NonHAL excursions in Cuba

My HAL cruise consultant told me that the only way to go ashore in Cuba, is by booking a "people to people" excursion through HAL. He said that once you finish the people to people excursion, then you can roam around Cuba on your own. IS THIS TRUE?

My HAL cruise consultant told me that the only way to go ashore in Cuba, is by booking a "people to people" excursion through HAL. He said that once you finish the people to people excursion, then you can roam around Cuba on your own. IS THIS TRUE?

 

 

 

It is a requirement that you do a “people to people” activity when ashore. After that activity you are free to roam on your own. You must sign an affidavit that you are either on a ship tour or on your own, it must be with a US government approved company, and still doing a “people to people” activity. If you do not do it on a ship tour, you must keep your paperwork that proves you did the requirement on your own and the US government can ask for that proof for the next 5 years. We are going on a Cuban cruise next January and have found the ship tours reasonable and leaves enough time to go our on our own

 

 

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This only applies to US citizens - the Department of Treasury has all the regulations you need to honor. Can you get off the ship anyway? Yes. Then it is between you and the US Dept of Treasury.

You can take a look at amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com and go to Jeff's HAL cruises last December. Things change, but his tips might apply to you. And, I thought OleSalt gave a fairly detailed description on their experiences with HAL. Do a google search. It doesn't seem like you have to do a HAL excursion, just make sure you have your ducks in a row, keep records, and have some extra money to spend. Have a great time, Cherie

My HAL cruise consultant told me that the only way to go ashore in Cuba, is by booking a "people to people" excursion through HAL. He said that once you finish the people to people excursion, then you can roam around Cuba on your own. IS THIS TRUE?

We went in March on the Veendam, a lot of confusion over the regulations and wording by HAL (and other cruise lines) on excursions. In a word.. if you are doing "people to people", true. BUT, HAL and other lines are not being forthcoming over the travel affidavit you fill out. There are 12 different categories, with "people to people" being only one of them. "Support for the Cuban people" is another category that we used, no questions asked by HAL when they provided us out tourist visa at check in. We did a private tour, followed the governments guide lines , and will save all our receipts (for the next 5 years). We had a wonderful full day with a private guide and ride in a classic car. Loved it , we want to go back in the next 2 years.

 

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Would you mind sharing your private tour company? thank you, Cherie

We used Blexie Havana Tours. If you look on the Cuba section in CC, there are a lot of reviews, as well as trip advisor. He used to teach English (flawless), but went into business for himself. First 3 hours we walked around the old town squares, as well down the back streets to see actual living conditons, then met our driver for the rest of the day to see the sights. Great time, $130 CUC for us both. If he is booked, he will try to hook you up with a friend.

 

 

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Thank you. We may be going in November. Great recommendation. Cherie

It is a requirement that you do a “people to people” activity when ashore. After that activity you are free to roam on your own. You must sign an affidavit that you are either on a ship tour or on your own, it must be with a US government approved company, and still doing a “people to people” activity. If you do not do it on a ship tour, you must keep your paperwork that proves you did the requirement on your own and the US government can ask for that proof for the next 5 years. We are going on a Cuban cruise next January and have found the ship tours reasonable and leaves enough time to go our on our own

 

 

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Thanks for the reply. We will be on the January 4, 2019 sailing. We have not yet looked at HAL's excursions, but so far it seems like the easiest way to go.

I am also going to look into a tour by the locals, as mentioned in another reply. We prefer supporting the locals, and it becomes more personal, truly people to people .

I'm new to posting replies. I tried to reply to one person, and it came out I replied to myself.

Anyway, thank you everyone for your replies. I will look into the blog, amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com and also Blexie Havana Tours.

Have a great time! I enjoyed going private, knew exactly who got my money and it was just myself and DH - but you have to decide where your comfort level is. I see you are from KOP, I grew up there!

 

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Our HAL all day tour was excellent. We had time to go back and freshen up and then go out to dinner on our own.

Thanks for the reply. We will be on the January 4, 2019 sailing. We have not yet looked at HAL's excursions, but so far it seems like the easiest way to go.

 

I am also going to look into a tour by the locals, as mentioned in another reply. We prefer supporting the locals, and it becomes more personal, truly people to people .

 

 

 

We will be there with you! Haven’t found a roll call for the cruise yet

 

 

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We will be there with you! Haven’t found a roll call for the cruise yet

 

 

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Cabinluvn, yesterday I checked in on the roll call, there were 2 others, but not any posts.

Have a great time! I enjoyed going private, knew exactly who got my money and it was just myself and DH - but you have to decide where your comfort level is. I see you are from KOP, I grew up there!

 

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Nw gardener, my wife and I usually go well beyond our comfort level. We'll probably go with a private tour in an vintage car with air conditioning.

When did you grow up in KOP?

Edited July 16, 2018 by Budski54
Grammar

Nw gardener, my wife and I usually go well beyond our comfort level. We'll probably go with a private tour in an vintage car with air conditioning.

When did you grow up in KOP?

Bob white farms. Graduated from Upper Merion (way back when J Smith was principal, yikes!). Back to our tour, the car we had was a 57 blue and white ford hardtop with air. Amazing what they do to keep those cars going, it had a russian diesel engine in it.

 

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Bob white farms. Graduated from Upper Merion (way back when J Smith was principal, yikes!). Back to our tour, the car we had was a 57 blue and white ford hardtop with air. Amazing what they do to keep those cars going, it had a russian diesel engine in it.

 

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I lived in Philadelphia during the Jay Smith days, but I know people who taught at Upper Merion, and others who graduated. Do you know any of the Grosicks?

Cabinluvn, yesterday I checked in on the roll call, there were 2 others, but not any posts.

 

 

 

I will have to search for the roll call again, thanks

 

 

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We used Cubaoutings a few weeks ago and the tour was very nice!

My HAL cruise consultant told me that the only way to go ashore in Cuba, is by booking a "people to people" excursion through HAL. He said that once you finish the people to people excursion, then you can roam around Cuba on your own. IS THIS TRUE?

No. We didn't book any excursion (through the cruiseline or otherwise). We did our own thing for both days we were there.

We were in Cuba in April on the Veendam. We checked off the Visa box for Support for the Cuban People. We hired Blexie's company (our guide was Lauren and she was wonderful) for our day tour and hired Strawberry Tours (Nelson) for a private night tour of local bars. Both tours were fantastic.

 

BaltimoreCruise

Thanks for a few more replies, and additional names of tour operators in Havana. For anyone following this thread here's a list of tour operators mentioned in this thread:

Brexie Havana Tours;

Cubaoutings;

Cuba Among Cubans;

Strawberry Tours.

I was just there last week. You can just walk right off the ship and disappear into the night if you want. You do NOT have to take a HAL tour. You do NOT have to have a private tour booked.

 

You DO have to complete and sign the affidavit before they let you on to the ship at embarkation.

 

The ship arrives in Havana. Cuba immigration gets on. Ship gets cleared. Passengers can get off. You first go through passport control and they check your Visa card. HAL buys your visa and gives it to you on board before you arrive in Cuba.

 

After passing through passport control you walk out. Inside the terminal is a currency exchange with about 8 windows. This is where you get your Cuban money. SOME places accept USD and maybe Euros but don’t count on it. Exchange fee is 3%. If you’re from US they tack on an additional 10%. If you can, try to bring Euros or Canadian to exchange to save the 10%.

 

There is no one checking to see if you have a tour with someone. Cuba could care less. It’s the US government and there isn’t anyone there to check.

 

HAL and the other cruise lines are just following the rules by advising you that you should follow the outline in the affidavit.

 

We used Cuba Outings and for 4 of us it was a total of 160 CUCs which is the equivocal USD 160. So I paid 40 dollars for a full day tour. That included 2 hours in a classic car. Lunch was extra but it cost about $15.

 

Day 2 I did a HAL tour and it cost me $139. It was a great tour too and included lunch. The only reason I did a HAL tour the second day is because it was added at the last minute because we were supposed to have gone to Cienfuegos but the ship cancelled the port due to an oil spill in their harbor. There was no time to try to contact Cuba Outings to arrange another tour. HAL scurried together some more tours overnight and so I signed up for one that went to a few places I hadn’t seen the day before.

 

Check out my blog posts for my time in Cuba. It was well worth the visit.

 

 

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I lived in Philadelphia during the Jay Smith days, but I know people who taught at Upper Merion, and others who graduated. Do you know any of the Grosicks?

No, that name does not ring a bell. Here is a pic of Blexie, and our ride.

 

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Another outstanding company is Oldcar tours. We did a six hour tour in a 55 Buick roadmaster with guide for 240 cucs. About a tenth of the cost of a similar ship's excursion (NCL). Unless you fear the treasury department is going to spend the time to track you down and grill you about your time in Cuba, I would stay away from any ship's excursion. And take Euros to exchange.