Cuba with baby
#1
Original Poster



Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: MKE
Programs: UA, AA, Marriott
Posts: 400
Cuba with baby
Hey all,
thinking of trip ideas for our first international trip with our 7month old. Was thinking that cuba would be very fun. Has anyone been to Cuba with babies? Is it baby friendly?
I know there has been lot's of debate on how to get there, would it be a problem in may? Trump era reversal of almost free travel by Obama seemed to put a damper on travel.
thinking of trip ideas for our first international trip with our 7month old. Was thinking that cuba would be very fun. Has anyone been to Cuba with babies? Is it baby friendly?
I know there has been lot's of debate on how to get there, would it be a problem in may? Trump era reversal of almost free travel by Obama seemed to put a damper on travel.
#2
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Havana has cobblestone streets and bad paving, as do many other places. Might be hard to use a stroller of any kind.
The heat and humidity in Cuba can be quite intense, even in May. Your baby might be uncomfortable and fussy if unused to this.
It also means a baby backpack carrier or front snugli might be uncomfortable for a parent.
Also, baby products (diapers, rash cream, milk/formula and food, etc) are most often not easy to find, so bring everything you might need for the baby.
Note: Trump has not reversed anything. ONE category of independent travel has been removed. That's it. The damper is in uninformed travelers' heads only.
The heat and humidity in Cuba can be quite intense, even in May. Your baby might be uncomfortable and fussy if unused to this.
It also means a baby backpack carrier or front snugli might be uncomfortable for a parent.
Also, baby products (diapers, rash cream, milk/formula and food, etc) are most often not easy to find, so bring everything you might need for the baby.
Note: Trump has not reversed anything. ONE category of independent travel has been removed. That's it. The damper is in uninformed travelers' heads only.
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; Feb 27, 2018 at 9:25 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 27
Havana has cobblestone streets and bad paving, as do many other places. Might be hard to use a stroller of any kind.
The heat and humidity in Cuba can be quite intense, even in May. Your baby might be uncomfortable and fussy if unused to this.
It also means a baby backpack carrier or front snugli might be uncomfortable for a parent.
Also, baby products (diapers, rash cream, milk/formula and food, etc) are most often not easy to find, so bring everything you might need for the baby.
Note: Trump has not reversed anything. ONE category of independent travel has been removed. That's it. The damper is in uninformed travelers' heads only.
The heat and humidity in Cuba can be quite intense, even in May. Your baby might be uncomfortable and fussy if unused to this.
It also means a baby backpack carrier or front snugli might be uncomfortable for a parent.
Also, baby products (diapers, rash cream, milk/formula and food, etc) are most often not easy to find, so bring everything you might need for the baby.
Note: Trump has not reversed anything. ONE category of independent travel has been removed. That's it. The damper is in uninformed travelers' heads only.
and is very important what he says about the baby products, there is almost impossible to find some important products in Cuba
#5
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
What kind of "news"?
There is no change in 3 months regarding baby products.
There is no change in 3 months regarding hot weather.
There is no change to any other factor for independent US travelers. Still possible, as it has been for years now, to visit independently using the "Support for the Cuban People" OFAC excuse to travel.
Cuba has a new figurehead, Miguel Daz-Canel, in the old position of retiring President Ral Castro, as of last month. Not much visible/tangible in Cuba has changed so far.
There is no change in 3 months regarding baby products.
There is no change in 3 months regarding hot weather.
There is no change to any other factor for independent US travelers. Still possible, as it has been for years now, to visit independently using the "Support for the Cuban People" OFAC excuse to travel.
Cuba has a new figurehead, Miguel Daz-Canel, in the old position of retiring President Ral Castro, as of last month. Not much visible/tangible in Cuba has changed so far.
#7
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Do post some photos of you washing nasty dirty cloth diapers by hand in a bucket at the spigot in the courtyard 3 stories down, daily, because there aren't any "precious" disposables, along with that load of stained clothing from spilled drinks because of no "precious" sippy cups. Taking the time out of your already full day to hang all those clothes and diapers on a line. Then ironing those clothes with an iron from a 1940s Sear's catalog, in the extreme heat, after a long day at work for low pay, because yes, even in poor conditions you have pride. Cleaning the floors and the kid several times a day when the diapers leak, with no "precious" wipes for the kid or modern mop for the broken tile floor. And do tell us how you comforted an overheated baby with diaper rash (and no "precious" rash cream), who will not stop crying long enough to let others in the household sleep. How did you keep the child happy inside all day in the stifling humidity and heat so s/he would not get sunburned playing outside under the scorching sun with no "precious" protective sunblock cream? Or watch him/her constantly to keep from falling from the one beam left that connects your apartment to the rest of the falling-down building? Potty train a kid in an upper story apartment without running water? Haul the kid around in crowded, shared taxis with no seatbelts or carry him/her in one's arms over cobblestone streets that ruin strollers.
Precious? Precious? Only someone who never had to do much of this would call "precious" those who don't wish to give up the conveniences of modern child raising, instead of simply giving thanks we don't have to "manage" and can spend our time enjoying our kids while on vacation.
btw, did you row to Cuba, eschewing the "precious" airplane travel as well?
Precious? Precious? Only someone who never had to do much of this would call "precious" those who don't wish to give up the conveniences of modern child raising, instead of simply giving thanks we don't have to "manage" and can spend our time enjoying our kids while on vacation.
btw, did you row to Cuba, eschewing the "precious" airplane travel as well?
#8
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Southern California
Programs: AA EXPlat, 2.4MM; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 580
Do post some photos of you washing nasty dirty cloth diapers by hand in a bucket at the spigot in the courtyard 3 stories down, daily, because there aren't any "precious" disposables, along with that load of stained clothing from spilled drinks because of no "precious" sippy cups. Taking the time out of your already full day to hang all those clothes and diapers on a line. Then ironing those clothes with an iron from a 1940s Sear's catalog, in the extreme heat, after a long day at work for low pay, because yes, even in poor conditions you have pride. Cleaning the floors and the kid several times a day when the diapers leak, with no "precious" wipes for the kid or modern mop for the broken tile floor. And do tell us how you comforted an overheated baby with diaper rash (and no "precious" rash cream), who will not stop crying long enough to let others in the household sleep. How did you keep the child happy inside all day in the stifling humidity and heat so s/he would not get sunburned playing outside under the scorching sun with no "precious" protective sunblock cream? Or watch him/her constantly to keep from falling from the one beam left that connects your apartment to the rest of the falling-down building? Potty train a kid in an upper story apartment without running water? Haul the kid around in crowded, shared taxis with no seatbelts or carry him/her in one's arms over cobblestone streets that ruin strollers.
Precious? Precious? Only someone who never had to do much of this would call "precious" those who don't wish to give up the conveniences of modern child raising, instead of simply giving thanks we don't have to "manage" and can spend our time enjoying our kids while on vacation.
btw, did you row to Cuba, eschewing the "precious" airplane travel as well?
Precious? Precious? Only someone who never had to do much of this would call "precious" those who don't wish to give up the conveniences of modern child raising, instead of simply giving thanks we don't have to "manage" and can spend our time enjoying our kids while on vacation.
btw, did you row to Cuba, eschewing the "precious" airplane travel as well?
#9



Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold, Turkish Elite+, AC 25K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 725
I've been to Cuba and a to number of other Caribbean destinations with our kids when they were babies (as well as South-East Asia). Cuba is really no different than anywhere else you might travel in the developing world when it comes to children. Bring everything you need with you and be careful not to drink the water. The medical care is very good in Cuba, the only issue might be some difficulty in obtaining medications.
#10
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 22
I've been to Cuba and a to number of other Caribbean destinations with our kids when they were babies (as well as South-East Asia). Cuba is really no different than anywhere else you might travel in the developing world when it comes to children. Bring everything you need with you and be careful not to drink the water. The medical care is very good in Cuba, the only issue might be some difficulty in obtaining medications.
#11
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Southern California
Programs: AA EXPlat, 2.4MM; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 580
On the medical care in Cuba. My wife fell in Havana (too much rum!), dislocated her shoulder and got a huge gash over her eye. Arrived at hospital, spent an entire day--surgery for the shoulder, 9 stitches on the cut, many visits by the doctor with me telling me of the progress, caring nurses. The cost? Zero, but for 13 CUCs for aftercare meds. I gave the doctor a 20 CUC tip, which he gladly accepted.
#12
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 9
:D
I agree with this, you just have to prepare yourself well for the occasion and have in mind several possible scenarios to know how to handle them should they occur. Obviously, it is better that nothing happens than planned.
#14



Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold, Turkish Elite+, AC 25K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 725

