Experience going to Cuba?

I am thinking of taking a cruise to Cuba either this summer or next summer on my 45' NW Trawler. Our plan would be to depart from Palm Beach, FL head to Key West and then cross over to Cuba. I heard Hemingway Marina is the place to stay in Cuba. Please let me know if any of you cruisers out there have had or know anyone that has experience with this. Thanks
Tail Winds,
Capt Mike

drmnj said:

I am thinking of taking a cruise to Cuba either this summer or next summer on my 45' NW Trawler. Our plan would be to depart from Palm Beach, FL head to Key West and then cross over to Cuba. I heard Hemingway Marina is the place to stay in Cuba. Please let me know if any of you cruisers out there have had or know anyone that has experience with this. Thanks
Tail Winds,
Capt Mike

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Cuba

Mike some friends of mine are traveling there in a few weeks and they are flying in through another country. I believe there are rules against direct travel from the US. They have appropriate passport and visa's so while it is legal there are hoops to go through.

Oddly last year a member of their party was denied permission at the last moment for a one week visit over an obscure rule. Her passport I believe was due to expire within 30 days and her travel visa was revoked at the airport because of it. I'll try to get the exact details this next week and forward them to you.

CPseudonym said:

Mike some friends of mine are traveling there in a few weeks and they are flying in through another country. I believe there are rules against direct travel from the US. They have appropriate passport and visa's so while it is legal there are hoops to go through.

Oddly last year a member of their party was denied permission at the last moment for a one week visit over an obscure rule. Her passport I believe was due to expire within 30 days and her travel visa was revoked at the airport because of it. I'll try to get the exact details this next week and forward them to you.

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Thanks

I think Beach House on this forum was there. He has a blog, google beach house trawler Cuba. Also, search this forum, this has been discussed before.

Some day they will let us go!

CPseudonym said:

Mike some friends of mine are traveling there in a few weeks and they are flying in through another country. I believe there are rules against direct travel from the US. They have appropriate passport and visa's so while it is legal there are hoops to go through.

Oddly last year a member of their party was denied permission at the last moment for a one week visit over an obscure rule. Her passport I believe was due to expire within 30 days and her travel visa was revoked at the airport because of it. I'll try to get the exact details this next week and forward them to you.

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The passport issue isn't an obscure rule. The same applies travelling anywhere, often when a visa isn't even required.

There have been several threads on US citizens visiting Cuba. In short, it can be done but the risk is substantial and the penalties, should you be stopped and those penalties be enforced, are severe and expensive. You give very careful thought to making that trip.

We travelled to Marina Hemingway in the early 2000's on a Mirage N37 trawler. Many of you may recall the cover story about our trip in Passagemaker Magazine written by Peter Swanson. It is my opinion he is one of the real experts on travel to Cuba having made several trips since then.

Back when we went, it was perfectly legal to make this trip. It is my understanding you now need a license from the State Department, even when traveling by private yacht. To fly there from another country is not legal without this license (at least not when we went. Two women who had flown from Canada were arrested at the U.S. border upon their return. They immediately answered,"Cuba" when asked what other countries they had visited. Since they could easily book a flight from Canada, they thought it was legal.).

Track down Peter Swanson to get the latest and best advice. I don't recall the name of his website. I'll post if I recall.

We spent a week in Havana. A truly unequalled experience. The people were friendly. Sights unique. Great food.

Swanson's website: wew.cubacruising.net.

Typing on my iPhone got me - correct url: Cuba cruising.

Been there a couple of times on the sailboat, but it has been a while (1996, and 1997). Others have addressed passports, legality, etc, so I will only speak to your question about Marina Hemingway. We had a pleasant stay there, although they had the most awful looking diesel fuel that I have ever seen! It is close to Havana, which is a city well worth visiting. There is also a nice marina at Varadero. I am not aware of any others although there may be some.

Lots of people who want to visit Cuba just go to Mexico first. You can fly from Mexico to Cuba without any red tape. The Cubans do not stamp your passport, so there is no paper trail that you have ever been there.

John

Just because scheduled flights go to Cuba from other countries, as an American, it is still illegal to fly there w/o a license from the State Dept. With a license, you can actually fly from Miami on an almost scheduled charter flight.

rjtrane said:

We travelled to Marina Hemingway in the early 2000's on a Mirage N37 trawler. Many of you may recall the cover story about our trip in Passagemaker Magazine written by Peter Swanson. It is my opinion he is one of the real experts on travel to Cuba having made several trips since then.

Back when we went, it was perfectly legal to make this trip. It is my understanding you now need a license from the State Department, even when traveling by private yacht. To fly there from another country is not legal without this license (at least not when we went. Two women who had flown from Canada were arrested at the U.S. border upon their return. They immediately answered,"Cuba" when asked what other countries they had visited. Since they could easily book a flight from Canada, they thought it was legal.).

Track down Peter Swanson to get the latest and best advice. I don't recall the name of his website. I'll post if I recall.

We spent a week in Havana. A truly unequalled experience. The people were friendly. Sights unique. Great food.

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Thank you for the good advice