Cuba Visa's?

Doing a NCL short cruise to Cuba in May.. ,, Is everyone required to purchase the Visa for $75.00 to get off ship and tour Cuba? If doing so, can you walk about freely, or do you HAVE to book excursions thru cruise line??.. totally confused on this subject, thanks in advance.

:rolleyes:

Yes, you need Visas. Yes, you can walk around on your own or use private tours. You absolutely do not need to use the overpriced ship excursions.

Does every nationality require visas?

Yes, you need Visas. Yes, you can walk around on your own or use private tours. You absolutely do not need to use the overpriced ship excursions.

Correct answer. Too bad so many CC posters are passing wrong info.

Hmmm, Royal Caribbean told me today that I have to book the excursion with them in order to get off the ship. If I wanted to walk around on my own, I'd have to get the visa on my own via the embassy (as opposed to the visa from the ship). Is this true? It's all so confusing.

Hmmm, Royal Caribbean told me today that I have to book the excursion with them in order to get off the ship. If I wanted to walk around on my own, I'd have to get the visa on my own via the embassy (as opposed to the visa from the ship). Is this true? It's all so confusing.

There are 76 countries in the world that require Americans to have a travel/tourist visa in order to enter their country! A travel/tourist visa is a conditional authorization granted by a country, to a foreigner, allowing them to enter their country. It's in addition to a passport. Cuba requires ALL Americans to get a visa; not sure if citizens from other countries need to, though.

I don't see how the cruiseline can deny getting a visa for you if they're getting them for everyone else. The only issue could be if you were born in Cuba....ask your travel agent for info on that if it applies. Otherwise, have your agent contact the cruiseline and see why they're trying to bully you. Getting the visa has NOTHING to do with booking excursions!!

There are 76 countries in the world that require Americans to have a travel/tourist visa in order to enter their country! A travel/tourist visa is a conditional authorization granted by a country, to a foreigner, allowing them to enter their country. It's in addition to a passport. Cuba requires ALL Americans to get a visa; not sure if citizens from other countries need to, though.

 

 

I don't see how the cruiseline can deny getting a visa for you if they're getting them for everyone else. The only issue could be if you were born in Cuba....ask your travel agent for info on that if it applies. Otherwise, have your agent contact the cruiseline and see why they're trying to bully you. Getting the visa has NOTHING to do with booking excursions!!

Makes sense! So frustrating. Thank you for the advice. Calling tomorrow!

BTW, this is the form RC requires us to fill out. Seems that I would want to check the "Support for the Cuban People" box in section 4. Does that seem right?

chrome-extension://ecnphlgnajanjnkcmbpancdjoidceilk/content/web/viewer.html?source=extension_pdfhandler&file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalcaribbean.com%2Fcuba%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F11%2FCuba.Guest_.Cert_.Final_.Nov_.14.pdf

located here:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cuba/faq

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"Guests are required to have a visa to travel to Cuba, however Royal Caribbean will facilitate this for our guests at a cost of $75 per person. This fee will be added to your onboard account on Day 1 of the cruise. Each guest will receive their Visa during embarkation in Miami and will be responsible for providing their Visa to the Cuban authorities upon arrival in Cuba. If a guest loses their Visa, they will be able to purchase a new Visa onboard at an additional cost of $75. Should guests opt to remain onboard the ship and decide not to disembark while in Cuba, the purchase of a Visa is not required."

RC says they'll provide the visa to you at embarkation for $75; they can't force you to get your own since this clearly says they'll do it.

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I read the FAQ's and am surprised that they didn't just list the 12 general licenses so you can check one. This is what my cruiseline (Oceania) did. By making you choose one of the 5 boxes, it is a bit confusing and I can see why someone might not be sure which one to choose. If you want to do a private tour or walk around on your own, it looks like Box 2 would be the one. No one will be monitoring you (or any other passenger) to see what you're doing. Just walk off the ship, go through immigration (be sure NOT to smile at the officer and take off glasses or hats) and give them your passport and visa, go to the money exchange booth, then go down the long stairs to the right and out onto the street! Before you leave home, print yourself a map of Old Havana (Habana Vieja) and go have fun!!

"Guests are required to have a visa to travel to Cuba, however Royal Caribbean will facilitate this for our guests at a cost of $75 per person. This fee will be added to your onboard account on Day 1 of the cruise. Each guest will receive their Visa during embarkation in Miami and will be responsible for providing their Visa to the Cuban authorities upon arrival in Cuba. If a guest loses their Visa, they will be able to purchase a new Visa onboard at an additional cost of $75. Should guests opt to remain onboard the ship and decide not to disembark while in Cuba, the purchase of a Visa is not required."

RC says they'll provide the visa to you at embarkation for $75; they can't force you to get your own since this clearly says they'll do it.

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I read the FAQ's and am surprised that they didn't just list the 12 general licenses so you can check one. This is what my cruiseline (Oceania) did. By making you choose one of the 5 boxes, it is a bit confusing and I can see why someone might not be sure which one to choose. If you want to do a private tour or walk around on your own, it looks like Box 2 would be the one. No one will be monitoring you (or any other passenger) to see what you're doing. Just walk off the ship, go through immigration (be sure NOT to smile at the officer and take off glasses or hats) and give them your passport and visa, go to the money exchange booth, then go down the long stairs to the right and out onto the street! Before you leave home, print yourself a map of Old Havana (Habana Vieja) and go have fun!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the link! I took a closer look at the form, and it looks like in Box 4 it lists all the other reasons, and "Support for the Cuban People" is one of them. Argh, they make it purposely confusing. Thanks again. Will get some more clarification and planning tomorrow.

Russian Citizens don't generally need visas to visit Cuba, so why does Carnival indicate everyone needs a visa?

Yes, you need Visas. Yes, you can walk around on your own or use private tours. You absolutely do not need to use the overpriced ship excursions.

How much ARE the ship excursions? Seems to be a big secret. Please tell, per person in US dollars.

You can easily find out the cost of excursions on yout cruise line's website. It's no secret and it's very easy

Google is your friend if you want to research independent tours. Again, easy peasy, no secret, not rocket science.

How much ARE the ship excursions? Seems to be a big secret. Please tell, per person in US dollars.

Just one example: NCL wants $329 for a 3 1/2 hour tour in a classic car and $125 for a 3 hour walking tour, so $454 pp for the two. I have a private tour booked that includes a 3 hour walking tour and a 3 hour tour in a classic car. It is $130 TOTAL for 4 people (we are sharing our tour with another couple), or $33 pp. We will spend $66 for our tour which is almost identical to the NCL tours, which would cost the two of us $908.

'Nuff said?

Just one example: NCL wants $329 for a 3 1/2 hour tour in a classic car and $125 for a 3 hour walking tour, so $454 pp for the two. I have a private tour booked that includes a 3 hour walking tour and a 3 hour tour in a classic car. It is $130 TOTAL for 4 people (we are sharing our tour with another couple), or $33 pp. We will spend $66 for our tour which is almost identical to the NCL tours, which would cost the two of us $908.

 

'Nuff said?

Thanks for that. We booked a private tour and the rate was similar to your's. May I ask on the Visa form did you check box # 2?

When you get off the ship and go through customs do the custom agents collect and keep the visa or do they give it back to you? What do you do if you reboard but get off again later? Will we be in possession of the visa while we are on the ground in Cuba? One of the private tours I am considering asked to see the visa.

When you get off the ship and go through customs do the custom agents collect and keep the visa or do they give it back to you? What do you do if you reboard but get off again later? Will we be in possession of the visa while we are on the ground in Cuba? One of the private tours I am considering asked to see the visa.

Customs takes both halves of the Visa. They take your picture and stamp your passport. We were in port for 2 days. The second day they looked at the passport and the photo they took the day before. You will not have your visa in port. What private tour are you looking at? I haven’t heard of a tour company asking to see the visa before.

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Thank you Kristin,

I was looking at a private home Cuban cooking class that asked for the visa. I’m sure a photo of it would be okay if they keep it.

Immigration may or may not take all or part of the visa depending upon your itinerary, the individual agent and which way the wind is blowing that day. If you think someone is going to want to see it, taking a picture of it is a good idea.

How much ARE the ship excursions? Seems to be a big secret. Please tell, per person in US dollars.

You can check the prices of ship excursions by going into your Cruise Planner. All the excursions will be shown there. Most excursions for our Nov. cruise are in the $100-$150 range.

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Has anyone tried using a green Cuban tourist visa on a cruise, or do the cruise lines insist on passengers having pink tourist visas?

And has Royal Caribbean accepted people already buying their own tourist card and thus not having to buy it from the cruise line?

$75 USD is a lot, I am hoping to save by buying them for say $50 USD, or even $75 CAD. I can go to travel agencies or to the Cuban embassy in my city.

$75 USD is a lot, I am hoping to save by buying them for say $50 USD, or even $75 CAD. I can go to travel agencies or to the Cuban embassy in my city.

The $75US includes the visa AND the required Cuban health insurance. You have to have the health insurance and it sure seems easier to let the cruiseline obtain it for you. I guess you could call the cruiseline and ask how to get the insurance on your own....but that seems like a pain to me. ;)

The $75US includes the visa AND the required Cuban health insurance. You have to have the health insurance and it sure seems easier to let the cruiseline obtain it for you. I guess you could call the cruiseline and ask how to get the insurance on your own....but that seems like a pain to me. ;)

At least with NCL, the cost of the mandatory health insurance was included in the cruise fare. The $75 Visa was separate.

At least with NCL, the cost of the mandatory health insurance was included in the cruise fare. The $75 Visa was separate.

Oceania was even better....$75 was for both the visa AND the health insurance. :D