Norwegian Sky - Cuba - June 2017

Does anyone have any information on the port visit to Havana Cuba? We are booked for the June 5 cruise to Havana Cuba overnight on the Norwegian Sky. I am wondering about locations to visit in Port, and can your opinion the best tour to take for sightseeing.

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It depends, are you a US citizen?

Yes, we are going out of Miami. And yes I am a US citizen

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I am a US citizen

You may want to do some research on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). There are a few threads regarding this, but be aware that a lot of information you may read here on CC may be pertaining to non-US citizens. We discussed it some in this thread, it can get complicated. "Sightseeing" is not a valid travel license reason.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2486059

Thank you

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I did this trip in March and would recommend you sign up for the ship tours. I did Today in Havanna and the The life of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba but there are many more to choose from including evening entertainment venues. If you follow instructions from NCL or your travel agent you will have the proper documentation when you arrive. Of course take your passport.

The issue is not the proper documentation when you arrive (Cuba only requires you to have a passport and to purchase a tourist card), it's the documentation for when you go back to the US. You are supposed to be able to prove that you were not in Cuba as an ordinary tourist. Since you probably are actually going to Cuba as an ordinary tourist, you'll have to think of something… There are many tour operators that will take you on a sightseeing tour and then give you a document at the end saying that you spent the whole day having meaningful contacts with the Cuban people. Or you can wander around all day on your own and produce such a document all by yourself. Chances are nobody will ever ask to look at it, but that's all you need to be OK with OFAC, along with maybe some time-stamped photos of yourself not lazing around on the beach, not meeting with high-level officials of the Cuban Communist Party, not passed out drunk in a park, etc.

Hawkeyetlse, this is where it gets confusing to me :) It is a Visa for Cuba that we need. But your saying that it is upon leaving Cuba that there is a slight possibility someone could ask why were you there. I am assuming that not everyone going to Cuba is taking an approved guided tour. What then could happen? We can't go home?

What then could happen? We can't go home?

How US Departments enforce certain rules can be affected by the current administration. The current OFAC rules still have limits to why and what US citizens can do in Cuba, they were slackened and weakly enforced by the Obama administration. Who knows what Trump may decide, but the laws are currently in effect and you must keep record of what you did for five years in which time OFAC can ask to review your trip. Basically you can be fined, not held from returning at the US border. But I guess that depends on what you do, a meeting with some Castro family member may cause other agencies to be interested.

How US Departments enforce certain rules can be affected by the current administration. The current OFAC rules still have limits to why and what US citizens can do in Cuba, they were slackened and weakly enforced by the Obama administration. Who knows what Trump may decide, but the laws are currently in effect and you must keep record of what you did for five years in which time OFAC can ask to review your trip. Basically you can be fined, not held from returning at the US border. But I guess that depends on what you do, a meeting with some Castro family member may cause other agencies to be interested.

Gottcha. Thankfully we had no such plans.

I don't think there is any such thing as an "approved guided tour", if you mean approved by the US authorities. There are tour operators that will arrange a program of activities that (as far as anyone knows) are consistent with OFAC's people to people license, but there's no guarantee.

Anyway, no one knows yet how CBP is going to process NCL passengers returning to Miami on Sky Cuba sailings. But if it's like other cruise lines that have already started going to Cuba, it can fairly be described as "no big deal". But if you are planning to apply for a job with the CIA or something like that, a Cuba stamp in your passport may be problematic.

I have had three different sets of friends fly to Cuba and back in the last 3 months out of Tampa. All of them stayed for longer than three days at a hotel or AirBNB. Not one of them had a problem with anyone asking for documentation of their time spent there and what they did. (Which was wander around by themselves most days and maybe took a tour one day). Coming back through customs was no different than another country. You should be fine. Just keep your documentation of what you did in a file somewhere - for 5 years. My guess is no one is ever going to ask for it...

I have a question about this trip as well. Norwegian has sent an email with a link to the certification form needed. I printed it and filled it out. They say they need this document at least 3 days prior to departure, but how do I get a copy to them?? I have paid the $75 fee through the cruise line.

I have a question about this trip as well. Norwegian has sent an email with a link to the certification form needed. I printed it and filled it out. They say they need this document at least 3 days prior to departure' date=' but how do I get a copy to them?? I have paid the $75 fee through the cruise line.[/quote']

 

For our Cuba cruise we filled out the form, I scanned them (one for each of us), saved it as a pdf and emailed them back to NCL. I think there was a specific email to send the forms to. Once they receive them you will get a confirmation email back. Heads up - I thought they needed the form 30 days before?

Yes you may be correct. I really need that email address though because I can't find it anywhere. And the email that it's sent from, the generic Norwegian Cruise Line, says that replies are automatically deleted. Can you please post the email address you sent it to??

Yes you may be correct. I really need that email address though because I can't find it anywhere. And the email that it's sent from' date=' the generic Norwegian Cruise Line, says that replies are automatically deleted. Can you please post the email address you sent it to??[/quote']

 

Try this or the phone number listed below. This is the email I received after I sent the forms. I can't find the "sent" email so I am assuming this is the email I sent it to. Hope this helps!

 

NCLVisa@ncl.com

Thank you for contacting Norwegian Cruise Line.

We have received your "Cuba certification Form". Please remember that by law you are required to keep your copy for 5 years.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-800-327-7030.

Looking forward to welcoming you aboard Norwegian Sky!