Stops in Cuba PROHIBITED

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Carnival Corp. and thus Seabourn, and Oceania have both either announced cancellation of Cuba stops, or begun informing pax that they will be cancelled.  No grandfathering.

[rallydave]

1 minute ago, hypercafe said:

Just got a email from my TA stating that effect immediately no cruise ships my sail to Cuba. Seems cruise companies are sending notification based on how soon the cruise. Since mine is next year it will be a while till I hear but there is no godfather for any.

Assuming you mean Grandfathering, there was never anything in the new regulations regarding Grandfathering cruises to Cuba.  Yes Grandfathering is included in the new regulations but, only for Group Travel and not travel via sea.  Many people have read that part of the regulations and missed the fact that it does not apply to cruises.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Meanwhile Regent hasn't removed or changed the Cuba cruises from its website.  I guess they have to scramble to re-jig those itineraries.  Don't blame them.  Someone said it would be Friday, right?  Let them do it right, but it's clear that Cuba is gone.

[forgap]

23 minutes ago, rallydave said:

one of his many stupid edicts

@rallydave  this is what I mean about inflammatory language.   You might want to include your opinion concerning why you approve the travel ban being reinstated. 

 

The travel ban is not universal as some groups are exempted so “go arounds” like the people to people tours might be back in.   It will be interesting to see how this shakes out for businesses already in Cuba and for Cubans coming here to buy goods.  I haven’t seen much in the news concerning the lead up to the ban, which may be why cruise lines are scrambling.   I wonder if Frank delRio, being a Cuban American, will make a statement.  

[Tucruisers]

Don't you ever think that if a Government bans its citizens from visiting another country that is not a good thing?

[SWFLAOK]

22 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Not sure about Nelson's DeMille's novel or when it was written but do know that things have changed dramatically in recent years.

 

If someone visited Cuba without restrictions (as we have done in the past), it is a beautiful country with extraordinary people.  Only their government is questionable (just as other governments are).  My point is to remember the people of Cuba - not only the government.    

Here's when it was published, and it's written by a well respected author:

 Originally published: September 19, 2017

There were some pretty recent references, and the ability to visit was based on the lessening of restrictions on travel where they only needed to be on a guided tour.  In the novel, they fly in, so the oversight by the Cuban guide would be much more intrusive on the trip than a day tour from a cruise ship.

 

Having been born in the US, I don't think I'm old enough to have participated in unrestricted travel to Cuba based on this:

"Legal travel to Cuba was long a dream of American travelers, who were prohibited from visiting the island since travel restrictions were imposed in 1963. Policy changes in 1999 opened the door for any American to legally travel to Cuba through a new license category called people-to-people travel, with the goal of enhancing cross-cultural relations between Americans and Cubans."

 

In Florida, we meet many people who were born in Cuba, or have parents or grandparents who were born in Cuba. We often ask them what they think about Cuba. Almost none of them approve of how the people in Cuba currently live. They say that people cannot live their own lives in Cuba because the government controls everything. Might an illegal tip or business be overlooked by the government? It might for a while, but then someone will need to be paid to ignore it.

[SWFLAOK]

3 hours ago, seaknots said:

 

ironic. topic is about US people having freedom to travel stopped

During my adult life, I have never been legally allowed to travel to Cuba since travel restrictions were imposed in 1963, and I had no desire to take part in the Cuban government controlled tours that were allowed. If the US only allowed tourists to come here when being escorted by a US guide who ensured your visits were restricted to government approved locations would you do it?

 

People from the US have obviously traveled to Cuba by flying through Mexico, the Bahamas, T&C, Canada, etc., and on private boats. Under those circumstances, not being able to spend US dollars or use US credit cards made it hard to find a place to stay unless you had friends that you didn't mind imposing on.

 

I'll never be able to visit all of the places in the world that are worthwhile visiting, so I will stick to those that are easily accessible. Luckily, we have met many wonderful Cuban people who live in the US and the Bahamas, and have heard about their native country from them.

 

[SWFLAOK]

2 hours ago, Tucruisers said:

Don't you ever think that if a Government bans its citizens from visiting another country that is not a good thing?

No. I think the list of countries that we are told not to visit should be more than that.

If you want to visit DRC, with it's uncontrolled Ebola outbreak made worse by civil unrest, then you should not be allowed to return to the US. If you are arrested in Afghanistan for spitting in public, our government should not assist you in returning. Fortunately for those who make bad choices, our government has more empathy than I do.

[Travelcat2]

34 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

 

 

People from the US have obviously traveled to Cuba by flying through Mexico, the Bahamas, T&C, Canada, etc., and on private boats. Under those circumstances, not being able to spend US dollars or use US credit cards made it hard to find a place to stay unless you had friends that you didn't mind imposing on.

 

 .

 

Yes - we did visit Cuba by flying through by Canada and Mexico (on airlines).  We did not have restrictions as to where we could go.  And, this was before the Cuban government banned U.S. dollars (late 90's).  That is exactly what we used (but could not use credit cards).  

 

Our stays at Club Med and another popular all-inclusive resort (whose names escapes me at the moment) were paid for in advance with the companies - not paid in Cuba.

 

As far as banning more countries, personally, if someone wants to visit a country, they should be able to do so but agree that the U.S. should not get them out of trouble if problems occur.  For us, there was absolutely no problems whatsoever (less crime than in most places that we visit).

 

 

[mrlevin]

I found notice on Norwegian Cruise Lines (not corporate) site that all stops in Cuba have been eliminated; however, I cannot find anything on Regent website.  Can someone post the link with the info from Regent?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

[commodore2010]

12 hours ago, mrlevin said:

I found notice on Norwegian Cruise Lines (not corporate) site that all stops in Cuba have been eliminated; however, I cannot find anything on Regent website.  Can someone post the link with the info from Regent?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

 

It appears you really want to go, but its time to accept the inevitable.  If NCL eliminates Cuba, so will Regent and Oceania.  It may be today or in the next few days but Cuba is a no go. 

 

Not to mention that Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean have already announced. 

 

[commodore2010]

40 minutes ago, drib said:

FYI, Regent went all James Holzhauer on Cuba with 17 trips, not counting back-to-backs, within a 17 months span.

https://dc.bigdogfoto.com/rollcall/rollcall.php?ports=cuba&line=regent

Oceania, also all-in, has 24 trips with scheduled ports in Cuba. Two of those are on O ships, which I still follow, and 22 on R ships, which I stopped following.

The other line that I follow, Crystal, has no scheduled trips to Cuba.

 

 

That may be why its taking a little longer to hear from them. If they had more Cuba than other cruise lines, its going to take a little longer to figure out what to replace with and get that ports ok. 

[mrlevin]

Offering us 50% off; waiting to hear whether that is 50% of what we paid (booked this long ago) or 50% from current rates.  Also, still waiting on itinerary (eastern we will probably keep western we will dump).

 

Only the two October sailings on Mariner were Cuba intensive; I believe rest of Regent itineraries just had a one day stop in Havana so easy to modify.

 

Marc

 

edited to add:  Also will be interesting to see how onboard booking and air credits are handled when calculating the 50%; who knows what final price will end up being.

Edited June 6, 2019 by mrlevin

[gentlemancruiser]

2 hours ago, commodore2010 said:

 

 

That may be why its taking a little longer to hear from them. If they had more Cuba than other cruise lines, its going to take a little longer to figure out what to replace with and get that ports ok. 

Regent sent the following email to TA's yesterday afternoon.

Dear Valued Travel Partner, Yesterday, the United States government enacted new restrictions on travel to Cuba, and as a result, we must adjust our itineraries to remove all Cuban ports of call. For those of you that have clients booked, we will begin issuing official itinerary change notifications to you and your clients later this week. If you have specific questions, please contact your Sales Representative or our Passenger Services team at 1.844.4REGENT (1.844.473.4368).

Edited June 6, 2019 by gentlemancruiser
spelling

[hondar]

I just got a notice from RSSC and they have definitely cancelled Cuba itinerary. They have replaced it with a 10-day Eastern Southern Caribbean.   Very disappointing, but they do give you the option of canceling, or if you choose to go on the Caribbean cruise you get a 50% discount.  Great way to handle it I think.  BTW, we were fortunate enough to visit Cuba on a Land tour in 2015, and I absolutely love the country. Obviously not for everybody, and probably not politically correct, but the people are wonderful, the food is good and it is a beautiful country.

[rcandkc]

3 minutes ago, hondar said:

I just got a notice from RSSC and they have definitely cancelled Cuba itinerary. They have replaced it with a 10-day Eastern Southern Caribbean.   Very disappointing, but they do give you the option of canceling, or if you choose to go on the Caribbean cruise you get a 50% discount.  Great way to handle it I think.  BTW, we were fortunate enough to visit Cuba on a Land tour in 2015, and I absolutely love the country. Obviously not for everybody, and probably not politically correct, but the people are wonderful, the food is good and it is a beautiful country.

50 percent off is a great deal.  I know wish my next cruise had included Cuba. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

20 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

No. I think the list of countries that we are told not to visit should be more than that.

If you want to visit DRC, with it's uncontrolled Ebola outbreak made worse by civil unrest, then you should not be allowed to return to the US. If you are arrested in Afghanistan for spitting in public, our government should not assist you in returning. Fortunately for those who make bad choices, our government has more empathy than I do.

 

How about if you're caught chewing gum in Singapore?  (Just making a point, there's lots of ways to get in trouble in a foreign country.)

 

1 hour ago, rcandkc said:

50 percent off is a great deal.  I know wish my next cruise had included Cuba. 

 

Indeed it is--I'd be jumping at that if I'd booked--wish I had!

[mrlevin]

I am a happy cruiser.  Net of air credit and onboard booking credit we are paying $1650 per person for a Cat G.  We had booked this cruise as a "placeholder" two years ago and before it was a Cuba cruise so price was a lot lower.  Regent honored the 50% on the original price we paid so we are extremely satisfied with the offer.  

 

So, no Cuba but we decided to stay on for a nice relaxing week of beaches and snorkeling.

 

Marc

[wishIweretravelling]

We have decided to cancel. I have a Western Caribbean in 2021 to try out Splendor. Not feeling it on taking Mariner to three of the same ports, even at a 50% discount.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

I have only one cruise booked with a stop in Havana (2020 Grand Cape Horn adventure -- LA to Miami, 68 days on the Mariner).  Visiting Cuba was only one of the many reasons that I booked that particular cruise, so while a bit disappointed, I'll be interested to see what they substitute (this itinerary also includes St. Barts and St. Lucia).  

 

Meanwhile, count me among those who would still like to visit Cuba someday (and not just to add it check it off my bucket list).  Hoping things will improve to allow that to happen while I'm still able to travel.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[SWFLAOK]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

How about if you're caught chewing gum in Singapore?  (Just making a point, there's lots of ways to get in trouble in a foreign country.)

Actually, I haven't chewed gum since I was a kid so I won't have a problem with it in Singapore. I used to swallow it and my mom told me it would stay in my stomach forever. While that wasn't true,  it was bad for my teeth.

 

It's good to see Regent reacting quickly  to the situation with Cuba, and it's even better to see that they're compensating their customers. I wish they had done the same when they cancelled Brunei as a port due to their political situation. They decided to just skip that port and add a day at sea, with not even an onboard credit for the loss of a port and the "free" excursions, or port fees,  that went with it. They were pretty quick on updating their printed cruise advertisements that we receive numerous times a week to remove Brunei as a port.

 

I'm still waiting to see Regent remove Komodo Island as a port of call. From what I've read, it will no longer be accessible to cruise ships after December 31st, 2019. I hope they have another stop lined up nearby, but I'm surprised they haven't reacted to it yet.

[Travelcat2]

4 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

How about if you're caught chewing gum in Singapore?  (Just making a point, there's lots of ways to get in trouble in a foreign country.)

 

 

We have been to Singapore at least 5 times (not cruising).  You can chew gum although it is not sold in Singapore but cannot throw it down on the street.  You can also be fined for not flushing the toilet (not sure who monitors it) and there are a lot of other rules (I have a t-shirt with the rules on the back -- in some ways it is funny but if you go against these policies, it is not funny at all.

[wishIweretravelling]

4 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

 

It's good to see Regent reacting quickly  to the situation with Cuba, and it's even better to see that they're compensating their customers. I wish they had done the same when they cancelled Brunei as a port due to their political situation. They decided to just skip that port and add a day at sea, with not even an onboard credit for the loss of a port and the "free" excursions, or port fees,  that went with it. They were pretty quick on updating their printed cruise advertisements that we receive numerous times a week to remove Brunei as a port.

 

How are they compensating their customers? My cruise, which had had multiple stops in Cuba (all but one port were in Cuba) was converted to a western Caribbean cruise and the price lowered accordingly, but no compensation was offered for those of us who cancelled because we don’t care for the entirely new itinerary. And I did not expect compensation, other than waiving the administrative fee for cancelling, which they did.

 

I do have another cruise in 2021 that had a Havana stop scheduled. I haven’t heard anything about that one, but assume they’ll simply substitute another port, with nothing offered (and nothing expected).

[cruiseluv]

8 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

How are they compensating their customers? My cruise, which had had multiple stops in Cuba (all but one port were in Cuba) was converted to a western Caribbean cruise and the price lowered accordingly, but no compensation was offered for those of us who cancelled because we don’t care for the entirely new itinerary. And I did not expect compensation, other than waiving the administrative fee for cancelling, which they did.

 

I do have another cruise in 2021 that had a Havana stop scheduled. I haven’t heard anything about that one, but assume they’ll simply substitute another port, with nothing offered (and nothing expected).

 

Look at post #69 above for an example. Dont know if this compensation was offered for the cruise you cancelled.

Editing since I now realize you're asking about compensation if you cancel. Why would they do that?

Edited June 7, 2019 by cruiseluv

[wishIweretravelling]

32 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

 

Look at post #69 above for an example. Dont know if this compensation was offered for the cruise you cancelled.

 

That’s the cruise I just cancelled. That’s not compensation; that’s a price adjustment for a much lower-value cruise.  

 

As I said, I don’t expect compensation. The inability to provide the cruise as originally planned is beyond Regent’s control.