CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 #1 Share Posted March 22, 2016 From USAToday http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2016/03/21/cuba-cruise-voyage-approval/82075950/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartyAllDaTyme Posted March 22, 2016 #2 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Bound to happen eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Bound to happen eventually. yup. agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazeinthesun Posted March 22, 2016 #4 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Last night the news here in Miami/Ft Lauderdale said Carnival received their approval yesterday and will sail there beginning May 1 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted March 22, 2016 #6 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.T.B. Posted March 22, 2016 #7 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted March 22, 2016 #8 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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 for sure :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCruise Posted March 22, 2016 #10 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I would only consider a cruise to Cuba if it went to multiple ports there. There is far too much to see to have only a one day stop in Havana combined with Grand Cayman/Jamaica/the Yucatan/etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazeinthesun Posted March 22, 2016 #11 Share Posted March 22, 2016 That was for that Fathom line Carnival is running. The article is referring to the mainstream cruise lines I believe That's simply their foot in the door, their traditional ships will not be long behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #12 Share Posted March 22, 2016 That's simply their foot in the door, their traditional ships will not be long behind. absolutely :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscobeans Posted March 22, 2016 #13 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) 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 March 22, 2016 by boscobeans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitob Posted March 22, 2016 #15 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Take a land trip. I did. It was amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandj Posted March 22, 2016 #16 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted March 22, 2016 #17 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Carnival Corporation has clearly taken the lead in trying to open Cuba for cruise traffic. I have yet to see any mention of Royal Caribbean International being so interested. I have wondered why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Carnival Corporation has clearly taken the lead in trying to open Cuba for cruise traffic. I have yet to see any mention of Royal Caribbean International being so interested. I have wondered why. Did you read the article I posted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscobeans Posted March 22, 2016 #19 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) 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 March 22, 2016 by boscobeans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #20 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Carnival Corporation has clearly taken the lead in trying to open Cuba for cruise traffic. I have yet to see any mention of Royal Caribbean International being so interested. I have wondered why. there's also some rather interesting chatter here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2327508 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane2357 Posted March 22, 2016 #21 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscobeans Posted March 22, 2016 #22 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brrscuba1 Posted March 22, 2016 #23 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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.:):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monicajay Posted March 22, 2016 #24 Share Posted March 22, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted March 22, 2016 #25 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) 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 March 22, 2016 by dkjretired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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