New rules Cuba / Havana has anyone experiences

Thanks for the reply. I take it Azamara also didn't check before they let you leave the ship?

We had to fill out a form at embarkation. In our case, we had some tours booked through the ship which fulfilled the general requirements. But, no, no one checked what we were planning to do when we got off the ship each time. Not the Azamara crew, and not anyone ashore. I think that as long as the form is filled out at embarkation, everyone is happy.

If you will allow me to respond to this, I disagree with the comment that we are exploiting anyone with regards to tours in Cuba! Guests are permitted to purchase a tour offered by a third-party if it is an authorized organization. As with all our destinations, we offer tours for those Guests who don't want to DIY, and in Cuba specifically because DIY research is not as easy as other destinations to find accurate information in advance.

 

 

 

Per our FAQs on Cuba we state:

 

Do I have to purchase a tour to disembark the ship in Cuba?

 

To enjoy Cuba, guests must qualify for one of the 12 categories of authorized travel or hold a specific license issued by OFAC. One of the 12 categories, Educational Activities, allows “people-to-people”activities, which can be satisfied by purchasing a tour with Azamara or a third-party program offered by a U.S. sponsoring organization.

 

 

 

Also, your statement "recouping thousands of excursion dollars that they are losing to LEGAL local tour companies" is erroneous on many accounts.

 

A) Our tours in Cuba are all 100% legal and 100% local. They are organized and conducted by a Cuban tour company assigned to us by the Cuban government! I can say from first-hand experience the buses and tour guides are excellent.

 

B) many, maybe most, of our tours are being purchased using On-Board Credit (OBC); which has no monetary value when redeemed. An OBC is a good sales incentive but not a tour revenue source!

 

 

All this aside, CruiseGal999, we hope someday you'll sail with Azamara and see the difference :ship: :ship: :ship:

I think the complete silence of "support the Cuban People" as a category of authorized travel is intended to confuse and scare people. The suggestion is that you must either be on an Azamara tour or a tour sponsored by a US organization. Azamara is, or should be, well aware that many travelers to Cuba, via cruise or flight, are traveling under the category of support the Cuban People. It is perfectly legal to hire a private guide or go it alone making sure you are having meaningful contact with Cuban individuals and avoiding banned locations and doing business with the Cuban government. On my cruise in November, Azamara crew told many people they were not permitted to go on tours with private guides, tour on their own or engage in other activities that ARE permissible that those passengers had arranged prior to the cruise. Many people were told they had to book an Azamara tour every day we were in Cuba to be able to depart the ship. That is NOT the law under the current regulations and Azamara profited from their fraudulent assertions. Many people were concerned about the fact that the Azamara tours were on Cuban government owned buses, led by Cuban government employees and visited sites specifically on the banned list that is part of the new US regulations. Using a tour company assigned to me by the Cuban government, as you assert Azamara's are, would make me very uncomfortable since it seems to be completely and blatantly in violation of the new regulations. I haven't heard of any penalties or fines being levied for violation of the new regulations, yet. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

We selected support of the Cuban People, toured with a private guide (Blexie), and toured on our own easily having meaningful contact with Cuban People and avoiding locations on the banned list and avoiding doing business with the Cuban government. I am 100% certain that I complied with the letter and spirit of the law.

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We were on the same cruise, I think. None of the Cuban officials asked to see any proof of tours. They only checked the visa. They gave the impression of being glad to see us, whatever we were planning to do ashore. We didn’t have a tour booked for every time we got off the ship. Sometimes we were just walking around town on our own.

We were also on the 28th March Cuban intensive and I can say we had no problems whatsoever. They looked at our Visa and asked no further questions. We took private cars on two days in Havana and walked around on our own the other day. In Ciefugous we also had a private tour to Trinidad. These tours were very immersive and whilst in Cuba we felt so safe, secure and very very welcome. We did a ships tour in Santiago De Cuba and it was no where near as enjoyable, economical or immersive. If I went again I would do the same. We had a lovely Azamazing Evening in Santiago De Cuba.

It wasn't lost on us that the Cuban have/had so little and we have so much. Small tips and moisturizer & Soaps for the older ladies, were extremely appreciated and for us there was lots of joy in 'giving' especially when a Doctor only earns CUC40 per month.

Cuba was one of our most amazing experience ever.

We gave the kids some candy for easter, but the young ones really liked the bubble blowing bottles of soap water!!!!

We are British and found that we could come and go as we wished. We were never questioned. We did have a private classic car tour booked on one of the days but were never asked about our plans once we got to Cuba. We did have to fill in a form on embarkation that asked if we were doing a tour or making our own plans and a few other options. We were doing several of the options but you could only tick one box. It was all much more relaxed than we were expecting.

We live in the UK and are considering booking a Caribbean and Cuba cruise for next year. May I ask how you got your visa for Cuba please.

I think the complete silence of "support the Cuban People" as a category of authorized travel is intended to confuse and scare people. The suggestion is that you must either be on an Azamara tour or a tour sponsored by a US organization. Azamara is, or should be, well aware that many travelers to Cuba, via cruise or flight, are traveling under the category of support the Cuban People. It is perfectly legal to hire a private guide or go it alone making sure you are having meaningful contact with Cuban individuals and avoiding banned locations and doing business with the Cuban government. On my cruise in November, Azamara crew told many people they were not permitted to go on tours with private guides, tour on their own or engage in other activities that ARE permissible that those passengers had arranged prior to the cruise. Many people were told they had to book an Azamara tour every day we were in Cuba to be able to depart the ship. That is NOT the law under the current regulations and Azamara profited from their fraudulent assertions. Many people were concerned about the fact that the Azamara tours were on Cuban government owned buses, led by Cuban government employees and visited sites specifically on the banned list that is part of the new US regulations. Using a tour company assigned to me by the Cuban government, as you assert Azamara's are, would make me very uncomfortable since it seems to be completely and blatantly in violation of the new regulations. I haven't heard of any penalties or fines being levied for violation of the new regulations, yet. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

We selected support of the Cuban People, toured with a private guide (Blexie), and toured on our own easily having meaningful contact with Cuban People and avoiding locations on the banned list and avoiding doing business with the Cuban government. I am 100% certain that I complied with the letter and spirit of the law.

 

 

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The caveats for visiting Cuba are not Cuban. They come from the current US Administration and apply only to US passport holders. Cuba is welcoming visitors from all countries with the appropriate visa (as many countries do including the US). As many have pointed out, Cuban officials only look for the passport and visa, nothing else.

We live in the UK and are considering booking a Caribbean and Cuba cruise for next year. May I ask how you got your visa for Cuba please.

For our March 2018 experience- On Azamara you will sign an affidavit in Miami as you board and the visa will be issued on the spot - a very painless process. It appears there’s still s lot of misinformation around. We found it no big deal and toured privately.

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If we are in Cuba overnight, do US passengers have to purchase an excursion for both days? Or just the first day?

If we are in Cuba overnight, do US passengers have to purchase an excursion for both days? Or just the first day?

According to US law the rules apply to all who board at a US Port. Azamara has applied the rules to all who board at any port. The rules are from the United States Government and all passengers are self-responsible to follow the rules which includes keeping records of all you do on shore for at least 5 years. So far no reports of the US Government questioning people or reviewing the records but, never know what the Government will do.

Neither Cuban officials nor Azamara officials enforce the rules and only you are responsible to do as you choose. There will be nobody there telling you what you can or cannot do. Have read reports from people who have carefully read the rules and appears most people ignore them and could be putting themselves at risk if questioned upon return to the US or at later date.

Any definite answers here are conjecture so to ease any concerns read the US rules about travel to Cuba and do what you want.

If we are in Cuba overnight, do US passengers have to purchase an excursion for both days? Or just the first day?

I can tell you what we did in April. We had purchased two excursions from the ship for Havana. We went ashore in Havana, and past the Cuban authorities, five times in total, over three days. Whether we were joining an excursion, or just walking around on our own, we were welcomed the same way. Our visas were checked, but no questions were asked about what we were planning to do.

If we are in Cuba overnight, do US passengers have to purchase an excursion for both days? Or just the first day?

There is no requirement to purchase any excursions at any time. It is your choice, you can do a ship excursion, private excursion, travel on your own or just sit on a bench .

If you have any concerns there is an Azamara FAQ on Cuba and the http://www.state.gov website. If you go as a normal tourist it is highly unlikely violating any rules will result in anything more then confiscating the bottle of rum.

Enjoy the experience !