Travel warnings issued for Cuba

Travel warnings issued for Cuba are confusing to me.I am slated to go with three girlfriends on the Carnival Paradise in May. I talked to carnival they said they didn't know anything about it. But the US travel advisory board has a level III warning. Is anyone else out there concerned ?

Carnival and Norwegian have made a major commitment to send ships to Cuba...so they are not going to make a big deal about the US Warning...which is primarily based on US Embassy personnel being injured (some permanently) by some mysterious force (go read the warning). Friends of ours (US Citizens) just spent 2 weeks in Cuba (they rented a car and drove all over the island) and had a so-so time. For them to do this they had to enter Cuba via Mexico....and ignore all the US restrictions.

We had thought about taking a HAL cruise to Cuba this year...but decided not to book because of all the restrictions put on cruisers (mostly by the US government). It sounds like cruisers are going to be restricted to only taking cruise line excursions....and with over forty years of extensive cruise experience we detest cruise line excursions.

Hank

We have friends in Cuba now on a cruise and are having a great time.

We have only heard positive things from other friends who have taken these cruises.

I hope they will continue to be offered.

Keith

In January, the US government issued a Level 3 advisory for Cuba. Last week, they looked at the situation again, and issued another Level 3 advisory. It’s pharased as “Reconsider travel to Cuba”, based on what happened to Embassy employees last year. We’re still planning to go later this month, as long as the cruise line is still planning to take us.

The warnings are in regards to the problems that happened at the embassy.....you will NOT be going to the embassy.

Many of us have posted about how wonderful our cruises to Cuba were....go to the Cuba Board to read testimonies. The people in Cuba were friendly and kind....we felt very safe just walking around on our own and on a couple of tours. Go see for yourself, but if you're too afraid, then don't go. But I've been in many other places in the world where I felt unsafe and they didn't have any travel warnings.

US travel advice always tends to be on the overly cautious side (as does the media around the same issue)

Even though I realise the US/Cuba has a history that other countries don't .

You shouldn't worry.

I went in July with my husband. We walked well outside of the touristy area. I never felt unsafe.

So true!

Several countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens visiting the USA.

Should you be concerned?

Which countries issued the warnings? For the whole of U.S.,,,,, from sea to shining sea? O r is it specific cities/ states?

I do not know about whether the warning is still there but the UK has issues safety warnings about travel to Miami in the past. More than once.

We found Cuba to be safe. Safer than any other Caribbean country. We certainly felt safer walking around Havana at night that we did in any large NA city.

Thanks for answering.........

When I was dealing with a UK travel agent a few years ago on a Greece trip she asked me about a few cities which, according to her, we on a travel advisory list. UK agents were sending folks to Florida in the summer. Mostly people with children. Some people were concerned about the high crime rates. The travel advisories were a result, so she said, of the murder rate. It was just about the time two British tourists were murdered in Miami.

I think that we are used to looking at other countries as potential travel risks. We may not realize that this is how others sometimes view parts of North America. No doubt some of the people in those countries are just as surprised as we are when we see warnings about NA.

From the UK:

"Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in the USA. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners."

"UK health authorities have classified the United States as having a risk of Zika virus transmission in Florida, Texas (Cameron County and Hidalgo County only), Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands."

"You should be alert to the dangers of car and street crime."

"The Atlantic hurricane season normally runs from June to November and can affect US coastal regions."

"Snow storms during winter can cause delays and cancellations throughout airports in the USA." https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa

Two years ago:

https://www.usatoday.com/amp/88458238

Government travel advisories are common for war-torn, disease-ravaged nations, but a growing number of countries are warning their citizens about taking trips to the United States.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahamas, France, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Germany are among those urging caution to U.S.-bound travelers. The concerns include mass shootings, police violence, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT attitudes and the Zika virus.

They'll be adding unsafe infrastructure too.