Travelling to Cuba, question re OFAC compliance

[Skala]

Hello all,

We are travelling to Cuba on our NCL Sky's cruise in early October this year. Yesterday we got a message from NCL, which reads:

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"Dear Valued Guest,

 

We’re excited you’re sailing with us during our first season in Cuba. Please take time to read the following information so you can make the most of your time in legendary Havana.

 

As a reminder, you can travel to Cuba under the people-to-people authorized travel category under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). To do so, you must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people.

 

You are required to self certify that your activities meet these requirements and also to retain records of your activities for a period of 5 years. Please click on the following link for the certification form. Once completed and submitted electronically, please print a copy for your records. Please be advised that you will not be able to board the vessel without having first completed the form. You must complete no later than 3 days prior to your departure date.

 

Norwegian gives you the option of fulfilling your OFAC requirements through our diverse selection of Havana shore excursions. Tours must be booked no later than 3 days prior to sailing. Tour availability is not guaranteed on board.

 

Benefits to pre-booking Havana excursions through Norwegian:

 

• All tours are OFAC compliant
  
• Priority disembarkation in Havana
  
• Space confirmed prior to sailing"
  

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We are concerned with the following statement: "you must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people". We definitely go there as tourists, so in the Certification Form for travelling to Cuba I ticked the box called "515.565(b)(2) Activities in connection with the temporary sojourn of aircraft/vessels". Will this be sufficient for authorities to let us board the ship ?

 

 

[hawkeyetlse]

Don't check that box, that's for people who are working on an aircraft/vessel. Most ordinary visitors (it's best not to admit to the US authorities that you are "definitely going as tourists") should check the box "515.565(b) Educational exchanges - people to people". And then just keep a journal of what you do while in port. I have not heard of anyone actually asking to look at this journal since cruises started. So follow the guidelines, but don't worry too much about them.

[BirdTravels]

Yes, do not say you are going as tourists. That would be a violation of law. And you would be prohibited from going.

[Skala]

Don't check that box, that's for people who are working on an aircraft/vessel. Most ordinary visitors (it's best not to admit to the US authorities that you are "definitely going as tourists") should check the box "515.565(b) Educational exchanges - people to people". And then just keep a journal of what you do while in port. I have not heard of anyone actually asking to look at this journal since cruises started. So follow the guidelines, but don't worry too much about them.

 

Many thanks for this valuable piece of advice! Will do so..

[Skala]

Yes, do not say you are going as tourists. That would be a violation of law. And you would be prohibited from going.

Ok, got it.. thanks 🙏🏻

[sjbdtz]

Ok, got it.. thanks 🙏🏻

 

 

You can have educational exchanges with the guide, with the person at the restaurant, with the money exchanger, the security guard, the customs agent in Havana, and anybody else you happen to converse with.

 

"Wow, it's hotter here than where I live" is informative & educational to the person you're advising. :)

 

 

.

[zqvol]

I hope that OP and others scheduled to go to Cuba before the end of the year get a chance to make it. The northern coast and Havana especially suffered severe hurricane damage. I saw videos of downtown Havana with 5 - 6 feet of water running in the streets. Just like the other islands it is likely to take a while to get things ready for visitors.

[Até]

Why would the OP from Switzerland have to satisfy US/Cuba travel restrictions? Does NCL send that OFAC warning to all passengers regardless of nationality to increase their excursion sales.

[shof515]

Why would the OP from Switzerland have to satisfy US/Cuba travel restrictions? Does NCL send that OFAC warning to all passengers regardless of nationality to increase their excursion sales.

i think the problem is the re-entry back to the US to disembark the ship

[royalcruz]

Book a daytime excursion. The nightclub excursions are not compliant, but you can do a day and night excursion. As long as you complete a compliant excursion, you can explore the city as you wish.

[zqvol]

Hello all,

We are travelling to Cuba on our NCL Sky's cruise in early October this year. Yesterday we got a message from NCL, which reads:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dear Valued Guest,

 

We’re excited you’re sailing with us during our first season in Cuba. Please take time to read the following information so you can make the most of your time in legendary Havana.

 

As a reminder, you can travel to Cuba under the people-to-people authorized travel category under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). To do so, you must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people.

 

You are required to self certify that your activities meet these requirements and also to retain records of your activities for a period of 5 years. Please click on the following link for the certification form. Once completed and submitted electronically, please print a copy for your records. Please be advised that you will not be able to board the vessel without having first completed the form. You must complete no later than 3 days prior to your departure date.

 

Norwegian gives you the option of fulfilling your OFAC requirements through our diverse selection of Havana shore excursions. Tours must be booked no later than 3 days prior to sailing. Tour availability is not guaranteed on board.

 

Benefits to pre-booking Havana excursions through Norwegian:

 

 

• All tours are OFAC compliant
  
• Priority disembarkation in Havana
  
• Space confirmed prior to sailing"
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are concerned with the following statement: "you must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people". We definitely go there as tourists, so in the Certification Form for travelling to Cuba I ticked the box called "515.565(b)(2) Activities in connection with the temporary sojourn of aircraft/vessels". Will this be sufficient for authorities to let us board the ship ?

 

 

 

Those rules only apply to US citizens. If you are a citizen of another country you have to comply with the rules that your country has established. Check with your own embassy.

[Skala]

Those rules only apply to US citizens. If you are a citizen of another country you have to comply with the rules that your country has established. Check with your own embassy.

 

Hmm... Both the travel agent (CruiseDirect) and the cruise company (NCL) are aware that we are not US citizens and are coming from Switzerland... Yet they both send us these instructions to comply with OFAC regulations. For the swiss citizens the native country does not set any special visiting rules or regulations, we can just go without any reason (even with direct flight to Cuba), without any additional paperwork but entry visa. We thought that OFAC regulations had smth to do with us as we were going to visit Cuba from US and going from Cuba back to the US before flying home. In any case we had filled in the requested form and indicated "people-to-people" types of contacts.

 

P.S. though this all looks like a bit of hypocrisy...or is is just a plain swiss straight-forward thinking...