saranda02 Posted June 2, 2019 #1 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Hi All! Super excited to tour Cuba in August on MSC Armonia. MSC is telling us we have to buy port excursions (both days) through MSC to fulfill the visa requirements. They said we are not free to wonder off the ship without a booked excursion purchased through them. I was going to reserve a tour through Blexie but was told this information through MSC representative. Can anyone confirm or tell me if I can just wonder off with our group and explore Havana on our own? Thanks in advance for the info 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted June 2, 2019 #2 Share Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) No, you don’t. We booked a walking food tour (Saturday) and a 3 hour classic car tour (Sunday) i booked it independently. Www.foodtourshavana.com Edited June 2, 2019 by EngIceDave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saranda02 Posted June 2, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted June 2, 2019 29 minutes ago, EngIceDave said: No, you don’t. We booked a walking food tour (Saturday) and a 3 hour classic car tour (Sunday) i booked it independently. Www.foodtourshavana.com Thanks EnglceDave! It looks like that website is down or isnt working. 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted June 2, 2019 #4 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I think I got it right. Food tours Havana or Havana Food Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saranda02 Posted June 2, 2019 Author #5 Share Posted June 2, 2019 9 minutes ago, EngIceDave said: I think I got it right. Food tours Havana or Havana Food Tours Maybe its this one? https://www.foodtourshavana.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizinvan Posted June 2, 2019 #6 Share Posted June 2, 2019 We had wonderful two days one evening with Fer tours. Elvis was our guide and drivers Carlos(2) and Miguel. One hardtop, two convertibles, great food just not enough time!:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted June 2, 2019 #7 Share Posted June 2, 2019 27 minutes ago, saranda02 said: Maybe its this one? https://www.foodtourshavana.com/ Thats it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted June 2, 2019 #8 Share Posted June 2, 2019 By the way, look for my thread “LIVE from the Armonia” I wrote a review in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saranda02 Posted June 2, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, EngIceDave said: By the way, look for my thread “LIVE from the Armonia” I wrote a review in there Read the thread. Great information about the ship and your Havana Tour. Thanks for the informative review. I've only been on the MSC Davina and am looking forward to all the ports on this Armonia cruise. I sure hope they don't cancel any ports. I think the group has decided to do the first day excursions from MSC then the evening and next day on our own. Our excursions through MSC should fulfill the requirement for Visa. Edited June 2, 2019 by saranda02 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCTribeFan Posted June 3, 2019 #10 Share Posted June 3, 2019 I did 3 tours in Havana on 5/11 & 5/12. All through Strawberry Tours. Booked a classic car ride for DD & I for $99. Note that it's a ride and if you want a tour guide, that's extra. We just rode and stopped several places. Saturday night, we did the Nightlife Tour (free walking tour) to 3 different bars and a salsa dance lesson at one of them. Drinks from 3CUC to around 6CUC. Next morning, did a 3-hours "free" walking tour of Old Havana. So much less expensive than the ship tours and we were even able to disembark earlier than the ship excursion folks because we docked early and the ship was cleared quickly. I wrote a brief review so it shouldn't be too far down the pages, if interested in the details (and a few pics) of the tours. We checked the "support the Cuban people" option on the document that you're required to fill out (NOT the Visa). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saranda02 Posted June 3, 2019 Author #11 Share Posted June 3, 2019 1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said: I did 3 tours in Havana on 5/11 & 5/12. All through Strawberry Tours. Booked a classic car ride for DD & I for $99. Note that it's a ride and if you want a tour guide, that's extra. We just rode and stopped several places. Saturday night, we did the Nightlife Tour (free walking tour) to 3 different bars and a salsa dance lesson at one of them. Drinks from 3CUC to around 6CUC. Next morning, did a 3-hours "free" walking tour of Old Havana. So much less expensive than the ship tours and we were even able to disembark earlier than the ship excursion folks because we docked early and the ship was cleared quickly. I wrote a brief review so it shouldn't be too far down the pages, if interested in the details (and a few pics) of the tours. We checked the "support the Cuban people" option on the document that you're required to fill out (NOT the Visa). Sounds Fun! Did you use strawberry tours for the "free" tours? Ive contacted them about a private tour for our group. Were you on MSC too? Was there any problems putting "support the cuban people" on your document? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCTribeFan Posted June 5, 2019 #12 Share Posted June 5, 2019 Well, this is probably all moot now. So glad I went when I did! The car tour isn't free but the others were a tip-the-guide sort. Tipped the girl on the Sunday tour more than the bar crawl because she gave all that historical info. The other girl just led us from one bar to the next although she was very nice and answered questions. Also tipped the driver. I think Strawberry's website stated that their tours qualified for "support the people" category. I did attend the CD's talk prior to arrival in Havana and he stressed that it should be the People-to-People option, but that's not any more valid than stressing that a ship's tour is best. Just so sad that I'll probably be cancelling my cruise for next spring that was going to Havana. I wanted to do the food tour and get a taxi over to the castle/fort. 😥 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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