Cruises to Cuba

[cruisecheap]

10 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

Thank you.  I am booked under a casino rate with a non-refundable deposit, hoping I will be able to transfer that deposit to another cruise.  I booked this back in January, wonder why I did not receive an email when you did?

This was last year when the policy change with Cuba was announced, but not implemented. I believe they will have a similar response this time, but just an opinion.

[LaCal]

Full Cuba announcement now on John Healds site 

Cruises do have a option to cancel their cruise and get a full refund 

As promised here is the news regarding Cuba and the postponement of our cruises to Havana 

Cuba Update - 06/05/19 – 8:00 AM (EDT)

The U.S. government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba prohibiting travel via cruise ship and rescinding certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed U.S. citizens to visit Cuba under the People-to-People program.  Effective immediately, cruise ship travel is no longer allowed and we are required to cancel our visit to Havana. We have replaced our call to Havana with a replacement port to provide our guests with the best experience ashore.  

Guests currently aboard Carnival Sensation’s June 3rd sailing will be calling on Cozumel this Thursday instead of Havana.  We recognize Havana is a unique destination and may have been the reason for the selection of this itinerary.  Along with our apologies, guests will receive a $100 onboard credit posted to their Sail & Sign® Account.

We are in the process of notifying our other guests of their new itineraries and their options, in the order of sailing date proximity.  Mailings for sailings through the end of July 2019 are now in progress and include the following options:

Remain on the sailing and receive a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit (no need to call us if you are continuing with your plans to sail with us) 

Move to another itinerary and receive a US$50.00, per person, onboard credit

Cancel and receive a full refund

We are working as quickly as possible to secure alternative itineraries for the remainder of our Cuba voyages and expect to have information for sailings further out in the next 2-3 days. In the meantime, please check back on our website for further updates.  

We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unexpected change and thank them for their understanding.  We look forward to welcoming them on board a Carnival cruise in the near future.

———-

I realise the disappointment many of you will be feeling. I hope you will continue it to cruise and enjoy the new itineraries we are planning. The crew will be there ready to give you the best of times and loads of fun and you can  enjoy that $100 OBC 

I will be back tomorrow to answer all your questions

Cheers

[xDisconnections]

30 minutes ago, LaCal said:

Carnivals made announcements to people on the Sensation about port changes and No Cuba 

 

Official fleet wide announcement suppose to be out later today 

For $100, I’ll probably allow my mindset of not sailing Carnival to continue. I guess I’m in a lucky situation... my cruise is fully refundable until the end of September and this would have been my first time sailing Carnival in 7 years. For those who know my posting history, they were surprised by my booking selection — and still are just as surprised as I am months later (looking at you @jimbo5544). That onboard credit is really just going to offset the cost of a Cuba cruise down to a short cruise to Nassau.

 

I already booked a replacement cruise over the same dates of my Carnival Victory cruise which will be on Royal’s Independence of the Seas. It’s a much nicer ship and won’t be a three day weekend cruise on Carnival to Nassau.

 

Now it’s just the waiting game and time to sit back and think logistically in regards to which sailing to keep on the books.

Edited June 5, 2019 by xDisconnections

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, xDisconnections said:

For $100, I’ll probably allow my mindset of not sailing Carnival to continue. I guess I’m in a lucky situation... my cruise is fully refundable until the end of September and this would have been my first time sailing Carnival in 7 years. For those who know my posting history, they were surprised by my booking selection — and still are just as surprised as I am months later (looking at you @jimbo5544).

 

I already booked a replacement cruise over the same dates of my Carnival Victory cruise which will be on Royal’s Independence of the Seas. It’s a much nicer ship and won’t be a three day weekend cruise on Carnival to Nassau.

 

Now it’s just the waiting game and time to sit back and think logistically in regards to which sailing to keep on the books.

Sad for that... and also sad for the stoppage (politics aside).  It was on our radar scope and will be again whenever it is reopened.  I was talking to someone in Carnival management last month on this subject and she said they were getting strong vibes this was going to happen.....😞

[katpetal]

Are they also refunding the $75 visa fee, or is that part of the OBC they're giving? 

[CruiseHealing]

Will this mean there is also a ban on Cuban sandwiches from the deli?  I really like those!

[LaCal]

Full Cuba announcement now on John Healds site 

Cruises do have a option to cancel their cruise and get a full refund 

As promised here is the news regarding Cuba and the postponement of our cruises to Havana 

Cuba Update - 06/05/19 – 8:00 AM (EDT)

The U.S. government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba prohibiting travel via cruise ship and rescinding certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed U.S. citizens to visit Cuba under the People-to-People program.  Effective immediately, cruise ship travel is no longer allowed and we are required to cancel our visit to Havana. We have replaced our call to Havana with a replacement port to provide our guests with the best experience ashore.  

Guests currently aboard Carnival Sensation’s June 3rd sailing will be calling on Cozumel this Thursday instead of Havana.  We recognize Havana is a unique destination and may have been the reason for the selection of this itinerary.  Along with our apologies, guests will receive a $100 onboard credit posted to their Sail & Sign® Account.

We are in the process of notifying our other guests of their new itineraries and their options, in the order of sailing date proximity.  Mailings for sailings through the end of July 2019 are now in progress and include the following options:

Remain on the sailing and receive a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit (no need to call us if you are continuing with your plans to sail with us) 

Move to another itinerary and receive a US$50.00, per person, onboard credit

Cancel and receive a full refund

We are working as quickly as possible to secure alternative itineraries for the remainder of our Cuba voyages and expect to have information for sailings further out in the next 2-3 days. In the meantime, please check back on our website for further updates.  

We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unexpected change and thank them for their understanding.  We look forward to welcoming them on board a Carnival cruise in the near future.

———-

I realise the disappointment many of you will be feeling. I hope you will continue it to cruise and enjoy the new itineraries we are planning. The crew will be there ready to give you the best of times and loads of fun and you can  enjoy that $100 OBC 

I will be back tomorrow to answer all your questions

Cheers

[xDisconnections]

11 minutes ago, katpetal said:

Are they also refunding the $75 visa fee, or is that part of the OBC they're giving? 

The Visa fee was charged onboard.

[xDisconnections]

17 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Sad for that... and also sad for the stoppage (politics aside).  It was on our radar scope and will be again whenever it is reopened.  I was talking to someone in Carnival management last month on this subject and she said they were getting strong vibes this was going to happen.....😞

Yep, honestly not too surprised. I was kind of expecting it. I know how much you were looking forward to me sailing on Carnival again. I think I’m going to keep the Victory booked until final payment just in case something changes with Cuba and cancel it a few days prior.

 

Maybe another time...

Edited June 5, 2019 by xDisconnections

[sanmarcosman]

18 minutes ago, CruiseHealing said:

Will this mean there is also a ban on Cuban sandwiches from the deli?  I really like those!

Not at all and Carnival should show I Love Lucy reruns on the big screen of Ricky playing at the Tropicana.

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by sanmarcosman

[ChinaShrek]

What am I going to do with the 50 CUCs I saved from my April cruise?  I was hoping to use them on a cruise to Cuba next year.

[coevan]

10 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Your itinerary may change from visiting Cuba to visiting Haiti and/or the Dominican Republic.   I hear Haiti and D.R. are beautiful, people friendly and welcoming to tourists (cruisers).    Very safe countries for tourists.

So, if you are already booked for a cruise with port call(s) in Cuba, and it is changed to Haiti or the Dominican Republic, will you still go?  Or cancel?

Good luck.

 

 

 

Haiti, safe, seriously? 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/haiti-travel-advisory.html

[davelinde]

4 hours ago, LaCal said:

Full Cuba announcement now on John Healds site 

....  Mailings for sailings through the end of July 2019 are now in progress and include the following options:

Remain on the sailing and receive a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit (no need to call us if you are continuing with your plans to sail with us) 

 

We just got a version of this offer via e-mail for our September sailing.  For our situation I'd say this is a perfectly acceptable compensation, all things considered.  Instead of this being a destination cruise it will just be a get-away to relax.  Between the rate we got by booking a year in advance, the OBC already given and this extra $200 OBC it turns out to be a low budget vacation for us.

 

My hope is that the economic pressure here works and they are able to open the port again in the future, I don't think 90 days is enough for the wheels of diplomacy to turn though so I'm not expecting it fixed in time for this trip.

[panoramaofthepast]

Carnival, RCI and Virgin have cancelled Cuba visits and added different ports. Carnival is offering $100 OBC for missing Havana or full refund. 

[sfaaa]

6 hours ago, CruiseHealing said:

Will this mean there is also a ban on Cuban sandwiches from the deli?  I really like those!

Easy fix. Change the name to Little Havana sandwich and it's all good.

[chadci]

I see they changed ours to Freeport. Haven't been there, but, the other two days are Nassau and Half Moon. Our 10 year wedding anniversary cruise is next year and the cruise where we will become platinum, otherwise I'd probably cancel it. Pretty disappointed, but, also realize it's still vacation and we are so lucky to be able to go no where we go.

[hotsauce126]

6 hours ago, CruiseHealing said:

Will this mean there is also a ban on Cuban sandwiches from the deli?  I really like those!

 

Not unless they're banning cruises from Tampa since that's where the Cuban sandwich originated 

[LostPuppy]

Glad we went when we did.  I think we were on the fourth or fifth Carnival cruise there. Had a great time and fun memories...

 

[Tapi]

7 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Sad for that... and also sad for the stoppage (politics aside).  It was on our radar scope and will be again whenever it is reopened.....😞

I’m considering myself lucky that we did the Cuba cruise last year. It’s been one of the most fascinating destinations that I’ve ever visited. 

[All4fun&fun4all]

We are booked for September of next year so it should be a while before we hear what our new itinerary will be.  Part of me is hoping they keep Key West and maybe add Freeport.  I have been wanting to go to Dead Man's Reef in Freeport.  I love Key West.  Although we are just going to keep our sailing date/ship/cabin.  We picked the cabin because it is unique on the Sunshine (Cabin 10107).  The sailing date falls on our anniversary and the ship leaves from here at home.  Waiting to see what other folks on the Sunshine get rerouted to.

[snchpnz]

7 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

What am I going to do with the 50 CUCs I saved from my April cruise?  I was hoping to use them on a cruise to Cuba next year.

 

This Thursday, June 6th, from 2pm-5pm McDonalds is having a promotion where you can exchange any amount of foreign currency for one of their new “Worldwide Favorites” menu items. That’s probably the most value you’ll get out of your Cuban Monopoly money because I don’t think many banks outside of Cuba accept it as real currency. Or you can keep it as a souvenir to remind you of that one time the Cuban government swindled you out of $50+ dollars in exchange for a worthless piece of paper. 

[EMOSEA]

I got the email 😞

[nybumpkin]

1 hour ago, All4fun&fun4all said:

 Part of me is hoping they keep Key West and maybe add Freeport.  I have been wanting to go to Dead Man's Reef in Freeport.  

I prefer Freeport to Nassau, mostly because of Deadman's Reef.  We booked with Paradise Cove and it was great - they picked us up at the port on time, had all the snorkeling gear ready and gave a talk with their rules and what we could expect to see, and had us back at the port in plenty of time. I love snorkeling from the shore and this was some of the easiest, most rewarding snorkeling I've done.

[cintascruiser]

Ha! I just booked a cruise for Cuba next March the day before the ban. OMG lololol I want to cry and laugh at the same time. 

[cruisecheap]

7 minutes ago, cintascruiser said:

Ha! I just booked a cruise for Cuba next March the day before the ban. OMG lololol I want to cry and laugh at the same time. 

Me too except I was not going until next September. Maybe in 2 or 6 years we will be able to return to Cuba.