Private Cuba tours

[Sliphipmangle]

I plan on, and have been advised to, check off the box SUPPORT OF THE CUBAN PEOPLE.....

 

Thank you! That's what I was going to select.

[imagine17]

I'm cruising to Havana in 10 days and have nothing booked through the ship, and so far only have a vintage car tour booked independently. When I ask the cruise line what to check off they just keep telling me the "group-people-to-people". Does anypne know if this keeps me in compliance if I don't have anything booked through the ship?

 

 

With the revised regulations, you can only check People to People if you are using the ship excursions or tours with a US based tour company. I don't recommend this. Look into Support for the Cuban People. This category was slightly revised and does not require group travel. It requires an itinerary that fully supports local Cubans- including private businesses and commerce. You can qualify by booking a local company (I recommend I Love Cuba Photo Tours) and keeping records of your itinerary. Support locals- not the ship or US based companies :-)

[Sliphipmangle]

With the revised regulations, you can only check People to People if you are using the ship excursions or tours with a US based tour company. I don't recommend this. Look into Support for the Cuban People. This category was slightly revised and does not require group travel. It requires an itinerary that fully supports local Cubans- including private businesses and commerce. You can qualify by booking a local company (I recommend I Love Cuba Photo Tours) and keeping records of your itinerary. Support locals- not the ship or US based companies :-)

Thanks. I chose support for the Cuban people and currently have a tour booked with a company. Still looking for other things so I will check out you recommendation!

[imagine17]

Thanks. I chose support for the Cuban people and currently have a tour booked with a company. Still looking for other things so I will check out you recommendation!

 

Great! I Love Cuba Photo Tours really are the best (I've used a few). The best thing is they will plan whatever you want- no preset itineraries you need to choose from. Just send them an email with anything you want to do, or your interests if you aren't sure. It's 100% customized. I just got back, and this was the kind of tour that made me really want to spread the word :-) You can email them at yoselvazquez@yahoo.com.

[teachatthebeach]

Great! I Love Cuba Photo Tours really are the best (I've used a few). The best thing is they will plan whatever you want- no preset itineraries you need to choose from. Just send them an email with anything you want to do, or your interests if you aren't sure. It's 100% customized. I just got back, and this was the kind of tour that made me really want to spread the word :-) You can email them at yoselvazquez@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

Another vote for the I Love Cuba Tours. We toured with them last July and had a lovely day.

 

 

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[karak143]

I plan on, and have been advised to, check off the box SUPPORT OF THE CUBAN PEOPLE.....

 

Which document are you referring to? I remember completing this, but am not sure I checked off the correct box. PLEASE HELP!!!

[karak143]

Thanks. I chose support for the Cuban people and currently have a tour booked with a company. Still looking for other things so I will check out you recommendation!

 

To which document are you referring? I remember completing this, but am not sure I checked off the correct box. PLEASE HELP!!!

[GleefulGirl]

To which document are you referring? I remember completing this, but am not sure I checked off the correct box. PLEASE HELP!!!

 

If you go on the Oceania website, either to their home page or by logging into "My Account", scroll all the way down to the bottom, and under "Guest Services" click on "FAQs." Once you're on the FAQ page, there's a menu column on the left. The last item is "Cuba." Click on it. Then scroll about a third of the way down to the question that reads "How do I certify that I am travelling under one of the OFAC-approved categories of travel?" The link to the Affidavit is thete. That's the document under discussion.

[ronper]

We took a cruise from Miami to Cuba via Norwegian Sky. Our group of 7 decided to contact FertoursHavana. All of us were very happy withtheir tour guide Michael. He was very professional, speaks good English as heteaches English. He was very knowledgeable on the History and the importantsights in Havana. We specially enjoyed the old American classic 1960 cars hearranged for our afternoon tour. As we were unable to go to the eveningCabaret, Fertours immediately reducedthe cost of our tour. Fertours is veryprofessional and I would highly recommend their services

[srq crewser]

How did your tour with them go??

thanks!

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[aroundthehorn]

I spoke with an RCL representative today to ask if I would be able to get off the ship with having a shore excursion booked through someone else other than RCL. She advised me that I would have to check with that tour company and see if they fall under the guidelines that would allow me to tour with them. However, my concern is she did not look up my information nor ask where I am from. So obviously there is a huge difference between traveling as an American citizen (which I am) VS. a Canadian citizen.

 

What I am trying to find out is if I am still able to book a private tour with the new travel restrictions and if so, does anyone have any suggestions as to which company to book with? To add to the confusion, she also advised that I needed to print out the travel forms for cuba and fill them out. However, the forms still have the option of person to person tours as well as RCL tours. If I understand correctly, it is the person to person tour that were now restricted (or will be within the 90 days after trump announced the changes) and my cruise debarks in 98 days.

 

I'm sorry if this has been covered but I was unable to find it among the bickering on the other threads.

 

Hi,

 

I returned from an NCL Cuba cruise and used FerTours. Below is my review.

 

I booked FerTours prior to my arrival through email. Fernando was prompt to reply. We booked an all day and evening tour. We had a classic convertible for the day tour. Our driver and tour guide were lovely and they wanted to provide the best experiences possible. We went outside of Old Havana first and then left our driver and took a walking tour of Old Havana. We went back to our ship for 2 hours and then we were again joined with our guide, Zulia, and we met by another driver in a closed classic car. We went to the canon firing and then the Tropicana. Our guide left us there, but the driver remained, waiting for us until the end of the show to return us to the ship. Everyone was reliable, prompt and friendly. Lovely day.

 

Gail

[tcut]

We visited Havana last week on NCL Sky. We used Havana Journeys for a private tour. I posted lots of details (category of travel under new regs, docking, time to get off ship, visas, customs, Havana on our own at night, helpful links. etc.) on my blog at http://wanderwiles.com/2018/09/20/visiting-havana-under-the-new-regulations/

 

All went well and I hope my post will spare others a lot of the pre-trip concerns I had.

 

Enjoy Havana!

[iloverags2]

Ok, this thread has made me feel much better about booking a tour with a private individual rather than the cruise line in Cuba. I do have one question though. It seems the State Department suggests the entire day must be filled with some kind of educational tour. But what if we do a car tour for 2 hours or so in the morning, get back on the ship for a few hours, and then do another car tour in the evening? Is that ok? Or do we need to schedule an entire day of activities, filling up 6 to 8 hours of our time on shore? I will be traveling with someone who is limited on how much they can do at any one time.

[rederob]

Ok, this thread has made me feel much better about booking a tour with a private individual rather than the cruise line in Cuba. I do have one question though. It seems the State Department suggests the entire day must be filled with some kind of educational tour. But what if we do a car tour for 2 hours or so in the morning, get back on the ship for a few hours, and then do another car tour in the evening? Is that ok? Or do we need to schedule an entire day of activities, filling up 6 to 8 hours of our time on shore? I will be traveling with someone who is limited on how much they can do at any one time.

Not sure where you got the information, but under "support for the Cuban people" it is possible to do exactly what you plan and be fully compliant with OFAC.

Choosing OFAC's Educational activities is generally a poor choice in terms of theoretical compliance.

Edited September 30, 2018 by rederob
fixing format and deleting irrelevances

[nmbnancy]

We visited Havana last week on NCL Sky. We used Havana Journeys for a private tour. I posted lots of details (category of travel under new regs, docking, time to get off ship, visas, customs, Havana on our own at night, helpful links. etc.) on my blog at http://wanderwiles.com/2018/09/20/visiting-havana-under-the-new-regulations/

 

All went well and I hope my post will spare others a lot of the pre-trip concerns I had.

 

Enjoy Havana!

 

I just read your blog. You are famous in Cuba - Katiusca retold me the story of you going to the brewery, as we were having coffee across the square from the brewery ! I wish I had found your blog before I went, she would have known who it was that was recommending her

[paumarier]

We just returned from the Oceania Sirena which stopped in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago.

We checked off "Support the Cuban People" on the affidavit and then hired private guides for each port. No problem.

The only time there was a line through immigration was when the ship's excursions were leaving the ship. Since there were so many people leaving at the same time, obviously a line formed. Because we had private guides, we set a time to meet them a little later than the excursions so we did not have to deal with the large groups leaving the ship. When we were ready to leave, we just walked through immigration and handed them our passports and visas. They looked at the passports and visas, then looked at us, and then handed our documents back to us. That was it. Off we went.

We hired Raul of Blexie Tours in Havana, Gio's Cuba Tours in Cienfuegos to go to Trinidad, and Maikel Alvarez in Santiago. They all were great and we highly recommend them.

[richardb]

I'd like to recommend Romillio, one of Blexie's employees. He speaks excellent English, with barely an accent. Probably from his 15 years working as a PR rep for one of the big hotels. He is very knowledgeable of the history of Havana and will tailor his tour to your desires. 

 

You would need to hire him through Blexie, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

[cruisingschool]

5 hours ago, richardb said:

I'd like to recommend Romillio, one of Blexie's employees. He speaks excellent English, with barely an accent. Probably from his 15 years working as a PR rep for one of the big hotels. He is very knowledgeable of the history of Havana and will tailor his tour to your desires. 

 

You would need to hire him through Blexie, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

I looked on the website and there are not any details as to the private tours. Do you have any information as to what you do on the tour? 

 

[Holly2]

We did a tour with Isbel, another of his guides who spoke perfect “ American’ English.  We custom designed a tour incl a walking tour ofold town , then classic-car

tour.  Wonderful day, reasinably priced. 

[richardb]

1 hour ago, cruisingschool said:

I looked on the website and there are not any details as to the private tours. Do you have any information as to what you do on the tour? 

 

With Blexie, it is is up to you. We wanted to see cultural and historic sites in Old Havana, as well as authentic lunch, visit to Revolution Square (very disappointing), Hotel Nacional, the cemetery, and a drive along the Malecon.

 

About 6 hours total, 2 people, 130 CUC for the tour/drive and around 40 CUC lunch for the 3 of us. We tipped both Romilio and our driver.

Edited October 21, 2018 by richardb

[Echair]

Review of Fertours 2 Havana

First, this company does meet the necessary requirements for a private tour of Cuba. We were traveling Royal Caribbean and check the 2nd box On the Cuba Tour Form. The review is a cut-and-paste review that I posted to trip advisor.

This company did a great job setting up a tour for my friends and I. We were on a cruise that only docked in Havana for several hours and we had 2 groups going at different times. They coordinated all of this very well. My friends left about 2 hours ahead of me and went on a 2-hour tour via classic car. They were all very pleased with that part of the tour… The guide (her name was Zulia), driver, destinations, etc...

Following that, she brought them back around to meet me for a three-hour walking tour of old Havana. I am in a power wheelchair, which I explained to Fernando over the phone. The buildings in old Havana are largely inaccessible. Most have steps and the streets are very bumpy. But, I expected this. And, I feel like Fernando and Zulia did a very good job of planning a tour that allowed me to see as much as possible. She was very knowledgeable, a pleasure to deal with, and she had a very clever sense of humor. We toured the 4 squares in Havana and they arranged for us to have lunch. Street musicians played while we ate and encouraged us to dance. That added to an overall fun experience.

Overall, I would recommend this tour company without question. They provided exactly what I asked for and made recommendations when necessary. We were able to embrace the history of Cuba while having a truly enjoyable visit.

[wrahn2002]

On ‎8‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 1:54 PM, esanders64 said:

We just finished up a cruise to Havana on the Carnival Paradise, and found the procedures for getting of the ship to be pretty straightforward. If your ship has a similar situation as ours, you should be fine with an evening tour followed by a day tour. Our ship pulled into Havana at about 6:30 am, and they started letting passengers off on schedule at 8 am. We were let off about 8:15 after we showed evidence of a private tour we booked, and it only took another 10-15 minutes to go through passport control, leaving us plenty of time before our 10 am tour. Getting back on the ship was also straightforward, with only a few minutes to go through security and passport control. Have fun!

 

 

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If you don't mind, what tour company did you use?

Thanks,

Wes

[esanders64]

Hi Wes - we used FerTours on our visit to Havana last year.  We highly recommend them!  I did a separate post on the Cuba board about our experience, if you are interested in more details.  

[IsaSweden69]

We used Havanacar.net for a full day Vinales tour and a 6 hours Combo Havana City Tour ( 3 hours City tour in a classic convertible + 3 hours Old Havana walking tour with a professional English speaking guide).

Both tours were great. The two cars we used were amazing.

It was a real bargain considering the quality of service and also thst they were private tours rather than the expensive shared ones offered by the cruise.

Moreover their manager Stefano is based in Florida so it makes the booking process much easier.

I am recommending them to all the people I know!

 

[RJB]

7 hours ago, esanders64 said:

Hi Wes - we used FerTours on our visit to Havana last year.  We highly recommend them!  I did a separate post on the Cuba board about our experience, if you are interested in more details.  

FerTours the best.  We used them a few weeks ago for a 2 day tour of Havana and it could not have been better.