NCL Sky to Cuba - where to get tourist card/visa?

[Yunah]

Hi all,

 

I'm back, back again! :D Two and a half months until we'll be on the Sky to Cuba and the Bahamas... but this change of itinerary has caused some headache for us....

 

To keep it short: my parents and I are Dutch citizens but because we'll be travelling to Cuba from the US we need a visa (we wouldn't need one if we were travelling from the Netherlands to Cuba). The only visa we can obtain over here is a pink one and apparently we need a green one.

 

I just spoke to the very nice Malcolm (I think) at NCL on the phone who checked some stuff for me. We can use airlinebroker.net (however, this only seems to be for people travelling to Cuba by plane) and cubadiplomatica.cu but this only allows you to obtain a visa at the embassy. Now, you can allow NCL to arrange a visa for you at the ridiculous cost of $ 75 per person or we can try to get one ourselves.

Since there's a lot of Americans on here I'm hoping you can help us.. :o

 

We'll be in New York first for a week but we won't have time to head to Washington DC to go to the embassy. We will also be in Miami for a few days before we get on the cruise so we would have some time to arrange something there however the Cuban embassy is in Washington DC.

Where and how do we get a Cuban visa? :eek:

Edited March 6, 2017 by Yunah
added some info

[ColinIllinois]

I Googled and looked at a couple of different sites and honestly the $75 doesn't seem overly expensive. Compared to having to run around to embassies and wasting time I would just pay NCL to do it for me hassle free to ensure I have it in plenty of time.

[bigpuma]

There is a Cuban Consulate in New York that may be able to help you. That said, as someone who worked and lived in South America, you are likely better off paying the $75 and having the cruise line do it for you.

 

https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of-cuba-in-united-states

[Yunah]

I Googled and looked at a couple of different sites and honestly the $75 doesn't seem overly expensive. Compared to having to run around to embassies and wasting time I would just pay NCL to do it for me hassle free to ensure I have it in plenty of time.

 

 

May I ask which websites you found? I tried looking online but couldn't find anything. Do you need to send off your passport in order to get that visa or would they send it to you?

However it does seem expensive to us as the visa we can get over here is "only" €25 (which equals $ 26). :( That would just be a two sided card on which you need to fill in some stuff (name, passport number, etc) and that would be all. NCL would have the visa ready for us on check in so I guess that's definitely in time.

[hawkeyetlse]

Yes, I've heard that the pink tourist card for arrivals from the US costs (at least) $75 no matter who you buy it from (not sure what the fee would be directly if you applied directly with the consulate in Washington, DC, but if you're in the Netherlands this wouldn't be an option anyway).

 

It's no different from the green card you have seen. But pink costs more, because it's mostly for Americans.

[Yunah]

There is a Cuban Consulate in New York that may be able to help you. That said, as someone who worked and lived in South America, you are likely better off paying the $75 and having the cruise line do it for you.

 

https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of-cuba-in-united-states

 

 

Thanks bigpuma. I had no idea there was a difference between a consulate and an embassy. :) Learn something new every day! I'll get in touch with them anyway and see what they can do for us.

[Yunah]

Yes, I've heard that the pink tourist card for arrivals from the US costs (at least) $75 no matter who you buy it from (not sure what the fee would be directly if you applied directly with the consulate in Washington, DC, but if you're in the Netherlands this wouldn't be an option anyway).

 

 

Well at least that explains the price. We've got companies over here who do the work for you and they would be the ones asking $ 75 where as the actual visa over here costs "only" $ 25. I guess that we would in fact be better off letting NCL do the work for us, yes. :)

Edited March 6, 2017 by Yunah
mistake

[ColinIllinois]

May I ask which websites you found? I tried looking online but couldn't find anything. Do you need to send off your passport in order to get that visa or would they send it to you?

However it does seem expensive to us as the visa we can get over here is "only" €25 (which equals $ 26). :( That would just be a two sided card on which you need to fill in some stuff (name, passport number, etc) and that would be all. NCL would have the visa ready for us on check in so I guess that's definitely in time.

 

 

Here is one as an example and as you can see it is $75 and you would probably have a shipping charge also.

 

http://oncubatravel.com/visa-process/

 

 

As I said before I would just have NCL do it so you can relax and enjoy your vacation without documentation worries.

[Yunah]

Here is one as an example and as you can see it is $75 and you would probably have a shipping charge also.

 

http://oncubatravel.com/visa-process/

 

 

As I said before I would just have NCL do it so you can relax and enjoy your vacation without documentation worries.

 

Thanks Colin, I guess that's our best bet yes. I'll give them a call soonish to arrange everything. :)