Support for the Cuban people, be prepared

[RiverBlues]

Who knows, maybe the government will prevent travel to Havana soon and will start reviewing these visits.

 

In order to "start reviewing these visits", i.e. doing OFAC audits of individual travelers' itineraries, OFAC would have to have sufficient staff to do so, which it does not currently have, and so would need funding for that staff, or would have to take money, time and personnel away from the other (more important) matters it is charged with. It is very unlikely, even in the present political climate, that a funding bill would be proposed and passed, or a major reorganization of priorities would occur. Many other things to worry about before this What If as a concern.

Note: Travel to Cuba had been possible (by charter flight or through a third country) well before tour companies like Insight got their specific licenses, and before Obama opened the way for commercial flights.cruises from US airports/ports a couple of years ago.

[sjoantwe]

Does anyone know if Oceania is giving passengers a hard with support for the cuban people category?

[rederob]

If you are concerned about travel "rules" then go to Tripadvisor's Cuba forums and pose your question.

First, theory and practice are very different: US Customs does not seem to care and nobody in the past 15 years that we are aware has ever had to provide an "itinerary" for OFAC to show their trip was compliant.

Next, if you do not want the hassle then do what poster #2 did and tick the box they wanted you to. The form is used by the cruise line to prove to OFAC that all travellers met the rules, and this form is never reconciled against what you actually did!!!

Irrespective of ticking a particular box BEFORE you travel, the only theoretical requirement is that what you do on disembarkation is compliant. For all practical purposes "support for the Cuban people" is always the best choice for passengers because many of those who ticked P2P will walk off the ship again after their sponsored tour and do as they please, and this is a theoretical breach of the P2P licence they ticked.

Practical compliance with OFAC by those doing as they choose on disembarking is exceptionally easy if you ticked "SFTCP". Moreover, as compliance is not being enforced there really is nothing to worry about.

[mamaofami]

The problem with that is that if you get audited by the us government within 5 years of your visit to Cuba, you have to prove that you took a tour with a US sponsored organization if you chose this category and you either had to arrange this tour before your trip or get an 8 hour tour/day with the cruise ship and thats about $200 per person per day, even children.

 

Just curious, why would the US government audit you? I'm assuming there's no tax deduction for this excursion so please help me understand about the audit. Thanks.

[Pitzel]

Just curious, why would the US government audit you? I'm assuming there's no tax deduction for this excursion so please help me understand about the audit. Thanks.

 

The audit would come from US OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control) which is a part of the US Treasury Department. Since travel to Cuba is regulated as part of the US sanctions against Cuba, all travelers and all companies providing transport to Cuba are required to maintain documentation for 5 years that indicates the general or specific license under which each person is traveling.

 

Very few people have actually been audited. Those that have been are typically involved in some sort of trade or large financial transaction involving restricted companies or entities in Cuba. The audits are to confirm that you actually traveled to Cuba for the reasons that you stated and that your activities were covered by one or more of the allowable license categories. This is to discourage people from saying one thing (eg. traveling for "Support for the Cuban People") and doing something else (eg. doing business with a company that supports the Cuban military).

[rederob]

The audits are to confirm that you actually traveled to Cuba for the reasons that you stated and that your activities were covered by one or more of the allowable license categories. This is to discourage people from saying one thing (eg. traveling for "Support for the Cuban People") and doing something else (eg. doing business with a company that supports the Cuban military).

After 2003 over 1000 travellers were fined by OFAC, but few ever paid up. Referrals to OFAC were principally from US Customs. Nowadays Customs seem not to care, and audits of individual travellers by OFAC are unknown of in recent times

OFAC instead devotes its limited resources to chasing big ticket items - financial institutions and corporations in the main where fines are often in the tens of millions - so unless there is a massive resource injection the status quo remains.

If OFAC were ever resourced, it would only care that your travel was compliant based on what you did after you stepped ashore.

[kasmca]

Have things changes after July 18, 2018?

 

We will be travelling on Carnival next week and just got this email. It states that there is a new Travel Affidavit that came out on July 18 requiring everyone to select People to People. We have a tour scheduled with Blexie and he said to check off Supporting the Cuban People. We are Canadian is that makes a difference.

 

Here is what was in the Carnival email:

 

 

 

Dear Guest,

 

 

In preparation for your amazing adventure to historic Havana, we have prepared a checklist with items relevant to Cuba to review before the big day arrives:

 

• Passport - All guests require a passport to travel to Cuba, valid for at least six months from your scheduled departure date. Birth certificates and passport cards are not acceptable. If you are a U.S. citizen/resident traveling with a valid Cuban passport, you will still need to bring your American passport or Resident Alien Card to re-enter the U.S.
  

 

• People-to-People Program - As of November 9, 2017, the U.S. Government revised the regulations applicable to travel to Cuba. All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization. Those who booked prior to this date may still travel under the self-guided people-to-people authorized category of travel. Please visit Carnival.com to view the wide variety of qualified people-to-people tours and secure your preferred excursions today.
   
  
  
• Restricted Businesses - You should also be aware that the revised regulations prohibit all visitors from engaging in direct financial transactions with certain entities in Cuba. We encourage you to review the "Cuba Restricted List" released by the U.S. State Department before you cruise.
  

 

• Travel Affidavit - According to U.S. travel requirements, all guests must complete a travel affidavit that identifies which authorized category of travel they will be using to enter Cuba. Please print your affidavit (revised travel affidavit dated 07/18/18 - prior versions are no longer valid) when completing your Online Check-in and present a completed copy at embarkation. Guests will be responsible for retaining a copy of their affidavit for their records for five years.
  

 

• Cuba-Issued Visa - For most guests a tourist visa will be required which Carnival will facilitate at a cost of $75 (this will be added to your onboard Sail & Sign® account). You will receive your visa at embarkation. Cuban-born guests and guests traveling to Cuba for any reason other than standard people-to-people activities (e.g. press, business) must present a Cuban passport and/or special visa at embarkation.
  

 

• Currency Exchange - The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) is the currency used by tourists. Guests can exchange money at the terminal in Havana, as well as in hotels, banks and exchange offices for a fee. To expedite the currency exchange process, it is recommended you be prepared to exchange in multiples of $50. Guests are highly encouraged to carry enough cash for the day in Havana since U.S. credit cards and debit cards are not accepted in Cuba.
  

 

• Packing - We suggest you bring no more than one piece of luggage and pack light weight clothing and plenty of sunscreen . Additionally, please limit gifts for the Cuban people to a handful of items (e.g. toiletries, pencils, candies, toys) that will fit within the personal items you plan on bringing off the ship. Donations are generally discouraged by Cuban officials and may delay your debarkation process.
  

For additional information, we encourage you to visit Cuba FAQs.

We are looking forward to welcoming you aboard for a FUN and memorable cruise vacation.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

Denese Waiters

Sr. Director, Guest Services - Contact Centers

[rederob]

Have things changes after July 18, 2018?

We will be travelling on Carnival next week and just got this email. It states that there is a new Travel Affidavit that came out on July 18 requiring everyone to select People to People. We have a tour scheduled with Blexie and he said to check off Supporting the Cuban People. We are Canadian is that makes a difference.

 

Actually it says this:

Travel Affidavit

- According to U.S. travel requirements, all guests must complete a travel affidavit that identifies which authorized category of travel they will be using to enter Cuba. Please print your affidavit (revised travel affidavit dated 07/18/18 - prior versions are no longer valid) when completing your Online Check-in and present a completed copy at embarkation. Guests will be responsible for retaining a copy of their affidavit for their records for five years.

 

So you can select "support for the Cuban people".

[Fogfog]

I completed the forms for the trip via NCL --and brought printed copies

No one at the immigration in Cuba asked for them

They took our visa (paper), took our pic and stamped our passport.

 

I will keep the forms and the itinerary we did over the day/night in Havana for the 5 years as required.

[sleepbestonships]

• All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization.
  

This is the part of the email that tries to indicate all people booking travel on cruise must do a licensed people to people program. I have gone to the source to try to find the answer and unless cruise ships have entered into agreements with some government entity, there is no indication I can find that "support of the Cuban people" cannot be used as an option.

[llanning]

We ran into the same thing. RCL refused to let us check SFTCP for our independent tour. We produced printed documentation, but since there was the word “tour” in the email, they insisted that we check box 2 (US sponsored non-cruise tour). We went back and forth for several minutes (including talking with a manager) about this and ultimately checked both boxes on the form before they would hand us our visas. To make matters worse, they stated that they would white out our check mark for Box 4, but not until later — so we have no way of confirming what their copy of the form now says.

 

I know that the likelihood of getting audited is quite low, but it bothers me that we were essentially asked to falsify documents and they admitted that they would alter our signed and completed documents without our oversight.

 

What is a US sponsored non-cruise tour? How can the US sponsor anything in Cuba? I don't think we have any authority there.

[pbenjamin]

I completed the forms for the trip via NCL --and brought printed copies

No one at the immigration in Cuba asked for them

They took our visa (paper), took our pic and stamped our passport.

 

I will keep the forms and the itinerary we did over the day/night in Havana for the 5 years as required.

 

Of course they didn't. It's a US form that they don't care about.

[rederob]

• All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization.
  

This is the part of the email that tries to indicate all people booking travel on cruise must do a licensed people to people program. I have gone to the source to try to find the answer and unless cruise ships have entered into agreements with some government entity, there is no indication I can find that "support of the Cuban people" cannot be used as an option.

Carnival's written statement above is a bald faced lie.

Other aspects of Carnival's false statements and deceit are posted here: http://forums.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/t/cruise-line-passengers-to-cuba-which-ofac-category/23708

[Fogfog]

Of course they didn't. It's a US form that they don't care about.

 

On other threads people claimed needing the forms--look at the OP

[pbenjamin]

The OP says nothing about Cuban immigration. If anyone had said that you had to present the OFAC affidavit or any other US form at Cuban immigration they would have been quickly corrected.

[Janman]

Does Holland America give you any static about using “ in support of the Cuban People”?

[wyattm]

We are thinking that we will not get off the ship in Cuba. Do you still have to pay for the $75 visa

[Dckamme]

We have a 10 hour port day in Havana this coming January on the carnival paradise. We are planning on booking a 4 hour car tour(outside of the cruise line) for the first part of the day and then walking around havana, grabbing some local food, and taking some photos for the second half of the day, has anyone done this? All of the tours the cruise line offers are 8 hours long. I do not want to spend 8 hours on a tour, I would like to explore the city on my own for a bit if it at all possible.

[May1cruiser]

We have a 10 hour port day in Havana this coming January on the carnival paradise. We are planning on booking a 4 hour car tour(outside of the cruise line) for the first part of the day and then walking around havana, grabbing some local food, and taking some photos for the second half of the day, has anyone done this? All of the tours the cruise line offers are 8 hours long. I do not want to spend 8 hours on a tour, I would like to explore the city on my own for a bit if it at all possible.

yes, just came off paradise monday. 6 hour private tour with Blixie day 1 then next morning walked around on our own. After you get off ship the first time, it is very fast the second time. my impression is the paperwork is a formality and that they are really not too concerned about it. BTW, a private tour was 20% of the cost of the ship tour.

[Dckamme]

yes, just came off paradise monday. 6 hour private tour with Blixie day 1 then next morning walked around on our own. After you get off ship the first time, it is very fast the second time. my impression is the paperwork is a formality and that they are really not too concerned about it. BTW, a private tour was 20% of the cost of the ship tour.

 

 

 

Excellent! Thank you :) we may look into blixie, we were looking into Havanaclassiccar tours or something like that

 

 

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[KWoo1985]

we just came back from the cruise and we had an amazing time, specially in cuba, its so different than anything else. We took a tour operated by a cuban young woman (duramis) and she spoke english very well. She knew about the “support for the cuban people” category and she designed our two day tour to meet this category. If anyone wants her information (email) send me a message. Just by taking her tour, we are supporting the cuban people and not the state.

 

We visited fusterlandia, 2 private paladares for lunch (1 ea day), old havana, the cuban christ, el morro, house of cuban people, the capitol, revolucion plaza and a tabaco factory. All in old vehicles from the 50’s that had air conditioning.

 

Dont let rci scare you that you cant use the support for the cuban people category, that is illegal, by law you can go with this category with no pre approval. We didnt have to provide an itinerary anywhere.

 

if you are willing to share, i would love the contact information for the guide you went with. I'm new to cc, and couldn't figure out how to "message" lol. :)

[Tapi]

We sailed on the Empress of the Seas in July. We had 14 family members, all with the same plans ashore in Havana. I’d told everybody to check “support for the Cuban people” in their travel certification form. At check in, everybody got their visas without question except for a family of 4 who were told that was wrong and that they had to select option 2 because one of the activities was a private excursion. They said “whatever” and changed it to what the agent wanted.

 

The way I look at it, if you have one excursion that fulfills the time requirement for option 2, then mark that. But if, like in our case, the excursion is just one of the several things that is planned, then mark option 4; Support for the Cuban People.

 

In any case, and as others have said, chances of being audited are low, so don’t stress too much about it.

 

 

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[Grego]

I'm sure that after the hassle factor, our upcoming February voyage there will be a great experience!

[ButterflyGA]

Very interesting post!!! We are going to Cuba in October and I work for an international hospitality company that has a hotel in Cuba. This particular hotel is listed in the "Do not go" list! I was hoping to do a site inspection of the hotel when originally decided to go to Cuba, but I guess now that I know the hotel is "black listed" I cant! Does anyone knows why are these establishments on this list and if there is any "exceptions" like working for the company that represents this particular hotel in Europe? I live in the States so that might be taken into consideration and "black-ball" me too!!! LOL

[rederob]

... I work for an international hospitality company that has a hotel in Cuba. This particular hotel is listed in the "Do not go" list! I was hoping to do a site inspection of the hotel when originally decided to go to Cuba, but I guess now that I know the hotel is "black listed" I cant! Does anyone knows why are these establishments on this list and if there is any "exceptions" like working for the company that represents this particular hotel in Europe? I live in the States so that might be taken into consideration and "black-ball" me too!!! LOL

Who said you cannot go? I am curious about where travellers get this poor advice.

Providing you, personally, make no direction financial transaction at the hotel, you are free to go and do whatever else you want.

There is another travel forum which has discussed these issues in detail if you are interested.