groundloop Posted May 17, 2022 #1 Share Posted May 17, 2022 I just read a news article indicating that the US will reopen travel to Cuba in the next few weeks. I cruised to Cuba on Carnival in 2019 just a few weeks before travel was shut down and had a great trip, can't wait to go again. Hopefully Carnival will be quick in setting up some Cuba cruises. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BasicSailor Posted May 17, 2022 #2 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Did you do a review / photo's, curious about the age of the vehicles driven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwrestler171 Posted May 17, 2022 #3 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Doubt they will cancel any cruises to send some to Havana. Now when they release more dates, expect to see Cuba on the list. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgcruising Posted May 17, 2022 #4 Share Posted May 17, 2022 That would be nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted May 17, 2022 #5 Share Posted May 17, 2022 I would love to travel there! Love the Buena Vista Social Club movie and soundtrack. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingguy007 Posted May 17, 2022 #6 Share Posted May 17, 2022 I'm definitely doing this if this is true! Been waiting for this! Ugh, will probably have to fly to a port but Cuba has been on my short list. Wanting to see it before it totally changes and becomes a huge travel/Disneyland take over type deal lol. Great news! Hope cigars and rum restrictions are eased as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundloop Posted May 17, 2022 Author #7 Share Posted May 17, 2022 12 minutes ago, BasicSailor said: Did you do a review / photo's, curious about the age of the vehicles driven. I haven't really posted a review of that trip. Our tour lasted 8 hours and included a walking tour of Old Havana, a ballet performance by a community theatre troupe, a driving tour in classic cars (we were in a '59 Pontiac, most of the classic cars participating were from the 50s and early 60s), lunch at a family owned restaurant, and a bus tour of important cultural sites in and around Havana. That evening we went to the Tropicana nightclub, the show was amazing as was the Havana Club rum and Tucola (cane sugar cola). There seems to be a misconception that ALL cars in Cuba are old American cars, that's simply not the case. A fair number of Cubans are car enthusiasts and it's a labor of love for them to restore and maintain their classic cars. There are several clubs dedicated to these classic cars, with members helping each other with parts, labor, etc. There's a show on Discovery On Demand called Cuban Chrome that follows around members of one of these clubs and really shows the kind of difficulties they have obtaining parts with the trade embargo in place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundloop Posted May 17, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Just now, cruisingguy007 said: I'm definitely doing this if this is true! Been waiting for this! Ugh, will probably have to fly to a port but Cuba has been on my short list. Wanting to see it before it totally changes and becomes a huge travel/Disneyland take over type deal lol. Great news! Hope cigars and rum restrictions are eased as well. I brought back a few cigars for a couple of neighbors that smoke them (I don't), and also brought back quite a bit of Cuban rum. The three of us from my family that went had a total of 15 bottles of Cuban rum, we had it out in the open coming through customs and were prepared to pay duty on it but the customs officer just waved us through. AND I found Cuban rum at the duty free shop at the port in Cozumel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BlerkOne Posted May 17, 2022 #9 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Book me on the first cruise. Maybe even a b2b 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BasicSailor Posted May 17, 2022 #10 Share Posted May 17, 2022 11 minutes ago, groundloop said: I haven't really posted a review of that trip. Our tour lasted 8 hours and included a walking tour of Old Havana, a ballet performance by a community theatre troupe, a driving tour in classic cars (we were in a '59 Pontiac, most of the classic cars participating were from the 50s and early 60s), lunch at a family owned restaurant, and a bus tour of important cultural sites in and around Havana. That evening we went to the Tropicana nightclub, the show was amazing as was the Havana Club rum and Tucola (cane sugar cola). There seems to be a misconception that ALL cars in Cuba are old American cars, that's simply not the case. A fair number of Cubans are car enthusiasts and it's a labor of love for them to restore and maintain their classic cars. There are several clubs dedicated to these classic cars, with members helping each other with parts, labor, etc. There's a show on Discovery On Demand called Cuban Chrome that follows around members of one of these clubs and really shows the kind of difficulties they have obtaining parts with the trade embargo in place. I feel the misconception comes from all the publicity photos given to the states. The restoration is something to be admired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itried4498 Posted May 17, 2022 #11 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Don't expect to see cruise lines in Cuba anytime soon. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-rolls-out-revised-cuba-policy-easing-some-trump-era-restrictions-remittances-2022-05-16/ Washington will also reinstate some categories of group educational travel, as well as certain travel related to professional meetings and research. Individual "people-to-people" travel, however, will not be reinstated. The category was eliminated by Trump officials who said it was being abused by Americans taking beach vacations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BlerkOne Posted May 17, 2022 #12 Share Posted May 17, 2022 https://www.cruisehive.com/could-cuba-be-a-cruise-destination-once-again/46025 and Fathom cruises were under a different visa. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundloop Posted May 17, 2022 Author #13 Share Posted May 17, 2022 1 hour ago, Itried4498 said: Individual "people-to-people" travel, however, will not be reinstated. The category was eliminated by Trump officials who said it was being abused by Americans taking beach vacations. My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but as I recall "people to people" wasn't the only carve-out that allowed cruise travel to Cuba. It was the easiest, but I'm quite sure not the only way to be allowed to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane0226 Posted May 17, 2022 #14 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Been to Gitmo, is it the same, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe817 Posted May 17, 2022 #15 Share Posted May 17, 2022 2 minutes ago, hurricane0226 said: Been to Gitmo, is it the same, I doubt it would be a tourist destination or shore excursion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BlerkOne Posted May 17, 2022 #16 Share Posted May 17, 2022 19 minutes ago, groundloop said: My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but as I recall "people to people" wasn't the only carve-out that allowed cruise travel to Cuba. It was the easiest, but I'm quite sure not the only way to be allowed to go. Americans have been able to visit Cuba all along. You just needed to document better. https://www.adventurouskate.com/can-americans-travel-to-cuba/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moviela Posted May 17, 2022 #17 Share Posted May 17, 2022 When you set foot in Cuba remember to set your watch back 60 years. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingguy007 Posted May 17, 2022 #18 Share Posted May 17, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, BlerkOne said: Americans have been able to visit Cuba all along. You just needed to document better. https://www.adventurouskate.com/can-americans-travel-to-cuba/ It would be much better if they made it easier on those of us from the USA. Skip all the BS, catch a flight from Mexico/Canada, no stamps or tourists cards, ignore the spending restriction BS (maybe take a pre-loaded visa card) but all those hoops seem like a huge hassle. It's actually embarrassing for us that we have to do all that. I generally prefer grey anyway lol, so the sideways flights sounds like the best way, you'd figure they (Cuba) would have plenty of easy workarounds for the other stuff. Obama said he would get it done, didn't do it and now Biden is dragging his feet. The whole embargo nonsense is ridiculous at this point and makes us look petty/foolish on the international stage with decades of failed policy. Edited May 17, 2022 by cruisingguy007 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itried4498 Posted May 17, 2022 #19 Share Posted May 17, 2022 7 hours ago, groundloop said: My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but as I recall "people to people" wasn't the only carve-out that allowed cruise travel to Cuba. It was the easiest, but I'm quite sure not the only way to be allowed to go. A quick Google search yields that cruises were visiting to Cuba under the people-to-people concept, which isn’t returning. And there really isn’t an alternative. Cruises do king at Havana for people to visit family? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted May 17, 2022 #20 Share Posted May 17, 2022 (edited) TOTALLY BUMMED they're not restarting people-to-people. We did a Havana cruise, spent two days there. Was MSC Armonia. Did a few Carib stops, landed in Havana on a Saturday and left on Sunday. Ship to shore was open 24 hours. Did a walking food tour in Havana on Saturday and a all day ride around Havana in a 56 Chevy convertible on Sunday. This restaurant is a family owned, not Government. It's their living room. The kitchen is a small home kitchen. While we ate, a man played a guitar and sang in the door way. That lobster tail in the photo is local and had a briny taste, rather than the usual fleshy buttery of say Maine lobster. Car with the guy was our ride. This was May 2019 Edited May 17, 2022 by EngIceDave Clarification 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe4all Posted May 17, 2022 #21 Share Posted May 17, 2022 We also did CCL cruise to Havana right before it was shut down again. I really enjoyed the "people to people" experience, and learning about the way of life there. I would definitely do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keywest1 Posted May 17, 2022 #22 Share Posted May 17, 2022 We had a cruise booked to Cuba a few years ago, but had to cancel due to my Mom's health issues. I wanted to rebook, but by then DH was concerned about safety in Cuba. NO problem, dear--I booked a cruise to Haiti (Labadee) instead 😁. If it ever comes available again, I made my point and we will be going to Cuba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineed-a-vacation Posted May 17, 2022 #23 Share Posted May 17, 2022 17 hours ago, groundloop said: I brought back a few cigars for a couple of neighbors that smoke them (I don't), and also brought back quite a bit of Cuban rum. The three of us from my family that went had a total of 15 bottles of Cuban rum, we had it out in the open coming through customs and were prepared to pay duty on it but the customs officer just waved us through. AND I found Cuban rum at the duty free shop at the port in Cozumel. I found a couple bottles of it in Cancun's duty free shop as well. When I took a cruise to Cuba back in 2017, I bought a few bottles and had been very stingy with it thinking it would be hard to get more until I ran across it in Cancun. Now I check every duty free shop I go in to see if they have it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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