Cuba.....uh, oh.

[CruisingFox27]

We're sailing Meraviglia from New York the previous week and booked the Cuba sailing as an add on as it was a VC sailing and very competitive. We're already stateside so it was a great deal, no extra airfare. We'd not booked the flights for  NYC at that time either. I'd rather not do an east or west Caribbean itinerary we've already done. We've 6 months yet for the situation to be sorted. I'd rather cancel and use the money to go somewhere we want to. 

 

An absolute nightmare if your sailing is imminent! All of the airlines and cruise operator's must be desperately trying to find proper answers.

[thecruisers6]

20 minutes ago, CruisingFox27 said:

All of the airlines and cruise operator's must be desperately trying to find proper answers.

I bet Virgin Voyages are frantic!

Another option for MSC would be not to use Miami for Cuba. Just like MSC Opera. 

Such a shame governments around the world don’t trust their citizens to make their own minds up

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

 

Absolutely, and wise.

 

We were on the verge of booking an Azamara Cuba intensive itinerary i.e. all 3 ports with overnights in 2 of them in November 2019. Being aware of the Cuba threads on various cruiseline boards, I posed the question to the TA we were working with. They claimed to be unaware of this, but contacted Azamara and produced the T&C's which state clearly there would be no compensation from the cruise company in the event of sailing a different itinerary. So, booking as a package our flights would have been booked and we could have ended up going (most likely) to the Western Caribbean which we have done and find unattractive compared to Southern and Eastern itineraries.

 

Cuba itineraries carry a price premium, so it would have been ridiculous to end up elsewhere at the price for this cruise. We have abandoned this plan, and now trying to find a YC cabin on Divina which has an itinerary with a couple of new Caribbean ports for us.

Unfortunately, some of us are booked and final payment already done before this mess came up. I wish we could cancel.

[sidari]

Has there been any info from MSC yet ? Or are they doing their usual in keeping quiet.

[Beamafar]

MSC aren't the only ones, Dave.  It seems that everyone is playing the 'wait and see' game.  Until there's concrete information, you can't blame cruise lines for not taking action.

[CruisingFox27]

16 minutes ago, sidari said:

Has there been any info from MSC yet ? Or are they doing their usual in keeping quiet.

 

Only a response on Facebook that it doesn't affect the planned itineraries for Armonia or UK travelers, a UK based poster stated they'd had the same response from the call centre. Which sounds very much like those at the coal face have no information either. The situation is being monitored.

 

A poster on the Cuba POC board stated the same information was being given by NCL,that  there are currently no plans to amend itineraries. Additionally, another poster stated they'd looked and all of the cruise operators were still offering Cuban sailings.

[mickey89]

You can still go to Havana avoiding the states.

MSC Opera home ports there offering 7 and 14 night cruises this winter and plenty of flights UK to Cuba.

[Beamafar]

3 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

You can still go to Havana avoiding the states.

MSC Opera home ports there offering 7 and 14 night cruises this winter and plenty of flights UK to Cuba.

 

For those who've made airline and hotel arrangements for Miami, it's not a goer, Mickey.  Not to mention non-refundable deposits or even full payments made for Armonia.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Beamafar

[mickey89]

1 minute ago, Beamafar said:

 

For those who've made airline and hotel arrangements for Miami, it's not a goer, Mickey.

I thought I read that some are holding off booking flights and looking for alternatives.

[CruisingFox27]

There are a variety of circumstances for people Mickey, with varying degrees of arrangements booked and/or paid for. Particularly dependent on how imminent your sailing is.

Edited April 27, 2019 by CruisingFox27

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, mickey89 said:

I thought I read that some are holding off booking flights and looking for alternatives.

 

I agree ... that alternative has been around for some time.  We almost booked it for last year, but flights to Cuba (for us) are a pain.

We were fortunate enough to do the Armonia itinerary earlier this year.

[mickey89]

Agree that why we book via the US - refundable deposits are a must

 

[hamrag]

5 hours ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Unfortunately, some of us are booked and final payment already done before this mess came up. I wish we could cancel.

 

Yes, I feel really sorry and actually know how disappointing it will be. Same happened to us a few years ago for a Bermuda cruise, and they changed the itinerary and went to Port Canaveral and Nassau instead....I cannot think of a worse ports of call than either of these!

[sidari]

3 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

Yes, I feel really sorry and actually know how disappointing it will be. Same happened to us a few years ago for a Bermuda cruise, and they changed the itinerary and went to Port Canaveral and Nassau instead....I cannot think of a worse ports of call than either of these!

I can, Freeport!

[abbeytravelstheworld]

I'm going to be so disappointed if Cuba gets cancelled from the itinerary. We're on Armonia for a 2 week back to back out of Miami on June 17th and picked this purely because we end up with 4 days in Cuba. We're coming all the way from New Zealand so i'm not sure what we'll do if it's cancelled. I sincerely hope if Havana is pulled from the itinerary there will be full refunds offered so we can just do something else while we're away - we have a 10 month old travelling with us so this seemed like the easiest option!

[LaCal]

57 minutes ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

I'm going to be so disappointed if Cuba gets cancelled from the itinerary. We're on Armonia for a 2 week back to back out of Miami on June 17th and picked this purely because we end up with 4 days in Cuba. We're coming all the way from New Zealand so i'm not sure what we'll do if it's cancelled. I sincerely hope if Havana is pulled from the itinerary there will be full refunds offered so we can just do something else while we're away - we have a 10 month old travelling with us so this seemed like the easiest option!

They won’t be offering full refunds...If they have to stop going to Cuba they’ll replace the port with something else 

[abbeytravelstheworld]

Considering the cruise is officially called CARIBBEAN, CUBA AND ANTILLES CRUISE" if they no longer visit Cuba it's a huge change considering it makes up 4 days of the  itinerary. It would be a real shame not to get a refund on that basis. I'm hoping whatever is going on it just takes them a few more months to push everything through and we're safe!

[hamrag]

11 hours ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

Considering the cruise is officially called CARIBBEAN, CUBA AND ANTILLES CRUISE" if they no longer visit Cuba it's a huge change considering it makes up 4 days of the  itinerary. It would be a real shame not to get a refund on that basis. I'm hoping whatever is going on it just takes them a few more months to push everything through and we're safe!

 

I agree it's a huge change, but I suggest reading the T&C''s...they will confirm what LaCal hos posted!

[Beamafar]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

 

I agree it's a huge change, but I suggest reading the T&C''s...they will confirm what LaCal hos posted!

 

I, too, agree.  If (or when) the itinerary changes, it won't be MSC's fault, so they're under no obligation to offer refunds.

[thecruisers6]

What I find astonishing is that this very site, are still selling Cuban cruises from the US. 

You can book MSC, RC, Carnival & NCL to depart in May!

Have we all missed some sort of deal being struck by the cruise lines with the US authorities?

 

 

[LaCal]

28 minutes ago, thecruisers6 said:

What I find astonishing is that this very site, are still selling Cuban cruises from the US. 

You can book MSC, RC, Carnival & NCL to depart in May!

Have we all missed some sort of deal being struck by the cruise lines with the US authorities?

 

 

They’ll keep selling cruise until there’s a Official Announcement with a actual Stop date 

 

Last time I read it took some months and then people who already purchased cruises were grandfathered in 

[8420PR]

My understanding:

- the announcement was made during a week (Müller report publication) where the White House was looking for a distraction...  It wasn't particularly clear, and maybe more huff and puff than fact.   Unfortunately 'veiled tourism' was specifically called out by the national security advisor.

- The last time the Trump administration changed Cuban travel rules, only travel booked after the new restrictions was impacted (so existing booking could be OK).

- Travel in the category 'support the Cuban people' could still be allowed, and MSC automatically includes 2 people to people excursions included in all bookings, which will meet the US requirements.

 

So hopefully cruise passengers with existing bookings are not impacted (at least in the short term), but of course it is fully dependent on how the US Government enacts the White House changes.  For all cruise lines, it is a case of waiting for the Office of Foreign Assets Control to publish the changes.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

38 minutes ago, 8420PR said:

My understanding:

- the announcement was made during a week (Müller report publication) where the White House was looking for a distraction...  It wasn't particularly clear, and maybe more huff and puff than fact.   Unfortunately 'veiled tourism' was specifically called out by the national security advisor.

- The last time the Trump administration changed Cuban travel rules, only travel booked after the new restrictions was impacted (so existing booking could be OK).

- Travel in the category 'support the Cuban people' could still be allowed, and MSC automatically includes 2 people to people excursions included in all bookings, which will meet the US requirements.

 

So hopefully cruise passengers with existing bookings are not impacted (at least in the short term), but of course it is fully dependent on how the US Government enacts the White House changes.  For all cruise lines, it is a case of waiting for the Office of Foreign Assets Control to publish the changes.

Not every booking comes with the excursions. I've read notes from some that didn't and I'm pretty sure, ours don't. I don't expect a full refund but something to sooth us for skipping Cuba if it comes to that.

[NCTribeFan]

Don't think the US-booked sailings come with excursions.  Mine didn't.

 

I'm hoping that since no one has posted that the current sailing itinerary has been changed that we'll be okay.  I do hope so!

 

I did a lot of reading and was assured that you do NOT have to book one of the cruiseline's excursion for it to be considered a People-to-People excursion.  I'm relying on that and hope that hasn't changed, either!

 

Now to go back and find the thread and post showing just how to fill out the Visa application!

[Beamafar]

You definitely do not need to book a ship's excursion.

 

Here's a link to the thread (and page) you're looking for:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2631573-notes-from-armonia-miami-havana-jan-2019/page/5/

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Beamafar