So am I gonna be able to sail to cuba! (Legally that is)

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by amytom

I'm guessing you missed the sarcastic tone?

Perhaps I did. Wouldn't be the first time.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Uh... So far everyone has.

Not quite everyone. There have been a couple of posts that I had to bite my tongue to keep it from going more political.

The snippet that you quoted did not contain any political views at all.
It simply made the (absolutely true) statement that there is little the President can do on his own, and it will take an act of Congress to rescind the travel and trade restrictions.

This I agree with 100%

Again, at this point, what the President has done is mostly a symbolic gesture. A good one. A long over-due one. One that may lead to more meaningful changes in the future. But still, mostly just symbolic. It will be up to Congress to make the really meaningful changes. Until they do, there has been--and will be--absolutely no change at all to our ability to sail to Cuba.

Also 100%

Agree that Obama's announcement was mostly symbolic but it does give public notice to some potential shift in real policy, at least for the common people vs the rich. If you're Jay-Z and Beyoncé then you can fork over $10-20K for a "people-to-people" cultural tour through one of the authorized agencies. Cultural tour my hind leg. Nothing but thinly veiled tourism, pure and simple, just not for you and me.

[Pierre]

Canadians have been able to sail to Cuba for as long as I remember. BUT... It is expensive to pay for all the «inspectors» at the port of arrival and the fees to leave. Most Canadian sailors going south from Florida to the Caribbean (Central America) avoid a stop-over in Cuba for this reason. The other is that we cannot leave Cuba on the way back and go to Florida. We must go to a «neutral» port such as the Bahamas to then access the US. Not very practical. Things may change now... maybe... but lets hope things improve. Nurturing an enemy for 50 years does nothing to heal problems.
Good luck all.

[svfraidknot]

i met a guy here in panama brought his boat to haul and repaint ,, he just came from living in Hemingway harbor for two years on his 107 foot yacht . he never had a problem their the harbor " police" came on board every few months to check his paperwork and solicit a few bucks ..he brought his 23 year old cuban " wife". with him ,, many years ago ,, people fly from panama to cuba every day flights ,, i have never been but is on my bucket list as well

[anacapaisland42]

There goes the neighborhood

[jmschmidt]

You always could sail to Cuba, just ask them for political asylum. Seriously you always could, but well, maybe I won't tell you because it might be illegal for me to advise American citizens how to get around the current law. Suffice to say that the cigar stores in Grand Cayman run cigar tour flights to Havana. The Cubans don't stamp your pass port, they stamp a blank piece of paper and put it in you pass port. You show this when you leave Cuba and throw it away later if you want. This is exactly how people entering Israel with plans to later travel to Arab countries do it. The Israeli authorities have been going along with this for decades.

[anacapaisland42]

The line up of Americans at Cancun airport is quite remarkable.

[Steve1944]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I've not been to Cuba, but seeing as how only Americans are prohibited, I think calling it Virgin cruising territory may be a little overstating it?
I want to go too, when it's legal to do so.

What people forget is that ours is the only country that holds out on Cuba, or did.

From the cigar industry, every other country in the world deals with Cuba. Just not the USA, and we drain those resources as soon as that's normalized. That's with regard to tourism, too. Cuba doesn't need American tourists.

Technically, as soon as there's an embassy, the Cuban customs honors US registrations at their marinas. What else? There's never been a permit for ugly

[Navicula]

its true... Americans fly to Cuba everyday from Mexico or Canada, ....Cuba has always welcomed Americans, but theres no flights from USA at the moment.....You guys are going to love it, for us Canadians the cost will rise 30 percent when its a go.......it will be all about supply and demand...

I will expect big changes in my lifetime...I hope it works out

[IdoraKeeper]

It is with sincere hope for the best that we should greet the opening of relations with Cuba. I suspect that a larger number of apparatchiks than just The Castro brothers must pass on before Cuba will cease defending their revolution. It would be wise if we tempered our concerns over Cuban distain for capitalism with some education concerning the conditions which generated the revolution. I doubt we will be allowed to go any time soon. But it would be great to visit by sail. Meanwhile we will likely witness quite a circus in the USA while we wait.

[captlloyd]

Wow, some of the mis-information and negativity on this thread would fill volumes. The post got better towards the end, when people with actual experience about Cuba spoke-up. I suspect some of the sailors putting Cuba down have probably never been there. I see and hear the same things about Mexico. Normalizing relations with Cuba will be good for everyone and will bring about the end of communism. It is my understanding that tourism is now Cuba's main economic generator. We just need to give this process some time.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Wow, some of the mis-information and negativity on this thread would fill volumes. The post got better towards the end, when people with actual experience about Cuba spoke-up. I suspect some of the sailors putting Cuba down have probably never been there. I see and hear the same things about Mexico. Normalizing relations with Cuba will be good for everyone and will bring about the end of communism. It is my understanding that tourism is now Cuba's main economic generator. We just need to give this process some time.

Communism, and Cuba's repressive government, will die in Cuba when Fidel and Raoul die. Not before, no matter how many tourist visit Cuba. Have fun, enjoy the cheap prices and super cheap labor, but don't delude yourself into thinking you are making things better or worse there for the average non-Party member Cuban. Maybe a little better for the party member Cubans, but that's about it (same as with the tourists and cruisers who go there now from other countries).

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by svfraidknot

i met a guy here in panama brought his boat to haul and repaint ,, he just came from living in Hemingway harbor for two years on his 107 foot yacht . he never had a problem their the harbor " police" came on board every few months to check his paperwork and solicit a few bucks ..he brought his 23 year old cuban " wife". with him ,, many years ago ,, people fly from panama to cuba every day flights ,, i have never been but is on my bucket list as well

Does your friend have pictures of his yacht... Or 23 year old "wife"... Ether one is good...

[Yukon Cornelius]

Originally Posted by Navicula

its true... Americans fly to Cuba everyday from Mexico or Canada, ....Cuba has always welcomed Americans, but theres no flights from USA at the moment.....You guys are going to love it, for us Canadians the cost will rise 30 percent when its a go.......it will be all about supply and demand...

I will expect big changes in my lifetime...I hope it works out

Not true at all. There are daily flights to Havana from Miami. I'm not saying it's easy (or inexpensive) to get there, but 500,000 Americans went legally last year.

HAVANA TIMES 8-7-2013— "Despite an embargo which has now lasted more than fifty years, Miami became the city which reported the greatest number of flights to Cuba this summer.

A recent study on Cuba-bound US flights revealed that, in the course of 30 days of monitoring (from June 17 to July 17), more flights left for the island from Miami than from such major Canadian cities as Toronto and Montreal. The data represents a sample of a study currently being conducted by The Havana Consulting Group, to be completed by year’s end."

[seandepagnier]

I met plenty of people who sailed to cuba. You can request no stamp in the passport so the US doesn't know you were there. Besides, you are allowed to go there, just not allowed to spend money.