WTF! To send a a package to Cuba for the first time was so freakin' difficult. I have my aunt and cousins still living in Cuba and they are always in need of stuff, and I felt it's time to start helping my parents with the costs and I would like to know my relatives and help them of course. So first thing was finding the regulations on line on what and how to send a package to Cuba via the U.S. Postal Service, not an easy thing to do, but I found the info after many searches. The regulations are, a package cannot weigh more than 4lbs and not measure more than 36" in any direction. You also may only send one package to one resident a month. No one is keeping track over the one package a month bullshit, believe me, and the reason I know is, that the three phone calls I made to post offices and postal service information number, not a soul knew about shipping packages to Cuba, someone had no idea where Cuba was, yes, unbelievable (people it's the little island 90 miles south of Florida). So after painfully packing my tiny package with a few tees, toothpaste, bar a soap, few bags of tea, and a travel size shampoo and conditioner, I marched my butt over to the Old Chelsea Station Post Office today. Before getting on the long ass line I went to the Inquiry window, there was an old spanish dude working the window who didn't know that the U.S. was allowing packages to Cuba, so he tells me no I can't send anything to Cuba, and I tell him if you go online you can see the regulations I just want to make sure THIS post office takes packages to Cuba (according to my dad not all do). Then he tells me it must be for military packages, and I was like WHAT! no my parents send packages to Cuba all the time, dude! The manager finally comes, nice lady, turns to the computer next to the old guy looks up a 3lb package to Cuba and she says yeah you can send it it's going to be around $23 and fill out the customs form. I Got on line with my package and all went smoothly, $24 dollars later, the package is on route to my aunt's house in Cuba. Now let's see if the package actually gets there, since the Cuban post office is allowed to open packages and confiscate anything they want.
Cross your fingers.
Thank you for the info. How is it going now? Any confiscations? I would like to mail a laptop or at least a PDA.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear more about your shipping to Cuba experiences.
Hi Nano,
ReplyDeleteI haven't had any problems on my end I just sent three packages this week to my aunt and cousins. They just got my first package the one I wrote about in the post and a package my parents sent at the same time, so it's taking about two months. No confiscations so far. My cousin said that they are working on getting the mail processed faster. Not sure about sending something like a laptop, I wanted to send one but honestly not sure I wanted to risk such an expensive item getting confiscated. I'm planning to send my three young cousins CD mp3 players, since they don't have a computer to upload music to an ipod, but at least a CD mp3 they have the option of regular cds or cds burned with mp3's which means like 100's of songs on one cd. I would find out about maybe sending it with DHL that may be safer but have no idea. good luck.
this is soo interesting.. i need to send some meds and diabetic moniter to my aunt in Cuba. My dad use to take care of all of this but he passed away and I had no idea the difficulties it was to send something.. geeezuz! any advice would be great! i need to send SIMs game to my cousins .. lol.. and some CDs, meds, the moniter, and disposible shavers. Surely little by little.. the meds are more important right now!
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