Armonia Cuba policies

Sorry if this is the wrong board, I am looking for info on cruising to Havana from Miami. I have read on the MSC website that you can not get off the ship unless you have a tour. Is this correct? I know Holland and Royal Caribbean let Americans off the ship if they just want to walk around on their own. Does anybody know for sure about this? Thank you.

I would assume that once you have the relevant visa, there should be no problem.

As an FYI, we have 2 MSC excursions for Havana as part of a sales promotion which include the visa.

As per the FAQ section on MSC USA website you can not get off

the ship unless you are on a shore excursion.

Link: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Discover-MSC/MSC-Cruises-Cuba-Program.aspx

scroll down to question "Can I explore Cuba on my own ?"

They seem to be all over the place with what you can do.

The MSC Cruises Cuba Program says: "In order to disembark in Cuba, you will need to purchase a shore excursion through MSC Cruises as part of the People-to-People program."

However, in the FAQ, they indicate that you can purchase third-party People-to-People tours or otherwise certify that you're travelling under one of the other 12 authorized categories (some third-party tours advertise that they qualify as "support of the Cuban people" which, arguably, you could also do on your own).

Only those inhabitants from the USA have to be on an organised tour, not sure about Canadians.

On our "3 times in Havanna" cruise with the Armonia some weeks before nobody needed a tour or a visa to get off the ship. Just the annoying tourist tarjeta. But I guess even having numerous nationalities on board there were zero US pax.

On our "3 times in Havanna" cruise with the Armonia some weeks before nobody needed a tour or a visa to get off the ship. Just the annoying tourist tarjeta. But I guess even having numerous nationalities on board there were zero US pax.

I'm guessing a lot of this will be ironed out once the Armonia starts sailing to Cuba from Miami. I've seen mixed messages about whether MSC will provide the visa for US pax (for a fee) or whether we have to secure it on our own.