Cuba Cruise Ban

[HokiePoq]

3 hours ago, Aussie Gal said:

Well after a couple of busy days we are all sorted out. We did receive from Oceania the copy of the new itinerary that Sirena is doing on the 8th and we weren't interested.  So I phoned Air N.Z. and we received most of the return air fare back minus $600.  We have put in a claim for that amount to our Amex Insurance and we may be lucky and get most of that back.

I then phoned Oceania this morning stating that we weren't interested in the new itinerary and the lass said just send an email to us asking for your deposit and it will be returned. I sent off the email and within a few minutes, she said it was all sorted and the credit would be back on our card within a couple of days.

I have cancelled the hotels that I had booked so unfortunately, we will not be making the journey to the U.S. next year and of course to Cuba which is our biggest disappointment. I just have to send emails to the three guides I had booked in Cuba.  I do feel so sorry for these guides as their careers has just been taken away from them through no fault of their own.

So glad you could work out the cancellation without too much pain and cost.  I too feel sorry for these folks.   

[LHT28]

Jennie

small price to pay  than travel around the world to do a cruise  you do not want to do

Hope you can get relief  from your insurance

[pauon]

What a shame that Oceania couldn't do the same.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cuba-travel-ban-disappointed-passengers-003348143.html

[Crosboro]

On 6/5/2019 at 10:30 PM, Aussie Gal said:

We are booked on Sirena for March next year so I very much doubt that we will get there now unfortunately. We certainly do not want to do a Caribbean cruise as Cuba was the drawcard. Hopefully we will get our deposit returned from Oceania. As we have already booked our flights on Air N.Z. to LA and return, that is another credit I will have to sort out.  We are just so disappointed that your Government has changed the rules.

Jennie

It wasn't our Government--it was the repugnant Trump!  We're very disappointed too--have been thinking about Cuba for 3 years and had finally found a cruise that was ideal.  

[Rob the Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Crosboro said:

It wasn't our Government--it was the repugnant Trump!  We're very disappointed too--have been thinking about Cuba for 3 years and had finally found a cruise that was ideal.  

 

Trump Derangement Syndrome is terrible thing. Seek treatment.

[StanandJim]

On 6/8/2019 at 2:44 AM, Aussie Gal said:

I do feel so sorry for these guides as their careers has just been taken away from them through no fault of their own.

Career is perhaps too strong  a word if they have only been doing it for the few years that USA travel has been permitted.

 

If they were acting as guides for Non USA folk before then, they will surely go back to doing that again.

[RJB]

16 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

Career is perhaps too strong  a word if they have only been doing it for the few years that USA travel has been permitted.

 

If they were acting as guides for Non USA folk before then, they will surely go back to doing that again.

The guide we had in Oct. was hoping to make a career out of it until Cuba could become a free country.  He was a young lawyer but was making 10X as a guide  what he was earning as a lawyer to support a wife and baby.  He was a wonderful guide and we hope this clears up soon so he can begin to earn some good money again.

[StanandJim]

14 minutes ago, RJB said:

The guide we had in Oct. was hoping to make a career out of it until Cuba could become a free country.  He was a young lawyer but was making 10X as a guide  what he was earning as a lawyer to support a wife and baby.  He was a wonderful guide and we hope this clears up soon so he can begin to earn some good money again.

Sad story and we hope for the best, but my point was that is not a career if it is a fill in job which one has been doing for a few months. 

Hopefully,  tourisms' loss is the legal systems gain.....

[RJB]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

Sad story and we hope for the best, but my point was that is not a career if it is a fill in job which one has been doing for a few months. 

Hopefully,  tourisms' loss is the legal systems gain.....

I agree.  Hopefully Jimmy can find a way to make a living either by being a tour guide or a lawyer. His parents have had a small tour company for many years.  Just sad.  

[Aussie Gal]

7 hours ago, Crosboro said:

It wasn't our Government--it was the repugnant Trump!  We're very disappointed too--have been thinking about Cuba for 3 years and had finally found a cruise that was ideal.  

I don't believe that C.C. should be a political forum.  it is meant to be a place where we discuss cruising. Therefore, that is the reason why I stated we are not getting to Cuba. A law has been passed.  I don't want to become embroiled in an argument about your President.

[Aussie Gal]

5 hours ago, StanandJim said:

Career is perhaps too strong  a word if they have only been doing it for the few years that USA travel has been permitted.

 

If they were acting as guides for Non USA folk before then, they will surely go back to doing that again.

It was still a career for them. Cuba is not like our countries where you can find work if you really try. I am sure they were all trained to become guides as they are in most third world countries. . They are all so proud of their country and it brought in good money for them. With the loss of so many cruise ships, there won't be enough land travel to keep most of them busy.

You may not agree with visiting Cuba but we were so looking forward to doing it by a cruise ship.  You probably think and say why don't you do it by land if you are so keen but we are not young and a land trip is just too hard, plus having to fly via Canada, Mexico or a South American country makes the journey impossible. 

[StanandJim]

3 hours ago, Aussie Gal said:

 

ca·reer
/kəˈrir/
 noun

An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life  most often with  measured opportunities for professional advancement during the tenure.

 

However much you may wish to call what the Cuban Guides were doing a "career", Webster tells us that their very recent jobs simply don't qualify.

 

This is a matter of words having specific meanings.

 

 

[Aussie Gal]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

ca·reer
/kəˈrir/
 noun

An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life  most often with  measured opportunities for professional advancement during the tenure.

 

However much you may wish to call what the Cuban Guides were doing a "career", Webster tells us that their very recent jobs simply don't qualify.

 

This is a matter of words having specific meanings.

 

 

You seem to be very hung up on the word "career". In our Oxford Dictionary, the word means "a particular area of work" or in Collins Dictionary it states that "a career is the job or profession that someone does for a long period of time". Isn't that what the Tour Guides were doing and hoping to continue with for as long as the cruise ships were visiting Cuba

 

Picking me up on a word that I used to describe what our Tour Guides were doing in Cuba is extremely petty on your part and going to such lengths to discredit me when I was just mentioning that we felt sorry for the guides that we have to cancel.,  

 

Not only Cuba missed out on us spending our money but your country also missed out on us spending thousands of dollars as we were not only going to visit Cuba but we also spending time and money in the U.S.  We have now lost our desire revisit the States. We would rather spend our money in a country where it is appreciated.

 

 

 

[BenMurphy]

On 6/6/2019 at 11:38 PM, Aussie Gal said:

We can go to Cuba if we do a land based tour but the big drawcard was spending each night on board the ship. It was a great itinerary.  We have decided that after 3 tries we will give Cuba a miss. It is now in the too hard basket. We don't want to fly to either Canada, Mexico or South America to get there. We are tired of the long flights though we were prepared to do the long haul to Miami just one more time.

Jennie

Hi Jennie, we did a land tour on Cuba, it was was most interesting 

 

[StanandJim]

6 hours ago, Aussie Gal said:

Picking me up on a word that I used to describe what our Tour Guides were doing in Cuba is extremely petty on your part and going to such lengths to discredit me when I was just mentioning that we felt sorry for the guides that we have to cancel.

Perhaps, but at the same time, using a word which misrepresents what the guides were doing was disingenuous on your part. 

Sympathy for the plight of the Guides is natural, but it does not entitle you to your own set of facts.

Case Closed.

[Aussie Gal]

2 hours ago, BenMurphy said:

Hi Jennie, we did a land tour on Cuba, it was was most interesting 

 

I know it would be fantastic but from where we live, it would take us over 30 hours flying from home to Havana. It is just too far and too long.  We have done longer flights but that was 20 years ago and we are that much older now. 

 

Our daughter and son in law visited Cuba last year and loved their visit.  We have wanted to visit for quite some time and we have booked three times over the past three years to do a cruise but had to cancel the first two cruises for different reasons.   We were thrilled when Oceania came up with their wonderful itinerary.   Oh well, it wasn't to be and we have resigned ourselves now to not seeing that country.

 

Jennie

[BenMurphy]

1 hour ago, Aussie Gal said:

I know it would be fantastic but from where we live, it would take us over 30 hours flying from home to Havana. It is just too far and too long.  We have done longer flights but that was 20 years ago and we are that much older now. 

 

Our daughter and son in law visited Cuba last year and loved their visit.  We have wanted to visit for quite some time and we have booked three times over the past three years to do a cruise but had to cancel the first two cruises for different reasons.   We were thrilled when Oceania came up with their wonderful itinerary.   Oh well, it wasn't to be and we have resigned ourselves now to not seeing that country.

 

Jennie

Hi Jennie

we're flying from U.K to L.A to pick up our Christmas cruise on board Sirena , back from Miami !  Last year we flew to N.Z via Singapore and back from Austrailia( spent a couple of nights on the Ghan) via H.K.  Then thrilled with excitement we sailed the Amazon on board Sirena. I was dizzy when it came to Christmas. I suppose that we are lucky where the U.K is situated ............right in the middle! 

I know what you mean by long flights and getting older,and I know that they'll be a time that we don't want to do it.

It will have to be Europe if they still want us after this fiasco ( less said the better!)

I hope that you find something amazing to do

Best regards

Josie xx

[Kingofcool1947]

2 hours ago, StanandJim said:

Perhaps, but at the same time, using a word which misrepresents what the guides were doing was disingenuous on your part. 

Sympathy for the plight of the Guides is natural, but it does not entitle you to your own set of facts.

Case Closed.

 

😁

[oceanbill457]

I would have been sailing to Cuba on Insignia on July 11. I am sorely disappointed that I won't be doing so. I can sail to Russia, China even Vietnam, but not Cuba. Our trade with Vietnam is up 40% despite having lost over 58,000 American lives there. Where is the proportionality in our policies?

[Kingofcool1947]

4 minutes ago, oceanbill457 said:

I would have been sailing to Cuba on Insignia on July 11. I am sorely disappointed that I won't be doing so. I can sail to Russia, China even Vietnam, but not Cuba. Our trade with Vietnam is up 40% despite having lost over 58,000 American lives there. Where is the proportionality in our policies?

 

So what?   

[Aussie Gal]

10 hours ago, BenMurphy said:

Hi Jennie

we're flying from U.K to L.A to pick up our Christmas cruise on board Sirena , back from Miami !  Last year we flew to N.Z via Singapore and back from Austrailia( spent a couple of nights on the Ghan) via H.K.  Then thrilled with excitement we sailed the Amazon on board Sirena. I was dizzy when it came to Christmas. I suppose that we are lucky where the U.K is situated ............right in the middle! 

I know what you mean by long flights and getting older,and I know that they'll be a time that we don't want to do it.

It will have to be Europe if they still want us after this fiasco ( less said the better!)

I hope that you find something amazing to do

Best regards

Josie xx

Have a wonderful time.  Last year was the first time in 24 years that we haven't flown to Europe or the U.S.   We have done so many of those flights, often two in a year.  We too have been up the Amazon.  We did it back in 2006 when we flew to Vancouver and boarded our ship.  It went down the coast of the U.S and Mexico, through the Panama and up the Amazon. It finished in Tampa, Florida.  Over the years we have done some wonderful land  and sea adventures but we are starting to slow down a little now. Though this year, we have already been back to Vietnam in March, Phuket in May and we are now here in Bali. Life is for living and I believe that we should enjoy each and every day.   Have fun.  So glad that you have seen a little of our wonderful country.

Jennie

[Shawnino]

22 hours ago, oceanbill457 said:

I would have been sailing to Cuba on Insignia on July 11. I am sorely disappointed that I won't be doing so. I can sail to Russia, China even Vietnam, but not Cuba. Our trade with Vietnam is up 40% despite having lost over 58,000 American lives there. Where is the proportionality in our policies?

 

Not quite the same.

Those 58,000 weren't exactly welcome cruisers in the eyes of the current government over there.

And the guy who shot JFK wasn't passing out "Fair Play for Vietnam" leaflets.

Washington is prepared to let Saigons be bygones. Cuba will continue to be a sore spot with part of the US population until there is regime change in Havana.

When the Dems are in the White House, travel will be liberalized. When the GOP is in the White House, the travel policy will be more restrictive. Just go by air through Canada or Mexico, it's really no big deal.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Shawnino
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