What happens to the Cuba cruises?

[finny2]

20 hours ago, rmalbers said:

I just called A and the person I spoke to said that the Cuba cruise/s are a go and if they don't go for some reason there will be a refund not port changes.  I guess I would like to see that in writing but that's what she said.

That's interesting and somewhat more meaningful than the email response I got which said, "In the event that the Cuban regulations are changed we will make the necessary modifications to accommodate all guests involved."

Who knows what that means --  what kind of modifications and how will they accommodate guests? I'm guessing that the kind of changes they will make will depend on how close to the cruise date any regulation changes are made.

Still, I am waiting to see more and keeping watch. 

[rmalbers]

I'm new to A, I wonder if anyone that has sailed A for a long time has run into a situation like this and if A ends up not going to Cuba, what did A do, refund or port change or something else?  Did it come up a couple of years ago with a Turkey cruise for instance, when things got kind of wild there?  One thing about the Cuba cruise on Dec 6th, they do have a non-US stop both before and after Cuba, if that's a factor.

Edited May 7, 2019 by rmalbers

[finny2]

and there is this

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/4075/

-  Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) -- the world's largest cruise industry trade association -- released a statement saying cruises will continue as scheduled, at least for now.

"Cruising to Cuba falls under the 'lawful travel exemption' under Title III of the Helms Burton Act," according to the statement.

"Our member cruise lines have been and are now engaged in lawful travel to Cuba as expressly authorized by the United States federal government … Cruises to Cuba have delivered important social and cultural exchange between the people of the United States and the people of Cuba."  -

[hamrag]

On 5/10/2019 at 12:03 AM, finny2 said:

and there is this

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/4075/

-  Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) -- the world's largest cruise industry trade association -- released a statement saying cruises will continue as scheduled, at least for now.....

 

'at least for now'......note the wording!

 

......In Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' 2019 first quarter earnings call, the company's president and CEO Frank Del Rio also addressed the issue.

"It's business as usual until it's not," Del Rio said. "This is government at work; it's not business, so we'll just have to wait and see."

Edited May 11, 2019 by hamrag

[manc]

We recently returned from Cuba on Azamara and it was GREAT. Hope the problem is resolved and future cruisers get there.

[Granny DI]

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

'at least for now'......note the wording!

 

......In Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' 2019 first quarter earnings call, the company's president and CEO Frank Del Rio also addressed the issue.

"It's business as usual until it's not," Del Rio said. "This is government at work; it's not business, so we'll just have to wait and see."

Excellent post. NO ONE knows what will happen.....too many variables.

[finny2]

5 hours ago, manc said:

We recently returned from Cuba on Azamara and it was GREAT. Hope the problem is resolved and future cruisers get there.

I’d love to get your impressions on shore excursions in Cuba. Maybe start a new thread? I continue to hope for the best.

[manc]

We did private tours with the same guide - walking, 1950's car and a 1950's convertible. Used a companu I found on Tripadvisor. The guide took us to great restaurants and bars. We toured at our own pace and added stops for shopping or a drink or coffee at will

 He spokr excellent  English and was abke and willing to answer all our questions. It was very good value. Sometimes th3 driver would drop us and then come back to meet us when asked by the guide depending on parking etc. We ssw so much and selected what we wanted to see and rejected some ideas eg going to a nightclub as exhausted after a great long day. A nightclub visit or evening walk was included in the cost. 

[uktog]

I This is a multi dimensional issue given Cuba’s established connections with Venezuela.  I see because of supply issues from there, food rationing of basic items such as chicken, eggs, rice and beans starts this week.  That makes me very uncomfortable cruising to Cuba and having access to too much and then on land being with those with so little. If our cruises did still continue I would not want to eat ashore, it would feel wrong. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by uktog

[Globehoppers]

5 hours ago, uktog said:

I This is a multi dimensional issue given Cuba’s established connections with Venezuela.  I see because of supply issues from there, food rationing of basic items such as chicken, eggs, rice and beans starts this week.  That makes me very uncomfortable cruising to Cuba and having access to too much and then on land being with those with so little. If our cruises did still continue I would not want to eat ashore, it would feel wrong. 

 

Cuba has humanitarian people in Venezuela, including medical.  Venezuela has been struggling to feed its people for years - its the ultimate kleptocracy with the wealthy having everything led by a dictator.

 

Food in Cuba is not an issue for its people and it has a wonderful culinary culture.  

 

One of Cuba's challenges for tourists is its dual currency: the hard currency based "CUC" or convertible peso and the "CUP" or national currency.  Cubans must use the CUP which is not convertible while foreigners and those supporting tourism use the CUC which is pegged 1-to-1 with the USD.  Restaurants and businesses (state stores) require tourists/visitors use the CUC.  This creates a semblance of monetary control (the CUP translates to about 25 CUP to 1 USD).  

 

Visiting Cuba provides a semblance of what it was like in Eastern Europe during the Soviet era, although the Cubans have more and are better off and have more freedoms compared to their former Warsaw Pact brethren (I lived in the former Yugoslavia and Romania in the late 1980s).  We should be embracing the Cuban people, flooding them with visitors and western values, not running from what is today an contrived threat.  Go visit - its very worthwhile and educational.

[uktog]

20 minutes ago, Globehoppers said:

 

Cuba has humanitarian people in Venezuela, including medical.  Venezuela has been struggling to feed its people for years - its the ultimate kleptocracy with the wealthy having everything led by a dictator.

 

Food in Cuba is not an issue for its people and it has a wonderful culinary culture.  

 

One of Cuba's challenges for tourists is its dual currency: the hard currency based "CUC" or convertible peso and the "CUP" or national currency.  Cubans must use the CUP which is not convertible while foreigners and those supporting tourism use the CUC which is pegged 1-to-1 with the USD.  Restaurants and businesses (state stores) require tourists/visitors use the CUC.  This creates a semblance of monetary control (the CUP translates to about 25 CUP to 1 USD).  

 

Visiting Cuba provides a semblance of what it was like in Eastern Europe during the Soviet era, although the Cubans have more and are better off and have more freedoms compared to their former Warsaw Pact brethren (I lived in the former Yugoslavia and Romania in the late 1980s).  We should be embracing the Cuban people, flooding them with visitors and western values, not running from what is today an contrived threat.  Go visit - its very worthwhile and educational.

My comment was based on the fact it is being reported that food rationing has started in Cuba

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-48237319

Elsewhere on other forums tourists are reporting some issues in restaurants.  I don't doubt at good times all is well I am not concerned about exchange rates etc, I am sure I would be able to get a good deal, it is more do I feel comfortable sitting on a ship with access to more food than is good to me docked in a port where elsewhere people are having to queue for food and in some cases go without

 

[Granny DI]

1 hour ago, Globehoppers said:

 

Cuba has humanitarian people in Venezuela, including medical.  Venezuela has been struggling to feed its people for years .

I take issue with your statement. I lived in Venezuela for many years. The Cubans are not humanitarians. They are paid mercenaries. They were Chavez’s private army!  They now surround Maduro and his thugs.  The medical aid was for Chavez because he feared his own doctors. Most of the medical professionals in Venezuela were educated in the US and they were very good.

 

Food was plentiful when I lived there. Caracas was full of migrants from other South American countries escaping abject poverty.

 

i still have friends in Venezuela. I also have friends who escaped Castro’s regime with families who are still in Cuba. They don’t want Raul and friends to get any money from Americans. Raul and buddies live in Luxury.

 

[Whitby100]

I think Uktog has s valid point about eating while in Cuba.  As Canadians we enjoy easy access to Cuba and reports from friends and family indicate some lack of availability in hotels of basic foods (bread, etc). on recent trips.  On the other hand visiting the island does help the locals and tour operators deal not only with cruise ships but non-American visitors.  It is typical for Canadian visitors to take products as gratuities (toothpaste, pens & pencils, toys, branded clothing, etc.). 

[rmalbers]

1 hour ago, Whitby100 said:

I think Uktog has s valid point about eating while in Cuba.  As Canadians we enjoy easy access to Cuba and reports from friends and family indicate some lack of availability in hotels of basic foods (bread, etc). on recent trips.  On the other hand visiting the island does help the locals and tour operators deal not only with cruise ships but non-American visitors.  It is typical for Canadian visitors to take products as gratuities (toothpaste, pens & pencils, toys, branded clothing, etc.). 

You know, now that you mention that my golf buddy from Canada went down there with stuff like that but he also said the big hits he took were cosmetics and panty hose, no kidding, the Cuban women were all over that! 

[snowglobe]

From my experience, what is even more appreciated are what we consider “front-of-the-store” and over-the-counter drugstore products.

Cuba has pharmaceuticals - good ones too (first hand experience). But what Cubans cannot get their hands on, due to the ongoing embargo, are things like Voltaren, baby products, good detanglers for hair, any creams or gels for ‘old people’ ailments and skin problems, flu and cough medicines (including lozenges and syrups), first-aid doodads (burn pads, ‘second skin’, butterfly, good quality band-aids, etc.), and yes, cosmetics too.

I befriended the doctor assigned to a resort that I went back to a few times, and would bring down bags of this kind of stuff for her. It was worth gold to her, her mother and her daughter, and the others that she would treat from her home on her own time.

Edited May 13, 2019 by snowglobe

[Covepointcruiser]

Cuba is only under embargo from the U.S.   Why don’t the other countries flood them with the products they need?    You would think the Far East, Europe, South America could send them products.    I do know that they have a shortage of currency with the average wage being only about $20 per month.    The highest.paid surgeons receive about $85 a month.   I am sad to hear of rationing.   One thing the common person could always count on was their monthly allowance of rice, sugar and oil.

[snowglobe]

True, but the closest & largest economy in the U.S.. Shipping to the Caribbean islands generally transit through U.S. ports/shipping lanes as well, so the embargo’s impact widely affects the flow of goods that are also coming into the region from elsewhere.

You are correct about the low wages in Cuba. An on-site doctor at a resort makes a salary of about $60 a month on average. Workers in the hospitality industry commonly have small side businesses.

[dhall711]

Looks like the hammer finally dropped and future Cuba cruises are now in jeopardy. 

 

Glad we went last November while we could. 

 

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/06/04/politics/us-cuba-travel-restrictions/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

 

The new restrictions will prohibit cruise ship passengers whose trips are arranged as organized tours. It's unclear how the new restrictions will impact US airlines flying newly established routes to the island.

 

Edited June 4, 2019 by dhall711

[rmalbers]

Wow, I was seriously thinking about Cuba but because of the unknown a couple of weeks ago I booked X's South American cruise.  A's basically same cruise was several thousand more so I went with X.  This Cuba uncertainty is a mess.

[Granny DI]

We have friends who escaped Cuba through Mexico when Fidel came to power. When Cuba was opened up I asked if they were going for a visit. They said no way. The communist government was not getting another  penny more from them. Their dream had been to retire in Cuba. 

We wanted to visit because time has stopped in Cuba. We wanted to see the Colonial Caribbean. We bailed on our Cuba cruise in April when the “first warning shots were fired.” We didn’t want to be stuck on an expensive cruise to Nassau. We found a wonderful Eastern Caribbean cruise for the same time period.

i kept hoping things would change in Cuba for our friends.

[upwarduk]

https://www.news965.com/entertainment/trump-administration-halts-cruises-cuba-under-new-rules/CPy6feikKhmrImiY0tw5jK/

This is for US passengers only. Is it possible that other nationalities will be able to cruise to Cuba?

[rallydave]

6 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

https://www.news965.com/entertainment/trump-administration-halts-cruises-cuba-under-new-rules/CPy6feikKhmrImiY0tw5jK/

This is for US passengers only. Is it possible that other nationalities will be able to cruise to Cuba?

Not based on US passengers, the new rules from a few years ago applied to cruise ships departing a US Port and the rules had to be followed by ALL on board, US and other nationalities.

 

Before the rules were relaxed in I think 2017 by obama foreign cruise lines had been traveling to Cuba as long as they didn't depart a US port.  Those cruise lines have continued and will continue after this change.  US citizens have often gone to Canada or Cuba and flown to Cuba which will probably continue.  Yes other nationalities have always been able to cruise to Cuba and will continue to do this depending on non- US based cruise lines continue to cruise to Cuba as long as not from a US port.

[Covepointcruiser]

I received the email from the U.S. State Department.   U.S. cruise ships cannot visit Cuba.can still fly to Cuba as they ma be transporting family members to Cuba.   Is Azamara, Royal Cruise Lines American owned.   The ships are not registered in the U.S. but the company along with all of the Carnival Lines are traded on the U.S.Stock Market.

Check on the U.S. Treasury site.    Guess the cruises will be rerouted.

 

[Granny DI]

Daily Mail is reporting all cruise ships sailing from US ports are banned from visiting Cuba....effective tomorrow.

[rallydave]

Believe th

7 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I received the email from the U.S. State Department.   U.S. cruise ships cannot visit Cuba.can still fly to Cuba as they ma be transporting family members to Cuba.   Is Azamara, Royal Cruise Lines American owned.   The ships are not registered in the U.S. but the company along with all of the Carnival Lines are traded on the U.S.Stock Market.

Check on the U.S. Treasury site.    Guess the cruises will be rerouted.

 

Believe they are talking about US based companies and cruises departing from a US Port.  Don't believe any cruise lines are registered in the US nor are any ships other than the Pride of Hawaii registered in the US.  They are all foreign companies based on their registration in other than the US.  Believe there is a lot of confusion over calling the ones you mentioned US Cruise Ships.  The companies are US based and the stock is traded on the US Stock Market but, so are many non-US companies.  Stock trading has nothing to do with where a company is based or registered.

 

Believe the ban is based on ships departing the US and not where the company is based the ship flagged or the company registered.

Edited June 4, 2019 by rallydave