Cuba Travel cancelled by US government

[JXT71]

Is this as impassable as some people are making it seem? It's one of twelve. Sure, it's the most annoying, but it doesn't seem like it'd be too difficult to phrase your reason to visit to fit one of the other authorized categories - even if they did ask for proof.

 

[Wookie]

Is this as impassable as some people are making it seem? It's one of twelve. Sure, it's the most annoying, but it doesn't seem like it'd be too difficult to phrase your reason to visit to fit one of the other authorized categories - even if they did ask for proof.

Most of the other 12 disappeared a year ago. About all that’s left is religion and education if part of a degree program. People to people is also gone.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

We have already bought our airfare and put a deposit down for a late August land-based trip so we should be grandfathered in. I'm a little concerned that a NY Times article stated that trips must be highly organized tours and lounging on the beach no longer qualifies.

There a long time, politically speaking, until late August so lots of changes could happen, but if my trip gets canceled and we have to reroute to a different locale, I'm probably going to throw a full blown, spoiled 3 year old tantrum.

Jay

 

[arcticat99]

AHHHH it is good to be a Canadian

 

[Lorenzoid]

It always has been pretty easy for Americans to circumvent the rules and very unlikely to suffer repercussions ... or so I have heard. I would never advocate breaking a law on a public forum.

 

[caydiver]

Pretty easy for a very long time for Americans to visit Cuba. Fly to Grand Cayman and take CA over to Cuba. They don’t stamp your passport. On our trips we were given a separate piece of paper which we handed in on the way back. My last trip was maybe six years ago. There were signs of American developers/engineers everywhere we went. Guess the rules can be reorganized when it suits certain groups.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Pretty easy for a very long time for Americans to visit Cuba. Fly to Grand Cayman and take CA over to Cuba. They don’t stamp your passport. On our trips we were given a separate piece of paper which we handed in on the way back. My last trip was maybe six years ago. There were signs of American developers/engineers everywhere we went. Guess the rules can be reorganized when it suits certain groups.

Ooh, admitting you broke the law. You brazen lawbreaker.

I’m glad I went before the country opened up to non-Russian development. I wish the people well, though. It’s unfair for people like me to wish them to have to live in a crumbling museum of the 1950s.

 

[caydiver]

Lorenzoid I would have but with more than one passport available it was gray rather than brazen. The British part of my family have many connections who lived/worked in Cuba decades ago. I remember being aghast based on what I learned in “Social Studies”. Apparently the rest of the world didn’t use the same text books! It was extremely sad to see how the embargo affects the poor people but the wealthy have no problems. Makes you really appreciate how easy some of our lives are. Meet truly kind wonderful people.

 

[agilis]

If you happen to go to Cuba, just ask them not to stamp your passport.

I've done this twice, both times flying out of Jamaica.

 

[scubadada]

The Aggressor website now has a posted notice on the Cuba travel page regarding the new regulations.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf

It will be interesting to see how Aggressor deals with this issue. I would imagine a fair number of US reservations have already been paid, or partially paid, in advance, and would be allowed to proceed. I doubt whether non-US reservations alone would be enough to make this economically feasible in the long term.

We'll see how this works out, perhaps the restrictions will not last forever.