I had the opportunity to join the historical second cruise from the US to Cuba in over 50 years on Fathom. It was exciting to finally experience what has always been "forbidden", but as a new place for US citizens to travel, there are a few things you should know if you choose to take the Fathom cruise to Cuba.
Weather and currency are two of the most common things I am asked about when someone is traveling to a new destination. When visiting Cuba, you should expect it to be hot and humid most of the year. My visit was in early May and temps were already in the upper 90's. Air conditioning in Cuba is a luxury so there are not many places you can go in and cool down. There are a few hotels with it but for the most part your best bet for cooling down is finding a shaded area with a fan or a breeze. If you are not one for extreme heat, I would recommend visiting in the winter when temps are milder.
There are two different types of currency available in Cuba, CUC & CUP. The CUC is the tourist currency and is equivalent to $1 USD. You can only exchange money for the CUC in Cuba. When exchanging USD for CUC you can expect to loose 13% of your money. If you don’t use all of your CUC it will cost an additional 10% to exchange back to USD. I read that the first cruise was told to exchange USD to Euro on the ship and then Euro to CUC in Cuba to get the most value but this was not an option for us. Also the line to exchange currency when you first arrive in Cuba is extremely long.
While the US has begun to open up travel to Cuba, you are still required to visit under one of the US government approved reasons. Fathom includes People to People (P2P) tours in their pricing which meets the US government requirements. You also have the option to self-certify and complete your own P2P experience. If you self-certify then you must keep a record of your interactions for up to 5 years.
We did not join the Fathom tours in Havana so I don’t have personal feedback on them. I heard on the Fathom tours they had a variety of P2P options available but people could not pick which one interests them. Instead they had to board the bus and then find out which P2P option they would experience. I opted for a private tour of Havana which involved a walking tour in some areas and a vintage air conditioned car tour for other areas. With the private tour it allows you to see all the historical sites in Havana and create your own P2P interaction. I had the opportunity to visit a cigar factory and even have lunch at a Paladar.
The cruise docks in Havana overnight and you can either relax on the ship or Fathom gives you an option to purchase tickets to cabaret shows at either the Hotel Nacional or Tropicana. You also can choose to go in a private vintage car or motor coach. We did the Tropicana by private car but did not book this through Fathom. Instead we booked our tickets directly through the Tropicana website (US credit cards work). We choose the top package but decided against the dinner option since several reviews said the food was not great. The tickets for two cost $190 total and at the cruise terminal we booked a private vintage car round trip for $50. The Tropicana was absolutely amazing and our seats were right next to the stage. A couple things to note is that the Tropicana is outdoors and is a good 20-30 minute drive from the cruise terminal.
In Cienfuegos and Santiago we participated in the Fathom tours. With both tours we drove around to see some of the sites but never really stopped for photos. In Cienfuegos the tour was supposed to include interaction to explain the ration system but we never got to do that. We heard that other groups did get to learn about this. Fathom had a choir performance lined up at an old theatre and the choir put on an outstanding performance. In addition, the theatre was beautiful, but be aware that there was no AC like most places in Cuba. The visit to Cienfuegos was very short (about 4 hours) and it would have been nice to spend more time here.
Santiago was nestled up in a bay in a mountainous region. Our tours first stop was to a cemetery where we got to see a changing of the guard. From there we drove by a few other sites and then headed to a fortress overlooking the bay. We were provided lunch at a restaurant by the fortress that had amazing coastal views. After lunch we headed back to Santiago and we ended up catching a cab back to the cruise ship. We were told that the tour participated in a cabaret before returning to the ship. Overall the Fathom tours were ok. I felt they tried to fit too much into a short time with such large groups. If you had a private tour, all of this would be more doable plus you would probably have more P2P interaction.
Weather and currency are two of the most common things I am asked about when someone is traveling to a new destination. When visiting Cuba, you should expect it to be hot and humid most of the year. My visit was in early May and temps were already in the upper 90's. Air conditioning in Cuba is a luxury so there are not many places you can go in and cool down. There are a few hotels with it but for the most part your best bet for cooling down is finding a shaded area with a fan or a breeze. If you are not one for extreme heat, I would recommend visiting in the winter when temps are milder.
There are two different types of currency available in Cuba, CUC & CUP. The CUC is the tourist currency and is equivalent to $1 USD. You can only exchange money for the CUC in Cuba. When exchanging USD for CUC you can expect to loose 13% of your money. If you don’t use all of your CUC it will cost an additional 10% to exchange back to USD. I read that the first cruise was told to exchange USD to Euro on the ship and then Euro to CUC in Cuba to get the most value but this was not an option for us. Also the line to exchange currency when you first arrive in Cuba is extremely long.
While the US has begun to open up travel to Cuba, you are still required to visit under one of the US government approved reasons. Fathom includes People to People (P2P) tours in their pricing which meets the US government requirements. You also have the option to self-certify and complete your own P2P experience. If you self-certify then you must keep a record of your interactions for up to 5 years.
We did not join the Fathom tours in Havana so I don’t have personal feedback on them. I heard on the Fathom tours they had a variety of P2P options available but people could not pick which one interests them. Instead they had to board the bus and then find out which P2P option they would experience. I opted for a private tour of Havana which involved a walking tour in some areas and a vintage air conditioned car tour for other areas. With the private tour it allows you to see all the historical sites in Havana and create your own P2P interaction. I had the opportunity to visit a cigar factory and even have lunch at a Paladar.
The cruise docks in Havana overnight and you can either relax on the ship or Fathom gives you an option to purchase tickets to cabaret shows at either the Hotel Nacional or Tropicana. You also can choose to go in a private vintage car or motor coach. We did the Tropicana by private car but did not book this through Fathom. Instead we booked our tickets directly through the Tropicana website (US credit cards work). We choose the top package but decided against the dinner option since several reviews said the food was not great. The tickets for two cost $190 total and at the cruise terminal we booked a private vintage car round trip for $50. The Tropicana was absolutely amazing and our seats were right next to the stage. A couple things to note is that the Tropicana is outdoors and is a good 20-30 minute drive from the cruise terminal.
In Cienfuegos and Santiago we participated in the Fathom tours. With both tours we drove around to see some of the sites but never really stopped for photos. In Cienfuegos the tour was supposed to include interaction to explain the ration system but we never got to do that. We heard that other groups did get to learn about this. Fathom had a choir performance lined up at an old theatre and the choir put on an outstanding performance. In addition, the theatre was beautiful, but be aware that there was no AC like most places in Cuba. The visit to Cienfuegos was very short (about 4 hours) and it would have been nice to spend more time here.
Santiago was nestled up in a bay in a mountainous region. Our tours first stop was to a cemetery where we got to see a changing of the guard. From there we drove by a few other sites and then headed to a fortress overlooking the bay. We were provided lunch at a restaurant by the fortress that had amazing coastal views. After lunch we headed back to Santiago and we ended up catching a cab back to the cruise ship. We were told that the tour participated in a cabaret before returning to the ship. Overall the Fathom tours were ok. I felt they tried to fit too much into a short time with such large groups. If you had a private tour, all of this would be more doable plus you would probably have more P2P interaction.
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