Will NCL Begin Serving Cuba?

[em-sk]

Cuba is a very popular tourist destination form Canada. From some of the smallest Canadian cities there are direct air service into Cuba for most of the winter months. So there is no question it is popular.

 

There is has been a lot of press in Canada that about how it is going to get very crowded in Cuba quite quickly when the flood gate opens up with US Nationals being allowed in. Local press is also projecting a hotel construction boom and the need to start building new cruise ship docks.

 

Good article on the subject:

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-cuba-deal-means-end-golden-era-canadian-225313837.html

 

It would make a nice replacement for Nassau.

Edited December 19, 2014 by em-sk

[dalgirl]

Yes, no more Nassau please :)

 

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Forums mobile app

[biker@sea]

I would think not as many ships would visit Key West If they could go to Cuba instead .

Edited December 19, 2014 by biker@sea

[4774Papa]

Cubans will still not legally be allowed to enter the United States unless they have an overpowering fastball.

Unless they manage to reach the shores of the USA. It is called feet dry policy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy

[Aquahound]

With the opening up of Cuba to American tourism will be start to see cruise lines such as NCL begin visiting the Island?

 

I think the OP is referring to all the news from yesterday. Indicating the embargo being lifted. No indication that i heard of how long or what would be involved, but just the direction that the country is going.

 

There seems to be a big misunderstanding across these boards over what actually happened 2 days ago. The lifting of the embargo is not even being officially discussed at this point, and U.S. based cruises are nowhere near being able to start planning Cuban itineraries. It will be a while before it hits the floor for a vote and even then, it's not likely to pass. In fact, I'm pretty confident in saying it will not pass anytime in the next 2 years.

 

Cuba matters are a large part of my life, given where I live, and I honestly am not optimistic of the embargo being lifted while the Castros are still alive. 5 attempted assassinations on Fidel aren't easily forgiven on their side.

[dalgirl]

US groups have been visiting Cuba for several years now - I know a local garden celebrity that takes groups every year to Cuba for what I am sure are "cultural exchanges." There will need to be better infrastructures in place before thousands of cruise ship passengers can descend on Cuba - but you can bet that this is going to happen. And most likely in the next 5-10 years, maybe sooner.

[boscobeans]

Considering who gets most of the money in Cuban tourism... I hope it isn't anytime soon that ships with 1000's of people are stopping there anytime soon.

 

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Granted the large hotels and restaurants in Cuba are government run, however there are many locally owned and run Paladares opening in Cuba since the Cuban government relaxed the rules on private ownership of businesses.

 

A cruise ship would of course have to pay port fees and passengers would have to pay for visitor permits as well as mandatory government health insurance (US MEDICAL COVERAGE DOES NOT EXTEND INTO CUBA AT THE PRESENT TIME). These fees are only a few dollars a day.

 

Cruise passengers could partake of these privately owned venues for dining and entertainment effectively putting their tourist dollars directly into the hands of the Cuban people.

 

Hopefully this light at the end of a very long dark tunnel will eventually allow us to freely visit our neighbor to the south and hopefully improve relations that should never have been severed.

 

NO POLITICS PLEASE, because there are many sides to the entire embargo story, and fault can be found on all sides involved.

 

OMO

 

bosco

[dwgreenlee]

Cuba is open for American tourists today - with some hoops to jump thru. Americans wishing to go - legally - may do so under one of the current 12 allowed exceptions to the embargo. At present, the educational exemption is most commonly used for the "people-to-people" programs. However, any travel company, including cruise lines, can pick one of the 12 exemptions, except maybe the "Official Business of the US Government" one, and apply to the Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control for an export license, get prompt approval, and start taking tourists to Cuba. This process is already happening and the White House clearly expresses the intention to expand it. See the following link for more details. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/fact-sheet-charting-new-course-cuba.

 

There are a couple other roadblocks that the administration is working on. First, is that US Credit Cards are not accepted in Cuba, however, once the banks are linked, as Obama promises, that problem will be solved. As a work-around the ship could sell some Canadian Dollars or Euros, which are legal to use, and widely accepted in Cuba. Cuba will also likely remove the current restrictions on use of US Dollars. Second, any ship that calls on a Cuban port is not allowed to call on a US Port for six months. American Airlines has already solved this problem and is currently flying to Cuba. Any cruise line could use the AA model to beat this restriction or simply dedicate a ship sailing out of a non-US (Mexico, Barbados etc.) port for the Cuba sailings. Keep in mind that only US Ports would be off limits - the rest of the world does not honor the Cuban Embargo.

 

While Congressional approval is not required, it would eliminate the hoops and reduce costs. That is why I sent the following email to my congressional reps. Feel free to cut and pasts. You can email your reps from their official web site.

 

Senator (Congressman),

 

I write today in strong support for the initiatives to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and to eliminate the economic embargo and other sanctions that are harming both the Cuban and US economy. The issues with Cuba are over four decades old and no longer exist. It is time to move on. Your kind attention to this matter is appreciated.

 

V/R Don Greenlee

[sfaaa]

No politics, just real hard fact. Not decades old history either. This took place in 2014. May be we can all go check this tourist attraction out when NCL starts to sail there. :)

 

 

 

Moscow and Havana have agreed to reopen a Cold War-era signals intelligence (SIGINT) base in Lourdes, Cuba.

 

An agreement was reached during Putin's visit to Cuba last week to reopen the base, Russia business daily Kommersant reported last week. That was confirmed by a Russian security source who told Reuters: "A framework agreement has been agreed."

 

Located south of Cuba's capital Havana and just 150 miles from the U.S. coast, the base left many parts of the U.S. vulnerable to Soviet communication intercepts, including exchanges between Florida space centers and U.S. spacecraft.

[4774Papa]

Cuba is open for American tourists today - with some hoops to jump thru. Americans wishing to go - legally - may do so under one of the current 12 allowed exceptions to the embargo. At present, the educational exemption is most commonly used for the "people-to-people" programs. However, any travel company, including cruise lines, can pick one of the 12 exemptions, except maybe the "Official Business of the US Government" one, and apply to the Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control for an export license, get prompt approval, and start taking tourists to Cuba. This process is already happening and the White House clearly expresses the intention to expand it. See the following link for more details. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/fact-sheet-charting-new-course-cuba.

 

There are a couple other roadblocks that the administration is working on. First, is that US Credit Cards are not accepted in Cuba, however, once the banks are linked, as Obama promises, that problem will be solved. As a work-around the ship could sell some Canadian Dollars or Euros, which are legal to use, and widely accepted in Cuba. Cuba will also likely remove the current restrictions on use of US Dollars. Second, any ship that calls on a Cuban port is not allowed to call on a US Port for six months. American Airlines has already solved this problem and is currently flying to Cuba. Any cruise line could use the AA model to beat this restriction or simply dedicate a ship sailing out of a non-US (Mexico, Barbados etc.) port for the Cuba sailings. Keep in mind that only US Ports would be off limits - the rest of the world does not honor the Cuban Embargo.

 

While Congressional approval is not required, it would eliminate the hoops and reduce costs. That is why I sent the following email to my congressional reps. Feel free to cut and pasts. You can email your reps from their official web site.

 

Senator (Congressman),

 

I write today in strong support for the initiatives to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and to eliminate the economic embargo and other sanctions that are harming both the Cuban and US economy. The issues with Cuba are over four decades old and no longer exist. It is time to move on. Your kind attention to this matter is appreciated.

 

V/R Don Greenlee

No Politics, yet here you are encouraging people to write their Congressmen!