Ferry service from Tampa - Cuba - Coz?

[warmwaterturner]

Interesting article about ferry service from Tampa to the Yucatan.
Tampa hopes for ferry service to Yucatan, Cuba - St. Petersburg Times

 

[vlkr]

i sure hope that is true. however, do not give them any $ far in advance. that service was offered years ago. people bought tickets for future crossings. then the company disappeared with all of the $. our congresswoman here, katherine harris, was involved in it so it sounded legit. turned out that it was just a scam.

 

[warmwaterturner]

No kidding! I hope it does happen. It would be great to do a dive trip to Florida for a few days - catch the ferry - head down to the Yucatan for a week or two - then ferry back. Truck and gear all loaded in the back.

 

[ggunn]

No kidding! I hope it does happen. It would be great to do a dive trip to Florida for a few days - catch the ferry - head down to the Yucatan for a week or two - then ferry back. Truck and gear all loaded in the back.

I dunno. That's a long boat ride, something like 600 miles each way. And what's that about Cuba? We still can't travel to Cuba.

 

[deepstops]

And what's that about Cuba? We still can't travel to Cuba.

Sure we can, we just can't spend money there

 

[ggunn]

Sure we can, we just can't spend money there

Are you sure? Last I heard, folks who went to Cuba had to go somewhere else first, and they would put a removable page in your passport to stamp that you had to take out before you came home. I thought the recent loosening of the rules were for family members of Cuban residents only.

 

[Randy43068]

That's a mighty long boat ride.

I'll fly, thank you very much.

 

[warmwaterturner]

Are you sure? Last I heard, folks who went to Cuba had to go somewhere else first, and they would put a removable page in your passport to stamp that you had to take out before you came home. I thought the recent loosening of the rules were for family members of Cuban residents only.

I clipped this from the original story......

"Last week, the federal government further relaxed travel restrictions by approving nine additional airports — including Tampa International Airport — as gateways for charter flights to Cuba.

If Cuban-American families and people on religious, educational and cultural exchanges can fly to Cuba, why not let them sail there overnight, asked Nierenberg."

This gives cause to MY belief that diving is always a religious experience to me

 

[mike_s]

Interesting article about ferry service from Tampa to the Yucatan.
Tampa hopes for ferry service to Yucatan, Cuba - St. Petersburg Times

This has been tried before.... there was a car ferry that did the trip to Cancun area several years ago. It was an overnight trip and you could book a cabin.

It failed.

Are you sure? Last I heard, folks who went to Cuba had to go somewhere else first, and they would put a removable page in your passport to stamp that you had to take out before you came home. I thought the recent loosening of the rules were for family members of Cuban residents only.

You don't have to go anywhere else first. There are flights DAILY out of Miami direct to Cuba, plus several other cities (New York, LA, etc).



OFAC has also recently approved airports in Chicago O'Hare, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Atlanta and the Luis Muñoz Marin airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico



It's mostly used by people who family there or other state dept approved travel.

 

[WestHoustonDiver]

We already have twice weekly ferries from Galveston to Cozumel in the $350 range (during the school yr/wks, for 4 - 5 nights) called Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Carribbean Cruise, & next Disney Cruise Line (a little more expensive), but they all should be a lot more comfy than the ferry boats.

Also,
"Cruises from the United States to Cuba are currently illegal."
Not true.
I did a few of those cruises on the big battle grey ships to Guantanamo Bay/ Cuba years back. Just gotta sign your life away for a few years.
Great scuba diving at Gitmo...
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/introductions-greets/52995-greetings-guantanamo-bay-cuba.html