Cuba on a cruise, anyone?

dee slack · 8 Jan 19, 10:51 PM

Has anyone been to Cuba as a port of call, from the US?

DonnaD · 9 Jan 19, 12:59 AM

My daughters and I did a 4 day cruise from Port Canaveral on the Norwegian Sun this summer. We really enjoyed it. It wasn't cheap for our dates but unusually for NCL it included free alcohol. This even meant no service charge which is usually added to drinks packages even if they are "free".

We really enjoyed Havana itself. It is completely different to most over commercialised ports. The ship stays in port overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife as well.

dee slack · 9 Jan 19, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by DonnaD

My daughters and I did a 4 day cruise from Port Canaveral on the Norwegian Sun this summer. We really enjoyed it. It wasn't cheap for our dates but unusually for NCL it included free alcohol. This even meant no service charge which is usually added to drinks packages even if they are "free".

We really enjoyed Havana itself. It is completely different to most over commercialised ports. The ship stays in port overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife as well.

that's the cruise we're booked on for April but hubby has been looking at the visa situation and he says it looks a bit weird as you're only allowed to visit from the US under one of 12 reasons (tourism isn't one of them?!) and you have to buy your visa while in the US. Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on it, or if he's best to phone NCL to clarify.

DonnaD · 10 Jan 19, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by dee slack

that's the cruise we're booked on for April but hubby has been looking at the visa situation and he says it looks a bit weird as you're only allowed to visit from the US under one of 12 reasons (tourism isn't one of them?!) and you have to buy your visa while in the US. Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on it, or if he's best to phone NCL to clarify.

The 3 of us are US citizens so just bought the visa through the cruise line. The 12 reasons does include tourism there just has to be some element of cultural exchange for US citizens. Most people cover this by booking one of the organised excursions.

These restrictions DO NOT apply to UK citizens. My British husband has visited there 3 times for extended stays and simply buys the visa through an online service ( I don't know the details). He has always travelled directly from the UK not via the US though and wasn't with us on the cruise.

In your circumstances I would ring NCL. It did seem easiest to get the visa through them despite the extra fee.

It is very easy to just turn up and arrange the tours by old convertibles or horse drawn carriage instead of the expensive ones booked through NCL. Just don't expect much choice in the restaurants. We enjoyed the food but they have severe supply problems. There also aren't very many shops in contrast to every other port I have been to.

dee slack · 10 Jan 19, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by DonnaD

The 3 of us are US citizens so just bought the visa through the cruise line. The 12 reasons does include tourism there just has to be some element of cultural exchange for US citizens. Most people cover this by booking one of the organised excursions.

These restrictions DO NOT apply to UK citizens. My British husband has visited there 3 times for extended stays and simply buys the visa through an online service ( I don't know the details). He has always travelled directly from the UK not via the US though and wasn't with us on the cruise.

In your circumstances I would ring NCL. It did seem easiest to get the visa through them despite the extra fee.

It is very easy to just turn up and arrange the tours by old convertibles or horse drawn carriage instead of the expensive ones booked through NCL. Just don't expect much choice in the restaurants. We enjoyed the food but they have severe supply problems. There also aren't very many shops in contrast to every other port I have been to.

Thanks, just seems really weird! Think we might just have to phone NCL for advice then, never even thought about all this faff when we booked it.
We don't normally do ship excursions but probably might have to make an exception this time I guess.
Not worried about eating off ship TBH as I'm a bit of a weird veggie so don't tend to eat on shore anywhere.

this is from UK government website - Travelling to Cuba from the USA
Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the USA to Cuba isn�t allowed under US law. The law applies to US nationals and all foreign nationals who are either resident in the USA, or travelling through the USA en route to Cuba. Those travelling on direct flights between the UK and Cuba, or via other countries excluding the USA, are unaffected by this US legislation.
Under certain conditions, travel is permitted from the USA to Cuba, including on the direct flights which operate between the two countries. Everybody travelling on these routes (both US citizens and foreign nationals) will need to comply with US law and travel for one of 12 permitted reasons/categories of travel. Tourism isn�t one of these 12 permitted reasons/categories. For more information see the US Department of the Treasury website and the US State Department�s travel advice for Cuba. For travel-specific questions, see the Code of Federal Regulations 31 C.F.R. 515.560 and the US Treasury�s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) frequently asked questions.

DonnaD · 10 Jan 19, 02:56 AM

It is very confusing. I would definitely just ring NCL and speak to them. You won't be the first non Americans on a Cuba Cruise. You could do one of the short excursions in the morning to cover the cultural exchange part, go back on board for lunch and then explore on your own in the afternoon/evening. You definitely don't need to be in a group at all times and the ship docks right in the center of the old city.