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Cuba tour guides

gigguy
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gigguy

gigguy

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We are looking for any information and suggestions regarding local tour guides in Cuba. We will be there in November and would like to avoid using the Royal Caribbean Excursions. We will be in Havana and Cien Fuego. Thanks in advance.

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coldinerie

coldinerie

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We were in Cuba September 2018 and used FERTOURS, it was the very best tour we have ever been on, and we have been cruising for 25 years.  We used them for two days and had a fabulous guide for both days.  I never expected it to be so tailored to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do the tour.  We were so lucky to have such a great experience.  I did tell friends who went to Cuba after us to use the company and they too had a great experience. Email to FERTOURS is      fertours@nauta.cu 

 

You will not be disappointed in using them. BTW, got their info from Cruise Critic, message boards, ports sections.  

 

Edited by coldinerie
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TravelerThom

TravelerThom

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There is a LOT of misinformation on meeting US regulations on travel to Cuba. 

RCI requires cruisers to Cuba to fill out their Cuba Guest Travel Certification:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/cuba/cuba-guest-travel-certification.pdf

Prior to 2017 the activity mentioned above was legal as a Self Guided Activity (box 3 on the form), but this is no longer allowed. However IMO it is still legal under Other General License Categories (box 4) followed by checking Support for the Cuban people (31 C.F.R. § 515.574). 

Note that I am NOT a lawyer but I have traveled extensively including to Cuba. Note also that low profile tourists are unlikely to be prosecuted for violations, but no need to violate US regulations if there is a legal way to do it.

 

Thom 

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Jam0610

Jam0610

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Wife and I are booked in Oct. Looked up tour operators that have been suggested, but they are showing "closed at this time".

Think everyone is still waiting for State Department to issue updated regs, on travel.

Guess we will see what happens.

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alfaeric

alfaeric

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We used Tour Republic on our two trips there, and they are still open.  I used to go to the Cuba area, and many others suggested other tour companies that you can use.  

 

For all of these tours, you choose "2. FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN)" from the affidavit.

 

Have fun- we loved Cuba.

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TravelerThom

TravelerThom

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, alfaeric said:

We used Tour Republic on our two trips there, and they are still open.  I used to go to the Cuba area, and many others suggested other tour companies that you can use.  

 

For all of these tours, you choose "2. FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN)" from the affidavit.

 

Have fun- we loved Cuba.

Sorry, but I think this is bad advice on filling out the affidavit. 

 

Box 2 FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN) requires that the activities be offered by a U.S. sponsoring organization. As far as I can tell Tour Republic does NOT qualify as a US. sponsoring organization. Tour Republic itself recommends following the procedure I outlined above using Box 4 and then checking “Support for the Cuban People”

 

https://www.tourepublic.com/help

Can I book an experience as an US traveler? 

Yes, most of our experiences fall within the general licenses approved by OFAC, especially under the Support for the Cuban People general license. However, it is your responsibility as a traveler to ensure that your schedule, including our experiences, are permitted under the license that you're using when traveling to Cuba.

Edited by TravelerThom
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cruisinsusin

cruisinsusin

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13 hours ago, coldinerie said:

We were in Cuba September 2018 and used FERTOURS, it was the very best tour we have ever been on, and we have been cruising for 25 years.  We used them for two days and had a fabulous guide for both days.  I never expected it to be so tailored to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do the tour.  We were so lucky to have such a great experience.  I did tell friends who went to Cuba after us to use the company and they too had a great experience. Email to FERTOURS is      fertours@nauta.cu 

 

You will not be disappointed in using them. BTW, got their info from Cruise Critic, message boards, ports sections.  

 

We had booked with them for our upcoming cruise but were notified by Fernando that unfortunately he was closing his business

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alfaeric

alfaeric

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20 hours ago, TravelerThom said:

Sorry, but I think this is bad advice on filling out the affidavit. 

 

Box 2 FULL DAY-THIRD PARTY PROGRAM (TOURS NOT SPONSORED BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN) requires that the activities be offered by a U.S. sponsoring organization. As far as I can tell Tour Republic does NOT qualify as a US. sponsoring organization. Tour Republic itself recommends following the procedure I outlined above using Box 4 and then checking “Support for the Cuban People”

 

https://www.tourepublic.com/help

Can I book an experience as an US traveler? 

Yes, most of our experiences fall within the general licenses approved by OFAC, especially under the Support for the Cuban People general license. However, it is your responsibility as a traveler to ensure that your schedule, including our experiences, are permitted under the license that you're using when traveling to Cuba.

Ok, well, work with a tour agency that does meet that requirement.  They are not impossible to find.

 

Or use "Support Cuban People"- which has been reported that it's not an acceptable answer at the RCI check in at one point.  

 

Either way, taking a non RCI tour when visiting Cuba isn't an impossible task.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 7:44 PM, EatonDoolittle said:

The recent gov’t crackdown/harassment of independent  guides is a fact. 

However, there is NO factual basis for the PP to say that tourists were involved or detained. 

 

Simply not true. 

 

Tell that to my friend who got to see the inside of a Cuban jail for quite some time.

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