So we're normalizing relations with Cuba

[cocoajoe]

Don't know about live-a boards but from what I've read, there's a ways to go yet before you can just jump on a plane and go diving in Cuba. At least if you're a non-Cuban. Here's one thing I read from NPR dated 2 days ago......

No Tourists Allowed — Yet
[h=3]THE SALT[/h][h=3]Mojito Diplomacy: Chefs Plan Culinary Tours To Cuba[/h]


Currently, around a dozen charter flights a day leave Miami International Airport for Havana and other Cuban cities. Most passengers are Cuban-Americans and Cubans returning home after visiting relatives — usually carrying bundles of goods that are hard to find on the island.
"We're having hundreds of calls to all of our offices," says Armando Garcia of Marazul Charters in Miami.
There are caveats: Americans can't travel to the island for tourism, but they will be able to fly to Cuba to take part in performances or sporting events, as well as religious, educational and humanitarian activities.
Another major change: U.S. airlines will now be allowed to offer regularly scheduled flights to Cuba, although they'll first have to negotiate with the Cuban government for landing rights and gate space. Garcia says the question now is how many U.S. visitors Cuba — a country with just 35,000 hotel rooms — will be able to accommodate.
"They have limited hotel space for large demand," he says. "So in that case, if they don't have that kind of possibilities, they will have to limit, in a way, certain kind of trips."

 

[descent]

Since we're talking about prospective diving in Cuba, and thus vacation dive trips there, I've got a few questions from a 'Why Cuba over other destinations, and what's it like there?' perspective. ...

All five questions were really interesting. I have been thinking about them all week. Thanks for breaking them out like that.

The multiple warnings from the mods left me unsure of whether this kind of information would be appropriate for this diving-specific thread. I held off for several days.

Then I remembered reading a whole bunch of posts about the correct etiquette for not locking your rental truck on Bonaire, and whether or not you need to conceal your lunch cooler or sunglasses from wandering thieves. I figured recent homicide stats from Cuba might be relevant here after all.

Drug-related social problems have completely put me off of traveling through Central America. For years, I kept trying to ignore the more obvious criminality around me, but it got to the point where it seemed like only a matter of time before I stumbled into something that I would not be able to politely excuse myself from. I just stopped going.

5.) ... what's looking around at the society like? ... Not trying to offend anyone. Just want to know how the typical American dropped in the middle of it will likely react.

I haven't been to Cuba, but based on the anecdotes in this article, it sounds like a completely different world — unlike its Caribbean neighbors, and unlike Central America.

The Miami Herald has been cranking out new pieces since the recent shift in policy. If you like the kind of "roving reporter" journalism in this article, you can find more like it in their dedicated Cuba Section.


Cuba: Police state or tourist haven? Depends who you talk to

Published: 01/16/2015 6:35 PM Updated: 01/16/2015 9:11 PM

HAVANA — At midnight on the streets of this crumbling capital, tipsy tourists walk down dark alleys with cameras dangling from their necks that might be worth six months’ salary to a local Cuban. Yet by many accounts those innocents abroad are probably safer here than on almost any other street in the Caribbean.

Living in a communist police state has dramatic downsides — paranoia, suspicion, fear, unjust imprisonment. But it also makes the island unique in the region: virtually free from the violent crime that plagues much of the Americas.

As U.S. travelers increasingly flock to the island, attracted by its time-warp scenery of 1950s Fords and colonial architecture, safety might be one of its less-flashy selling points.

Cuba doesn’t report crime statistics and state-run media rarely cover crime, but the meager data that exists paints a picture that sets Cuba apart.

The country had 477 homicides in 2012 or a rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. That’s the third lowest homicide rate in the hemisphere after Canada and Chile, and it’s dramatically lower than its neighbors. Jamaica, for example, had a homicide rate of 39.3 per 100,000, followed by the Bahamas with 29.8 and Puerto Rico with 26.5. Mainland United States, by comparison, had a rate of 4.7 homicides per 100,000.

Monica Petruzzelli, 21, was in Cuba with classmates from California’s Chapman University working on a documentary about local artists. She said she had spent the previous night wandering around old Havana snapping pictures and bar hopping.

“I felt the same as if I had been walking in the United States,” she said. “I felt very safe. Of course the guys weren’t tame, they were harassing and harassing, but it was the same way in Chile.”

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security says violent crime isn’t common in Cuba, but “evidence continues to suggest that petty theft and minor crimes remain a problem.... American travelers are perceived to be wealthy and are, thus, often the target of these types of crimes.” ... ( read more (700 words) )

 

[Ayisha]

When I went to Cuba, we asked the resort manager that we befriended about crime in Cuba, and he said that the rate of crime was very low, but especially low against tourists because if a Cuban is caught committing a crime against a tourist, they will go to jail and probably "never come out".

If you treat your vacation spot as you would with the same "common sense" you would use at home or elsewhere, things will likely be fine. Some people go into vacation mode and do things they wouldn't do at home. Personally, I wouldn't walk alone at night in a deserted area. It might be nice to be able to, but it's not something I'd test out on foreign soil.

One day my husband and I were walking in Havana and we turned onto a little street off the main area since it looked like it would be a short cut to where our bus was parked, otherwise it was going to be a long way back to get to the main street. We were walking hand in hand around the corner and all of a sudden both of us came to complete stop. There was a group of Cuban men huddled around a stoop around halfway down the road and they all suddenly turned and stared at us, and it was a very cold, foreboding stare, even obvious from our distance. My husband and I both stopped dead in our tracks, and he is a very large, imposing man, never afraid of anyone or anything. We both started backing up and turning around, and he said, "Let's go another way". That's the only time we ever felt the least bit threatened while in Cuba.

Otherwise, we had a fabulous trip, and the people are so friendly, kind and happy, even though they have so little. The children are really happy, playing outside, smiling, and the sound of children's laughter is so sweet.

When we go to a foreign country, we have to be cautious about judging it by Western standards or certainly most Latin American countries will fail. My friend is staying at the Paradisus Princesca del Mar in Varadero next week, and it's a 5 star ultra-all-inclusive resort with a price to match by Cuban standards (In Canada, we pay about $800 CDN for a 5 star all-inclusive in Cuba, but Paridisus starts at $1400 CDN - last minute is $500 CDN compared to $900 CDN for Paradisus). My friend is as choosy as they come, and is worried about whether the resort will meet her high expectations for food, accommodations, and amenities, and whether she and her boyfriend will have any safety concerns. I'll let you know what she thinks when she comes back. Paradisus Princesa del Mar - Varadero Hotels - Signature Vacations

 

[TMHeimer]

May have mentioned that in '03 we went from Varadero over to Cardenas courtesy of a resort waitress. Felt very safe there, except from la Policia. Took a photo of Elian Gonzales' house (much nicer than others there--he is a Hero there with an entire wing of a museum dedicated to him). Waitress told cops we were Canadian, not American, and we "escaped". Then we were stopped when driving back to the resort when the cops extorted $50 from the waitress. Come to think of it, I felt very "safe" in 1984 in Moscow as well, at least regarding the locals. Maybe things are a little better now in Cuba, but still Communist. In the resort there is little difference from anywhere else in the Caribbean, but beware if you leave.

 

[decompression]

My friend just got back from Veradero a couple of days ago and had nothing but good to say about this op, https://www.facebook.com/clubscubazul


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[eponym]

Recent news about Cuba's coral reefs actually spreading instead of diminishing as others have:

PBS Nature: Cuba: The Accidental Eden

NPR Morning Edition: Scientists Work To Protect Cuba's Unspoiled Reefs

Sounds like a must-see.

 

[Skinsfan0260]

Are there any dive operators in Cuba now? I read on a post a few years ago the OP had difficulties find descent equipment and air tanks. Just curious...

I dove in the bay of pigs with my wife a couple years ago. We left from Varadero and took a bus up and across the island. We brought our own equipment based on the misconception that the dive operator supplied equipment of Mexico was horrible and thought that dive operater equipment in Cuba would be worse. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. The supplied the others with Scubapro regulators and PDFs that were in great shape. This quality equipment was probably a result of government regulation.

 

[grf88]

I posted this in another thread but thought it important enough to post again:

Having been to Cuba several times I would suggest that Americans avoid the country at all cost. You will not be allowed to carry guns there so how do you expect to protect yourselves. There is no Starbucks so getting started in the morning will be difficult. No Coors Light or Bud Light, not even a giant Slurpee to be found so the odds are you will suffer dehydration. It is full of Canadians and Brits so you will not understand the language or any of the customs. There are no private clinics so if you get sick you will be subjected to socialized medicine which many of your countrymen have warned you about what with its inevitable death panels and the like. Us Canadians and British have been subjected to years of this type of thing and our bodies are now accustomed to it, Americans on the other hand can be expected to die like flies under the same conditions. Finally there are no American fast food chains so you would probably starve to death anyway.

Please don't think as a Canadian that I have any ulterior motive such as keeping prices low, it is just that I have genuine concern for my American neighbours.

 

[Ayisha]

My friend came back from Paradisus Princesca in Varadero, about the absolute best 5 star resort in Cuba, and she was not impressed. In all fairness, she was concerned whether it would meet her high expectations before she ever went. Before she left, I had reminded her of how to avoid getting sick while there, much as in any Latin American country like Mexico, Dominican Republic, etc. Don't drink the water; Use only distinct purified ice cubes; don't let them tell you crushed ice is purified - purified ice will come in a cylinder shape with a hole in the middle; Don't eat the salad or any fruit or vegetables that you did not peel yourself, avoid street vendors or anywhere without adequate refrigeration, etc.

This is what she emailed me when she returned:

I just wanted to say hi, I am back from Cuba and unfortunately did not have a great trip. Severe food poisoning got me 1/3 into our trip and I am still suffering with it. It was a nice hotel but they just did not handle food properly, food was not cooked properly etc.... The weather was okay, not really beach weather unfortunately. Did not do any diving. The music was great though and they had great entertainment every evening with live salsa bands and dancers so that made up for some of it.

 

[grf88]

Most of the ice can be readily purified with sufficient rum