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Cruise ship rescues 20 refugees

<p dir="ltr">A cruise ship has rescued 20 refugees from a small boat near Cuba, amid a growing number of cruising vessels assisting refugees they encounter while at sea.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>Carnival Paradise</em> was sailing between Mexico and Cuba when at least 20 refugees were spotted on what appeared to be a rowboat.</p> <p dir="ltr">Vici Sheffield, a travel agent who was on the <em>Carnival Paradise</em> during the rescue, shared an image of the refugees online, revealing in the comments that passengers were told the refugees were taken aboard for “their own safety”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We just saved a boat in distress. Wow. First time for me,” she captioned the photo on her Facebook page, Vici’s Travels.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3e34d37b-7fff-f97a-52a7-db64213281c7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Thankful they were spotted and the ship turned around.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The boat was reportedly drifting at the time it was spotted, with the Carnival cruise ship slowing and turning around to assist those on board.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In accordance with maritime law, we have taken them aboard our vessel and have notified all of the appropriate authorities,” the captain announced to cruise passengers, per <em><a href="https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-ship-rescues-refugees-from-overloaded-boat/77811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CruiseHive</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though the weather was clear, sunny and relatively calm at the time, the rowboat appeared visibly overloaded and in poor condition.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was left adrift when the passengers were helped onto the cruise ship, with some containers left aboard.</p> <p dir="ltr">Having left Tampa, Florida, on July 20, the <em>Carnival Paradise</em> was scheduled to visit Roatan, Honduras, followed by Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Tampa on August 4.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0d40b04b-7fff-2392-9222-7c63786def0d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The Carnival cruise ship's rescue comes just days after <em>Carnival Sunrise</em> rescued 12 Cuban refugees that were adrift to the south of Key West.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A <a href="https://twitter.com/WPLGLocal10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WPLGLocal10</a> viewer cruising on the <a href="https://twitter.com/CarnivalCruise?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CarnivalCruise</a> Sunrise sent us this video from the ship as it came to the aid of 12 men stranded in a small boat south of Key West yesterday. The men, believed to be Cuban migrants, were later turned over to <a href="https://twitter.com/USCGSoutheast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCGSoutheast</a>. <a href="https://t.co/2Rd0Uh7wID">pic.twitter.com/2Rd0Uh7wID</a></p> <p>— Chris Gothner (@Chris_Gothner) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chris_Gothner/status/1553410507079651328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr"><em>Mardi Gras</em>, Carnival's flagship, rescued at least 22 refugees in two separate incidents in June, while Royal Caribbean International's <em>Allure of the Seas</em>, Celebrity Cruise Line's <em>Celebrity Apex</em>, and Carnival's <em>Carnival Magic</em> have also been involved in rescues this year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2c6d9f20-7fff-3afe-fd76-ffc3224127f7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Vici Sheffield</em></p>

Cruising

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Why a cruise is the best way to visit Cuba

<p>It’s the world’s latest travel hotspot, but getting around in Cuba can still be quite tricky. That’s why a cruise is the smart way to go.</p> <p><strong>It’s easier</strong></p> <p>One of the best things about Cuba is that it is still largely off the tourist map. But while this is a plus, it can also have some negative aspects. It can be difficult to organise travel in Cuba as many hotels or tour operators don’t have international websites. It can also be difficult to pay as many places don’t accept international credit cards. A cruise takes care of everything you need for travelling with almost no effort from you. Just buy your ticket and hop onboard.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36541/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (281)"/><br /></strong></p> <p><strong>It covers more of the country</strong></p> <p>Transport in Cuba can be hit and miss. Getting around Havana and between the major destinations is relatively easy, but if you want to go off the beaten track you could be on your own. Domestic flights are limited and can be expensive, while long distance buses can be confusing (or downright impossible). Large cruise ships will call at all the major ports and take you between them with absolute ease. If you want to explore more remote parts of the country, a small ship cruise is your own private form of transportation. You’ll also save time, because the ship will be sailing while you’re asleep!</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36542/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (282)"/><br /></strong></p> <p><strong>It’s better value</strong></p> <p>Even though it’s a developing country, Cuba can be surprisingly expensive. As more tourists arrive, some local providers are making the most of it and raising their prices. There are a limited number of hotel rooms and tour operators, so in high season you will find that the prices skyrocket as eager travellers struggle to secure their spot. On a cruise, you know the price upfront and everything is included. When you break down your fare on a per day basis, you’ll find that it’s one of the cheapest ways to see Cuba.</p> <p><strong>It takes care of the logistics</strong></p> <p>Did you know Wi-Fi is almost non-existent in Cuba? Or that it can be impossible to find an ATM that will take your international bankcard? Having a ship as your home base, as opposed to a hotel, means you have access to all the facilities you will need. You can check your email, get money out or purchase some basic necessities hassle free. A ship gives you the best of both worlds – all the colour and culture of Cuba with the convenience of a global chain when you need it.</p> <p>Have you visited Cuba? Share your experience in the comments below.</p>

Cruising

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Cruise passengers avoiding tours to see the real Cuba

<p>While still basking in the glow of the enthusiastic welcome they received from hundreds of Cubans at the dock in Havana, some Adonia passengers began to wonder if two days of guided tours gave them an accurate picture of the harsh realities of everyday life on the communist-led island.</p> <p>"I didn't feel any oppression at all. No military presence. But I did feel the guided tours were a little staged, as you would expect," said Indiana restaurateur Diana Twyman, one of more than 600 passengers on the maiden voyage of Carnival's Fathom brand of "social impact" travel. "There is so much desperation just below the surface."</p> <p>That desperation is tied largely to economic hardship in a nation where even doctors may make no more than $35 a month. Since the relatively small but luxurious liner Adonia left Port of Miami on Sunday afternoon, at least 18 Cubans in small boats have made it to shore in the Florida Keys. More than 3500 Cubans have been spotted or interdicted at sea since October 1, according to the US Coast Guard.</p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29135/image__500x333.jpg" alt="cuba cruise (1)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>To get a peek into the sense of despair that drives many Cubans to risk their lives at sea, adventurous Adonia passengers had to break away from the tours.</p> <p>They walked Old Havana streets where crumbling buildings are still inhabited, hired taxi drivers to take them to places well off the tourist paths, and fought through language barriers to learn how Cubans resolve problems with invention instead of money.</p> <p>"We bailed out of a museum tour, found a taxi driver with a 1949 Ford and told him to take us to a local bar," Rick Meares, a businessman from Jupiter, Florida, said as he sat on Adonia's sun deck as the vessel headed for Cienfuegos, the next port on the weeklong cruise.</p> <p>Even without fluent Spanish, Meares said, he and his wife Susan "got by and we learned a lot."</p> <p>The model for Fathom's participatory travelling was previewed last month on a trip to the Dominican Republic, where passengers spent several days in one port volunteering to work on community projects such as planting trees.</p> <p>The Cuba cruise is different. There are no cooperative service projects here. There were two days in Havana, and still to come is a six-hour stop Thursday in Cienfuegos and an eight-hour visit to Santiago de Cuba on Friday. The Adonia returns to Port of Miami on Sunday morning.</p> <p>Fathom brand President Tara Russell acknowledged that the maiden voyage has exposed kinks that need to be smoothed out. Complaints that surfaced Monday about authoritarian tour guides - employed by the state-run Havanatur agency - and about poor planning on excursions to the Tropicana nightclub are being addressed, Russell said.</p> <p>But ensuring that travellers can get an understanding of how most Cubans live will be a challenge, Carnival officials acknowledge. Travellers "hunger for travel that goes deep, and want to make a meaningful difference in the world," Russell said on the first day of the weeklong trip.</p> <p>"We've been doing that in the Dominican Republic. In Cuba it's just beginning."</p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29134/image__500x333.jpg" alt="cuba cruise" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>During tours, Adonia passengers reported that some guides seemed to go off script, giving candid answers to questions about incomes, education, health care and the dual currency system in which most people are paid in Cuban pesos, and not the dollar-equivalent money that tourists can spend.</p> <p>But many travellers longed for more. "I wanted to go to a market where Cubans shop, or see a school," said Susan Meares.</p> <p>Twyman said the economic desperation she sensed just below the surface in Cuba was brought home to her even before she began to explore Havana. As the Adonia pulled into the harbour Monday morning, she said she watched as a boy, about 10 years old and wearing a red shirt, raced along the Malecon, waving and shouting as he kept pace with the liner.</p> <p>That sight, said Twyman, symbolised the pent up desire for change she felt in later talking to Cubans on the ground. "What this ship and other ships to come are doing is letting the genie out of the bottle," she said.</p> <p>"That boy in the red shirt was excited", Twyman said. "Change is coming. And he knew his life was about to change too."</p> <p><em>Written by Mike Clary. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/06/cruising-around-south-coast-of-cuba/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Cruising around Cuba’s southern coast</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/04/cuba-travel-industry-change/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Cuba's travel industry on the cusp of change</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2015/08/visit-cuba-now/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 reasons to visit Cuba now (before it changes for good)</strong></em></span></a></p>

Cruising

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Cruising around Cuba’s southern coast

<p>Tomorrow is tomorrow, says the Cuban sailor Gines Chavez Perez.</p> <p>Thank God, I think, for tonight has outstayed its welcome. Our boat is a cork tossed about on the swell somewhere out in the great Gulf of Cazones​ that separates Cuba's coast from the Canarreos Archipelago scattered to its south.</p> <p>Beneath us lies a chasm 2000 metres deep. The night is so black it has struck us blind: there is no moon, no stars by which to sail; not even the ocean's waves are betrayed by their foamy tips.</p> <p>"Don't worry," says Perez, his face turned into the wind. "We sail using everything – sails, power! Tomorrow is tomorrow. We won't get lost."</p> <p>We'd arrived in Cienfuegos​ just this afternoon, on the bus from Havana. On the way to the marina we'd passed rows of low-slung bungalows made over in benign shades of pastel and now advertised as holiday homestays.</p> <p>This is where Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista's cronies were said to have lived during his regime: officers, politicians, the American mafia. The marina itself – an opulent, historic construction – had operated as a casino in those days. Then came Fidel Castro and his revolution.</p> <p>After dinner we'd struck out, leaving behind Cienfuegos​ and the jubilant late-night fiesta bubbling on its foreshore. Cruise ships and flashy yachts and catamarans were moored there, bobbing dinghies and doll-sized yachts whose bows barely poked above the water's surface and whose weathered bulwarks told a seafarer's tale.</p> <p>This great bowl of a harbour once protected the inhabitants of Cienfuegos from hurricanes and pirates; in later years, it dispatched shiploads of Cuban shrimp and sugar destined for the few countries willing to trade with the communist, pariah state.</p> <p>Today, it brims with interlopers: more vessels have passed through this port in the past two years alone that in the preceding two decades.</p> <p>Cuba is slowly reforming; it has opened its doors to the world and welcomed it in.</p> <p><img width="499" height="285" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23215/cuba-1_499x285.jpg" alt="Cuba 1"/></p> <p><strong>Fish for the taking</strong></p> <p>The journey to paradise lasts six hours. In the morning I awake to find outside my cabin window a rocky isle lodged in a bath of clear water that stretches all the way to the horizon.</p> <p>Last night's rabid seas have given way to calm: the reef shifts beneath the water's surface and though the sky is streaked grey there's no breeze on the air.</p> <p>A fishing vessel is moored just off this craggy outcrop: while I was sleeping, Perez and our boat's captain, Miguel Fiallo Granda, boarded it to trade Havana rum in exchange for fresh fish.</p> <p>But there's fish for the taking out here in this great big swimming pool of an ocean. Though the hangman bird casts his sinister shadow upon the sea – foretelling, so Cuban fishermen say, a poor haul – we can see for ourselves a plentitude of flying fish leaping from the depths and Perez' line pulling taught behind us as we glide westward.</p> <p>The white shoreline of Cayo Largo del Sur soon comes into view, and it stays by our side all morning; but now we strike southwards and anchor just out of sight of land. Perez pulls on a wetsuit. The water is cold, he says: 26 degrees, around five less than the summer average. In winter, the ocean is a thermal layer cake, becoming progressively colder the deeper one goes.</p> <p>"I've measured 21 degrees at the bottom in winter," he says, recoiling at the memory.</p> <p>"In summer, it's 30, all the way down."</p> <p>Spear gun in hand, Perez plunges in. I hesitate on the boat's edge and brace myself for a cold baptism in the Caribbean Sea.</p> <p>The shock of fresh water on warm skin soon dissipates; now I'm sinking into a tepid underworld where coral forests sway lazily and fish flutter on the current.</p> <p>I try to track Perez through my goggles but he's too quick for me, darting into the shadows, diving to the chilly depths, jabbing at dark places with his spear gun.</p> <p>And then he pops to the surface, gun raised victoriously. Skewered on it are two fat, limp fish: dog snapper and hogfish, a feast for tonight's table.</p> <p>The stars come out early here above Canarreos Archipelago. Orion's belt gobbles up the sky and the moon casts soft light upon the 350 islets languishing upon these waters.</p> <p>Resorts are dotted sparingly about here, and they're indiscernible to us from our mooring. There are just eight of us on this catamaran – six travellers and two crew – and we might as well be all alone out here except for the mast lights betraying the handful of boats anchored in the bay.</p> <p>This paucity of visitors evokes a Robinson Crusoe mood next day when we anchor off a deserted isle and are taken ashore in Granda's dinghy.</p> <p>This blot of white sand and emerald scrub bears no name: it floats like a fragment of glory atop shallow, turquoise waters and can be circumnavigated by us, its only inhabitants, in a matter of minutes.</p> <p>Granda takes off again in the dinghy, waving us goodbye and instructing us to be ready for pick-up in a couple of hours' time. My companions and I build a sand mermaid and scour the beach for flotsam with which to decorate her: shells for a bikini, dried seaweed for hair, the tips of tropical succulents and a seagull's feather for a crown.</p> <p>We can see our catamaran, the Van Gogh, floating out there on the horizon, the water glittering like broken glass all around her. How long would it take to swim out to her, I think, and how would we spend our days if she drifted off without us?</p> <p>Late that afternoon, sun-warmed and salt-licked, we set course for Estopa Channel, a mangrove-lined waterway that comes as a surprise amid this apparently white-and-blue confection.</p> <p>Perez is back in the water again, probing the mangroves for tonight's dinner: Cubera snapper. Back on board, he beckons me to take the wheel. I cruise through the mangroves as the sun sets, aiming for the buoys lined up ahead where the ocean opens up, gold-skinned and brimming with more barracuda and mussels and mackerel and tuna than we could ever hope to eat.</p> <p>I had seen this seascape from aloft a few days earlier, when Granda hitched me to a harness and winched me all the way to the top of the mast: that heartbreaking view of a place so remote, so secretive it seemed to hover on the very edge of the world.</p> <p>The sensation was reinforced when I drank mojitos at Cayo Rico, kicked off from the boat and noticed that it appeared to be skating on a translucent slick of water that stretched off into infinity. This is where the world begins, it had seemed, and where it also ends.</p> <p><img width="499" height="284" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23216/cuba-2_499x284.jpg" alt="Cuba 2"/></p> <p><strong>Farewell to paradise</strong></p> <p>In the final few days, time spins urgently: even paradise has a use-by date. Granda turns the boat back towards Cienfuegos.</p> <p>En route, we anchor beside a submerged shipwreck and I drift above it, studying its rusted hull through my goggles, wondering at the purpose of its long-ago journey and the people who had been aboard when it sank.</p> <p>The white spine of Cayo Largo del Sur's shoreline stays by our side as we sail to Punta Del Este​, a familiar landmark guiding us home.</p> <p>On the last night out here, we take the dingy to a deserted island, light a bonfire, mix mojitos and watch the satellites orbiting earth.</p> <p>Tonight must never end, I say. Tomorrow is tomorrow, replies Perez.</p> <p>What an incredible story! Doesn’t Cuba sound like an idyllic place to visit? Have you ever visited Cuba, and how was the experience?</p> <p>Share your story in the comments.</p> <p><em>Written by Catherine Marshall. First appeared on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a></strong></span></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/05/5-things-you-must-do-to-avoid-seasickness-on-a-cruise/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">5 things you MUST do to avoid seasickness on a cruise</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/05/10-things-you-must-never-do-in-a-cruise-cabin/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 things you must never do in a cruise cabin</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/05/po-ships-first-new-zealand-cruise/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">P&amp;O’s first cruise around New Zealand</span></em></strong></a></p>

Cruising

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Cuba's travel industry on the cusp of change

<p>It's perhaps not the most recognised indicator of change but for me one of the most noticeable impacts of the changes under way in Cuba is lobsters.</p> <p>I'm not implying Cuba has telepathic crustaceans...simply that five years ago almost no restaurant seemed to know how to cook a lobster properly. Inevitably they'd be overcooked and chewy. Remarkably cheap, but chewy.</p> <p>However, the tide is now turning and with more Cubans able to set up private restaurants and Cubans returning home with extensive hospitality industry skills and with the prospect of better times ahead, lobster is worth eating, although inevitably the prices have also gone up.</p> <p>And that's the rub with Cuba ...a few years back when limitations on American tourists were even tighter than they are today and tourism numbers overall were lower, so too were prices.  Finding a hotel room was relatively easy and popular tourist sites such as the historic hearts of Havana and Trinidad were refreshingly free of crowds.</p> <p>But now the rush is on.  It seems everyone wants to get to Cuba before the inevitable influx of Americans (an estimated 10 million a year) arrives. At present the US Government still places restrictions on their citizens' ability to visit Cuba (they can't go independently as yet but there's an expanded range of approved special interest tours) but sometime that will change.</p> <p><img width="498" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/18955/shutterstock_312697145_498x280.jpg" alt="cuba street"/></p> <p>In the meantime, it's everyone else who is heading to Cuba – keen to get there before the country changes too drastically. Cuba has no multinational franchises such as McDonalds, KFC or Starbucks. You can't buy Coca Cola and there are a few international standard hotels outside the beach resort areas such as Varadero. And, for the great majority of travellers, this is an essential part of its charm.</p> <p>The impact of this increase in numbers (about 17 per cent last year) is causing some problems, at least in the short term however, as I have experienced first-hand.</p> <p>Even before private citizens could offer bed and breakfast accommodation and operate private restaurants as they can now, Cuba's tourist infrastructure was starting to creak under the strain.</p> <p>This is still a Communist country and the volume and inefficiency of the bureaucracy can be overwhelming.   If you visit Cuba with a government-run agency there is a centralised system of booking hotel, transport and other services.  Over the last few years I've experienced this imploding under the strain with overbooking of hotel rooms, shortages of guides, incorrect bookings. It's a good thing that Cuba has such great and still reasonably cheap cocktails because I usually have to resort to several of these for medicinal purposes to keep a tour on the rails.</p> <p>In theory, now that there are private accommodation providers some of these problems should be relieved but now even these new businesses are sometimes struggling to keep up with demand, leading sometimes to overbooking and other problems.</p> <p>I've arrived in Baracoa, in Cuba's far eastern province, and been told on arrival that the hotel booked for my group has been changed (despite earlier assurances this would not happen) and to be given the news that the hotel we were now assigned to had no bus access so my group would have to climb nearly 100 steps in 35C heat to reach the lobby.</p> <p>Last year, having finally secured a booking in one of Trinidad's few heritage hotels I was told just days before we were due to fly from New Zealand that the hotel had been exclusively let out to American groups and was unavailable to others - even if was empty.  On occasions our Kiwi group was "bumped" from reserved tables at restaurants because they'd been given to Americans instead.</p> <p>I have also arrived, group in tow, to discover the government-run agency had run out of English-speaking guides and instead had assigned me an Italian speaking one.  It took three days of battling to sort this out.</p> <p>Doing this on the phone to the local office took on a Pythonesque quality. </p> <p>"I need an English-speaking guide."</p> <p>"You have one."</p> <p> "No, I don't. She speaks Italian."</p> <p> "No, she speaks English."</p> <p>She told me she has no English, only Italian, while weeping on my shoulder at the airport!"</p> <p>At which point the rep hung up and a few hours later sent the office "heavy" to sort me out</p> <p>In a possibly totally inadvertent piece of national stereotyping, an extremely well-built lady marched into the hotel lobby and announced "I am the German-speaking assistant manager...why do you want a new guide?"</p> <p>It's rather ironic that, considering the long running political stand-off and suspicion between the US and Cuba, it seems  some Cubans are now giving US citizens preferential treatment. But it's maybe also understandable:  after decades of shortages and almost no money, given the prospect of a higher standard of living, people are keen to cash in. And who can blame them after years of existing on very low wages with few of the consumer goods we take for granted.</p> <p>However, many Cubans I talked to last time are rather affronted that the rest of the world thinks they are going to let American culture swamp their own distinctive and treasured culture.</p> <p>"We want their money, yes," said one hotel operator "but we don't want everything that comes with it.</p> <p>Getting one without the other might not be easy, however. There are rumours that sites along the picturesque and still rather crumbling Havana Malecon (seafront promenade) have already been earmarked by companies like McDonald's.</p> <p>The upside of the increased interest in Cuba is that the quality and variety of food has improved significantly – and not just the lobster. There's some innovative cuisine developing along with much better service (waiting staff in government-run establishments get paid exactly the same whether they provide quality service or no service at all and sometimes it shows).</p> <p>Best of all, there's been an astonishing amount of restoration work being done to Cuba's superb architectural heritage, in some cases just in the nick of time as many historic buildings are literally falling down. Havana now boasts chic new cafes, restaurants and bed and breakfast accommodation in renovated houses.</p> <p>So, how do you tackle Cuba on the cusp of change? The most important thing is don't be panicked into visiting before you've planned properly, particularly in the high season (especially November to March, but July and August can also be busy). The Americans are not there en masse yet but Cuba's popularity is surging so make sure you research carefully before you book anything and then double and triple check that booking before you leave home, or  work through an operator who knows what they are doing.  Travelling off peak is another way to avoid problems.</p> <p>Despite the positive changes already evident in Cuba there are still challenges for travellers: there is still a relatively limited range of food and many other consumer goods are in short supply (I queued in a government department store for 30 minutes to get a new electrical plug for a client and there was only one plug in stock), hotels are not always well maintained and telecommunications can be very frustrating with cellphone coverage erratic and few places as yet have wifi.</p> <p>However, the plusses completely outweigh the negatives for all but the most fussy of travellers. Cuba oozes music and dance; the locals are still genuinely pleased to see you, the history and culture are fascinating and the architecture astonishing. Add to that a tropical climate, relatively cheap prices and a vibrant arts scene.</p> <p>And if things get fraught just keep in mind that Cubans have been dealing with economic hardship and restrictions for decades so you can manage for a few days. So, just cruise it like the Cubans do and order another cocktail.</p> <p><em>Written by Jill Worrall. First appeared on <strong><a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></a></strong>.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Have you arranged your travel insurance yet? Tailor your cover to your needs and save money by not paying for things you don’t need. <a href="https://elevate.agatravelinsurance.com.au/oversixty?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=link1&amp;utm_campaign=travel-insurance" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">To arrange a quote, click here.</span></a> For more information about Over60 Travel Insurance, call 1800 622 966.</em></strong></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/01/10-best-value-travel-destinations-2016/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 best-value travel destinations in 2016</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/tripadvisor-top-10-beaches-2016/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>TripAdvisor names top 10 beaches for 2016</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/01/16-locations-visited-by-ocean-cruises-2016/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>16 best locations visited by ocean cruises in 2016</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Airbnb breathes new life into Cuban tourism

<p>Cuba’s tourism industry is set to boom in the coming months and years after relations with the US have been reopened and the country is beginning to offer Airbnb accommodation to people around the world.</p> <p>Previously, only authorised residents of the US had been able to stay in Airbnb properties in Cuba, 13,000 American travellers in total since this time last year. Recently, however, the US Government has lifted limitations on the use of home-sharing services in Cuba, opening the country up to receive tourists worldwide.</p> <p>Since April last year, when Airbnb was launched in Cuba, home-sharers in the country have earned an average of $250 per night, much higher than most listings in other nations. Now that restrictions have been removed, the cost per night should decrease and the total number of listings should increase, meaning great things for both travellers and the Cuban economy.</p> <p>Fancy being one of the first Aussies to celebrate Cuba’s tourism boom? <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/cuba?guests=&amp;ss_id=bdwhuzmu&amp;source=bb&amp;s_tag=oI3W0aAQ/?af=61160407&amp;c=apac_au_over60_cuba" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here</span></strong></a> to take a look at properties available around the country.</p> <p><em>Image: Yamil Lage / Getty</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/how-airbnb-started/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The story of how Airbnb started</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/hotels-are-listing-their-rooms-on-airbnb/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Hotels are listing their rooms on Airbnb</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/why-everybody-loves-seniors-on-airbnb/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why everybody loves seniors on Airbnb</span></em></strong></a></p>

Accommodation

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The simple scams tourists are falling for

<p>Everyone says it will never happen to them, until it does. It’s always advisable to keep your wits about you when you’re travelling. Here are the common scams that tourists are falling for in Cuba.</p> <p><strong>1. The milk powder scam</strong></p> <p>The scammer will approach a tourist and ask them to buy a bag of milk powder from a nearby store. After the traveller has paid and left, the scammer and storeowner split the money and the milk powder goes back on the shelves.</p> <p><strong>2. The money-changing scam</strong></p> <p>There are two different currencies in Cuba: the CUC, which is what tourists use mostly, and the national peso (CUP), which is worth 1/24th of a CUC. The scammer will offer to change traveller’s money, saying as a local they can get a better rate.</p> <p><strong>3. The cigar scam</strong></p> <p>Scammer will offer to sell “real” cigars at discount prices. Don’t be fooled, it is too good to be true. There are legitimate and official stores to buy cigars from in Havana, Trinidad, and other centres around the country.</p> <p><strong>4. The casa scam</strong></p> <p>In Cuba, it’s a common accommodation arrangement for tourists to stay in “casa particulars”, which are rooms inside or connected to a family home. At tourist areas, locals will beg you to stay at their house. While offers are usually legitimately, scammers have been known to take people to a house that is not theirs and demand money from the homeowner.</p>

International Travel

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5 reasons to visit Cuba now (before it changes for good)

<p>At the start of this year US President Barack Obama announced historic changes that could remove the restrictions on American citizens travelling to Cuba. Americans rejoiced; but the rest of the world did not. Embargoes in place since the 1950s mean Cuba has remained free of American cultural influences and many people are afraid that an influx of tourists will change all that. Here’s why you should visit Cuba right now.</p> <p><strong>It’s not too busy… yet</strong></p> <p>A US survey taken just after Obama’s announcement found that 46 per cent of people surveyed would consider changing their travel plans in the Caribbean in the face of the relaxed legislations. Travel agents have reported a sixfold increase in enquiries from US citizens interested in travelling to Cuba. What’s the take home message here? Americans are most definitely interested in Cuba and it won’t be long before it joins other Caribbean island destinations as a US favourite.</p> <p><strong>Free from chains</strong></p> <p>There are no McDonalds, no Pizza Huts, no Subways, no major fast food chains of any kind in Cuba. It’s one of the last places in the world to hold out against the multinational food giants (though there are a few local outfits serving up mediocre burgers and fries). Instead of grabbing a Big Mac, locals here stop off for little “bocadito” sandwiches of ham, cheese or roasted meats, followed by a sweet, sugary “churro” donut.</p> <p><strong>Jump in my car</strong></p> <p>Where else in the world are you going to see classic American cars from the 1950s still used as a popular mode of transport? Nowhere but Cuba. Trade restrictions following the 1959 revolution prevented the importation of cars and (with few other options) some 60,000 vintage vehicles still run on the roads. The cars are of varying quality and while some are beautifully maintained there are many that seem held together only by rust and duct tape, but they are still an impressive sight.</p> <p><strong>Light em up</strong></p> <p>The ban on Cuban cigars has already been lifted and for the first time since JFK was in office American citizens can import up to $150 worth at any one time. But a Cuban cigar has a certain mystique attached to it after being illegal for so many years, so it seems a waste to simply smoke one on your own verandah. Try a traditional, hand rolled cigar in a back alley Havana bar before you can buy them at every 7-11 in the world.</p> <p><strong>Eye to eye</strong></p> <p>The advent of smartphones in developed countries means that the majority of pedestrians now walk with their heads down and their eyes firmly glued to the brightly lit screen (however dangerous this may be in traffic). But in Cuba, less than three per cent of the population has access to the internet and smartphones are still very expensive. So you might actually see people looking around them, making eye contact and smiling with their fellow pedestrians. A rarity indeed.</p> <p><em>Image credit: <span>unmillonedeelefantes / Shutterstock.com</span></em></p> <p> </p>

International Travel

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