Can you believe we were able to go to Cuba?! How insane! So our Cuba trip was a bit tricky so if you are thinking of going I recommend reading my experience because the laws are tricky! We decided to cruise to Cuba to lighten the load of logistics needed for this trip since the borders have become a bit stricter since they were first opened. When traveling to Cuba a visa is required, you can get these at your local Cuba embassy for 50 dollars or the cruise will take care of it for you for 75. We chose the cruise just because we were very busy in the weeks leading up to the trip. Also when traveling to Cuba, tourism is not an accepted reason to visit, so it is required you have educational experiences lined up to be compliant with the US government. Another pro of choosing to cruise. The cruise line offers tons of different tour options and they do the background work of ensuring the tour is compliant. It also is required to keep your Cuba records five years after your trip, another pro of cruising because they too will keep your trip records. One misconception that a lot of the cruisers on our trip was confused of was Royal Caribbean told us we have to book an excursion with them to get off the boat. This is not true, however to be compliant you mst have an educational tour booked through SOMEONE. It does not have to be the cruise, but again convenience was our friend on this trip so we just chose to do it with the boat. Once you fulfill your requirement of a tour, you are free to browse around Cuba yourself. Also you ARE allowed to bring 100 cigars back and I believe one bottle of rum. Now that I have explained a little bit of the Cuban travel laws, I'll tell ya about our trip!
So we chose to cruise the Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas out of Miami sailing to Havana, Cuba and Cozumel! Cuba was the main reason we booked this trip, because we wanted to see the country frozen in time in case the laws change again. We flew into Miami a day early to see some sites of the town. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown and rented a car. From there we made a little road trip to Homestead Florida. The location of Coral Castle. Let me just say we kind of stumbled on this and it is about 40 minutes from Miami, BUT it was sooo worth it. It was amazing. The location is the site that a man named Ed Leedskalin built .He was 5'0 and weighed less than 100 pounds and built this huge rock structure completely alone in the 1930s. Discover Channel, History Channel, Ancient Aliens, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and many more have visited and to this day no one can explain how he created it. The stones he lifted are heavier than the stones at Stonehenge.
He had no power tools and only worked at night. When asked how he simply would answer vaguely and claimed he knew how the pyramids of Giza were constructed. He also had rocks that spun on a single ball bearing and one of the most accurate sun dials ever discovered. He was fascinated with astronomy and had no formal education. This man is definitely worth a Google.
From Homestead we saw we were only 40 minutes from Key Largo, so we figured what the heck. We made the drive and arrived in the Upper Keys. Another bucket list item for us to see all the locations in the Beach Boys Kokomo. The keys have a lot of cool sites like a gigantic lobster, we got chocolate covered Key Lime Pie, and we had a homemade pina colada in Key Largo while watching the sunset! It was gorgeous!
We roadtripped back to the hotel and woke up the next day to get on the boat! We boarded the boat around noon and they already were feeding us. We all have cruised before however we usually use Carnival (which I will probably use from now on, but I'll save that for another post). We had fun on the boat but I mainly want to discuss the highlights of Cuba and Cozumel! If you do take a cruise to Cuba it is important to remember Cuba's port is very small from the lack of touristy areas, so cruise lines can only send their older, small boats. So there usually will be less to do and we weren't used to not being able to eat whenever we wanted. The excursion we chose was "The best of Havana Express, with Hemingway's House" Royal Caribbean did coordinate their excursions quite well, you met your guide in the theater and they escorted you to the meeting place. In the Cuba port, you do have to show your passport and go through immigration. They also have a money exchange counter there. Most people will accept US dollars though. HOWEVER no one accepts US credit cards so you must have cash! Also because of the laws the ATM on the boats close the night before you arrive in Cuba so make sure you have your cash. Another pro tip is if you do want to exchange they tax the US dollars 13% converting to and from Cuba currency. Other currencies do not receive this large of a penalty. There are also two currencies in the country, one strictly for citizens, and the other is for tourists.
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. My first thought of Cuba was Wow. The buildings are literally stuck in time, and the old cars are EVERYWHERE! and they are so cool! Our first stop on the tour was to Ernest Hemingway' house. He was called "Papa" by the locals and the Cubans adored him. He was such an interesting man and his house felt straight out of The Great Gatsby (fun fact he was actually friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald).
After Hemingway's house, we visited Revolution Square. This is where tons of cars are and some important buildings in the Cuban government.
The cars are unreal here and if you tip the owners they will let you take pictures in them or even take you for a ride. After this, we ate an authentic Cuban lunch. It was delicious! We had plantains, a specially cooked chicken, lobster, and a guava ice cream. Our next stop was an amazing mosaic art gallery. This square is where a lot of local artists house their pieces.
Our last stop was the market. You can find all kinds of Cuban souvenirs here. The stalls go on forever it seems, and everything is very cheap here most things cost about 1-10 USD. Our boat was in Cuba overnight so visitors had the option to go enjoy the nightlife. We did not just because we were tired from a full day.
The next morning we were able to go back into Havana for a couple hours. We tried authentic Cuban hot chocolate which is way different than our version. We also walked into the square and enjoyed the architecture of the old buildings.
The next day we ported in Cozumel. Unfortunately it was raining but we did get to go to a close beach and enjoyed relaxing on the beach with some of the best guacamole and pico de gallo of my life. Cozumel is very Americanized and everyone we encountered spoke very good English.
The last days on the boat were spent playing trivia and dancing.
I can't to do a larger boat with Carnival cruise with Chris next! When we ported we drove through Little Havana and ate on famous Ocean Drive before our flight.
