Cuban shore excursions

We are doing the 4-night cruise on the Sky in October that includes Cuba. We'd prefer to book shore excursions through NCL than arrange stuff on our own. I can't get a sense about which of the tours would be best. Maybe a tour in the morning and another one in the afternoon. We were looking at:

Today in Havana

Art of Cuba

Panoramic Cuba (if you spend at least some time off the bus)

Link: https://www.ncl.com/excursions/search?Ntk=ShorexDestination&Ntt=Cuba+Cruises

Any input would be appreciated.

I would want to do an organic Cuba tour to see and experience the culture and the people. It is a very poor country (at least I think so). Next, I would want to spend time at an upscale resort ... the surf and sand should be great. After seeing the two halves of Cuba, you can form your own opinion.

PS - the Castro bros. have a seat next to [pick one] in hell.

Which excursions are good and not so good? We're going DEC 4th. Thank you!!

NCL hasn't started cruising to Cuba yet. The first cruises go in May? So we won't have any feedback on the tours until then.

After seeing the two halves of Cuba, you can form your own opinion.

I wouldn't call them halves, one is probably 90% of Cubans. The resorts are only for the top 1%. Yes, it wasn't meant to equal 100%

Received the following today from Norwegian with regard to tours in Havana:

Important Information on Havana Tours

Dear Travel Partner,

Please take time to read the following information so your clients can make the

most of their time in legendary Havana.

As a reminder, your clients can travel to Cuba under the people-to-people

authorized travel category under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

To do so, they must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange

activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people.

They are required to self certify that their activities meet these requirements and

also retain records of their activities for a period of 5 years. They must complete

and send Norwegian their certification form within 30 days before their departure date.

Norwegian gives them the option of fulfilling their OFAC requirements through our diverse selection of Havana shore excursions. Tours must be booked

no later than 3 days prior to sailing. Tour availability is not guaranteed on board.

Benefits to pre-booking Havana excursions through Norwegian:

• All tours are OFAC compliant
  
• Priority disembarkation in Havana
  
• Space confirmed prior to sailing
  

Learn more about our available Havana shore excursions. And for more information about their upcoming visit to Cuba, check out our FAQs. We look forward to welcoming them on board!

Again, thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line.

.Wow, the subtext reads to me that Cuba wants to be sure where you go and with who. It's almost as good for NCL as Harvest Caye.

.Wow, the subtext reads to me that Cuba wants to be sure where you go and with who. It's almost as good for NCL as Harvest Caye.

It's not Cuba, those are US rules.

Yes, let me rephrase. I assumed this letter was going out to all travelers on the ship, not just US citizens and I may be wrong in that. I thought they were implying OFAC rules were applying to everyone from the ship and in that case I feel following OFAC rules may actually end up helping the Cuban government. If the US departing carriers were being required to make sure all their travelers know they must follow OFAC compliant tours, who usually use Cuban government approved guides. As I don't think the Cuban government actually wants thousands of capitalists running amok throughout the countryside, I feel that even though the US laws are just supposed to prevent blatant US tourism, in this way they can actually help Cuba's government control and shield the locals. Who knows, maybe they would be more happy to have all the tourists, even from USA, sitting at the beach resorts sipping Mojitos barely interacting with the locals like at many other caribbean venues. But now, I'm not sure how or if this affects non-US travelers on NCL cruises from the US. I still think it is a boon for NCL as at least US citizens should have second thoughts about booking private excursions, especially now due to how unpredictable enforcement of the existing US laws may become. Keep those records for five years.

Yes, let me rephrase. I assumed this letter was going out to all travelers on the ship, not just US citizens and I may be wrong in that. I thought they were implying OFAC rules were applying to everyone from the ship and in that case I feel following OFAC rules may actually end up helping the Cuban government. If the US departing carriers were being required to make sure all their travelers know they must follow OFAC compliant tours, who usually use Cuban government approved guides. As I don't think the Cuban government actually wants thousands of capitalists running amok throughout the countryside, I feel that even though the US laws are just supposed to prevent blatant US tourism, in this way they can actually help Cuba's government control and shield the locals. Who knows, maybe they would be more happy to have all the tourists, even from USA, sitting at the beach resorts sipping Mojitos barely interacting with the locals like at many other caribbean venues. But now, I'm not sure how or if this affects non-US travelers on NCL cruises from the US. I still think it is a boon for NCL as at least US citizens should have second thoughts about booking private excursions, especially now due to how unpredictable enforcement of the existing US laws may become. Keep those records for five years.

Being from the UK we can visit Cuba when we like & do whatever we like without having to 'tell' our government our plans. I have booked this cruise as I am in Florida for a few weeks & this seems like a nice change to the norm but we still have to complete the form & send back to NCL. We are booking our own excursions but will still keep a record which will only be relevant if we are asked about it when visiting the US on vacation.

I'm curious... are there fees involved, visas, permits, etc?

I'm curious... are there fees involved, visas, permits, etc?

NCL Frequently Asked Questions:

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents#cuba-visa

Which excursions are good and not so good? We're going DEC 4th. Thank you!!

We were thinking the Today in Havana and Arts tours would be of interest. But right now we are leaning towards booking this tour independent of RCL:

http://havanatourcompany.com/our-tours/full-day-havana-tour/

It would be a bit more work to get to/from this tour, but the content sounds more appealing and the tour company has very positive reviews on TripAdvisor.

I hired the tour company Havana Journeys for a private day tour and was happy with their services. They tailor made the tour to my liking. For the day, for 2 adults, I paid them 40 cuc for the guide, and 60 cuc for the vintage hard top car and driver, for a total of 100 cuc, plus I gave a tip at the end of the tour.

Does Havana Tour Company comply with the OFAC rules?

We are on the 2nd sailing to Havana and I'll let you know how it went when we get back.

I think the only difference between a tour you book through ncl and a private company is really who you pay. Either way you are still responsible for keeping a record for 5 yrs.

We have booked one through locally sourced tours ( formerly havana tour company) and two through the ship, but are cancelling one of the ship tours. The cabaret at night we thought would be easier through the ship even though we could do it much cheaper on our own.

We are cancelling the cigar, rum, and art tour we scheduled through ncl since are not leaving havana till 5p that day instead of 2. We expect we will have plenty of time to explore on our own and won't feel rushed.

The things that mattered to us when we chose our excursions were: seeing different parts of havana, riding in a vintage car, interacting with locals, and buying rum and cigars. We really figured anything we see or do will be new and interesting. I don't think you can pick a bad tour.

We were thinking the Today in Havana and Arts tours would be of interest. But right now we are leaning towards booking this tour independent of RCL:

http://havanatourcompany.com/our-tours/full-day-havana-tour/

 

It would be a bit more work to get to/from this tour, but the content sounds more appealing and the tour company has very positive reviews on TripAdvisor.

We are taking this as a private tour on 5/9. WE found other from our roll call to share the expense and they are meeting us at a later time closer to the pier. Since its private we get to customize it. They have been very responsive to all questions. I have even added more people this week. So far I am really happy with the service. Contact them about a private tour. Its 99pp if you have 4.

Does Havana Tour Company comply with the OFAC rules?

I'm pretty sure any tour you book with a company meets the OFAC requirements, as long as it's an educational tour of some sort. A city tour of Havana would certainly qualify. You self-certify and keep the records for 5 years.

I'm pretty sure any tour you book with a company meets the OFAC requirements, as long as it's an educational tour of some sort. A city tour of Havana would certainly qualify. You self-certify and keep the records for 5 years.

For years the Cuban tour companies have been dealing with Canadian and European tourists, who aren't subject to restrictions. I don't think all of them are really worried about what possibly happens to a US citizen down the road after a visit. "Educational" travel license per the current 2014/15 relaxed rules still limit the traveler to only include US academic and educational graduate or under graduate degree-granting institutions and their staff, faculty and students. What is more commonly used now is a subset rule that was changed in 2016 to allow a "People to People" travel license which is for individual people-to-people educational travel where the trip must be a full-time schedule of activities intended to promote exchange with the ordinary citizens of Cuba, guides not included. The full-time schedule must also include educational activities that result in meaningful interaction between U.S and Cuban nationals. Under "people to people" the requirement for it involving an educational institution was dropped. People traveling to Cuba under this license must retain records related to transactions and demonstrate that a full time schedule of authorized activities was followed. As stated above, it is now a do it yourself process without any paperwork filed for approval. Under the previous US administration it was rarely questioned or enforced, that may change and they can look back for five years so I would advise keeping records that adhere to the law. i.e. Don't claim it was an "educational" license visit if you weren't a student/staff at an involved institution. Officially even those claiming a "people to people" license must show it was full time and did not involve any of the typical tourist activities like beach resorts or riding around just looking at the sights from a tour bus.

We are taking this as a private tour on 5/9. WE found other from our roll call to share the expense and they are meeting us at a later time closer to the pier. Since its private we get to customize it. They have been very responsive to all questions. I have even added more people this week. So far I am really happy with the service. Contact them about a private tour. Its 99pp if you have 4.

Hello......How was your tour with Locally Sourced Havana Tour company? We are sailing on 9/25 with an overnight stay in Cuba and was thinking of booking this company for the Havana Experience Tour. Any feedback would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Really want to know if I should book with NCL or a private tour company...going in Oct.??

Chillu. We just returned from our August 21 NCL cruise to Cuba. Had a great time. We did not take a NCL tour but did used an independent tour guide. Contacted him about 3 months befor cruise after reading a recommendation on trip advisor. Told him what the 4 of us wanted to do and he arranged everything at a very reasonable price. His name is Rony Infante. Email contact is ronaldinfante at nauta dot cu. Let me know if you have questions. Karen

Really want to know if I should book with NCL or a private tour company...going in Oct.??

We booked an NCL tour because we were worried about getting off the ship in time to meet up with a private tour guide. But we aren't the daring or adventurous types. We usually book excursions through the ship for the convenience, even though they're overpriced.

We were there in mid July - I knew it would be very hot and booked thru NCL to insure our traveling was done on fully air conditioned transportation. We did the Today in Havana Tour on the first day and had an excellent tour guide and driver and it was a good pick if anyone in your group has mobility issues.

The highlight for us was the Farm to Table tour- I highly recommend it - we had booked an additional afternoon tour for the first day but our delayed arrival in port caused it to be canceled.

If we go again at a time of the year where the temperatures are better I would look to book privately since there would not be as much of a concern about air conditioning

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