- DISCUSSION & TRIP PLANNING TOPIC IS HERE.
- IS A TRIP TO CUBA RIGHT FOR ME? Please read below.
SingleDivers.com is planning a trip to CUBA in as early as 2016 but more realistically 2017. We plan to use this topic to help people know what to expect...after all.... it will NOT be everyone's cup of tea...or is that cigar?????
But seriously...going to Cuba now is UNCHARTERED TERRITORY. So it will not be the perfect vacation for everyone.
To help you know if CUBA NOW is right for you we've been asking the Spree to help develop a KNOW BEFORE YOU GO so people can more readily opt in or opt out of this trip NOW... Down the road as the trips become more common they will get easier but the first ones will be a wild rodeo for sure!
Let's see if you are up for the ride..... - Kamala aka WreckWench
FROM THE SPREE ABOUT THEIR FIRST TRIP EVER April 9th, 2016....
Congratulations on being an adventurer along with the mighty vessel Spree exploring the coast of Cuba. I wanted to drop you a line to tell you what you can expect from this trip and what not to expect. Remember, what we set out to do this April has not been done before ever, that is, leave the United States for Cuba with paying passengers onboard and dive on reefs that have never been seen by anyone. Cuba is an untouched area, even by the locals.
Boarding: we will board the Spree at 8 PM on Saturday the 9th of April. The Spree is docked at Robbie's of Key West at 7281 Shrimp Road on Stock Island, FL and we have parking dockside. There is a map to the boat on our website at http://www.researchv...ryTortugas.aspx. The website www.spreeexpeditions.com has a tremendous amount of information on it that is all good stuff to know, you might want to go there and have a look at what we have to say. We will depart shortly after 8. The crew typically has dinner at the Hogfish Bar and Grill about 5:30 before boarding. If you would like to join us, you will be more than welcome.
Arrival in Cuba: we will arrive at Cuban Customs at first light on Sunday morning, the 10th. The first person to board will be the physician who will enquire as to our general health, and will take everyone's temperature. If you have a fever, you will be removed from the Spree and taken to hospital. This brings up an important point. Do not show up with a fever (or a cold, or sick, or with any gaping wounds) for departure. We don't know if they would turn the whole boat around or just take you to the hospital, but we don't really want to know. If you are sick, we will deny you boarding so we don't lose the entire trip. Buy travel insurance!!! Divers Alert Network now offers travel insurance as well as dive accident insurance that is valid in Cuba. There are a number of companies that will sell trip cancellation or interruption insurance. Get this. You do not want to lose the adventure of a lifetime and not get a refund because you have caught a cold. After the doctor we will be taken one by one to the immigration office with passports to check in. You will be given a tourist visa and asked if you would like a passport stamp. This is a completely legal trip, so there is no reason not to have a Cuba stamp in your passport. After clearance we will head out to go diving. There will be plenty of time to set your gear up Sunday morning.
Why is this legal travel?: the Spree is permitted to be exported and reimported into Cuba and the United States by the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security. The Non Profit corporation Gulf Reefs Environmental Action Team (GREAT) is approved by the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control to conduct educational tours for people to people contact. All participants will sign an affidavit stating that they have been educated. Spree will carry a marine biologist who will offer short lectures/classes on coral reef fish identification, coral identification, artificial reef biology, etc. That affidavit will be turned in to Spree and filed for 5 years, just in case anyone ever asks you why you traveled to Cuba. You have to retain a copy of the affidavit for 5 years also.
Diving: we will dive Sunday to Wednesday. Diving is from the Spree, live boat, on reefs and walls. No artifacts may be taken. Nothing may be removed from the water. We are limited by law to recreational dive limits, 130 feet no deco diving. We may or may not have a government representative on the boat with us to make sure we aren't finding Spanish treasures or taking lobster or any of the other things that it is illegal to do in Cuba. Please don't get arrested for diving outside of the limits set on us by the Cuban Government, and don't bring back that bar of gold.....
Land Tour: we will clear back into Marina Hemingway (8 miles from Havana) on Thursday morning. We expect to arrange a bus to take us to the National Aquarium, El Morro Castle, Old Havana, the Museum of the Revolution, and the National Hotel. Lunch will be provided. The bus will return you to the Spree in time for dinner and departure to Key West around 6 PM.
Arrival in Key West: Spree will be at the Key West Sea Buoy at first light. We can expect to be boarded by the US Coast Guard. They are very nice, they are looking for stowaways, and will require all of us to be seated on the back deck. They will search the boat and will examine your passports against your faces and our permit. When that is complete, we will go to the dock to be met by Customs and Border Patrol. They will clear in all passengers and check your bags for contraband, including shells, animal, vegetable, or some mineral products. Please don't carry any contraband. Fines range from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation.Food: both the Cuban government and the American government are paranoid about transferring diseases between countries. Cuba has no citrus blight, and no bird flu. They are extremely cautious about what food comes in. Please do not bring snacks, special meals unless prescribed by a doctor (with prior approval only) or any other food on the Spree. We have to have country of origin certification for all food onboard for both Cuba and the US. Please no food onboard in either country. I promise, we will feed you and have plenty of snacks.
Swag: you are allowed $400 in Cuban goodies, of which $100 may be a combination of rum and cigars. You will find art vendors, trinkets, and other goodies, but it would surprise me if you could spend $400 in our day in Havana. There is a liquor and cigar store at the Marina Hemingway. Some of the best rum I've ever tasted is $3 a bottle, so a case is not out of the question. The cigars are hand rolled by an 80 year old lady right there at the store. She claims she rolled cigars for Castro. I didn't ask which Castro.
I think that I have pretty much covered the high points. You will want cash for shopping, and the exchange rate is either 87% or 90%, depending on where you change money. US dollars are widely accepted. US credit cards are not.
Thank you, and if you have a specific question, please ask.
Captain Frank Wasson
Please feel free to ask questions and I will forward them to Capt Frank for replies. Keep in mind some questions may not be able to be answered UNTIL they make their first trip this coming April. And also keep in mind that each subsequent trip will help the boat know if the answers will remain consistent or were a result of unique circumstances that could change from trip to trip as EACH OF OUR COUNTRIES LEARNS TO TRUST EACH OTHER AND WE LEARN TO DO BUSINESS WITH ONE ANOTHER AGAIN!
And don't forget to suggest TRIP DATES HERE!!!! THIS topic is for planning our . 2016/2017 CUBA trip
And YES we plan on using the Spree since it is about half the price of what other operators are charging.