sott3

Based on this story from Washington Post, I think you'll still be able to cruise to Cuba. The cruise line would be your licensed tour company. The part about being accompanied by a company representative might muddy things a bit, if the cruise line can't just hand your excursion off to a Cuban-based tour company. I'm sure the cruise lines will post info soon. NCL provided information on their site almost immediately regarding Cuba cruises when the announcement was made.

"Most of the 12 categories of authorized Cuba travel are quite narrow, meaning most Americans don’t qualify. However, there’s one broad category: “people-to-people” travel, under the educational activities category. Americans had been using this category to travel to Cuba even before Obama changed the rules in late 2014, but they had to use a licensed group tour company with a set itinerary and a guide.

Under Obama, ordinary Americans could plan their own itineraries, as long as they would engage in “meaningful interaction” with Cubans in ways that “enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba, or promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities.”

Trump’s Cuba policy again prohibits individual Americans from traveling to Cuba under this broad “people-to-people” category. Once again, Americans must travel through a licensed tour company under U.S. jurisdiction and be accompanied by a company representative. Cuban Americans and others who fit the more narrow categories will still be allowed to travel on their own.

Individuals who had made travel arrangements before Trump’s announcement Friday are allowed to complete their trip under the “people-to-people” category. But for the vast majority of Americans, individual travel to Cuba will now be closed, despite what Sen. Marco Rubio would have you believe."

On the Sky, the only beverage that wasn't free was bottled water. We bought a bottled water package and ended up drinking most of it.

Though Washington Post adds: "U.S. airlines and cruise ships will continue to operate in Cuba under the new regulations." I just wonder what you'll be able to do once you get there.

List of restricted businesses: https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/cuba/cubarestrictedlist/275331.htm

One of my concerns now would be having to take tours with a US-based tour guide. The tours we took in Cuba, though booked through NCL, were led by Cuba-based companies and Cuban guides. If the ability to use Cuban-based tour companies is gone, I imagine it'll be hard for the cruise lines to book excursions. And there goes your chance to book a personal tour with a Cuban-based tour company.

Here is some info from USA Today:

"One of the biggest changes is to restrict "people-to-people" visas that thousands of Americans have used in recent years to travel to Cuba. The U.S. maintains an economic embargo against Cuba that prohibits travel there solely for tourism. Congress allows for Americans to travel only through certain visa categories, including religious, humanitarian, journalistic, diplomatic and business trips.

The Obama administration expanded those categories, allowing U.S. travelers for the first time to book a flight online to Havana, buy a people-to-people visa at the counter of a U.S. airport and then go on their trip.

Now, those travelers will need to be accompanied by a U.S.-based tour guide who must ensure they are engaging in approved activities that help the Cuban people."

I just got back from Cuba on NCL. I agree with others who say doing the whole US -> Euro -> CUC conversion probably isn't worth all the trouble. We exchanged $200 US for CUCs, so we only lost a few dollars on the deal. We actually didn't end up spending much of the CUCs on items and gave it away as tips to drivers and guides. The tours we booked through NCL took us places where they accepted US dollars (such as the rum/cigar store).

We bid $250 to upgrade our porthole room to a balcony room. It seemed a bit high but my better half seemed to regret our decision to skip the balcony in the first place.

Really want to know if I should book with NCL or a private tour company...going in Oct.??

We booked an NCL tour because we were worried about getting off the ship in time to meet up with a private tour guide. But we aren't the daring or adventurous types. We usually book excursions through the ship for the convenience, even though they're overpriced.

Now it appears too late to book a table for 3 or 4 on any of the days at our preferred time. We really don't want to eat dinner as late as 9pm. The person at NCL said I should not book a table for more people than are in my party. We booked a second night at Cagney's just so we'd have a reservation somewhere (since we already paid for the 3-night dining package). I guess we'll go to the restaurant reservation desk when we get on board and see about switching it to Le Bistro.

We are 90 days out from our cruise and can now book restaurants. We already purchased the dining package. No problem booking tables for 2 at Cagneys or the Italian place. But no tables for 2 were available at Le Bistro for any of the four nights of the cruise (at any time). Tables for 1, 3 and 4 were available.

I thought it might be a glitch on the site so I called NCL. No luck there. They suggested we book when we get to the ship, but that seems like an unnecessary hassle. Is those normal for Le Bistro? How good will our chances be to book it when we get to the ship?

Item #4 in the above list looks like good news for those of us who already have a cruise booked to Cuba.

This seems like good news for those who have already booked a cruise to Cuba:

4. How do the changes announced by the President on June 16, 2017 affect individual people-to-people travelers who have already begun making their travel arrangements (such as purchasing flights, hotels, or rental cars)?

The announced changes do not take effect until OFAC issues new regulations. Provided that the traveler has already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to the President’s announcement on June 16, 2017, all additional travel-related transactions for that trip, whether the trip occurs before or after OFAC’s new regulations are issued, would also be authorized, provided the travel-related transactions are consistent with OFAC’s regulations as of June 16, 2017.

Does Havana Tour Company comply with the OFAC rules?

I'm pretty sure any tour you book with a company meets the OFAC requirements, as long as it's an educational tour of some sort. A city tour of Havana would certainly qualify. You self-certify and keep the records for 5 years.

Which excursions are good and not so good? We're going DEC 4th. Thank you!!

We were thinking the Today in Havana and Arts tours would be of interest. But right now we are leaning towards booking this tour independent of RCL:

http://havanatourcompany.com/our-tours/full-day-havana-tour/

It would be a bit more work to get to/from this tour, but the content sounds more appealing and the tour company has very positive reviews on TripAdvisor.

We are doing the 4-night cruise on the Sky in October that includes Cuba. We'd prefer to book shore excursions through NCL than arrange stuff on our own. I can't get a sense about which of the tours would be best. Maybe a tour in the morning and another one in the afternoon. We were looking at:

Today in Havana

Art of Cuba

Panoramic Cuba (if you spend at least some time off the bus)

Link: https://www.ncl.com/excursions/search?Ntk=ShorexDestination&Ntt=Cuba+Cruises

Any input would be appreciated.