Jose Marti Airport, Havana Cuba

[haydensydney]

My partner and I are heading off on a RTW in May. On our way to the Drupa conference in Dusseldorf, we are stopping off for a brush of leisure time in Cuba. As we are flying Air Canada to Havana via Toronto in J class, we are curious to know if there is a Maple Leaf lounge in the airport in Havana? Given the minimal threads on both Air Canada and Cuba were assuming that not many aussies have made the trip.... Has anyone headed overto Cuba, and would anyone know if there is a lounge there?
Also, if anyone is a Cuba expert, how would you rate the overall aviation/airport/immigration experience? Any tips or advice for an aussie in Cuba also?
Thanks!

 

[Maca44]

According to Air Canada website there is no lounge in HAV aircanada.com - Travel Info - Maple Leaf Lounges

 

[haydensydney]

Yeah I wasn't able to find anything at all either. Wikipedia has mention of a VIP lounge, i'm wondering if this is available for AC J class pax. Im sure time will tell.... I wait with bated breath

Am looking forward to my first report too, which will cover the trip in the following order:

Air Canada - Sydney/Vancouver/Toronto/Havana/Toronto/Paris
Lufthansa - Paris/Dusseldorf/Frankfurt/Dubai
Singapore - Dubai/Singapore/Sydney

...on another note, love this forum, didn't realise there was such a thing until watching Sunrise the other day. Good to know there are other flying buffs out there and it's great to read their reports, notably QF009 and Kiwiflyer. Thanks guys!

 

[aybee]

Couple of tips for you.
- AC will give you the tourist card for Cuba either at the check-in or gate at YYZ or on board the aircraft. I wouldn't worry about the "lounge" in Havana - not worth the time or trouble!

- If you're going to any point in the U.S. after Cuba, don't take anything purchased in Cuba (even something as innocent as a "Hola from Habana" postcard) with you. If they search your bags (and with a Cuban stamp in the passport they'll know you've been there) they will confiscate anything connected with Cuba as no "imports" of Cuban goods are permitted. They have no issue with you, as a non-U.S. national being there, just an issue with breaking importation rules.

- On AC's 777 between Sydney and Toronto (if you're going all the way through on AC34) the individual suites they have in J can make it hard for travelling as a couple or family.
Some people prefer side by side 1 behind the other but there is a wall seperating you and when seated, it's hard to see the other person. The 2 suites in the centre of the cabin do have a partition between the 2 suites that you can move down but as the seats are angled away from each other due to the herringbone pattern, you would have to turn 180 degrees to look at/talk to each other.
Most have found that one on the window and one in the centre across the aisle works best. You can at least have eye contact and if you can learn sign language before you fly, you can communicate!
Be aware though that the rows are zig-zagged - if you are in window suite 5K, partner needs to be in centre Suite 6G as example.
Try and avoid rows 5-8 if you can. There is a stand-up bar between rows 6 and 7 plus a lav on each side, so it gets busy and possibly noisy in that area during the flight.
If it's the 1.30pm departure, don't eat too much lunch before boarding. They have a big luncheon service - takes a good 90 minutes or more to get through it all and is more like a bistro service. Course by course rather than a plonked down tray with the main coming out after you've demolished the starter that was on the tray.

- Same applies for the Toronto-Paris leg. If operated by a 763, it's only 3 single suites across, so get a centre and right side window preallocated. AC call centre in Sydney are happy to do it if your agent hasn 't/can't.

- The Toronto-Havana flight is operated with E-jets, so they will be "domestic" style Business cabin/seating. AC treats most of the 25+ Carribbean ports it serves as part of it's extended domestic network, so no full International service/cabins.

- On arrival in Vancouver, if you are going all the way through to Toronto on AC34 grab a shower in the Maple Leaf Lounge during the transit. You should be able to get through immigration fairly quickly at that time of the morning - especially as you'll be amongst the first in line coming out of the J cabin. Just don't spend too much time at the waterfall hugging and kissing the totem pole on the way through!

- You will find a similar forum on flyertalk.com. Not as "local" as this one, but very similar format/style and a wealth of information on all manner of travel related things, principally including the FF schemes.

Cheers and have a great trip.

 

[haydensydney]

Thanks heaps for your advice, was great to get some in-depth knowledge (and from the sounds of it first hand knowledge) of the flights. The herringbone layout will be a first for me - over the years I have looked upon the layout with curiosity, but due to my QF allegance I have rarely flown anyone else other than Emirates and other oneworld arilines. I did fly the new BA CW over christmas and that was great, so i'm looking forward to trying out AC's product.

On another note, the below has turned up on the SMH.com.au website on the AC flights between Syd and Vancouver:

Overdue north - Canada - North America - World - Travel - smh.com.au

 

[driftergirl]

<Also, if anyone is a Cuba expert, how would you rate the overall aviation/airport/immigration experience? Any tips or advice for an aussie in Cuba also>

Can't rate myself as an expert, but I did spend some time in Havana a few years ago.

The airport is slow - very slow. Allow plenty of time for everything there. They didn't have scanning equipment for passports, so you were eyeballed to match your passport photo (it's quite disconcerting being looked at so closely!!). Luggage took quite some time to come off the plane, the atm's at the airport were a bit hit and miss too, and if you use money changers there - ALWAYS check your money carefully. The only other warning I have is that the buskers will follow you if you look gringo/a, and you can pay a small fortune each day in just giving them spare change. Oh, and food was pretty ordinary when I was there, service in restaurants pretty bad but the rum was great!

OK that's the bad part, I actually loved Havana and would give anything to go back and explore more of the country. The people are friendly (and proud) - there are lots of warnings about touts who are scamming....I found as many people who were willing to show you their favourite sites for free (or maybe a drink at a bar) - I made sure that I was only carrying enough cash for a couple of drinks when I went out so I could say honestly that I didn't have money on me.

My favourite memories are of trying to dance with the locals (not just in bars, I danced with a guy in the cobbled streets outside the hotel when I was discovered sitting there just listening to the music).

The best tip I was given was to hire a guide and a driver for a half or whole day and set your own itinerary that way. I was told that the Havana cemetary was something worth seeing, so I arranged with the guide that he would show me some sights he thought worth seeing, then we'd go through the cemetary before going back to the hotel. The car was one of the classics that seem to only be treasured in Cuba, and it was well worth the money! The cemetary is pretty impressive, but more so the fact that funerals at the chappel are limited to 8 minute durations due to demand (even when Fidel was there at the same time I visited!)

I was a single female travelling on my own, and never felt threatened (although after a few days I did have enough of the buskers, and would duck into a swish hotel to escape - the hotels don't mind you having a look at the art deco styles anyway). Cubans are very proud of their culture, education, medicine and will happily sit down and talk to you about it - sometimes they can be hard to discourage though.

Best piece of advice I ever got about Cuba, although it applies equally everywhere - expect nothing and you'll be pleasantly surprised (now when I travel, it's with the motto "expect anything, everything and nothing").