Jerry Atrick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 1:39 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 12:57 pm

I remember thinking this is what 60 years of communism does to a country and it was not a pretty sight. If anyone has a lefty teenager that has bought into the hardcore socialism ideology, send them to Cuba for a month, that should cure them.

In fairness, the brutal and vindictive trade embargo by the USA has done most of the damage over the 60 years rather than the fact that it's a socalist republic

Had some family there a few months ago. They loved it, but they were on an expensive enough package deal

It's a bit of a time capsule. I'd like to visit but not to stay

Yeah communism in the Caribbean ha,ha,ha. Fidel took the wrong decision.

Impossible to get a decent meal there. Absolutely impossible. Went there once. Will never willingly set foot there again.

I have met many people who just love it here and return frequently. All inclusive can be decent if you choose the right resort but there’s no such thing as 5 star here. Downgrade each by at least one star. For you @Doc67 you were probably in a two star pretending to be a three. Brutal.

paul2d wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 8:56 pm Impossible to get a decent meal there. Absolutely impossible. Went there once. Will never willingly set foot there again.

If you have coins you can eat decent meals in Havana at the National Hotel, also at the Floridita Bar.

Just as an aside.......

A woman has warned travellers of the easy mistake which could end up costing you an extra $250.

Karen recently explained the mistake she made when planning a trip to the US.

However, because she visited Cuba recently, she can no longer get a cheap ESTA and instead has to get a much more expensive visa.

We need to raise awareness because this is a big thing for anybody who is wanting to go to America who has been to Cuba.

“The rules changed as of last year – anybody who has been to Cuba, for the next 11 years, can’t go to America on a normal ESTA visa.”

An ESTA - which is a visa waiver – costs around $30 and can be applied for online, and takes just a few days.

You may want to rethink that trip to Cuba if you're wanting to make the most of your ESTA.

Karen explained: “Because I have now been to Cuba, I will not be able to go to America for the next 11 years on a normal ESTA.

“If I want to go to America I have to pay $250, apply for a visa, wait a few months for an appointment date, get interviewed and even then I am not guaranteed a visa.”

According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata): “Passengers who have been in Cuba on or after 12 January 2021 are not allowed to enter with an ESTA authorisation.”

The United States Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on January 12, 2021. And as per the ESTA website, “if a traveller is found to have visited a country designated as State Sponsor of Terrorism, the traveler is no longer eligible to participate in the Visa Wavier Program and must apply for a visa to enter the United States.

One woman in the UK said she was also affected, saying: “£180 and took me months to get an appointment it was an absolute nightmare! All the hassle for a weekend to New York.”

Earlier this year, one traveller said they were stopped from boarding a flight from Paris to San Francisco due to having “recently visited Cuba” while another couple said their previously approved ESTAs changed to being denied after they visited Cuba.

Doc67 wrote:My previous Holiday from Hell was also an all-inclusive at the Holiday Inn, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Cuba was much much worse, and that's saying something.

What was so bad about it?

I stayed there for a week. It was cheap enough that local Jamaicans could vacation there as well. Jamaicans even had conferences there, too.

All inclusive food and drink. The food was local Jamaican, not high European cuisine. But isn’t why we go? To meet different people and taste different foods?

There was private beach and a long wrap around pool. Daily activities. Souvenir guy came on a float in the ocean water to the floating dock at the end of the swim area almost every day. Excursions to Dunn Falls and other areas as well.

If you wanted to see more, just head outside the gates and walk around.

Heading to the Nacional for their Cabaret and dinner tonight. Show is $40 - dinner and transportation tbd.

Last few days I saw more touristy things and that has balanced out my experience a bit more on the positive side.

Last night 2000 pesos to Capitalo via taxi and the same return. 3000 for my meal and I’m at 7000CUP /150 = $47 USD.