World Cruise Companies Plan to Come to Cuba

The recent announcement by Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro to reestablish diplomatic relations after over a 50 year freeze has sparked expectations among the world’s major cruise companies.

An article on the UK-based Telegraph.com reads that “the US government’s historic agreement to end more than 50 years of diplomatic freeze between the two countries has put Cuba firmly on the travel bucket list.”

The article explains that the US Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald is alreadyplanning to change Caribbean itineraries to include Havana, as soon as US cruise ships are permitted to sail in Cuban waters.

The article adds that a handful of UK cruise lines already sail to Cuba, including Star Clippers (starclippers.co.uk) and Thomson (thomson.co.uk/cruise), as does Canada based Cuba Cruise (yourcubacruise.com) which has just started its second winter season of voyages circumnavigating the island.

At present there is also a 12-day Cuban Explorer Cruise that twins a seven-night cruise on board the three-diamond rated Louis Cristal cruise ship with a three-day stay in Havana, reads the Telegraph article.

And other cruise companies heading to Havana this year include Noble Caledonia, from the UK, Fred Olsen and Voyages of Discovery, also from Britain, which will be in Havana for two days in January 2016.

Carnival Corporationis a global cruise company and one of the largest vacation companies in the world. Its portfolio of leading cruise brands includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn in North America; P&O Cruises (UK), and Cunard in the United Kingdom; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Southern Europe; and P&O Cruises (Australia) in Australia.