alimerid

I thought you can only use a US operated company?

To add. It is our friends granddaughter who is living in the states and her husband is living in Havana. They are newly married. Is an escort a problem?

We have a very good friend who married a Cuban tour guide. He said he would take us out and show us Havana. Is there a way we can do this?

We are booked on an Oceania cruise on Sirena that visits Havana for two nights in early June. We arrive at1:00 in the afternoon the first day there. We have booked an Oceania tour for the morning of the second day. Oceania is providing the Cuba visas at a cost of $75 per person.

 

We asked our Oceania phone rep when we would get the visas. We wanted them as we arrived in port so we could go out to explore the Old City on our own that first afternoon. The rep told us we would not get the visas until our group tour left, that we could not leave the ship except with our group due to new US sanctions.

 

I contacted Oceania's Special Services to ask about this and they sent the following response: (sorry this is long but I think it's important for travelers other than ourselves,too.)

"

Thank You for contacting the Special Services Department, Oceania Cruises will offer a variety of shore excursions in Cuba. Guests are not required to participate in these excursions to meet their group people-to-people travel requirements so long as they use another U.S. sponsoring organization to meet those requirements and are, otherwise, free to move about Cuba as long as their activities comply with the general license they are travelling under. Entry to some government buildings may be restricted; it's best to ask your guide about the building’s specific entry protocol before trying to enter on your own. What is a group people-to-people exchange? This general license authorizes persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction to engage in certain educational exchanges in Cuba under the auspices of an organization that is a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sponsors such exchanges to promote people-to-people contact. Guests using this general license must ensure they maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people and that will result in meaningful interaction between the passenger and individuals in Cuba. What if I booked my voyage on or after June 16, 2017? Guests who booked their voyage on or after June 16, 2017 can travel to Cuba under the group people-to-people general license and participate in OFAC-compliant people-to-people exchanges through Oceania or a third party U.S. sponsoring organization accompanied by a U.S. individual of the sponsoring organization to ensure a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people and that will result in meaningful interaction between the passenger and individuals in Cuba."

 

This is a lot of hooey. We know that group people to people criteria are not the only criteria with which one can get a visa. We are told by other reliable soruces that all we have to check on the application is "Support for the Cuban People" and we can come and go as we please. Anyone have advice or other input. We have told Oceania we are upset about this and are awaiting another reply.:mad: