MSC Armonia from Miami to Havana

[blaumissoni]

Hello, 

we are a family of Germany and booked a 14  days cruise with MSC Armonia from 4th -18th March.

Has anyone been on the Armonia starting from Miami and  been in Havana?

We have some questions regarding the new regulations:

Do we have to book a tour for everyday staying in Havana and when we want to went off the ship? We are 4 days (in total) it is a bit too expesive for 4 people to book a tour for

every single day... Is it possible to book just one tour in 14 days or at least in a 7 day cruise? and walk off the ship our own ( as the MSC website says this is not possible..)

If so is it allowed to cancel this 2 tours through MSC and book a tour through a local agent?

Can anyone recommend such an agent who meet this requirement of the people to people program?

 

How much is the tourist card fee per person on a 14 days cruise when we arrive 2 times in Havana?

Is there difference of tourist cards (fee) if we are not U.S. citiziens?

 

Thank you in advance for any answers!

 

 

 

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

There's a current thread going that may have some answers in it already.  I'm planning on booking for May and have found it helpful.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2618986-just-off-the-armonia-cubachristmas/

 

[Beamafar]

We are embarking Armonia next Monday.  I can answer some of your questions.

 

You don't have to book excursions for every day.

 

Regardless of where you are from, you will be treated as coming from the US as that is where the cruise originates.  You need to fill out the following form for each person (which was supplied to us by our TA  thru' MSC) and have it when embarking your cruise:

 

Form for Entry to Cuba.pdf

 

If you don't want to do the included excursions, MSC will give you a $50 pp credit towards any other Havana excursions that they're offering.  If you intend on doing an MSC excursion, you just need to tick box #1 "MSC Cruises People to People Program".

 

You can walk off the ship and do your own thing.  If so, you need to tick the box "Support for the Cuban People".

 

You can check out the Ports of Call section for recommendations of tour companies.  One that I found of interest was Cuban Connection Tour who offer a 6 hour tour at a very reasonable rate.  It would meet the "Support ...." program.

 

Visas (tourist cards) are arranged by MSC onboard.  For us (as Irish) I believe the charge is $50 pp and I would assume that it'll be similar for you as EU citizens.  However, as you are doing 14 nights, which entails leaving Havana and then returning, I believe you will need a re-entry visa.  I have seen somewhere that the cost of this is reduced.  If memory serves, it was somewhere in the region of $22 - I'm open to correction on this.

 

 

[cloverose]

We cruised to Cuba from Tampa on Carnival last August. We liked it so much we are going back on Armonia the end of March. As it will be our first MSC cruise, I can not help you there; however, I highly recommend doing private tours through Cubaamongcubans.com. Adrian was our guide for Vinales Valley from Havana. It was wonderful and reasonably priced. If you contact them via their website, they will explain all their options. Their reviews on Trip Advisor are great. We are going to use them again when we go back to see other parts of Cuba. I hope you enjoy your trip!

[blaumissoni]

9 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

 

If you don't want to do the included excursions, MSC will give you a $50 pp credit towards any other Havana excursions that they're offering.  If you intend on doing an MSC excursion, you just need to tick box #1 "MSC Cruises People to People Program".

 

You can walk off the ship and do your own thing.  If so, you need to tick the box "Support for the Cuban People".

 

 

Thank you for your helpful reply.

So it is not necessary that we do the MSC included excursions and just can do excursion with a local agent? 

We can cancell both? 

Where can I find which Havana trip are the MSc included and how much they cost?

Unfortunately I cannot find an information about it on the MSc website. I just read at the internet about it.

 

[blaumissoni]

6 hours ago, cloverose said:

 

Thank you . I will check the website

[Dear_Maria]

Hi blaumissoni, Not overly related to you question as you already have a solid answer from Beamafar. But it seems that we are going to be on the same ship at the same time 🙂

 

Here our roll call if you want to join up, we have managed to organise a meet and mingle too!

  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2558373-msc-armonia-march-4-2019/?tab=comments#comment-56558370

[Beamafar]

57 minutes ago, blaumissoni said:

Thank you for your helpful reply.

So it is not necessary that we do the MSC included excursions and just can do excursion with a local agent? 

We can cancell both? 

Where can I find which Havana trip are the MSc included and how much they cost?

Unfortunately I cannot find an information about it on the MSc website. I just read at the internet about it.

 

 

You can log in to your booking on the website using your name and booking number.  You will be taken to your booking page where you can "Enhance your cruise".  You can check out what excursions are being offered.  However, there will be additional ones offered onboard.

 

In the other thread "Just off the Armonia" there is a post listing the codes and descriptions of the included excursions.  Here's a link;  it should be the first post on this page:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2618986-just-off-the-armonia-cubachristmas/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-56574166

 

It is not necessary to do the included excursions.  As I've said, you can get $50 credit against other Havana excursions (just go to the excursion desk on embarkation day if you want to change - there will be a brochure in your cabin outlining all the excursions being offered in all the ports).

 

You don't have to do ship's excursions at all.  You can DIY the port.  Check out TripAdvisor for things to do.  There are some wonderful night-time shows in Havana.  We've booked Tropicana as it's one of the top-rated venues.  MSC is doing an excursion to this show - perhaps you could use your credit towards that if you do decide not to do the included excursions.

[smeesme]

Another really good tour group is https://strawberrytours.com/havana.  They offer both free group (you tip what you think the tour was worth) or paid private tours both walking and vintage cars.  We used them a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing.  I would recommend asking for Fernando as your tour guide.  Some big pluses that they did:  1) we were late getting off due to the long customs lines but Fernando waited for us and rearranged everything to make sure we got the whole tour.  2) they allowed us to customize the walking portion since we had 2 seniors (1 with a cane) with us and 3) the whole tour was really well done, Fernando knew his city and was so proud to share it with us.

[mexico8]

Smeesme:  Can you tell me what you did differently for the walking tour in Havana.   I have mobility issues and use a mobility scooter and not sure I can do the walking tour part of the tour on my scooter.     I have asked a tour company if I can put my scooter in the trunk and use it for the walking part but they have not answered me.    If you could tell me what you did for the 2 seniors I would appreciate it.

[smeesme]

Mexico8: we just asked Strawberry Tours to reduce the amount of walking and they customized the tour to what we would be able to do.  The tour guide adjusted his speed to allow my parents to keep up.  We did not do the entire tour like they have on the website but it was still a great tour.  If your scooter can go over cobblestone streets, I can't think of anything you wouldn't be able to do.  I would suggest contacting Strawberry Tours and asking them what could be done.  I'm sure they would work with you to try to make something that would work.  The only thing that might be a problem would be fitting the scooter into the vintage car's trunk.

[mexico8]

Smeesme:   Thank you for your reply.  I will ask Strawberry Tours about their tours.   I can use my scooter on cobblestones but it's hard on the back and I would do it for short distances.   Sometimes I wait  in the car while my husband does the walking part  or at a coffee shop or shopping.   I am sure I can arrange something.   My scooter will fold down and usually will fit into decent size trunks.  Those older cars are so big I am confident my scooter will fit.   Again, thank you.