Traveling to Cuba

[zoegirltx]

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/17/cuba-travel-changes-airlines_n_6341636.html

President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday of plans to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba doesn't suddenly lift the ban on U.S. tourism. It does, however, give hope to airlines, hotel chains and cruise companies — all which have been quietly eyeing a removal of the travel ban — that they soon will be able to bring U.S. tourists to the Caribbean nation.

I haven't seen much concrete info yet about... I guess technically the travel ban is still in place?  Although if you are granted access, you can bring $500 worth of goods back now?? 

DH is already itching to go & I know there are quite a few "nice" hotels there b/c Europeans & Canadians have been traveling there all along...

Anybody else going to try to get there ASAP?  Before it's ruined by all those obnoxious Americans?  

[iammalcolmx]

Do you really think the obnoxious Americans will flock to Cuba though?

[zoegirltx]

Dec 18, 2014 11:31:01 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Do you really think the obnoxious Americans will flock to Cuba though?

no only the cool ones...lol

I def. think that opening up the boarders will have a tremendous impact & change the vibe/character of the place.  I'd love to visit before it change too much...not necessarily that it will be flooded with Americans, but that I'd like to experience it before it gets too Americanized (hello Cabo!)


You've been, right?  I thought somebody on the board had....

[msmerymac]

One thing I've heard is that snorkeling and scuba diving there is AMAZING. It's the way the Florida Keys were 30+ years ago, and there's so much diversity in ocean life, which will undoubtedly be gone fairly soon after Cuba is open for travel and/or becomes more commercialized.

[iammalcolmx]

Dec 18, 2014 11:41:51 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

Dec 18, 2014 11:31:01 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Do you really think the obnoxious Americans will flock to Cuba though?

no only the cool ones...lol

I def. think that opening up the boarders will have a tremendous impact & change the vibe/character of the place.  I'd love to visit before it change too much...not necessarily that it will be flooded with Americans, but that I'd like to experience it before it gets too Americanized (hello Cabo!)


You've been, right?  I thought somebody on the board had....

Nuh uh. You think my Black ass is going somewhere the US tells me to not go?

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2014 11:31:01 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Do you really think the obnoxious Americans will flock to Cuba though?

I'm guessing if it's All-Inclusive and the price is right, they'll be there.

[mags]

I have been waiting years for him to do this, and to get the travel ban lifted. I have been dreaming of going to Cuba (without having to fly all over)
I hope it moves along quickly.

[Deleted]

There were some exceptions where Americans could go in the past. My FIL went maybe 8 or so years ago on a church mission.

I guess now those folks can bring back goods.

[iammalcolmx]

Dec 18, 2014 12:05:05 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Dec 18, 2014 12:00:12 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Nuh uh. You think my Black ass is going somewhere the US tells me to not go?

Lol!  Mess around and they won't let you back in and next thing you know, you're trying to find out where Assata gets her natural hair products.  All because you wanted to snorkel.  Not worth it.

See now? We have to play by a different set of rules!!

[Deleted]

I am going to regret not going before Americans were allowed.

[Alyssa]

My BIL went about 4-5 years ago. I think he got in through Mexico but I could be wrong....he connected through another country though. He loved it.

[aprilsails]

I didn't find it that different from the big AI's in Punta Cana, honestly. The AI I stayed at was pretty new and in good condition. The best part was that they had all top shelf Canadian liquor included and the fire hydrants were Japanese.

Otherwise not much different than other AIs.

The scuba diving was incredible. We were on Cayo Santa Maria. The reefs were pretty stunning but the swimming was rough. It was a workout and a half.

[Black Lavender]

Dec 18, 2014 12:00:12 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Dec 18, 2014 11:41:51 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

no only the cool ones...lol

I def. think that opening up the boarders will have a tremendous impact & change the vibe/character of the place.  I'd love to visit before it change too much...not necessarily that it will be flooded with Americans, but that I'd like to experience it before it gets too Americanized (hello Cabo!)


You've been, right?  I thought somebody on the board had....

Nuh uh. You think my Black ass is going somewhere the US tells me to not go?

Right?! Hell no, I will not be on the next episode of Locked up Abroad! Once we get the green travel light, I'm all about it, but before that, ain't no way its going down.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2014 12:21:42 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I didn't find it that different from the big AI's in Punta Cana, honestly. The AI I stayed at was pretty new and in good condition. The best part was that they had all top shelf Canadian liquor included and the fire hydrants were Japanese.

Otherwise not much different than other AIs.

The scuba diving was incredible. We were on Cayo Santa Maria. The reefs were pretty stunning but the swimming was rough. It was a workout and a half.

The people I know who have gone, go to AI's and say about what you've said. The weather can be dicier, depending on date, and the food at resorts has a worse reputation (people pack seasonings). And I think there's a custom of bringing in gifts of weird shit they have a hard time getting (tampons, Tylenol, vitamins, nylons, makeup, etc.) to tip the staff.

[msmerymac]

Oh man, I forgot I hate mojitos. No Cuba for me.

[lys]

You would support Cuba's repressive government?

[meshaliuknits]

Dec 18, 2014 13:35:48 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Oh man, I forgot I hate mojitos. No Cuba for me.

I'm sorry, what? This must be French for "Mojitos are refreshing on a warm summer day."

[tacosforlife]

Dec 18, 2014 15:50:53 GMT -5 lys said:

You would support Cuba's repressive government?

That's actually exactly why I'd be going.

OBVIOUSLY.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

In a heartbeat. American students can go with certain international education non-profits already. I put in a bid for a site visit, but my college hasn't gotten back to me on that yet.

[msmerymac]

Dec 18, 2014 15:53:36 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Dec 18, 2014 13:35:48 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Oh man, I forgot I hate mojitos. No Cuba for me.

I'm sorry, what? This must be French for "Mojitos are refreshing on a warm summer day."

Mint is the devil's herb.

[scout8]

Dec 18, 2014 15:50:53 GMT -5 lys said:

You would support Cuba's repressive government?

Well, I live in the US where I apparently support a government that thinks it is ok to torture people, so I can hardly get on my high horse about supporting Cuba's government. 

[flgirl]

I have a current client whose parents were both born in Cuba and they travel back frequently to see grandparents. I know so many Cuban immigrants and most of them have horrible stories to tell of their life after Castro. I think I would have a difficult time spending my money there. Most of them have no desire to return either,

[iammalcolmx]

I go to Turkey and their government ain't shit either.

[meshaliuknits]

Dec 18, 2014 16:54:04 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

Dec 18, 2014 15:53:36 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

I'm sorry, what? This must be French for "Mojitos are refreshing on a warm summer day."

you already know what I am about to say, right?

Mojitos = no
Caipharainhas = yes

LOL  AIR!!!


I've never heard of the second one, but a quick google tells me that if we ever GTG we can have that and regular Oreos.

[jigsy]

I've already been to Cuba, twice (I may have never left the airport, but whatever, shuddup, I had some amazing coffee!)

[msmerymac]

Dec 18, 2014 16:41:13 GMT -5 flgirl said:

I have a current client whose parents were both born in Cuba and they travel back frequently to see grandparents. I know so many Cuban immigrants and most of them have horrible stories to tell of their life after Castro. I think I would have a difficult time spending my money there. Most of them have no desire to return either,

I mean no disrespect to people who may have had a horrible time under Castro (one of the Spanish teachers in my high school left Cuba with her parents in 1959 during the revolution), but I think the fact that they decided to leave/had to leave and came to the US kind of says a lot about their views of the government, you know? As in, it's not really representative of everyone's view or experience. Which also isn't to say that there weren't/aren't people in Cuba still who have suffered horribly and just haven't been able to leave. Everyone I know who left was upper middle/upper class, white collar professionals and had the reasons and means to leave.

But hey, I can't speak to the experience of anyone under Castro, because I haven't been there or experienced that.

But I always think about how Cuban-Americans are the one Latino group that tend to sway very Republican, mostly because they are so staunchly anti-communist. Not that the Dems are anywhere close to communists, but you know.

[Deleted]

The only reason people care about the human rights abuses in Cuba enough to think about not visiting is because the US government has been telling us to think real hard about it since before most of us were born.

There are a ton of places that are equally fucked up. Many of them aren't even communist and yet people have no qualms about visiting.

[flgirl]

Dec 18, 2014 18:02:51 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Dec 18, 2014 16:41:13 GMT -5 flgirl said:

I have a current client whose parents were both born in Cuba and they travel back frequently to see grandparents. I know so many Cuban immigrants and most of them have horrible stories to tell of their life after Castro. I think I would have a difficult time spending my money there. Most of them have no desire to return either,

I mean no disrespect to people who may have had a horrible time under Castro (one of the Spanish teachers in my high school left Cuba with her parents in 1959 during the revolution), but I think the fact that they decided to leave/had to leave and came to the US kind of says a lot about their views of the government, you know? As in, it's not really representative of everyone's view or experience. Which also isn't to say that there weren't/aren't people in Cuba still who have suffered horribly and just haven't been able to leave. Everyone I know who left was upper middle/upper class, white collar professionals and had the reasons and means to leave.

But hey, I can't speak to the experience of anyone under Castro, because I haven't been there or experienced that.

But I always think about how Cuban-Americans are the one Latino group that tend to sway very Republican, mostly because they are so staunchly anti-communist. Not that the Dems are anywhere close to communists, but you know.

Some of them were well off. One owned a department store that was taken by the government so I would say they did not have the fondest of thoughts towards the government.  The Clint I have is a 5th grader. The stories and descriptions of how his family in Cuba live are very sad. His mom and dad left separately,  before they knew each other, for the whole "American dream."  I find it interesting that they both own their own businesses. Very different then what they would have been able to do in Cuba.

[iammalcolmx]

As I recall Batista was pretty awful as well.

[zoegirltx]

Dec 18, 2014 16:54:04 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

Dec 18, 2014 15:53:36 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

I'm sorry, what? This must be French for "Mojitos are refreshing on a warm summer day."

you already know what I am about to say, right?

Mojitos = no
Caipharainhas = yes

BINGO...cause nobody needs mint stuck in their teeth!