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Cuba.....uh, oh.

goosemay

By goosemay,
in MSC Cruises

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  • 2 weeks later...
NCTribeFan

NCTribeFan

Posted
Posted (edited)

Got home last night at about 10:15 after hours of sitting in the airport in Ft Lauderdale.  I'll probably try to write up a quick review at some point but I'm back at work this morning, so not sure when.

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and Cuba was marvelous!  On Saturday night, DD & I were sitting on a short stone wall waiting for our Strawberry (free) Nightlife Tour to start at 8 pm and I looked at her and said "it's Saturday night and we're in Havana!!" and we both just laughed.  It was great.  I want to go back and I want to go now!

Edited by NCTribeFan
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Asecert

Asecert

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Got home last night at about 10:15 after hours of sitting in the airport in Ft Lauderdale.  I'll probably try to write up a quick review at some point but I'm back at work this morning, so not sure when.

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and Cuba was marvelous!  On Saturday night, DD & I were sitting on a short stone wall waiting for our Strawberry (free) Nightlife Tour to start at 8 pm and I looked at her and said "it's Saturday night and we're in Havana!!" and we both just laughed.  It was great.  I want to go back and I want to go now!

 

How was the Strawberry Nightlife tour?  We will be on the Armonia sailing this Monday and we have both the Strawberry Nightlife and Food tours booked.

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NCTribeFan

NCTribeFan

Posted
Posted

I'll cover the tours when I write my review but since you're leaving soon, I'll just say I enjoyed our tours with them.  The car tour was fun (although the driver tried to kill us by spinning out in the rain!).  The Nightlife tour was fun (3 bars with a Salsa dance lesson at Bar #2).  The Old Havana walking tour (3 hours from 10 am - 1 pm) was OK - very hot out there - it was really a "tour to 4 squares" with a bit too much hiking between them and not enough strolling w/time to take photos of what we were passing, then standing for 10 minutes listening to too many historical details.

 

These days, we can all look things up online and read the details of the history from the comfort of our sofas after we return home, whereas we won't get the chance to snap pics of cool buildings/cars/graffiti/food etc if we don't do it while we're there.

 

But "free" is good!  I would book with them again.

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FGJones

FGJones

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

Next time, I'll do the HOHO bus, Strawberry's Food Tour, and get a ride in a CoCo(nut).  And get over to the castle/fort.  So much more I want to see and do!

 

I’m signed up for a tour of the fortress. I’ll

do some digging myself but dose anyone know the hours of the HOHO bus? 

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  • 2 weeks later...
CTurtlelvr

CTurtlelvr

Posted
Posted (edited)

This doesn't look too promising....

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/04/politics/us-cuba-travel-restrictions/index.html

 

The US announced major new restrictions on US citizens traveling to Cuba on Tuesday, blocking the most common way Americans are able to visit the island -- through organized tour groups that license US citizens to travel automatically -- and banning US cruise ships from stopping in the country.

Edited by CTurtlelvr
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CTurtlelvr

CTurtlelvr

Posted
Posted

We might be ok, if they stick with this: The Treasury Department in a statement clarified that "certain group people-to-people educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to June 5, 2019."

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AerynSun_JohnCrighton

AerynSun_JohnCrighton

Posted
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Just now, CTurtlelvr said:

We might be ok, if they stick with this: The Treasury Department in a statement clarified that "certain group people-to-people educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to June 5, 2019."

Hope so. The other thread someone quoted an article with ships won't be able to get license/permit. 

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EngIceDave "Live from...." Rare

EngIceDave

Posted
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“Cruise ships as well as recreational and pleasure vessels are prohibited from departing the U.S. on temporary sojourn to Cuba effective tomorrow,” the Commerce Department said in a statement to The Associated Press.

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted

This sounds the death knell for any cruise line ever sailing to Cuba again from the US (for many years to come, anyway).  They're never going to trust the US government not to pull this one again if the policy gets rescinded.

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sidari

sidari

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Beamafar said:

This sounds the death knell for any cruise line ever sailing to Cuba again from the US (for many years to come, anyway).  They're never going to trust the US government not to pull this one again if the policy gets rescinded.

Also odd that MSC have cancelled the Opera sailings out of Havana from January 18th 2020 being one of if not the first cruise line to offer cruises there.

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Kingofcool1947

Kingofcool1947

Posted
Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, CTurtlelvr said:

We might be ok, if they stick with this: The Treasury Department in a statement clarified that "certain group people-to-people educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to June 5, 2019."

You will not be ok if you are an American citizen and hold an American passport.

Your cruise itinerary may change to port of calls in Haiti or the Dominican Republic.  I have read both are beautiful and very safe for tourists (cruisers).

Good luck and happy sailing.

Edited by Kingofcool1947
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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, sidari said:

Also odd that MSC have cancelled the Opera sailings out of Havana from January 18th 2020 being one of if not the first cruise line to offer cruises there.

 

That is a strange one.  I wonder if it's politically motivated. 🤔  MSC has been homeporting out of Havana for a number of years.

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sidari

sidari

Posted
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18 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

That is a strange one.  I wonder if it's politically motivated. 🤔  MSC has been homeporting out of Havana for a number of years.

I believe it may well be because the decision was taken a while back, in fact shortly after it was first announced that Cuba cruises were under threat.

A letter posted on Facebook today to someone affected by the change says that the decision included something which was out of their control.

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