but after Castro croaks.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I have so much admiration for the Cuban people and their spirit, for all they've accomplished in spite of the embargo and US condemnation, for all their humanitarian contributions.

"Buena Vista Social Club" has got to be one of my favorite movie soundtracks of all time.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Pandora has a Cuban music station and I love it! (includes the Buena Vista Social Club" soundtrack.)

Have to brush up on my bad Spanish, though.

Beautiful beaches, great food and rum, fine cigars. Sounds like an ideal vacation. Check out some Cuban/Afro-Cuban jazz at night.

Probably not but birders everywhere would freak out big time if someone would report seeing one. And you can be sure someone would.

With the exception of the DR (also on the list) and Haiti, I have been to most every Caribbean island. LOVE the climate down there with the trade winds blowing.

My local paper published this morning that individuals can't go, but private groups can. In the article, it said that the local Chamber of Commerce has already booked a week in May and published the price and ticket contact information. That seems awfully quick. If for no other reason than transportation. We know the airlines will add routes to Havana, but who knows how long that will take (and how much it will cost).

Although there are hotels in Cuba many may not be up to standards for what Americans might like (again they want Corporate USA hotels in there). Hence why it would be the Cruises lines first to invade Cuba because Americans could visit the country for a few hours and then go back to all their fancy surroundings that night.

Me, if I go I want authentic Cuba!

Canadians and Europeans have been flocking there all this time. I have friends who have both flown there and taken cruise ships there.

As for me, no way in hades am I getting on a floating Petri dish. Been on a few cruises in the 90s and consider myself lucky - and I am not about to push that luck. LOL I'll plan to wait until the airlines open up!

You have to have a "legitimate" reason to go. I've had two friends go: one group of friends entered via Mexico as aid workers I believe and the other was part of a photography workshop.

I'm waiting for it to open up so I can fly there without having to pay like $5k or some ridiculous price to gain access.

Yet another all inclusive with nothing much to do off the resort? There are so many boutique properties I want to visit in Central and South America - and this year is either Thailand or Fiji/Tahiti.

Maybe in 20 years when I don't want to get out and see/do as much.

To me that was like just staying at home but hiring someone to do all the cooking and cleaning.

Did it once - and never again. It blows my mind when people tell me they are going to St. Martin and staying all inclusive. With all of the French restaurants and cafes in Marigot? Cray cray!

Sure it tastes like Beer and if you drink enough of it you might get drunk. But in the end will you really enjoy the experience? But when you get a great, well crafted beer it is such an amazing experience because you have flavors to really enjoy and honestly, I don't drink these crafted beers to get drunk but to enjoy the experience.

Papeete, is like Miami with a French accent

I always wanted to visit New Orleans in the 1950's.

I was a toddler, so I remember nothing, but there's a family picture of me when Dorothy Lamour picked me up and sang to me It was at some swanky restaurant..

I also still have a bottle of water & sand that my Aunt took with her ..from Veradero Beach

and my family.

Cuba isn't isolated at all.
There's grand hotels, resorts, cruise liners, etc etc, just like other Caribbean island tourism destinations.
It is America(ns) that are self-isolated from Cuba.

I have been to Cuba 3 times via Cancun over the last 25 years.They don't stamp your passport if you choose, so no hassle when coming home.

So substitute "the Corporations" for the Mafia and it's back to business.

First!

to I'd want to visit Cuba before the corporations took over travel there.

which has been active for 3 years. I used this agency for a solo trip to Istanbul some years back and it was quite reputable and gave good value for the money. Gave me a choice of air carriers (I took Air France), hotels, and optional day & evening activities. I've always wanted to see Cuba - but 2008 wiped out my retirement savings/foreign travel activities. If I could afford it, I would go there with this program.

Re it's Cuba program:

[div class="excerpt"

We are excited about the prospect of improved relations with Cuba. Discovery Tours by Gate 1 is proud to be one of a select few tour operators to have been granted a People to People license by the US Office of Foreign Assets. Entering our third year selling Cuba, our staff and tour managers have the experience and expertise to show you more of the destination for less.

Discovery Tours affords you the opportunity to see Cuba as it is now, and before any potential policy changes inevitably change the experience. Cuba will undoubtedly remain an exciting destination for years to come. But if you want to see the time capsule that is Cuba today, don't wait - book your 2015 educational and cultural exchange to Cuba today. It's the warmest welcome you can imagine, from a country you'll never forget.
9 Day Cuba, Face to Face
Tour Highlights

A full-time schedule of daily people-to-people activities and cultural exchanges, including discussions with locals, visits with artists, musical performances, and more.
Hear traditional Cuban music at the Museo de Artes Decorativos, and meet the amazing musicians.
Learn about Old Havana's restoration projects firsthand from local city planners and architects.
Witness Havana's urban garden farming movement.
Gain insight into US-Cuba relations during a frank policy talk with an expert.
Interact with jazz musicians.

It would be nice to go without the hassle and not worry you're on some secret CIA 'bad person' list.

You can fly to an island near there and take a boat over or another flight.

...for the ordinary tourist, nothing has changed.

The "prohibition on travel to Cuba" has never actually existed. It has never actually been illegal to go to Cuba. Yesterday, today, a week ago, or a decade ago, it was and has been completely legal for any U.S. citizen to board a plane to Havana from Cancun or Montreal or London or Mexico City or anywhere else. And even with a Cuban stamp in your passport, there would not be any actual legal problem (though the Customs agent might give you some hassle).

It has only been illegal to SPEND MONEY in Cuba. The law officially says that Americans may not monetarily support Cuba in any way, so I was at least technically in violation of the law when I bought a couple of Cuban cigars in London about ten years ago (they weren't THAT great anyway, frankly). So you can legally fly into Havana, but you can't legally pay to take a taxi from the airport, for example. Obviously, spending money at hotels, casinos, restaurants, and bars is right out, too. So, I suppose, one could theoretically legally fly into Havana and walk everywhere until you fly back out, but that's not much of a vacation.

The only way that the embargo can legally be lifted is by Congress, and that's pretty unlikely to happen any time soon.



So for the time being, the only legal way to vacation in Cuba is under some aegis that gets blessing from the Treasury Department (and, to some degree, the State Department). For the most part, that's "journalism" and "cultural exchange" and the like. There are certainly companies out there (such as Gate1, noted above) that have organized trips, and they'll help with the immense amount of paperwork, but at the end of the day, it's still a decision at the whim of the Treasury Department to allow a U.S. citizen to go spend money vacationing in Cuba.

I've had at least a dozen calls at my office today already asking for when we're going to set up trips for people to Cuba, and I've had to explain this over and over again, unfortunately.

It will certainly happen some day, but that day is not tomorrow or next month and almost certainly not next year. Royal Caribbean is not adding Puerto de la Habana to their ports-of-call just yet. Getting things like diplomatic representation there is a BIG step forward, but it's not the be-all, end-all of opening up Cuba for the typical American tourist.


Sorry.