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Celebrity to Cuba????

CRUISEBOY305

By CRUISEBOY305,
in Celebrity Cruises

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CRUISEBOY305

CRUISEBOY305

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Last night the news here in Miami/Ft Lauderdale said Carnival received their approval yesterday and will sail there beginning May 1 2016.

 

That was for that Fathom line Carnival is running. The article is referring to the mainstream cruise lines I believe

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K.T.B.

K.T.B.

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From previous threads on this subject, it is my understand and I could be wrong that it would take Congressional Action before the regular lines can go to Cuba. If that is true, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

I'm sure the multi-billion dollar industry has a few friends in Congress they could buy off..... er, request to make it happen. :D

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dkjretired

dkjretired

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From previous threads on this subject, it is my understand and I could be wrong that it would take Congressional Action before the regular lines can go to Cuba. If that is true, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

Here's a link to an article previously on Cruise Critic:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1839

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boscobeans

boscobeans

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That's simply their foot in the door, their traditional ships will not be long behind.

 

It doesn't matter what the powers at be decide is a legal METHOD of travel to Cuba, the problem is not the getting there it is what you can do there.

 

Right now you can fly to Cuba or to points where you can board a ship LEGALLY from several U.S. departure points however what you can do in Cuba is still nothing that would be considered to be a vacation or tourist event.

 

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (department of the U.S. Treasury) has a list of 12 programs that you MUST follow while in Cuba. These pretty much take up your entire day and then you can do the more touristy things. You are still limited as to how much you can spend and what and how much of what you can bring home.

 

Now for a ship to dock in Cuba unless EVERY UNITED STATES CITIZEN on the ship attends their required programs each and every day they will be in violation of US Law.

 

Imagine having a ship with 2000 passengers dock or tender in a Cuban port and every single one must get up and do the programs they have signed up to do in what is called the Person to Person Cultural Exchange Program, only to return to the ship or hotel after a full day of "Cultural Exchange". Cultural exchange does not mean beaches or boat rides, pub crawls or even any other event that is not part of an organized group function.

 

This information is plainly stated on all the sites, whether they be for cruises or flights to Cuba. Non U.S. citizens have no such rules and can do what they want in Cuba.

 

Only if these restrictions are eliminated any hopes of what most folks think is a normal cruise to an island in the Caribbean is a pipe dream.

 

NO POLITICS HERE, But it is about time we can go to an Island that was once a most favorite destination for many years for thousands of people five decades ago..

Edited by boscobeans
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CRUISEBOY305

CRUISEBOY305

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It doesn't matter what the powers at be decide is a legal METHOD of travel to Cuba, the problem is not the getting there it is what you can do there.

 

Right now you can fly to Cuba or to points where you can board a ship LEGALLY from several U.S. departure points however what you can do in Cuba is still nothing that would be considered to be a vacation or tourist event.

 

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (department of the U.S. Treasury) has a list of 12 programs that you MUST follow while in Cuba. These pretty much take up your entire day and then you can do the more touristy things. You are still limited as to how much you can spend and what and how much of what you can bring home.

 

Now for a ship to dock in Cuba unless EVERY UNITED STATES CITIZEN on the ship attends their required programs each and every day they will be in violation of US Law.

 

Imagine having a ship with 2000 passengers dock or tender in a Cuban port and every single one must get up and do the programs they have signed up to do in what is called the Person to Person Cultural Exchange Program, only to return to the ship or hotel after a full day of "Cultural Exchange". Cultural exchange does not mean beaches or boat rides, pub crawls or even any other event that is not part of an organized group function.

 

This information is plainly stated on all the sites, whether they be for cruises or flights to Cuba. Non U.S. citizens have no such rules and can do what they want in Cuba.

 

Only if these restrictions are eliminated any hopes of what most folks think is a normal cruise to an island in the Caribbean is a pipe dream.

 

NO POLITICS HERE, But it is about time we can go to an Island that was once a most favorite destination for many years for thousands of people five decades ago..

 

you do realize that Cuba HAS been a tourist destination this whole time right? Just not an accessible one to us in the US. ;)

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boscobeans

boscobeans

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you do realize that Cuba HAS been a tourist destination this whole time right? Just not an accessible one to us in the US. ;)

 

Yes a TOURIST destination to all but U.S. citizens. Maybe I was not clear. ?????? By "YOU" I meant U.S. folks..

 

Yes if you are from any other country you can freely go to and from Cuba.

Edited by boscobeans
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Jane2357

Jane2357

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I think until the government allows for its people to make a fair living and are allowed freedom and basic rights, we'll not be visiting. A lot of other interesting places to see in the world.

 

I'm with you. There are "cruises" leaving Cuba often - you know - all those desperate people crammed into the little rafts and boats trying to escape.

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boscobeans

boscobeans

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I'm with you. There are "cruises" leaving Cuba often - you know - all those desperate people crammed into the little rafts and boats trying to escape.

 

If we were closer there would be boats and rafts from Haiti, Somalia and hundreds of other places around the world paddling their way to out shores.

 

If abject poverty, crime, absence of human rights, oppressive government and theological rule along with modern day slavery were disqualifiers for where we travel we would be very limited in our destinations. We can only hope that some of our dollars go to people who need it and can benefit from it.

 

bosco

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brrscuba1

brrscuba1

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Another issue is the harbors, including Havana, have not been dredged for decades. They cannot bring in large US cruise ships that are so big and draw so deeply underwater they cannot dock. BUT I find it very interesting that RCCL just brought back the old Nordic Empress, aka Empress of the seas, to the U.S. market. The empress is vastly smaller and needs less water depth. Empress Of The Seas cruises begin next week from Florida. It would be the right size ship when Cuba is fully open.:):)

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monicajay

monicajay

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Another issue is the harbors, including Havana, have not been dredged for decades. They cannot bring in large US cruise ships that are so big and draw so deeply underwater they cannot dock. BUT I find it very interesting that RCCL just brought back the old Nordic Empress, aka Empress of the seas, to the U.S. market. The empress is vastly smaller and needs less water depth. Empress Of The Seas cruises begin next week from Florida. It would be the right size ship when Cuba is fully open.:):)

 

It must be dredged deep enough as the MSC Opera has been homeported in Havana all this winter. They do a 2 day overnight in Havana followed by Coz. Jamaica and Grand Cayman (not sure of the order).

 

The MSC Opera, although not a huge ship is by no means small. They have already planned it for 2017 too. Seems they have no problem filling the ship with non-US citizens.

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dkjretired

dkjretired

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If we were closer there would be boats and rafts from Haiti, Somalia and hundreds of other places around the world paddling their way to out shores.

 

If abject poverty, crime, absence of human rights, oppressive government and theological rule along with modern day slavery were disqualifiers for where we travel we would be very limited in our destinations. We can only hope that some of our dollars go to people who need it and can benefit from it.

 

bosco

 

Don't know of any other countries though that are harboring convicted murderers of our Police Officers like Cuba is.

Edited by dkjretired
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