Carnival email for Cuba - is this normal ?

[LuckyZ]

Received this email immediately after booking Cruise to Cuba next March. Is this normal? Is there much to be worried about ? Is this a way Carnival tries to scare into one of their own excursions ?

 

 

• Each guest must have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the return date of the cruise. Birth certificates and passport cards will not be accepted.

 

• Each guest must provide a travel affidavit documenting which category of approved travel he or she will be utilizing. This form must be provided at embarkation, and the guest will be responsible for maintaining a copy for his or her records.

 

• The Cuban government requires a tourist visa, and Carnival will facilitate this for each guest, at a cost of $75. This fee is not included in your cruise fare, and will be applied to your onboard Sail & Sign account. You will receive your visa at embarkation.

 

• Special visas are issued by the Cuba Consulate. Cuban-born guests and any guest traveling to Cuba for any reason than the standard people-to-people activities may need a special visa. Such guests should contact the Cuba Consulate to determine the documentation needed and to pay the applicable costs. Alternatively, guests may choose to use a company that offers Cuban visa-processing services (e.g., ABC Charters, 1-866-4ABC-AIR; or VisaCentral , 1-877-535-0688). Please note: The processing time for this documentation may take three months or longer.

 

• As of November 9, 2017, the U.S. Government issued revised regulations regarding travel to Cuba. All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization. Those who booked prior to this date may still travel under the self-guided people-to-people authorized category of travel. Please visit Carnival.com to view the wide variety of qualified people-to-people tours and book early to secure your preferred excursions.

 

• The revised regulations also prohibit all visitors from engaging in direct financial transactions with certain entities in Cuba. We encourage you to review the “Cuba Restricted List” released by the U.S. State Department before your cruise.

 

Guests who do not provide proper travel documentation (affidavit, passport and visa) at cruise embarkation cannot board the ship.

Forums

Edited May 14, 2018 by LuckyZ

[kristinp36]

Received this email immediately after booking Cruise to Cuba next March. Is this normal? Is there much to be worried about ? Is this a way Carnival tries to scare into one of their own excursions ?

 

 

• Each guest must have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the return date of the cruise. Birth certificates and passport cards will not be accepted.

 

• Each guest must provide a travel affidavit documenting which category of approved travel he or she will be utilizing. This form must be provided at embarkation, and the guest will be responsible for maintaining a copy for his or her records.

 

• The Cuban government requires a tourist visa, and Carnival will facilitate this for each guest, at a cost of $75. This fee is not included in your cruise fare, and will be applied to your onboard Sail & Sign account. You will receive your visa at embarkation.

 

• Special visas are issued by the Cuba Consulate. Cuban-born guests and any guest traveling to Cuba for any reason than the standard people-to-people activities may need a special visa. Such guests should contact the Cuba Consulate to determine the documentation needed and to pay the applicable costs. Alternatively, guests may choose to use a company that offers Cuban visa-processing services (e.g., ABC Charters, 1-866-4ABC-AIR; or VisaCentral , 1-877-535-0688). Please note: The processing time for this documentation may take three months or longer.

 

• As of November 9, 2017, the U.S. Government issued revised regulations regarding travel to Cuba. All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization. Those who booked prior to this date may still travel under the self-guided people-to-people authorized category of travel. Please visit Carnival.com to view the wide variety of qualified people-to-people tours and book early to secure your preferred excursions.

 

• The revised regulations also prohibit all visitors from engaging in direct financial transactions with certain entities in Cuba. We encourage you to review the “Cuba Restricted List” released by the U.S. State Department before your cruise.

 

Guests who do not provide proper travel documentation (affidavit, passport and visa) at cruise embarkation cannot board the ship.

Forums

 

 

 

This is the same communication I have seen from NCL & Royal. It mirrors the current regulations put in place by the US gov.

 

 

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[WAHMto5]

I received a very similar one from NCL on our un-coming Cuba cruise as well. They are just informing you of the different regulations for Cuba compared to some of the other cruises.

[OCruisers]

Letting us know the info/requirements in advance for Cuba is a good thing! (y)

[LadyMac72]

Received this email immediately after booking Cruise to Cuba next March. Is this normal? Is there much to be worried about ? Is this a way Carnival tries to scare into one of their own excursions ?

 

 

• Each guest must have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the return date of the cruise. Birth certificates and passport cards will not be accepted.

 

• Each guest must provide a travel affidavit documenting which category of approved travel he or she will be utilizing. This form must be provided at embarkation, and the guest will be responsible for maintaining a copy for his or her records.

 

• The Cuban government requires a tourist visa, and Carnival will facilitate this for each guest, at a cost of $75. This fee is not included in your cruise fare, and will be applied to your onboard Sail & Sign account. You will receive your visa at embarkation.

 

• Special visas are issued by the Cuba Consulate. Cuban-born guests and any guest traveling to Cuba for any reason than the standard people-to-people activities may need a special visa. Such guests should contact the Cuba Consulate to determine the documentation needed and to pay the applicable costs. Alternatively, guests may choose to use a company that offers Cuban visa-processing services (e.g., ABC Charters, 1-866-4ABC-AIR; or VisaCentral , 1-877-535-0688). Please note: The processing time for this documentation may take three months or longer.

 

• As of November 9, 2017, the U.S. Government issued revised regulations regarding travel to Cuba. All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization. Those who booked prior to this date may still travel under the self-guided people-to-people authorized category of travel. Please visit Carnival.com to view the wide variety of qualified people-to-people tours and book early to secure your preferred excursions.

 

• The revised regulations also prohibit all visitors from engaging in direct financial transactions with certain entities in Cuba. We encourage you to review the “Cuba Restricted List” released by the U.S. State Department before your cruise.

 

Guests who do not provide proper travel documentation (affidavit, passport and visa) at cruise embarkation cannot board the ship.

Forums

 

I got the same email - and I'm still booking a private cruise and I intend to mark "Support for the Cuban People" on my affidavit. We're on the cruise ship out of Tampa next March.... is this the cruise you booked?

[LuckyZ]

March 2nd

 

 

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[LadyMac72]

March 2nd

 

 

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Me too! We're already getting excited.

[Cafabi]

I got one from HAL (also owned by CCL) and wondered what the "update" was. Seems like it was more of a notice than an update with anything new.

[dog]

So, each passenger must have all 8 pages of this travel affidavit with them to check in at the terminal in Tampa and also keep a second 8 page copy of it with them? Is this correct?