lobolady

We are scheduled on this cruise of the Columbia/Snake River. Apparently they are still sailing. But what are they doing about excursions? So many attractions are closed. Anyone on a recent cruise? We are waiting a bit to decide on changing the cruise.

Pioneer Square. There is a walking tour of the "seedy" underground of Portland. Powell's Book Store. We are staying downtown after the cruise.

Thank you! Looking forward to using them. His confirmation said the Shipwrecked in Havana tour would be $120 USD - does that mean he wants us to pay in US dollars? I was going to ask him beforehand.

Cubans can have US dollars legally now so if he said USD then I would expect his guide can take them. We were quoted in CUCs. Fernando is the broker but he is not in Cuba unless something changed. More of the guides and stores are taking dollars but some guide services are now asking to be paid in advance. We weren't offered a Shipwrecked tour. Sounds like as the cruises are getting more common they are adding new ones. Enjoy!

We used FerTours and had no problems. When you board the ship at check in you sign the paper saying you are doing organized tours and check Support for the Cuban people. No one asked any questions after that. You are responsible for keeping the form for 5 years and keeping some log of what you did (the itinerary is probably sufficient). You can't eat at government restaurants (but no one does--the food is horrible) or stay at a state owned hotel (you are staying on the ship). Mainly the US president wants to keep you from just sight seeing or going to the beach. If you are doing cultural things you should be fine. But again, no one ever asked.

Azamara says shore excursions are small, limited to 25. But the buses uses in Cuba are the big buses, they said when I asked about bathrooms on the bus. So are the buses not filled?

Interestingly my travel agent was able to switch me from OBC to getting a rebate check after the cruise. Without being able to use OBC for excursions I would never have used it all so this is a much better option.

We are booked on the March 19th Cuba & Grand Cayman voyage. If I book our shore excursions now, will I be able to change the payment from my credit card to OBC prior to the sailing or when we are onboard? I would like to book the excursions in the next few weeks as I'm a bit concerned that the shore excursions for Cuba are rather limited. Is it possible that Azamara will be adding excursions? It appears from Bonnie's posts on CC, that we should be able to change our FOP to our OBC. Is this correct? I'm sorry if this subject has been addressed in the past. However, I could not find an answer to the question for March 2018 cruises.

We booked with Fertours2cuba. The receipt indicates his tours comply with the regulations and he seemed to be very knowledgeable about them. On the form you fill out you will indicate you are doing Support for the Cuban People. His information makes it clear he is not connected in any way with the Cuban government and is not on the prohibited lists. Originally I wanted to use a friend of a friend but decided not to as she is not a business, just does tours for people she knows. If we had booked prior to 6/16/17 she would have been okay but I don't know that I could certify that she meets the current regulations. We also booked some tours through Azamara and my understanding is that you just check all of the boxes that pertain to you.

I am so confused on these Trump government rules for traveling to Cuba. We will be on Norwegian Sky April 16th, 2018 going to Cuba. We booked our cruise on September 28, 2017. Can we or can we NOT booked with a tour company and not the ship excursions. Only one is the Classic car tour only holds 2 people on the Norwegian excursion, but there are 3 of us. If we can could someone that has been since the new rule went into effect tell me if you used a tour you found on the web and who was it with. Thank you so much.

We found a couple of tour companies that should work. We'll probably do one with the cruise company and one with the guide. The Cuban tour agencies seem to know these guidelines. I had talked to a woman who toured some friends but she is not licensed so we can't use her. But someone who booked before June 16 could if anyone wants her contact.

This is a US government requirement. Even if a Cuban tour agency or tour guide is aware of the brand new requirement, how would they know? (Probably though, most private individuals, because they work for themselves and not the government, would be OK.) Eventually the US government should publish a list of who can't be used.

 

 

 

 

 

I'll try to post a list of private tour guides as soon as I can.

How did they try to force you on their tours? I would also like to know if they offered additional tours, beyond what was shown on their website, once you are onboard. I think their tours are reasonably priced but for various reasons we prefer to take private tours. My husband has health issues and we don't enjoy the tours with a bunch of people. Are the Azamara tours on larger buses? Also we don't like starting our day at 7:00 a.m. LOL. Thanks for your input.

Azamara Quest. What line are you traveling on? Azamara was trying to force people on to their tours, so be prepared if that is who you are cruising with. They didn't hassle us though.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

No problems with the US regulations if you are using this tour company? I really don't want to do only cruise line tours and we are in Havana for 3 days/2 nights. Thanks.

Are people able to find third-party vendors for excursions?

If there is a blanket visa for the ship, you have to stay with the excursion. Usually you can go ahead and get your own visas. We did this in Russia. However, the US requires that you do things that are "people to people" cultural and historical. You can't just go to the beach. By law if you go on your own you certify that you are complying with the law. You are supposed to keep records of what you did for 5 years.

Ship - Navigator

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8226

Stateroom Category – D2

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Very quiet. Near the end of the hall with no cabin across from it.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None specific to this cabin.

Any other comments? - RCI seems to be cutting costs. No toiletries except some body wash in a dispenser. Only 2 bath towels per cabin. Probably could have requested another but rarely saw the steward.

The cabin was close to the front elevators and up from the theater and down from the spa and the solarium. Very far from the dining options.

We are on the second after refurbishment. Hope all goes on schedule!

We've been to Cozumel several times so this time I wanted to go birding. Tours Plaza was recommended not because they are a nature tour company but because they had taken other birders to some good sites. Leo was waiting for us when we got off the boat. He pointed out a few birds on our way to Cozumel Country Club. The golf course is an Audubon Sanctuary. He negotiated for us to rent a gold cart to go around the course looking at birds. Then we went to the undeveloped side of the island. Amazing views! The price was set in advance and was very reasonable for a good driver, clean, safe car, and security. While Cozumel is relatively safe, it was nice to know I could leave my cameras and other stuff in the car while we went for drinks. Leo was a great driver and we would definitely use Plaza Tours again.

Thanks!

We've been to Cozumel many times so this time we'd like to go birding. We don't want to rent a car and go on our own. Does anyone know a birding guide they would recommend? Thinking of hiring for 3-4 hours. We'll be there in January on NCL Jewel.

How weird. After you had paid? Glad they did it early but that seems so strange. Once they have sold the spot, they've sold the spot.

I'm with SSB, confirm.

 

I booked our parking with Galveston Park N Cruise back in July, they cancelled me in September. Their email to me states they were going to be cancelling parking for clients on some of the Disney cruises.

 

There is another thread on this subject - called best parking in Galveston, where someone on a Princess cruise shared they were cancelled after the fact too. And another poster shared a response from the parking lot when they questioned the cancellings - and the response was that they were canceling all Disney parking after November as it was their busiest season - and they could not coordiante 5 ships. So it's not first come first serve, Carnival & Royal Caribbean sailings are getting priority.

We are considering taking the Conquest for Key West, etc. in November. It's the week BEFORE Thanksgiving week. How likely is this cruise will have lots of kids and teens? We've pretty much sailed NCL since 2001. Hated our last Carnival cruise which was, admittedly, over 25 years ago. Thanks.