Popular Post zlc410 Posted August 6, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted August 6, 2017 Just returned from my second trip to Cuba of the summer. My first trip was in June and I came home the day Trump announced the changes. Had very few issues that trip other than my carryon being searched in Cuba and being shaken down for 40 CUC of the 100 I had on me. It was a strange deal and I have no doubt she targeted my after seeing my CUCs. I told her I had kept them for the duty free and she lectured me about it being illegal to cross into the security area without exchanging them first. She told me her bosses- pointed them out at the end of a long table- didnt speak english and they would take all my CUC's but she would only take 40. She took it and slipped it into her pocket and let me go. She never even counted the 55 cigars I had on me. I had checked all my boxes but had the facturas and she saw those so maybe that is why she let me go without counting. My second trip was with the wife so not nearly as much cigar enjoyment but still had a great time. This will get long but there were many questions I had asked of others that maybe I can answer. We arrived in the evening so there were no LCDH's open in order to get a cigar at so wondered to Hotel Nacional as I had spent a bit of time on their patio the previous trip. Ate at La Barraca? which is outside of the hotel in the back. Roast chicken for me and a shredded beef for the wife. Both are good but as far as Cuba standards go it is pretty expensive. We declared support for the Cuban people this trip (people to people the first trip). No issues upon departure or arrival. We booked an airbnb this trip that was directly across from the Hotel Capri. Leif is the host and he as in constant contact with us before and during the trip. It was a nice place and I think we paid around $160 USD. The best parts were that wifi COULD be had sitting in the closed in balcony in our apartment. I was also told I could smoke in the home which I did the next two nights. There was AC in the bedroom and it got plenty cold for us. Water was not an issue here and the pressure and hot water were no different than home. After dinner we sat on the Nacional porch and I got a cigar from the bar (no idea of real/fake but it was $10 and I needed to smoke something). The porch at the nacional in the evening is a great place to smoke even though it is expensive to drink there compared to many other places. I had a Cuba Libre and wife had a pina colada that was excellent. Day two we got up and had breakfast which was included with our rental each morning. Eggs/fruit/etc. and was very good and prepared in our room by a local lady. More food than we could eat by far. We took a taxi from outside the Capri to the Comodoro to see Alex. First trip he was not there but Andrew was. Andrew is great but I was happy to get to meet Alex this trip. I was the only one in the shop for most of the 3 hours we spent there. Alex had Sublimes, Canonaza, A, Corona, Churchill, and Lanceros in bundles. I bought one bundle of each and smoked a sublime. It was incredible. Alex sat with me the entire time and we talked about all things Cuba. He is truly as good a guy as everyone that has met him says he is. Towards the end of our time there he rolled me a cigar talking about the process, leaves, etc throughout. It was the highlight of either of my trips to Cuba. We left there and walked to the Melia Habana which I had spent some time at the previous trip. We grabbed a bundle of her robustos and caught a taxi back to Vedado which was only 10 CUC. I am not sure of the usual tip but we tipped the taxi anywhere from 2-5 CUC each trip. They seemed grateful no matter how much we tipped. WE had him drop us at the Habana Libre and they had an open box of Monte 80th there but said they had no full boxes. Last trip they supposedly had an open box of Behikes but I didn't see them either time I was there so I guess I just missed them. I bought a couple of 80th as I wanted to smoke one. I was told later they were probably fakes if they were in an open box but I leave that up to others to discuss. I smoked one the last night and it was good, but I still prefer the cutoms by a bunch. At this point it was raining so we walked back to the Nacional which was only about a minute from our apartment. I picked up some ashtrays there each time we went. The second time the guy said he had one of the larger square ones so I grabbed it. It was 60 CUC. The smalls were 20-27 CUC. We took a cab to Old Havana and walked Obisbo in the rain. Day three we had breakfast and wondered back to Old Havana for the wife to shop on Obisbo as the day before it was simply too rainy to do much. We stopped at the Villanueva and I grabbed one of Reynaldos Elephante and a pyramid. The pyramid was only 5 cuc so I went ahead and grabbed a bundle of those. The elephante was great but the ring gauge is just a bit big for my preference. I just smoked a pyramid which I thought was almost as good as his canonaza's but not quite. The bar here is an awesome place to smoke as I spent some time there last trip. This time we just took it to go and I smoked it while walking on Obispo. I was hit up countless times about the "special" day in Havana where the "houses" sell cigars at half price. I never ventured into one of these but they are obviously pretty abundant. I was tempted to go in one just to see what they had since I had never heard of anyone going in one of these places, but I hate going in and not buying so I declined every time. That night we went back to Nacional and sat on the patio and got on the internet there. It is the most reliable that I found in two trips but you have to buy the card from them and it only works there. 5 CUC for an hour. If you are going to facetime home it is worth the money as we didnt have nearly the connection issues we did everywhere else. Our flight was at 9 so we left to the airport at 7. I was on the same flight back to FLL the first trip and left at the same time. I was through customs and sitting in the departure lounge in about fifteen minutes the first trip. This trip took about 1.5 hours so plan ahead in regards to never knowing how it will be at the airport. It was crowded this day and I was stressing about making our flight. When you enter Cuba and when you leave you get your picture taken and the people in the booths are not super friendly. Don't smile and you will be ok. Once through the passport control you go through security which is where I was pulled last time. I was not pulled this time but my bags were as I had several ashtrays. They took everything out of all of my carryons and told me the ashtrays had to stay. I begged. I offered money. I couldn't understand why and finally he mimiced hitting someone with one. I told him I would never do that and he wouldn't relent. Finally my wife told them they were gifts and he rolled his eyes and said "Go". I grabbed all my stuff and went to repack as far away from them as I could get. After repacking I went to duty free and they had three boxes of Dantes there. I have never read much about the fake/real at the airport but I was going to buy one of them. Whipped out my USD and was told only CUC. There is a money exchange in the departure lounge so I went there and waited for them to open. They called for my flight before the lady got the money counted so I missed out on buying those or getting any rum this trip. Upon returning to the US we went through customs on the electronic passport machines. When we got to a person he asked my wife our reason for going to Cuba to which she responded "Just to visit". He dropped everything and informed her that it was against the law to go to Cuba just to visit. I interjected "support for the Cuban people" and he said ok. He asked about cigars and I told him yes. He asked how many and I told him I wasnt sure. That set off alarms and he griped at me about not knowing the law etc. I told him I knew the law was 100 each and we had more than that. He sent us to secondary where they had no idea how to process it. After unpacking EVERYTHING in our luggage he proceeded to count every cigar. It was probably about 400, he never said. He took it to his boss and came back and told us we were free to go as it wasn't worth messing with for that few cigars. They seriously acted like they had never dealt with cigars. They didn't know the duty rate, the duty limit, the form to use. I guess not many people declare. He informed me that if we hadn't declared they would have seized it all. Up to you but I think it best to know exactly how many you have when you arrive and tell them that number honestly or just chance it and say you don't have over the limit. I assume the cigars do NOT count as part of your $800 duty limit so have had no issues NOT declaring a value over $800. So, things I didn't know. - Download MapsMe as it is searchable offline. - Taxis are always negotiable. Sometimes they won't budge but the couple times we negotiated we offered a price and they took it. - The Cuban visas are sold at the airport. They have a little cart if you fly into FLL and you can buy without leaving your arrival area. We booked a separate flight from FLL to Cuba so had to go downstairs and buy it there. They ask your reason there as well at SWA checkin. - Cuba entry/exit is a bit scary. We have traveled all over Europe and Mexico. Been to Russia three times. None of those places were nearly as intimidating as Cuba's. I guess manly because I wanted to get my cigars out but I stress big time when going through their process. - Both times I was over the limit on customs. I packed 50 in my carryon and 50 per checked. All made it out both trips. Ask for Facturas even if you think you wont be over the limit. The shopkeepers in some places act like it is a chore. In others they act like it is no big deal. Some places tell you that you dont need one for just a box. I bought from lots of places and seldom bought more than a couple boxes at each so it was a chore. Of course, no facturas for customs which is what I bought mostly this trip. - First trip the only CoRo I saw were singles and box at the airport. This trip they were everywhwere. Full boxes of them. - The Melia Habana obviously keeps some HTF stuff they put out sparingly or they fake them as both times they had something HTF. - Lots of shops have singles of some HTF Cohiba stuff but I dont smoke a lot of that. Better to buy some single custom rolls and smoke them while there. They are truly amazing at the three places I have bought them. - Walking EVERYWHERE in Vedado, Miramar, and Habana Vieja seemed really safe. Find paladars to eat at as they are a good value compared to places like Nacional. Any questions drop me a line. I will put up some pictures after I get them downloaded from my phone. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Customsfan Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Thanks for sharing. Brought back some good memories for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madandana Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MahDooRow Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Thanks for the report. Your info confirms other stories I've heard about getting through security leaving Cuba. Despite the chaos and uncertainty you managed to escape with all of your custom rolls both times. Good job! However, I'd appreciate any add'l info you can provide. If I ever get to Cuba I plan to purchase several bundles of custom rolls and would hate to have them confiscated at the airport. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the luck of the draw (in terms of who you deal with). There seem to be no standard rules that are followed. One security person may be strict, another may be very lenient. If you run into someone who chooses to hassle you can you generally offer them a "donation" to let you through? If you speak little to no Spanish are are treated less fairly? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlc410 Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 I was told by a guy who travels monthly to Cuba that offering a "donation" works many times. However, he is obviously a known guy as he travels there a lot. He also speaks spanish. I was fully prepared to pay if I could do it without getting into trouble. I have no doubt it works, but without spanish I wouldnt know how to communicate that without being obvious. In any case, both times I have gone I dealt with someone that had no interest in my cigars. Also, the first trip I had packed about twelve boxes of sticks in my checked luggage. I couldn't decide if that was wise but didn't have a choice. Both trips everything I had packed made it through. I was told things tended to disappear a little more often there in checked luggage. I was also advised by the same guy above that you should take some shoeboxes or boxes that are from costco and tape them up when packing them in checked luggage. He told me they have never opened one of those on the trips they pulled his checked luggage. I am sure others on here can tell you a little more about being pulled into the private room to search your checked luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscmd310 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Awesome report! Which terminal do you leave out of? I had heard terminal 3 was a nightmare and that the customs agents there like to confiscate custom cigars. The west coast flights fly though terminal 2 and it's pretty chill there. As I was leaving on my last trip, customs room wasn't even open. The didn't search any luggage for any flight out of terminal 2 that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlc410 Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 It was terminal 2 both times for me. As I said, both trips were completely different. First trip I got in trouble for carrying CUC through security. Second trip I was told to go exchange USD to CUC INSIDE the departure lounge money exchange as the Duty Free cigar desk would only accept CUC. I thought that was weird and it cost me a chance to grab a box of Monte Dantes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlc410 Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 As an FYI I never thanked you for all your help with my trips. I would have been a nervous wreck without all of that help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscmd310 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Not at all! I'm glad you had a great trip and snagged great cigars. Next time get Maique to sign your Behike ashtray. or ask Robaina to sign a box of cigars at 5th avenue. It'd be great for story for your cigar buddies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now