Viking And Cuba visa info received

[sparty1]

Hmmmm...something else to this mix...as a Canadian ( no restrictions for travel to Cuba) do we also fall into the American restrictions since departing from an American Port, Miami on Viking Ocean? I assume so and thus need to be covered under a people to people Visa such as Viking Oceans likely will have. Thus all passengers , Canadians included, have to use the ship's excursions which fall under those restrictions and thus no beach stuff or wandering on own!

 

Hmm..We just returned from Cuba, and were not required to take only ships excursions . Is this what you are saying-you MUST take ship excursions due to people-to-people? We purchased our Cuban landing visas,by filling out our authorization as "people -to-people", and we could use independent tours or go on our own! All we needed to do was keep a daily journal of our activities that showed we did cultural events of any type(ball games, shows), music venues, restaurants and meet Cubans, cooking classes, touring Old Havana, arts(we visited the artist development school that Michele Obama took her girls to)museums, governmen t buildings, Plazas(Revolution, de Armas, etc), markets, etc! We did not(and are not supposed to)go to a beach, but we went to Mafia leader Meyer Lansky's mansion(Vegas-type show) and beautiful grounds on the Malecon. You probably need to make reservations to go to a Palador(Cuban home restaurants) or a cigar factory. We bought our visa through the ship for $75, although you can purchase through outside companies for less. We took a ship's excursion on the first morning to get an orientation, but went on our own the restt of day and the next day--no problem!

[Peregrina651]

Hmmmm...something else to this mix...as a Canadian ( no restrictions for travel to Cuba) do we also fall into the American restrictions since departing from an American Port, Miami on Viking Ocean? I assume so and thus need to be covered under a people to people Visa such as Viking Oceans likely will have. Thus all passengers , Canadians included, have to use the ship's excursions which fall under those restrictions and thus no beach stuff or wandering on own!

 

Imho, don't assume--and don't depend on the anecdotal evidence found here. Contact Viking and ask them directly. Tellus@vikingcruises.com. Also check with Cuba's embassy or consulate in Canada.

[roothy123]

Hmm..We just returned from Cuba, and were not required to take only ships excursions . Is this what you are saying-you MUST take ship excursions due to people-to-people? We purchased our Cuban landing visas,by filling out our authorization as "people -to-people", and we could use independent tours or go on our own! All we needed to do was keep a daily journal of our activities that showed we did cultural events of any type(ball games, shows), music venues, restaurants and meet Cubans, cooking classes, touring Old Havana, arts(we visited the artist development school that Michele Obama took her girls to)museums, governmen t buildings, Plazas(Revolution, de Armas, etc), markets, etc! We did not(and are not supposed to)go to a beach, but we went to Mafia leader Meyer Lansky's mansion(Vegas-type show) and beautiful grounds on the Malecon. You probably need to make reservations to go to a Palador(Cuban home restaurants) or a cigar factory. We bought our visa through the ship for $75, although you can purchase through outside companies for less. We took a ship's excursion on the first morning to get an orientation, but went on our own the restt of day and the next day--no problem!

 

Just curious - Were you on Oceania or other cruise line which has already received permission to go to Cuba, at least for a particular amount of time? What cruise line did you use?

[PatriciaF]

Hmmmm...something else to this mix...as a Canadian ( no restrictions for travel to Cuba) do we also fall into the American restrictions since departing from an American Port, Miami on Viking Ocean? I assume so and thus need to be covered under a people to people Visa such as Viking Oceans likely will have. Thus all passengers , Canadians included, have to use the ship's excursions which fall under those restrictions and thus no beach stuff or wandering on own!

 

From reading the info on TripAdvisor for our land based trip, several non-US citizens noted if they flew through a US airport to get to Cuba they had to comply with the US regulations and the visa.

 

Other than in and out of the airport, no one ever looked at our visa. It was taken by immigration when we left the country. And my husband had to get a pricier special visa as he was born in Cuba and left in 1960.

[sparty1]

Just curious - Were you on Oceania or other cruise line which has already received permission to go to Cuba, at least for a particular amount of time? What cruise line did you use?

NCL's first Cuba cruise. It went only to Havana for 2 days.

[decamp303]

This ABC News report just came out yesterday. Looks like the government is preparing to start the roll back of friendly Cuban policies later this month "according to multiple congressional and advocacy organization sources with direct knowledge of the administration's intentions."

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-planning-reverse-cuba-policy-sources/story?id=47776846

There is additional reporting that some roll backs will start immediately and others more slowly. Let's hope Viking gets their permission before it affects the travel industry, although nothing to say already approved future travel won't be reneged.

[RetiredFL]

I just looked at our final invoice from Viking and on page 3 it says:

"A group Visa is obtained and provided for Viking Cruises guests on Viking Tour programs. For individual exploration Guests will need to obtain an individual visa prior to departure"

This apparently settles, at least for us, that we can get a visa and explore on our own within the parameters of the visa and the US state department.

 

From what I have seen on the news, etc I believe so far the administration is talking about voiding non tourist related things and the embassy will remain open etc. We won't know until it happens but I am sure the cruise lines, hotels, etc will lobby hard.

[roothy123]

Thanks for that info. I didn't look at page 3 of my final invoice, so I missed it. I'm glad Viking is being honest about the need or lack of need for visas. Some cruise lines trick you into thinking you must take their excursions or stay on the ship.

 

Now we just have to worry about whether Viking will get approval on time (although I think they likely will), and whether someone's ego will cause him to undo what was done before so that we can't go at all. At least we have a few more months before most of us will be deciding what, if anything, to do.

[lobolady]

If there is a blanket visa for the ship, you have to stay with the excursion. Usually you can go ahead and get your own visas. We did this in Russia. However, the US requires that you do things that are "people to people" cultural and historical. You can't just go to the beach. By law if you go on your own you certify that you are complying with the law. You are supposed to keep records of what you did for 5 years.

[roothy123]

Just curious (and a bit crunched for time, or would look it up): How much is the visa, and about how much time do you need to allow if you order it by mail? Thanks.

[PatriciaF]

The Cuba Tourist Card is available on line through various Cuban travel services companies. It may pay to shop around. I used Cuba Travel Services as it is about 15 minutes from my house.

 

The tourist card has 12 reasons for travel to Cuba. I used visit family as the primary purpose for the trip was to visit my husband's family...and that is what he put on his visa application.

 

There are 12 categories to select from. You can pick "support the Cuban people." You are there spending money, so you are supporting them.

 

The only time our travel documents were looked at were upon entry when it was stamped and again when it was taken when we left.

 

Our travel in and out was via airplane vs. cruise ship.