gigguy Posted May 10, 2019 #1 Share Posted May 10, 2019 We are looking for any information and suggestions regarding local tour guides in Cuba. We will be there in November and would like to avoid using the Royal Caribbean Excursions. We will be in Havana and Cien Fuego. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare coldinerie Posted May 10, 2019 #2 Share Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) We were in Cuba September 2018 and used FERTOURS, it was the very best tour we have ever been on, and we have been cruising for 25 years. We used them for two days and had a fabulous guide for both days. I never expected it to be so tailored to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do the tour. We were so lucky to have such a great experience. I did tell friends who went to Cuba after us to use the company and they too had a great experience. Email to FERTOURS is fertours@nauta.cu You will not be disappointed in using them. BTW, got their info from Cruise Critic, message boards, ports sections. Edited May 10, 2019 by coldinerie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerThom Posted May 10, 2019 #3 Share Posted May 10, 2019 There is a LOT of misinformation on meeting US regulations on travel to Cuba. RCI requires cruisers to Cuba to fill out their Cuba Guest Travel Certification: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/cuba/cuba-guest-travel-certification.pdf Prior to 2017 the activity mentioned above was legal as a Self Guided Activity (box 3 on the form), but this is no longer allowed. However IMO it is still legal under Other General License Categories (box 4) followed by checking Support for the Cuban people (31 C.F.R. § 515.574). Note that I am NOT a lawyer but I have traveled extensively including to Cuba. Note also that low profile tourists are unlikely to be prosecuted for violations, but no need to violate US regulations if there is a legal way to do it. Thom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam0610 Posted May 10, 2019 #4 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Wife and I are booked in Oct. Looked up tour operators that have been suggested, but they are showing "closed at this time". Think everyone is still waiting for State Department to issue updated regs, on travel. Guess we will see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac1_131 Posted May 10, 2019 #5 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Suggest you look in Ports of Call, Caribbean, Cuba. Lots of info there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfaeric Posted May 10, 2019 #6 Share Posted May 10, 2019 We used Tour Republic on our two trips there, and they are still open. I used to go to the Cuba area, and many others suggested other tour companies that you can use. For all of these tours, you choose "2. FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN)" from the affidavit. Have fun- we loved Cuba. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerThom Posted May 10, 2019 #7 Share Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, alfaeric said: We used Tour Republic on our two trips there, and they are still open. I used to go to the Cuba area, and many others suggested other tour companies that you can use. For all of these tours, you choose "2. FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN)" from the affidavit. Have fun- we loved Cuba. Sorry, but I think this is bad advice on filling out the affidavit. Box 2 FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN) requires that the activities be offered by a U.S. sponsoring organization. As far as I can tell Tour Republic does NOT qualify as a US. sponsoring organization. Tour Republic itself recommends following the procedure I outlined above using Box 4 and then checking “Support for the Cuban People” https://www.tourepublic.com/help Can I book an experience as an US traveler? Yes, most of our experiences fall within the general licenses approved by OFAC, especially under the Support for the Cuban People general license. However, it is your responsibility as a traveler to ensure that your schedule, including our experiences, are permitted under the license that you're using when traveling to Cuba. Edited May 10, 2019 by TravelerThom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinsusin Posted May 10, 2019 #8 Share Posted May 10, 2019 13 hours ago, coldinerie said: We were in Cuba September 2018 and used FERTOURS, it was the very best tour we have ever been on, and we have been cruising for 25 years. We used them for two days and had a fabulous guide for both days. I never expected it to be so tailored to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do the tour. We were so lucky to have such a great experience. I did tell friends who went to Cuba after us to use the company and they too had a great experience. Email to FERTOURS is fertours@nauta.cu You will not be disappointed in using them. BTW, got their info from Cruise Critic, message boards, ports sections. We had booked with them for our upcoming cruise but were notified by Fernando that unfortunately he was closing his business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMarc Posted May 10, 2019 #9 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Be aware that Cuban authorities have recently arrested some private tour guides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted May 11, 2019 #10 Share Posted May 11, 2019 and some Americans who were with the tour guides. 😮 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMarc Posted May 11, 2019 #11 Share Posted May 11, 2019 8 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said: and some Americans who were with the tour guides. 😮 Where did you hear this. I have not heard anything about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted May 11, 2019 #12 Share Posted May 11, 2019 3 hours ago, MrMarc said: Where did you hear this. I have not heard anything about that. Friend of mine spent some quality time in a Cuban jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerThom Posted May 11, 2019 #13 Share Posted May 11, 2019 8 hours ago, MrMarc said: Be aware that Cuban authorities have recently arrested some private tour guides. Details please. Can you link to a news report? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfaeric Posted May 11, 2019 #14 Share Posted May 11, 2019 20 hours ago, TravelerThom said: Sorry, but I think this is bad advice on filling out the affidavit. Box 2 FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN) requires that the activities be offered by a U.S. sponsoring organization. As far as I can tell Tour Republic does NOT qualify as a US. sponsoring organization. Tour Republic itself recommends following the procedure I outlined above using Box 4 and then checking “Support for the Cuban People” https://www.tourepublic.com/help Can I book an experience as an US traveler? Yes, most of our experiences fall within the general licenses approved by OFAC, especially under the Support for the Cuban People general license. However, it is your responsibility as a traveler to ensure that your schedule, including our experiences, are permitted under the license that you're using when traveling to Cuba. Ok, well, work with a tour agency that does meet that requirement. They are not impossible to find. Or use "Support Cuban People"- which has been reported that it's not an acceptable answer at the RCI check in at one point. Either way, taking a non RCI tour when visiting Cuba isn't an impossible task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMarc Posted May 11, 2019 #15 Share Posted May 11, 2019 12 hours ago, TravelerThom said: Details please. Can you link to a news report? No news report. Read this thread and others in the Cuba board: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMarc Posted May 11, 2019 #16 Share Posted May 11, 2019 12 hours ago, TravelerThom said: Details please. Can you link to a news report? http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-police-have-their-eyes-on-the-tourist-guides-in-old-havana/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatonDoolittle Posted May 11, 2019 #17 Share Posted May 11, 2019 The recent gov’t crackdown/harassment of independent guides is a fact. However, there is NO factual basis for the PP to say that tourists were involved or detained. Simply not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigguy Posted May 15, 2019 Author #18 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Thanks for all the replies. We just got off the Ovation of the Seas Honolulu to Vancouver. Now we work on planning out Cuba trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted May 15, 2019 #19 Share Posted May 15, 2019 On 5/11/2019 at 7:44 PM, EatonDoolittle said: The recent gov’t crackdown/harassment of independent guides is a fact. However, there is NO factual basis for the PP to say that tourists were involved or detained. Simply not true. Tell that to my friend who got to see the inside of a Cuban jail for quite some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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