in the US and as previously mentioned, services and papering are key to many if not most US Americans...

Whether it is fat cigars or fat Americans, welcome to global competition Cuba. Innovate and compete or get creamed. It is the way of the world...

-the Pig

 

All VERY good points. As a Canadian, I have been many times, most recently in nov..........I just looked up same all inclusive place(cayo santa maria) we stayed at for the same date next nov., and its gone up by almost $1000 or 45%. If it stays that high we probably won't go back. We love Cuba, but for that much more money , we will go somewhere nicer. They have a lot of improvements to make for a price bump like that.  I'll just buy my cigars here. Very sad.......

[kuma]

Would love to go but until they (Kuban Gov.) ease into the 21st century I'll wait and target other places on

my vaca. list.  Love Japan going back this year super safe, and I think I would also enjoy OZ very much.  There is a lot of Europe that I still

have to get to.  Northern Spain and also Proto.  Will stay away from some of the troubled areas of Europe....France /

Germany no sense having to look over my shoulder every second. And of course right in my own back yard is the Caribbean Islands.

So much to see so little time!

[Cep]

Luckily I have no desire to travel anywhere.  Plenty of sun rain heat cold wind trees plants lakes cement cigars booze women etc etc here in good old toronto.

 

[coderyder]

I was in Havana for 3 nights a month ago. We only spent $50/night for a 2 br casa with a Malecon view. Spent $1000 that weekend, most of it on cigars. Sure, its poor and dirty there, but it was a great experience. Just avoid seafood dishes. I came back with a nasty bug that lasted a week.

[JR Kipling]

I'd like to visit Cuba before they get McDonald-lized. So what have the Americans who have gone there done in regards to not being able to use a U.S. credit card ? (Of course, this doesnt apply to non US citizens). Thanks


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[1LegLance]

Well we are going AGAIN in a couple of weeks, as an US citizen I have been going for over 10yrs and have taken my wife and each of my sons when they were teenagers.

My younger son (19 now) wanted to go back this spring break since he so enjoyed it last time, and then my older son mentioned he wanted to go back, then my wife chimed in that she wanted to go back and poof there you go, the four of us off to play in the sun.

My wife is from Peru and we have been taking the kids out of the USA forever, we are in Arizona and visit Baja, Mexico often. Off all the places I have been Cuba is where I feel the safest as a tourist.

Sure we have to take cash, sure we get hit with an exchange hit, sure the food isn't as good as other places and even though we only stay at casa particulars we still are spending a fair amount to go....but it is still a very unique place to visit.

Honestly I am very very glad more folks from the USA are NOT going. I was never bothered by the Phoenix to Cancun to Havana route so flying Delta this time isn't a big deal. Other than using Skymiles and booking our casa on Airbnb no big changes.

As for the price increases I think that really hurts Cuba but maybe it will bring in enough money to actually help.

Anyhoo, if you are a cigar lover and have not been then go at least once, either with buddies or on your own if you don't want to take the wife & kids. Then again maybe don't and I will enjoy it more with fewer tourist

[el chino]

6 hours ago, dvickery said:

@Brandon ... Cuba ( Havana ) is the safest place I have visited ... I have been to about 35 different countries .

honestly ... I feel safer in downtown Havana at midnight than I do in LA or Honolulu or Toronto .

enjoyment ??? That's up to you to choose " enjoyment " options with your vacay choixes .... myself I enjoy Havana .

derrek

Bingo!  Same experiences here.  I've worked extensively in almost every continent the last 20yrs.  Cuba is the safest country I've been in.

I don't sweat carrying a few thousand with me at all.  I mean, how are you going to bring back at least a few boxes of cigars without cash.  Its not that bad really...

[chris12381]

This article made me chuckle.  A lot.  Anyone hoping to go Cuba expecting 5 star anything is going to be disappointed.  For a long time.  

For those of us who have been going to Cuba for many years, particularly us US citizens, the changes that have been made have been a godsend.  Direct flights have brought the cost WAY down compared to the charter flights.  I personally never went "illegally" through a 3rd country.  I was always on a licensed trip.  Now being able to take advantage of one of the 12 licences and self certify that you are in compliance is a big deal.  Do your best to follow the letter of the law.  

Booking a private casa via AirBnB allows me to view thousands of listings with reviews, communicate quickly and directly with the owner/manager months in advance and pay with a US credit card.  I can forget about having to pay for it when I get there.  Which means I don't have to carry an additional $1500 or $2000 with me.

MY CELL PHONE WORKS.  Seriously.  Yeah it's expensive but it doesn't matter.  Do you know how amazing this is in a place like Cuba where nothing ever goes according to plan and you need to be able to fix things? It's priceless.

As far as going before Cuba changes, I don't go to Cuba because there's no McDonalds or Starbucks.  I'll keep going to Cuba when there's a McDonald's in Habana Vieja and a Starbucks on the Prado.   I go because to Cuba becuase her music, I love the soul of Havana, I love her rum and cigars, I love the history and most important:  I love the people.  I love Cuba.  McDonalds and Starbucks ain't going to change that.  

 

[Ryan]

I'm on my way right now and wishing I had the wife and kids with me.

My wife would love it.

I have no fears at all regarding safety.

The kids would hate not having internet but that would be good for them. The beach every day with 26 degree C water would make up for that. Nowhere in Europe has that at this time of year.

For those who say there are other places. Of course there are. I haven't traveled enormously but a fair bit and I've never met so many kind, generous, funny, interesting and interested people as in Cuba.

I could never do justice with a description in words alone nor could I recommend it highly enough. To anyone.

To anyone who also happens to like cigars, well, go if you get half a chance.

[Ryan]

There's also that paradox of the true "genuine-ness" of the people, hand in hand with the fact that almost everyone has some sort or scam or other going, because they have to.

im glad I'm not in their position, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I love how they deal with the day to day in the position they're in.

[shlomo]

If the DR had the best cigars in the world, we'd all flock there. Yes there are great people in Cuba,  just like there are great people everywhere else. The food is shit, the beaches are nice, the rym is ok, the history is similar to other caribean countries. 

Cuba used to be the cheapest holiday option so that's why so many Canucks go, but prices have gone crazy and more ppl starting to go to DR and Mexico. 

Like I said, take cigars out of the picture, and very very few of us would have ever stepped foot on Cuban soil

 

[SCgarman]

4 hours ago, Ryan said:

I'm on my way right now and wishing I had the wife and kids with me.

My wife would love it.

I have no fears at all regarding safety.

The kids would hate not having internet but that would be good for them. The beach every day with 26 degree C water would make up for that. Nowhere in Europe has that at this time of year.

For those who say there are other places. Of course there are. I haven't traveled enormously but a fair bit and I've never met so many kind, generous, funny, interesting and interested people as in Cuba.

I could never do justice with a description in words alone nor could I recommend it highly enough. To anyone.

To anyone who also happens to like cigars, well, go if you get half a chance.

Well to be blunt the "wife and kids" equation is most likely the main reason most US citizens will never go. Vacation time is "usually" time for the family to be together someplace and have fun at a destination. Let's not kid ourselves, there really is nothing in Cuba that would appeal to most kids, or non-cigar smoking wives for that matter. I can take my Cuban cigars with me AND my wife and daughter to Cancun, Barbados, or just about any destination and stay in a real 5 star hotel, with internet, good safe food, hot showers with bath towels and wash rags, and multiple attractions for the kids for comparable coin of going to Cuba. Basically I have taken Cuba off my bucket list. If I never have the opportunity to go in my lifetime, no big deal. Life goes on.

[LGC]

^^^^ precisely... vacation pretty much revolves around family (not my interests) at this stage in my life.

[clutch5150]

Fantastic news! ...More rum and cigars for me!  ...I just bring my own toilet paper anyhoot, but still tip the little lady handing out "squares"!

[clutch5150]

On 2/21/2017 at 6:52 AM, Corylax18 said:

Yes! Its hard to get there and miserable once you arrive. Everything is overpriced and sucks. The US government is currently in the process of tracking down and building cases against the 250,000 citizens that went last year. Most with no "paperwork", myself included.

You have a source for that info?

[Corylax18]

22 minutes ago, clutch5150 said:

You have a source for that info?

Re Read the post. The entire thing. 

[kuma]

Rum shit try Barbados Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum will put most so-called Rums from

other Banana Republic (wink, wink) countries to shame.

[Fugu]

On 22/02/2017 at 3:50 AM, kuma said:

There is a lot of Europe that I still

have to get to.  Northern Spain and also Proto.  Will stay away from some of the troubled areas of Europe....France /

Germany no sense having to look over my shoulder every second.

Good Lord! - and don't forget Sweden ...!