Carnival Gets Nod to Start Miami-Cuba Cruises in May

22 March 2016 4:30pm

In a week of historic firsts between the United States and Cuba, Carnival Corporation gained approval Monday to sail from Miami into the port of Havana in May.

After months of uncertainty, Cuban authorities from Havanatur Celimar and other agencies approved the cruise company’s bid for its inaugural Cuba voyage, departing May 1, marking the first time in more than 50 years that a cruise ship can travel from the United States to Cuba.

Fathom president Tara Russell, standing, introduces a new water filter to a family in the Dominican Republic. Carnival Corp.’s Fathom brand will sail to the Dominican Republic and now Cuba on cultural immersion trips.

“Today we’ve made history,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., in a call from Havana. “This is a historic opportunity, and we know there is pent-up demand amongst Americans who want to experience Cuba.”

Travelers will be able to sail to the island aboard Carnival Corp.’s Fathom brand, which provides cultural exchange programs — one of the 12 approved categories of travel to the island nation. The line’s 704-passenger Adonia will take guests on seven-day itineraries around Cuba.

Carnival’s announcement came only hours after President Barack Obama shook hands with Cuban president Raul Castro during President Obama’s historic visit to the island — a first for a sitting U.S. president in nearly nine decades. The thaw in relations between the two nations, which began in December 2014, has led to numerous policy changes that have made it easier to travel to Cuba and, ultimately, to sail a cruise ship there.

"We are very much looking forward to helping our travelers create a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s a time now that we will never have in the future." Tara Russell, president of Fathom.

Tara Russell, president of Fathom, said Carnival Corp. and Fathom have been working closely with the Cuban government to gain approval. The U.S. granted the cruise line permission in July to sail into Cuba for social impact trips.

Part of gaining Cuban approval was surveying if infrastructure at the island’s ports could support cruise ships. Fathom’s Adonia, which is being transferred from Carnival’s P&O Cruises in the United Kingdom, is small enough to dock at the Cuban ports included in its weeklong voyages.

The sailings will leave from PortMiami on Sundays and circumnavigate the island, with stops in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos. Prices start at $1,800 per person, plus a Cuban visa, fees, taxes and port expenses.

Russell said the cruise line will handle visa and affidavit processing for passengers, including those who book in the 40 days before Fathom’s first sailing to the island.

Source: The Miami Herald