Very confused about ships tours vs private tours

Do we have to book a ships tour or can we just book a private tour such as Old car tours in Havana?

Do we have to book a ships tour or can we just book a private tour such as Old car tours in Havana?

When is your cruise and when did you book it?

When is your cruise and when did you book it?

We booked the cruise June 17,2017 and the cruise is May 14,2018

You booked after T's announcement. And your cruise is after the new "guidance" is supposed to be issued.

So you will have to wait for that new "guidance" to be issued, and see how the cruise line responds.

(IMO they are likely to take fairly conservative tack to cover themselves legally, regarding the new regulations.)

You booked after T's announcement. And your cruise is after the new "guidance" is supposed to be issued.

So you will have to wait for that new "guidance" to be issued, and see how the cruise line responds.

(IMO they are likely to take fairly conservative tack to cover themselves legally, regarding the new regulations.)

I made a mistake i originally booked the cruise on the ship Anthem of the Seas on June 9th. and then transferred the reservation to my travel agent on June 17th. Does this make a difference?

I made a mistake i originally booked the cruise on the ship Anthem of the Seas on June 9th. and then transferred the reservation to my travel agent on June 17th. Does this make a difference?

IMO the "difference" is going to be that your cruise likely happens after the new "guidance" is issued, so the new regs, whatever they turn out to be, would apply.

To date, I doubt anyone can tell you for certain what they will be exactly, not even DJT or the people he has appointed to work on the task of writing new "guidance". Exactly how the cruise lines will choose to comply with these yet unwritten rules is also up in the air, but (I would speculate) in the most conservative manner, to make sure the cruise line is covered legally.

I would expect you would have to participate in a "full time program of activities" ("full time" has yet to be defined exactly though) that the cruise line will provide to meet the new criteria for P2P. I doubt "full time" is ever going to be defined as 24 hours per day, and therefore you may have some free time to do as you like.

Hope that eases your anxieties some.

IMO the "difference" is going to be that your cruise likely happens after the new "guidance" is issued, so the new regs, whatever they turn out to be, would apply.

To date, I doubt anyone can tell you for certain what they will be exactly, not even DJT or the people he has appointed to work on the task of writing new "guidance". Exactly how the cruise lines will choose to comply with these yet unwritten rules is also up in the air, but (I would speculate) in the most conservative manner, to make sure the cruise line is covered legally.

I would expect you would have to participate in a "full time program of activities" ("full time" has yet to be defined exactly though) that the cruise line will provide to meet the new criteria for P2P. I doubt "full time" is ever going to be defined as 24 hours per day, and therefore you may have some free time to do as you like.

Hope that eases your anxieties some.

I agree with all of this. You can bet the cruise lines' lawyers will be reading the new guidelines carefully and making sure the cruise lines do everything that they must do to be in compliance.

All we can do at this point is wait--and that's driving me crazy!!!!

We booked February 03, 2017 for October 16, 2017 and our final payment is due July 18. We plan to make final pay and then just go with the flo. We have 1 ship's tour booked for arrival afternoon and had hoped to do the remaining time on our own. We decided whatever will be will be. Have plans in place but not booked until we get additional guidelines.

We are planning on booking for Sept 2017 but want to do private tour vs ship tour. Waiting to see what restrictions there are before actually booking. I will keep following on here and hopefully someone will find out and post it.:confused:

Just got back from Havana yesterday (Saturday)and with the new guidelines, nothing has really changed. We did private car tours and took a cab to Hemingway house and had no problem. When you fill out your visa, there was an option of people-to-people, which covers your private tours.

Below was an email from RC...

*ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS*

Dear Valued Guest,

*

Today President Trump announced his administration’s new policy changes for U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, and we are pleased to inform you that we don’t anticipate any changes to our Cuba itineraries. You can expect to enjoy the immersive, unforgettable experience you’ve been looking forward to as we visit Havana, Cuba on your upcoming sailing onboard*Empress of the Seas.

*

As a reminder, please remember to visit*http://www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Cuba*for useful tips to help you prepare for your trip.

*

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean for your upcoming vacation. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard.

*

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

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Just got back from Havana yesterday (Saturday)and with the new guidelines, nothing has really changed. We did private car tours and took a cab to Hemingway house and had no problem. When you fill out your visa, there was an option of people-to-people, which covers your private tours.

 

Below was an email from RC...

*ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS*

Dear Valued Guest,

Today President Trump announced his administration’s new policy changes for U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, and we are pleased to inform you that we don’t anticipate any changes to our Cuba itineraries. You can expect to enjoy the immersive, unforgettable experience you’ve been looking forward to as we visit Havana, Cuba on your upcoming sailing onboard*Empress of the Seas.

As a reminder, please remember to visit* www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Cuba*for useful tips to help you prepare for your trip.

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean for your upcoming vacation. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard.

Sincerely, Royal Caribbean Internationalp

Let's not confuse the situation any further.

There have been NO new guidelines published.

Therefore, nothing has changed.

45 made an announcement on June 16.

He did not sign an executive order, or rescind any executive order.

His announcement included his wishes for changes he would like to see made to policy regarding Cuba.

No fixed timeline for those changes was mandated, just suggested, for various government offices to work on.

Apparently after the new guidelines are published, there will be a 90 day period for commentary before they take effect.

Until the new guidelines are in place, there are no changes to policies for travel to Cuba.

So if I'm understanding you correctly, anyone traveling by cruise through (at least) early November would be unaffected by the changes? I hope that's correct, thanks!!

So if I'm understanding you correctly, anyone traveling by cruise through (at least) early November would be unaffected by the changes? I hope that's correct, thanks!!

For regular land based US travelers, that is likely true.

The cruise lines, however, can do what they deem fit regarding their passengers, perhaps in anticipation of the new guidelines. It does look, though, like cruises might just get special dispensation, at least in order to offer group excursions (buses are mostly owned by the state tourism company under the military tourism agency).

It's really all speculation right now.

thank you... I'll just keep trying to follow the discussion...

Since there are many related threads I thought I'd post this here too.We just returned from a cruise last week to Havana on NCL and booked a private tour with Havana tours with Blexie.Thais was our guide and she as wonderful, spoke fluent english and was very knowledgeable. This was a part walking tour and part tour in a classic car with lunch at a paladar (excellent btw). I would highly recommend Thais and Havana Tours with Blexie. Blexie provided the itinerary in an email (it's been posted on other threads but I can repost if you prefer). The tour consisted of Thais, my husband and me which allowed for a lot of spirited discussion. We saw many groups from the ship at the same places.

I will add my thoughts, having just exited the Carnival Paradise. You can definitely book private tours, and we have nothing but compliments from our private combo walking and driving tour, organized by FerTours. Their web site provides details of options and an email link. For Carnival, their policy was to give priority disembarking to people who had booked through the cruise line. However, we showed them proof of our private tour booking (screen shot of email from tour company), and they allowed us off shortly after the first groups disembarked at about 8:00 am. Be aware that cell phones will likely not work in Cuba, so be sure you have printed off, taken screen shots, or written down any logistical details in advance. Have fun!

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