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Sightseeing in Cuba on your own


joeinsb
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With the updated travel regulations for Cuba, how do they apply to passengers who embark in Lisbon, Portugal and do not arrive at a US port until after visiting Cuba? The New Cuba Regulations state:

 

The new regulations apply to all guests – regardless of nationality or country of residence – boarding a vessel in a U.S. Port.

 

Hi Linda,

We are on this same cruise as you, which is the ONLY Azamara cruise between now and our sailing date that does NOT leave/board from a US port....

 

I wish we had the email address of someone at Azamara who can give a definitive, authorities answer on this to allow us to plan, as reading the Azamara travel authorisation form and their Nov 2017 Updated Cuban Travel FAQs, it consistently refers to restrictions where you have “boarded from a US Port”, which we will not be doing. Thankfully we have plenty of time to get an official answer from Azamara.

 

Bonnie, are you able to provide an email contact or clarification from someone in authority at Azamara?

 

Thanks!

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Hi Linda,

We are on this same cruise as you, which is the ONLY Azamara cruise between now and our sailing date that does NOT leave/board from a US port....

 

I wish we had the email address of someone at Azamara who can give a definitive, authorities answer on this to allow us to plan, as reading the Azamara travel authorisation form and their Nov 2017 Updated Cuban Travel FAQs, it consistently refers to restrictions where you have “boarded from a US Port”, which we will not be doing. Thankfully we have plenty of time to get an official answer from Azamara.

 

Bonnie, are you able to provide an email contact or clarification from someone in authority at Azamara?

 

Thanks!

 

I don't believe that Bonnie or Azamara sets US policy on AMCIT overseas travel. If a US citizen, with a US passport, you will need to follow State Department guidance. Best to check the State website on Cuba travel. If not an AMCIT, follow the guidance from your country's foreign office or equivalent. Fortunately, we jumped on Empress in July and were able to visit Cuba before the new restrictions.

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I don't believe that Bonnie or Azamara sets US policy on AMCIT overseas travel. If a US citizen, with a US passport, you will need to follow State Department guidance. Best to check the State website on Cuba travel. If not an AMCIT, follow the guidance from your country's foreign office or equivalent. Fortunately, we jumped on Empress in July and were able to visit Cuba before the new restrictions.

Thank you, but whilst we are not US Citizens, Azamara does state we must abide by their US policy, which is fine, no arguments there.... Myself, I was just looking to understand that if Azamara chose to include the wording ‘embarking from a US Port” in their rules, they must have had a reason to use those words and be able to clarify what is meant by those words, especially as our cruise does NOT embark from a US Port?

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Thank you so much, now I am scared.

I am going to book the excursion from Azamara.

Then I find out I can not book online anymore, we need to book on the ship, but still I can check the box 1: FULL DAY-AZAMARA PROGRAM:?

I have no confirmation for the tour, so I'm wondering.

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Suggestion:

 

Why doesn't someone just look on the U.S. State Department web site and see if anything is there. Then post the information. If not make a phone call to them. I think that might eliminate the questions if heard from the horses mouth so to speak. I would but I am not planning any trips to Cuba.

 

Kathy

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Suggestion:

 

Why doesn't someone just look on the U.S. State Department web site and see if anything is there. Then post the information. If not make a phone call to them. I think that might eliminate the questions if heard from the horses mouth so to speak. I would but I am not planning any trips to Cuba.

 

Kathy

 

How would that help a citizen of the UK, on a ship sailing directly from Portugal to Cuba?

 

I have a cruise booked, but not until Feb. of '19. Who the heck has ANY idea what might be going on, by THEN???!!!

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How would that help a citizen of the UK, on a ship sailing directly from Portugal to Cuba?

 

I have a cruise booked, but not until Feb. of '19. Who the heck has ANY idea what might be going on, by THEN???!!!

 

Whoa!! Sorry.........I said it was a suggestion. Guess I should keep my ideas to myself. Just FYI I was referring to those going soon not 2 years from now

 

Kathy

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Whoa!! Sorry.........I said it was a suggestion. Guess I should keep my ideas to myself. Just FYI I was referring to those going soon not 2 years from now

 

Kathy

 

I'm going in 15 months, but thx for telling me you aren't talking to me (nor did I think you were -- I was merely commenting on the situation).

 

Your post was right after the cruiser who's from UK and is cruising from Lisbon, so I thought you were responding to her. So sorry to have offended you.

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Thank you, but whilst we are not US Citizens, Azamara does state we must abide by their US policy, which is fine, no arguments there.... Myself, I was just looking to understand that if Azamara chose to include the wording ‘embarking from a US Port” in their rules, they must have had a reason to use those words and be able to clarify what is meant by those words, especially as our cruise does NOT embark from a US Port?

 

"Abide by US policy..." is interesting in and of itself since Azamara ships are registered in Malta and sail under Maltese maritime law. If your pending cruise stops at a US port, including US territories, prior to Cuba and after Cuba, US law could apply. However, it would not apply to non-US citizens visiting Cuba. Azamara, on the other hand, could restrict quest activities in Cuba to easier facilitate their own security processing.

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"Abide by US policy..." is interesting in and of itself since Azamara ships are registered in Malta and sail under Maltese maritime law. If your pending cruise stops at a US port, including US territories, prior to Cuba and after Cuba, US law could apply. However, it would not apply to non-US citizens visiting Cuba. Azamara, on the other hand, could restrict quest activities in Cuba to easier facilitate their own security processing.

 

Hi Globehopper and thanks for the reply. I have managed to understand things a bit better after doing a bit more research. The lowdown is that had I embarked in Miami and then proceeded to Cuba, I would have been subject to US jurisdiction and the the same restrictions as US passport holders. This rule applies to all people , irrespective of nationality who visit Cuba directly from a US port/airport/ferry.

 

But as we are embarking from Lisbon, I can obtain my own visa, here in the UK, prior to travel which means I am not subject to any of the US jurisdiction rules. Good news for me!:)

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How will the Cuban officials know whether we booked the cruise before or after 16th June 2017?

The Cuban officials won’t know that. The fact is by ticking and selecting the relevant boxes and reasons for your visit, YOU then become responsible for your conduct and honesty, and at some later stage if you are found out by the powers that be, it is YOU that will be prosecuted, not the ship or any of the Cuban officials as they did not claim your reasons for visiting, you made the claim and certified it with your signature.

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The Cuban officials won’t know that. The fact is by ticking and selecting the relevant boxes and reasons for your visit, YOU then become responsible for your conduct and honesty, and at some later stage if you are found out by the powers that be, it is YOU that will be prosecuted, not the ship or any of the Cuban officials as they did not claim your reasons for visiting, you made the claim and certified it with your signature.

Thanks for that. Thankfully we have booked prior to June 2017. I had visions of massive queues of passengers trying to enter Cuba and having to show dated booking documents!

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Thanks for that. Thankfully we have booked prior to June 2017. I had visions of massive queues of passengers trying to enter Cuba and having to show dated booking documents!

 

You will be fine! To be honest as you are British, it would be highly unlikely that the US Jurisdiction police would ever make the effort to pursue you all the way to the UK even if you did stay out late one night and had some fun in a non-authorised restaurant! Enjoy....

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Does anyone know what the tipping custom is in Cuba.

 

I found a 6 hour private tour in a classic air conditioned hard top for 100cuc with driver and guide. We're grandfathered under the old restrictions based upon booking date. They are well rated on TripAdvisor.

 

Thankx.

 

Hi Steve

 

We gave our driver 20cuc and driver 10cuc when we did a trip to the Vinales Valley last March from Havana.

 

The air conditioning in our Hardtop Plymouth was a quarterlight propped open with a pencil!

 

Steve

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Does anyone know what the tipping custom is in Cuba.

 

I found a 6 hour private tour in a classic air conditioned hard top for 100cuc with driver and guide. We're grandfathered under the old restrictions based upon booking date. They are well rated on TripAdvisor.

 

Thankx.

 

 

 

JUST got back from the Quest to Cuba. We used Tours by Blexie (contact him at blexie100588@gmail.com) who is a language professor who works with a couple of his former students as guides. We paid $130 for what wound up being a 7 hour tour that would have gone longer if we hadn't needed to get back to get ready for our evening plans. We had a beautiful classic car, a hard top with AC at our request. George was our guide and he was fabulous! He knew so much about all of the sights he took us to, was happy to help us try to work with the new regulations to try to not violate them, and really worked hard on any extras we wanted to see. And he was very open and eager to answer questions. He told us repeatedly that nothing was off limits and he would not be offended by our questions, which was good because I had so many and was afraid they might seem rude.

 

We insisted he have lunch with us, which he tried to refuse and said was not the norm. But as we ate he explained he would never normally eat in one the paladars because they are so expensive for Cubans. He said that was a huge treat. And explained that they are not a tipping culture. He said that a few dollars would be more than enough on our lunch (which was $60 CUC for 3). We tipped him $30 after the tour and when we tried to hand more to the driver, he refused it and said he would pay the driver and split the tip with him, and that it was more than enough. I do think he was considering the lunch part of his tip, though we really enjoyed the time to talk about his life and family and other details we hadn't had much time for during the tour.

 

 

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I used Euros and got a better rate on everything. A couple places take Euros as payment fo food. I ate inplaces that have live music off one of the sqs.

 

My driver was less but Sue saw more .

 

Really easy to go out on your own.

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Thankx Suz and Junkie for the insight. I already have my euros from my Aug Azamara cruise which I withdrew from an ATM during a port of call anticipating converting them to CUCs.

 

 

 

We had gotten some extra CAD when there a few weeks ago for the same reason. Our second day we decided we needed some more cash and changed some USD, though by then we had heard many say they had been using USD in some shops and paladars. But it seemed most appropriate to not make a Cuban shop owner or paladar owner pay the conversion fee they might incur if we used USD.

 

One other note, many of the very popular paladars fill up quickly and reservations are essential. We were able to make reservations at one, Cafe Laurient, via email (it was very good) but we had our guide take us by another the first day as we walked around the old town to make reservations for the second day. Very glad we did as it, O'Reily 304, was also excellent and packed. My husband was throwing around comparisons to Per Se, Arzak, and Eleven Madison Park, though that might have been their excellent cocktails talking. ;). I would concur it was a much better overall experience than 11 Madison though. As I said before, Cubans don't eat in the Paladars, so they are not familiar with them. But if you tell them the address or phone number of one you are interested, they will contact them for you if you are making arrangements in advance with a guide.

 

 

 

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