Cuba

[BBMacLaird]

Thanks Bonnie. We have a home in Ajijic on lake Chapala just south of Guadalajara.

 

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I hear Ajijic is nice. DH&I are in San Miguel de Allende, when not in CA (or on a cruise ship.) Luckily my work travels with me ;)

 

And now, sorry for the digression, back to the Cuba thread!

[RoddyGateau]

I hear Ajijic is nice. DH&I are in San Miguel de Allende, when not in CA (or on a cruise ship.) Luckily my work travels with me ;)

 

 

 

And now, sorry for the digression, back to the Cuba thread!

 

 

 

I didn't realize that you were another Mexpat. We love San Miguel (other than trying to find somewhere to park[emoji30]). There are so many beautiful colonial cities in Mexico, I sometimes wonder why we bother to go on cruises when there is still so much of this wonderful country that we haven't explored yet.

 

 

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[Azamarajunkie]

Bonnie, could you please clarify whether Canadian citizens are subject to the same restrictions as U.S. citizens when visiting Cuba with Azamara. My wife and I are booked on a January 2019 Cuba intensive cruise but, with three nights in Havana, don't want to be limited to organized tours to go ashore. Will we be allowed to go ashore and do our own thing? I'm not concerned about having to buy $75 visas but being limited to organized tours would be a deal breaker for us.

 

 

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Roddy, from our experience on the first Cuba Cruise, all you have to do is complete an affidavit that AZ supplies stating that you are doing your own tours, then you can either do your own prearranged tours or just wander around Havana, we did both, and didn't use any Azamara Land Discoveries Tours. Unfortunately as you are on a ship originating from Miami, you do have to stump up the $75 for the Cuba Visa. And whatever you do, don't take US dollars, the exchange rate is atrocious as Cuba imposes an extra 10% surcharge, Euro, GBP or I guess Canadian dollars are fine.

 

Hope this helps

 

Steve

[RoddyGateau]

Roddy, from our experience on the first Cuba Cruise, all you have to do is complete an affidavit that AZ supplies stating that you are doing your own tours, then you can either do your own prearranged tours or just wander around Havana, we did both, and didn't use any Azamara Land Discoveries Tours. Unfortunately as you are on a ship originating from Miami, you do have to stump up the $75 for the Cuba Visa. And whatever you do, don't take US dollars, the exchange rate is atrocious as Cuba imposes an extra 10% surcharge, Euro, GBP or I guess Canadian dollars are fine.

 

 

 

Hope this helps

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

 

Thanks Steve, that's very reassuring. Hopefully Bonnie will be able to give me the official Azamara word on this as well.

 

Rod

 

 

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[rabin1]

Hello

I am not trying to be a Debbie downer and am in no way trying to say don;t go to Cuba. In fact I myself would like to go. HOWEVER, here in South Florida on all our news stations and newspapers they have been talking about something I have yet to see on any national news. Apparently a lot of our people in our Embassy and some civilians both Canadians and Americans have gotten very ill. Some losing sight, sick, memory loss and on and on. They are SPECULATING that it is some type of collusion between the Cubans and Russians and has something to do with high frequency radio waves. Look it up in the Miami Herald or WPLG Channel 10 Miami for more information. As I said I am only repeating what our local news is saying.

 

Kathy

[Grandma Cruising]

What we have seen on the UK is that it's only people who were working or living in the US embassy who got ill.

 

 

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[BBMacLaird]

Thanks Steve, that's very reassuring. Hopefully Bonnie will be able to give me the official Azamara word on this as well.

 

Rod

 

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I'm looking into this for you. I Do expect to hear back this afternoon.

[SuzCruise]

I didn't realize that you were another Mexpat. We love San Miguel (other than trying to find somewhere to park[emoji30]). There are so many beautiful colonial cities in Mexico, I sometimes wonder why we bother to go on cruises when there is still so much of this wonderful country that we haven't explored yet.

 

 

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Your question had me worried for a minute. We are going to Cuba on Azamara in November and will absolutely not be participating in any Azamara tours. We are going to book our own private tour one day and do some wandering around the rest of the time. I found an FAQ on Cuba on the Azamara website that calmed my fears. I hope it helps you as well. We are heading to Canada this weekend and will be bringing back extra CAD to bring to Cuba to help us avoid the

10% fee imposed on exchanging USD. I'll report back if we have any issues with either our currency exchange or our self tours.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/fi/destinations/cuba/faq

 

 

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[Nashna]

Hello

I am not trying to be a Debbie downer and am in no way trying to say don;t go to Cuba. In fact I myself would like to go. HOWEVER, here in South Florida on all our news stations and newspapers they have been talking about something I have yet to see on any national news. Apparently a lot of our people in our Embassy and some civilians both Canadians and Americans have gotten very ill. Some losing sight, sick, memory loss and on and on. They are SPECULATING that it is some type of collusion between the Cubans and Russians and has something to do with high frequency radio waves. Look it up in the Miami Herald or WPLG Channel 10 Miami for more information. As I said I am only repeating what our local news is saying.

 

Kathy

 

It has been in our broadcast and print media in the DC area. Our front page news tends to be international and national instead of local. The speculation is that it could be the Russians as they have the most to gain while the Cuban government has the most to lose. We may never know. This could impact travel to Cuba as it would give Trump an excuse to go back to the pre-Obama days.

[MissyMom]

If you don't take a tour of some sort, you'll miss out on lots of information tour guides are allowed to say about what life is really like for Cubans. As examples, on the first Azamara cruise to Cuba, our tour guides told us about:

the types of monthly ration books for basic foods vary by age ranges;

what's really available to even buy and how much of monthly food needs the ration books can cover;

why there's no beef available to Cubans and milk is hard to find even for babies;

the upside down economy there means gardeners, who don't work for the government, usually earn more than the top paid government employees (doctors and engineers) who do;

that doctors and engineers were "sent" to Venezuela in payment for oil and these men don't want to come back so there's a shortage of doctors outside the one Havana hospital they tout;

that all men go into the army after their free education to pay back the state unless they elect to do other "voluntary " service or go to a "camp";

and many army volunteers stay to have the food that's available to them;

China is rebuilding the ports and building on the wharf plus shoring up the economy like Russian and Venezuelan money once did before they went broke;

the dancers and singers at the Tropicana show (not to be missed) are all government workers;

and much more.

 

Of course just walking around is fine but you'll miss a huge part of the point in visiting a "foreign country" IMHO.

[RoddyGateau]

If you don't take a tour of some sort, you'll miss out on lots of information tour guides are allowed to say about what life is really like for Cubans. As examples, on the first Azamara cruise to Cuba, our tour guides told us about:

the types of monthly ration books for basic foods vary by age ranges;

what's really available to even buy and how much of monthly food needs the ration books can cover;

why there's no beef available to Cubans and milk is hard to find even for babies;

the upside down economy there means gardeners, who don't work for the government, usually earn more than the top paid government employees (doctors and engineers) who do;

that doctors and engineers were "sent" to Venezuela in payment for oil and these men don't want to come back so there's a shortage of doctors outside the one Havana hospital they tout;

that all men go into the army after their free education to pay back the state unless they elect to do other "voluntary " service or go to a "camp";

and many army volunteers stay to have the food that's available to them;

China is rebuilding the ports and building on the wharf plus shoring up the economy like Russian and Venezuelan money once did before they went broke;

the dancers and singers at the Tropicana show (not to be missed) are all government workers;

and much more.

 

Of course just walking around is fine but you'll miss a huge part of the point in visiting a "foreign country" IMHO.

 

 

 

Thanks for your insight. However, you shouldn't assume that everyone has the same "point in visiting a "foreign country"". I rarely regard a visit to a port as an educational experience. It's often a photographic experience, sometimes a gastronomic experience, sometimes an artistic experience and often just the joy of sampling the local beer (which I do without fail[emoji3]).

 

 

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[BBMacLaird]

Thanks Steve, that's very reassuring. Hopefully Bonnie will be able to give me the official Azamara word on this as well.

Rod

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I have received official word, herewith:

"Yes, guests will be allowed to explore Cuba on their own, however, in accordance with U.S. law, all guests (including children) traveling to Cuba must meet the requirements of one of the 12 general licenses. All of our tours offer a variety of organized activities involving approximately eight hours per day of cultural exchange while onshore in Cuba, that meet the requirements of one of these categories, which in most cases will be the license for “people-to-people” travel. “People-to-people” tours are sponsored, education-based trips designed to promote meaningful interactions between travelers and the Cuban people. Qualified programs require a full-day schedule of activities.

 

Also in accordance with U.S. law, guests (including children) will be required to complete a travel affidavit identifying the category of travel under which they are visiting and how they will split their time. This must be completed prior to boarding the vessel.

For ease of completion, we have arranged the affidavit into 3 parts:

• Part A: Guests exclusively participating in the Azamara Club Cruises tour program.
  
• Part B: Guests traveling on a self-guided people-to- people exchange program. Part B does allow for guests to split their full-day schedule between tours purchased from Azamara Club Cruises and activities organized on their own.
  
• Part C: Guests that have not certified in Part A and B, and fall under another general license that is not “people-to-people” travel."
  

Thank you!

[RoddyGateau]

I have received official word, herewith:

"Yes, guests will be allowed to explore Cuba on their own, however, in accordance with U.S. law, all guests (including children) traveling to Cuba must meet the requirements of one of the 12 general licenses. All of our tours offer a variety of organized activities involving approximately eight hours per day of cultural exchange while onshore in Cuba, that meet the requirements of one of these categories, which in most cases will be the license for “people-to-people” travel. “People-to-people” tours are sponsored, education-based trips designed to promote meaningful interactions between travelers and the Cuban people. Qualified programs require a full-day schedule of activities.

 

Also in accordance with U.S. law, guests (including children) will be required to complete a travel affidavit identifying the category of travel under which they are visiting and how they will split their time. This must be completed prior to boarding the vessel.

For ease of completion, we have arranged the affidavit into 3 parts:

• Part A: Guests exclusively participating in the Azamara Club Cruises tour program.
  
• Part B: Guests traveling on a self-guided people-to- people exchange program. Part B does allow for guests to split their full-day schedule between tours purchased from Azamara Club Cruises and activities organized on their own.
  
• Part C: Guests that have not certified in Part A and B, and fall under another general license that is not “people-to-people” travel."
  

Thank you!

 

Thanks Bonnie. That clears things up. We look forward to some people-to-people interactions with our Cuban hosts. Hopefully our Spanglish will be up to the task.

[Tidalmist]

Thank you to all who have given me more information. I have only seen some pictures, and I had no idea there were the more modern hotels and resorts there; I love learning about different places, so that is something to file away. I guess I sounded incredibly stupid and "ugly American" when I certainly didn't mean to.

Hi Pam,

I guess I sounded like an ugly Canadaian last winter when my itinerary on the Oceania Marina was changed to add Havana. I was really uninterested and upset that we were not going to Grand Cayman and Key West. Boy, was I ever happy we went. It is wonderful. Havana was full of tourists from all over the world. It is safe. The people are friendly, the music, dance and food great.

As a Canadian, we have been permitted travel to Cuba since the early seventies but most Canadian tourists tend to visit the modern beach resorts on Veradero Beach, etc.

I actually met a lovely young woman there who has become a very good friend. So go and enjoy. And I do not believe Cuba will ever become a tourist trap as the Cuban people are proud and will not permit their lovely country to be destroyed.

[Itsallaboutholidays]

I have received official word, herewith:

 

 

 

"Yes, guests will be allowed to explore Cuba on their own, however, in accordance with U.S. law, all guests (including children) traveling to Cuba must meet the requirements of one of the 12 general licenses. All of our tours offer a variety of organized activities involving approximately eight hours per day of cultural exchange while onshore in Cuba, that meet the requirements of one of these categories, which in most cases will be the license for “people-to-people” travel. “People-to-people” tours are sponsored, education-based trips designed to promote meaningful interactions between travelers and the Cuban people. Qualified programs require a full-day schedule of activities.

 

 

 

Also in accordance with U.S. law, guests (including children) will be required to complete a travel affidavit identifying the category of travel under which they are visiting and how they will split their time. This must be completed prior to boarding the vessel.

 

For ease of completion, we have arranged the affidavit into 3 parts:

 

• 
   
  
• Part A: Guests exclusively participating in the Azamara Club Cruises tour program.
   
  
• Part B: Guests traveling on a self-guided people-to- people exchange program. Part B does allow for guests to split their full-day schedule between tours purchased from Azamara Club Cruises and activities organized on their own.
   
  
• Part C: Guests that have not certified in Part A and B, and fall under another general license that is not “people-to-people” travel."
   
  

Thank you!

 

 

 

Sorry I am still a little confused by this. We have 3 days in Havana and this reads to me that I will need to schedule 3 full-days of tours (not necessarily with Azamara but another tour company/Cuban person) to meet this requirement. It is not clear to me if it is permissible to get off the ship and 'walk around'. Bonnie, could you please clarify. Thank you.

 

 

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[Azamarajunkie]

Sorry I am still a little confused by this. We have 3 days in Havana and this reads to me that I will need to schedule 3 full-days of tours (not necessarily with Azamara but another tour company/Cuban person) to meet this requirement. It is not clear to me if it is permissible to get off the ship and 'walk around'. Bonnie, could you please clarify. Thank you.

 

 

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I think you are unnecessarily worrying, there is no problem getting off the ship and doing your own thing, as we ourselves did so on the first AZ cruise there. Just complete section B of the form, hand in a copy to the US authorities in Miami, join the cruise and enjoy yourself. The form is primarily aimed at US citizens, as a U.K. Citizens, we are simply caught up in their bueaucracy You will not have a problem with the Cubans!

And remember, don't use USD to change to Cuban currency, GB Pounds and Euro are not subject to the 10% surcharge.also, don't rely on Credit Cards, they are not widely accepted.

[Itsallaboutholidays]

I think you are unnecessarily worrying, there is no problem getting off the ship and doing your own thing, as we ourselves did so on the first AZ cruise there. Just complete section B of the form, hand in a copy to the US authorities in Miami, join the cruise and enjoy yourself. The form is primarily aimed at US citizens, as a U.K. Citizens, we are simply caught up in their bueaucracy You will not have a problem with the Cubans!

 

And remember, don't use USD to change to Cuban currency, GB Pounds and Euro are not subject to the 10% surcharge.also, don't rely on Credit Cards, they are not widely accepted.

 

 

 

Thank you!!!! Super helpful.

 

 

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[Globehoppers]

I think you are unnecessarily worrying, there is no problem getting off the ship and doing your own thing, as we ourselves did so on the first AZ cruise there. Just complete section B of the form, hand in a copy to the US authorities in Miami, join the cruise and enjoy yourself. The form is primarily aimed at US citizens, as a U.K. Citizens, we are simply caught up in their bueaucracy You will not have a problem with the Cubans!

And remember, don't use USD to change to Cuban currency, GB Pounds and Euro are not subject to the 10% surcharge.also, don't rely on Credit Cards, they are not widely accepted.

 

Even as a US citizen, nobody cares or checks. We were there on Empress OTS in July. Completed the form and paid the $75 fee. Walked off through immigration - well set up and managed by the Cubans - then directed to the lower level of the terminal for tour buses. We only had one day so the tour was the best way to see some of the city. No checks for those walking off into the old city outside the terminal. No checks on return. Many on board did not take the ship's tour and relied on local tours or were off on their own.

[rabin1]

I hope I am wrong because I REALLY want to go see Cuba since we have never been permitted but I have a feeling with another attack on our embassy people President Trump (and I do like Trump so nothing negative about him) may want to go back to pre-Obama travel rules. We shall see. Like I said I hope I am wrong but would give our government a reason.

Kathy

[uktog]

I fear the greatest issue is going to be how able are parts of Cuba going to be to cope with guests in the next year post Irma. I suspect the round Cuba cruises could be most at risk of some big rescheduling. Makes me think the risk Azamara has taken with its country intensive programmes - Cuba and hurricanes, Japan and Kim Jong etc etc - is quite significant though obviously one they assessed as worth it, Lets hope they were correct

[ellbon]

since four islands are destroyed and i doubt any cruise line going for a while i think PR and Cuba have the most saved buildings that can be rebuilt. Last i heard havana fine. now let wait on FL Storm started last night. many people still have power. we need the ports to sail from and Key West will need to dry out.

[uktog]

There are a lot of areas so bad affected including all of the North coast of Cuba where there has been a lot of damage. Our TV has been showing the destruction and also the issues for many British tourists trapped there (Cuba is a very popular destination for holidays from the UK so has had a lot of air time given how many UK holiday makers are there just now)

[berkshireboy]

We are due to take a cruise out of Havana on MSC Opera on the 23 September [being from the UK no point in taking a cruise from the US to Cuba on Azamara.] The sailing this weekend ended in Cozumel, instead of Havana, a day late and the new sailing is also from there. Not sure whether the Opera will even make it to Cuba but hopefully it will by the 23rd. At the moment both the port and airport at Havana are closed and there is no electricity supply there. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported. I suspect it will take some time for things to get back to anything like normal.

Edited September 10, 2017 by berkshireboy
Added information

[Cruise Junky]

Havana is flooded right now

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hurricane-irma-cuba-1.4282846

[tommui987]

Wonder what AZ will do with its voyages to Cuba in the next 60 or so days with so much of the intrastructure damage in Havana, let alone in the rest of Cuba. And one of the stops will be in Key West which has no electricity and limited water per CNN news and that it will be weeks before electricity can be restored.

 

However, the Cubans could use our tourism moneys specially now.