I’m sure many are wondering what will happen with Cuba/US policy now that there is an administration change in the White House. Likely, any reversal to the 2016 Cuba/US policy (as indicated by Joe Biden during his campaign) will be a year in the making, as the new administration has many more pressing issues to address.
Working with this as a time frame, now might be a good idea to start researching and planning an initial cruise. Chances are that changes related to Cuba travel will be vague or confusing, at least initially, as this has been the case in the past.
If the above proves true, then the best advice for a first time cruise is to make south Florida the departure point and focus on Western Cuba as your cruising destination. The reason is that the distance to Havana and Pinar del Rio and back again to Florida are short compared with distances to the eastern half of the island, particularly the southeast.
With this area in mind, Yacht Pilot’s cruising guide “Cuba Volume 1 – Western Cuba” will be a good Cuba resource. When the Trump administration cut Cuba/US ties, we decided not to print “Cuba Volume 2 – Eastern Cuba”. We foresaw that Cuba travel restrictions were likely to be long lasting. But now, with the expected changes in policy from the Biden administration, we foresee going to print with Volume 2 once travel changes are in place.
Notes:
1. Cuba is changing its currency again. On January 1st 2021, they will scrap the Cuban Convertible Peso (CuC). The remaining two currencies will be the national peso and the American dollar.
2. There is talk of restoring the Hersey train that ran between Havana and Matanzas making it a tourism feature.