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New Cuba Travel Restrictions

WarEagle76

By WarEagle76,
in Oceania Cruises

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

Posted
Posted
So does Oceania take care of the necessary paperwork in order for PAX to debark in Cuba?

You will get a tourist card for a fee that is added to your invoice

 

Ours was $95 pp

 

Oceania covers the medical ins

 

Did you check your documents?

 

You can look at the tab for CUBA under the FAQ's

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/faq/

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princeton12321

princeton12321

Posted
Posted
We are US citizens. Isn’t all the red tape and necessary fees taken care of by Oceania? We will be sailing to Cuba on Sirena, May 2018. We plan on taking only ship sponsored tours.

God, and Trump willing, Cuba will still be open to US citizens. :)

 

 

 

It's already a place where the cruise line and local government are more divorced than anyplace else in the Caribbean you'll visit. You'll need to purchase a visa but you shouldn't purchase only ship sponsored tours- they're overpriced (by a huge margin) and way less interesting than what you can book on your own. Cuba has always been open to US citizens in one way or another.

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Kingofcool1947

Kingofcool1947

Posted
Posted
You will get a tourist card for a fee that is added to your invoice

 

Ours was $95 pp

 

Oceania covers the medical ins

 

Did you check your documents?

 

You can look at the tab for CUBA under the FAQ's

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/faq/

 

No. I have not. But will do. Our cruise is May 2019. Thanks for the info and link..

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willmschen

willmschen

Posted
Posted

We just boarded Insignia for our Cuba cruise. Received our visas along with our room key. We also received a letter labeled Important Update on Travel to Cuba. It said guests who purchased their cruise prior to June 16, 2017 may conduct people-to-people exchanges as individuals or may do group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization. For cruises purchased after June 16, 2017 only group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization are allowed. However, the letter further said all guests would be allowed to disembark with or without having purchased Oceania shore excursions. It is up to the guests to assure they are in compliance.

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npb

npb

Posted
Posted
We just boarded Insignia for our Cuba cruise. Received our visas along with our room key. We also received a letter labeled Important Update on Travel to Cuba. It said guests who purchased their cruise prior to June 16, 2017 may conduct people-to-people exchanges as individuals or may do group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization. For cruises purchased after June 16, 2017 only group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization are allowed. However, the letter further said all guests would be allowed to disembark with or without having purchased Oceania shore excursions. It is up to the guests to assure they are in compliance.

 

Thank you for answering all my questions.

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cbb

cbb

Posted
Posted

forgive me the picky question;

 

does "purchase" = all money paid, or does "purchase" = deposit made?

 

our cruise is Oct 2018. And I realize that many things may change between now and then.

 

Thanks willmschen for your excellent post!

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

Posted
Posted
forgive me the picky question;

 

does "purchase" = all money paid, or does "purchase" = deposit made?

 

our cruise is Oct 2018. And I realize that many things may change between now and then.

Just guessing but by putting a deposit it is the intention to purchase the cruise so I would guess you are covered under the old rules if the deposit was made before the June 16th date

Of course the US government could have a different interpretation

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floridatravelersforlife

floridatravelersforlife

Posted
Posted
We are US citizens. Isn’t all the red tape and necessary fees taken care of by Oceania? We will be sailing to Cuba on Sirena, May 2018. We plan on taking only ship sponsored tours.

God, and Trump willing, Cuba will still be open to US citizens. :)

 

Ditto With our ship booked excursions, Oceania is taking care of it. We don't buy souvenirs or Tshirts so the rules are inconsequential. We are there to enjoy the experience and in our case the Christmas Celebrations in Havana,

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Sopwith

Sopwith

Posted
Posted
One of the biggest changes announced is to restrict "people-to-people" visas that thousands of Americans have used in recent years to easily travel to Havana and other cities in Cuba.

...

Now, those travelers will need to be accompanied by a U.S.-based tour guide who must ensure Americans are engaging in approved activities that help the Cuban people.

 

I'm very confused. Isn't "freedom" one of the fundamental American values? This is something I would expect from the Cuban, Iranian or North Korean government, not the US government.

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YoHoHo

YoHoHo

Posted
Posted
I'm very confused. Isn't "freedom" one of the fundamental American values? This is something I would expect from the Cuban, Iranian or North Korean government, not the US government.
Your posts is better suited for other boards; politics here should be avoided. Hopefully there

will be no further posts on this a cruise related discussion can continue.

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baggal

baggal

Posted
Posted
We just boarded Insignia for our Cuba cruise. Received our visas along with our room key. We also received a letter labeled Important Update on Travel to Cuba. It said guests who purchased their cruise prior to June 16, 2017 may conduct people-to-people exchanges as individuals or may do group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization. For cruises purchased after June 16, 2017 only group exchanges through Oceania or another U.S. sponsoring organization are allowed. However, the letter further said all guests would be allowed to disembark with or without having purchased Oceania shore excursions. It is up to the guests to assure they are in compliance.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. Have a great time and what I hope will be a wonderful experience. Please come back, when you have time, and let us know your impressions. I'm on the Insignia to Cuba in 3 weeks. I thought we have passed every hurdle but then I just heard this morning that there's a congressional committee (not sure if its Senate or House of Reps) holding Cuba hearings today...

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YoHoHo

YoHoHo

Posted
Posted
Cuba made Fodors top 10 places to avoid in 2018.

 

https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/fodors-no-list-2018

 

And, I’m booked on a 7 day cruise to Cuba for

May 2018,.

So, should I be worried, and cancell the cruise?

There is nothing new in the item on Cuba that has not been discussed on CC previously.

 

You are not staying in a hotel or for an extended time or a member of a targeted group nor are you flying in and travelling independently, O's excursions will be compliant and qualify you, if you take them.

 

I can understand being concerned as the rules and changes, and changes again are confusing but I would go.

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ChucktownSteve

ChucktownSteve

Posted
Posted
Cuba made Fodors top 10 places to avoid in 2018.

 

https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/fodors-no-list-2018

 

And, I’m booked on a 7 day cruise to Cuba for

May 2018,.

So, should I be worried, and cancell the cruise?

 

You should only be concerned if you plan to spend time in the U.S. Embassy. If you keep moving, you'll be hard to hit with the acoustic ray guns.

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Kingofcool1947

Kingofcool1947

Posted
Posted
There is nothing new in the item on Cuba that has not been discussed on CC previously.

 

You are not staying in a hotel or for an extended time or a member of a targeted group nor are you flying in and travelling independently, O's excursions will be compliant and qualify you, if you take them.

 

I can understand being concerned as the rules and changes, and changes again are confusing but I would go.

 

Thanks.

We’re going. :) before the door closes on US travel to Cuba.

And we will take Oceania sponsored shore excusions just to be sure we are in compliance with the requirements to Cuba rules.

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ChucktownSteve

ChucktownSteve

Posted
Posted
Will metal lined clothing and hat, protect me from the harmful rays?

You can go that expensive route, however you may also stop by Costco and pick up one of those extra large rolls of Aluminum foil to make your own hat and shielding. :cool: It also helps ward off Aliens (extraterrestrial). :D

 

If you have any excess foil, you can additionally line your balcony door.

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